Greenpeace would go apeshit. Why? Because there would be no alternative to a consumer to get rid of a game apart from throwing it out. You see, used games sales not only benefit the industry by exposing games that might not otherwise be noticed, but it's environmentally friendly.
what if developers shut down used game sales completely?
- Thread starter Ralen-Sharr
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I rarely (and I mean maybe once or twice a year) buy a game used. I like cutting off the plastic and going, "Mine!" the day a game comes out. However, there are occasions where I do buy used, and that's if I missed a game and it has since vanished from shelves. That's how I got my hands on Call of Duty 2. So, if used sales are cut out completely, game companies better have a way that I can buy their old games that they feel no longer warrant being on store shelves. And no, I don't want to buy from the internet. I want my game now!
When was DRM non existant? Those old copy protection schemes were a form of DRM. Those PC games people are passing around are older ones that don't have online activation. Newer games have no value once the activation code is used and registered to an online account. This is what they will do with consoles.JMeganSnow said:
I see no problem with that exact situation happening. In fact, it would probably be a good thing. It certainly wouldn't change my buying habits much at all. I already study up on games I want to buy and wait until the ones I'm not sure of are cheap enough that I don't feel they're a waste even if they don't turn out to be masterpieces. It could also encourage publishers to finally look into a proper pricing of games as opposed to just throwing everything they make on the market for the same amount even when there is a clear disparity in quality/value.
All it would do is encourage piracy further. Why buy a game you can't trade in later if you don't like it?
It would also hurt the legacy of gaming as a whole. There's been several occasions where I've bought old used games that aren't produced anymore because I missed them the first time around. A friend recommends it to me, my interest is piqued, I try to find a used copy.
Finally, what happens if your console breaks down? Is the game no longer playable now even though you bought it fair and square? Doesn't sound like a good deal to me.
It would also hurt the legacy of gaming as a whole. There's been several occasions where I've bought old used games that aren't produced anymore because I missed them the first time around. A friend recommends it to me, my interest is piqued, I try to find a used copy.
Finally, what happens if your console breaks down? Is the game no longer playable now even though you bought it fair and square? Doesn't sound like a good deal to me.
It's not just about trading your games in.
I see this all the time in threads like this, and starts to wonder, am i really the only one, who borrows game discs to and from my friend?
Am i the only one who will bring a game to a friends house to play a game i've bought, while we're at his place, without having to bring my console as well?
Locking it to one console would suck if your console broke as well, imagine having to re-buy your entire collection if your 360 RROD'ed
You're allowed to read a book owned by someone else if you borrow it, you're allowed to bring a movie to a friend, and watch it at his place, you can borrow your friends car, his frying pan etc. why should games be any different?
whats next? locking the controller to your fingerprints to prevent friend coming over and playing your games at yoru plafce on your console, cause they didn't pay for it?
I see this all the time in threads like this, and starts to wonder, am i really the only one, who borrows game discs to and from my friend?
Am i the only one who will bring a game to a friends house to play a game i've bought, while we're at his place, without having to bring my console as well?
Locking it to one console would suck if your console broke as well, imagine having to re-buy your entire collection if your 360 RROD'ed
You're allowed to read a book owned by someone else if you borrow it, you're allowed to bring a movie to a friend, and watch it at his place, you can borrow your friends car, his frying pan etc. why should games be any different?
whats next? locking the controller to your fingerprints to prevent friend coming over and playing your games at yoru plafce on your console, cause they didn't pay for it?
The day publishers murder the used game market (and I use that word deliberately) is the day I sell or throw away all my game consoles and stick to free flash games. I'm sorry, publishers. I'm sorry I have a life and other bills to pay and can only afford maybe one new game a year, two if I'm lucky. Used game sales make the hobby affordable for working class schmucks like me. If I had the money, I'd sue under the Sherman Antitrust Act, which seems to be the bane of so many software companies.
I usualy don't buy used games, I just buy games from Wal Mart for 20$ or under 'cause they're old as heck. xD You'll get my money, by the time you're finished your next big game.
Let's change the state of your question to "What would it take for PEOPLE to only buy new?", since sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.Ralen-Sharr said:
The answer is that the prospect is not really possible. As I always say, the harder they push, the louder the pirates laugh. Alright, I don't always say those precise words, but I have indeed been saying it overall. The louder developers shout, the less anyone will listen.
More importantly, the used game market? Literally, it can't shut down. You're making more and more games, year after year, evolving and accumulating more and more. It is completely impossible to halt the influx of used games because the pile of games that exists is overwhelming, like a monster.
In fact, it is a monster with regeneration and an ever-increasing amount of HP, even while you fight it. It's a tidal wave, a volcanic eruption, etc. And companies don't have an Infinity-Plus-One Sword big enough.
So Fallout 3 is an "older game"? My housemate and I shared my copy of that. We couldn't both play at once, mind you, but we had no problems installing it and playing it on both of our computers. And, in fact, companies aren't much concerned with this sort of thing. They still sold a copy, after all, and my housemate went out and bought DLC I wasn't going to buy--so they actually sold 2 games even though both of us only really played one of them. What they are really worried about is the people who mass-copy and mass-distribute.Crono1973 said:
If console developers really want to circumvent the used games market, they won't start instituting draconican measures that lock games to a specific console. They'll simply deliver their games strictly via download. You can't re-sell a game that never exists other than as a stream of 1's and 0's.
Didn't Fallout 3 have Games for Windows Live? Yeah, no DRM on that game. Oh yeah, and the disc had Securom on it.JMeganSnow said:
I have the GOTY version of Fallout 3 and I had to input a code for the GFWL service and I'll bet that the code is now tied to my GFWL account and so I couldn't resell it if I wanted to.
Well, if the games are only available via digital download, then retailers won't carry the consoles anymore so you'll have to have the console shipped to you. It'll happen but not yet, right now it's about locking games to a console or account just like they do with XBLA games and DLC.
I'd end up buying less games maybe even close to half as many. I sometimes buy a used games because I don't have the money or don't think the game is worth full price and at times I count on the trade in value to get other games(new or used).
For me to buy a game I couldn't trade in they'd need to drop the price and be high quality polished titles with replay value beyond collectibles and multiplayer.
For me to buy a game I couldn't trade in they'd need to drop the price and be high quality polished titles with replay value beyond collectibles and multiplayer.
If they killed used game market then they had better cut the prices of new games down to $40 or so, since they've taken away their major profit syphons out of the picture. Would be no excuse for continued high priced games.
I have absolutely no issue with it, whatsoever. When games are resold it takes away from very valuable revenue from developers who could use it to make even better games. People are going to buy video games regardless, so the more you can cut down on profit loss, the better.
It's funny really, because around where I live, I was surprised to find that Gamestation (one of our two major games retail chains) was selling quite a few used PC games.JMeganSnow said:
(To say nothing of the store next door that dealt exclusively in second hand games...)
It seems DRM doesn't stop them selling this stuff. Though I did notice there were no expensively priced second-hand PC games...
I only buy new games and I haven't traded in a game in almost a decade. This is a good solution to the GameStop problem if you ask me.
The less used game sales there are, the more money developers make, the more they can spend on new games. That's something everyone can appreciate. Well... except for GameStop. But seriously, fuck those guys.
The less used game sales there are, the more money developers make, the more they can spend on new games. That's something everyone can appreciate. Well... except for GameStop. But seriously, fuck those guys.