Why do people buy used games?

[Frostbyte666]

used games allows me to take some risks on what I purchase so instead of £30 it's less than £10 and if it turns out I don't enjoy it I don't mind losing the tenner. On the other hand if I do like it then I'll be watching more from the studio and probably buy their next game new.

There's also finding a few gems that I may have missed the first time round that either aren't sold new now or are exorbitantly expensive.

A final thing with trawling the used games is it can also give you an idea of games that people didn't like or only play once and then trade in, especially when you see racks of the same game on the used shelves.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

The only reason why I buy used games is when they have no available new copies.

 

[Iwata]

Why do I buy used games?

Two main reasons:

1- If the same game is available for ?70 new or ?20 used, I'll go for the used one, because I don't have a Money Tree at home.

2- Because it's quite literally the only way to get games that are no longer published. If not for used games, I'd never have played, for example, Valkyria Chronicles, or Dark Sector.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Secondly, games like SMT: Nocturne are ridiculously expensive to buy new. New copies of games become scarce after a while and used becomes the only way to buy them.

even then rare used games aren't cheap.

OT: generally? save money. not really anything more complex then that most gamers be broke, and would really like to eat and have a roof over their heads as well so saving money on the hobby is the best way to go generally.

 

[Abomination]

I'd not buy used games if the publishers were willing on reducing the new game price by the amount I could get for SELLING a used game. $60 is to much for something with no resale value and a potential to be only worth 8 hours of entertainment - if that.

If publishers really want to bury used games then they need to reduce the price of a new release while introducing anti-resale measures. Trying to do the latter with no indication of attempting the former deserves every bit of resistance we can give them.

If a car had no resale value then the value of cars would need to be halved.

The terrible irony of the situation is people will often sell their old games second hand to buy a new release. Publishers seem to believe that the consumers have an unlimited supply of money.

 

[bigfatcarp93]

It's cheaper. In this economy, you can't put a price on that.

...

...Well, actually, I suppose you technically can, but you take my point.

 

[Wolf In A Bear Suit]

Because it is cheaper.....
Pretty much why I buy them, I haven't bought one that doesn't work so far, and I can't think of any reason not to buy a cheaper game, unless there is forced drawbacks (online pass). I also like to borrow games from my friends so I can complete them and give them back. That's something that needs to be preserved. Fact is I couldn't give two fucks if it hurts the industry, I'll just take whats cheap please.

 

[Belaam]

No idea. RedBox FTW. Over the course of a couple months, I rented Farcry 3 on three different Sundays the wife and kids had plans. Beat the game, had a ton of fun, and those three different sundays at $2 a pop came to me playing the game through for $6.

This was the first time I've ever used Redbox, but it was awesome and I will certainly be doing it again. I'm actually kinda thinking about grabbing Bioshock Infinite some weekend even though I own it on the PC just to see the differences. It's 2 freaking dollars.

Though as others have said, used games are often the only way to go for older consoles, out of print games, etc.

 

[Lionsfan1986]

I buy used games because it a lot to buy new and also to me with no real rental places anymore you take a real risk on a game not being after spending soo much money on it.

 

[Ashadowpie]

its recycling basically. you buy a game, play the hell out of it, and if its not you're top most favorite gem give it away at game stop so someone else can fully enjoy the game instead. why would you throw away a perfectly fine game/anything if someone else can use it after you? we'd have a lot less garbage in our landfills if we gave away un-used things that we'd rather throw away than keep.

i love all my games so i dont give them away, but with undamaged clothing, nicknacks or furniture i always bring them to second hand shops.

also, its cheaper. not everyone can blow often 60 bucks on game.

i only buy handhelds and consoles used, but thats because they're getting more and more expensive.

 

[GonvilleBromhead]

Mainly to get older games, but also to try genre's I have little interest in, or because of good two for one deals.

Also, the trade in value for a new and second hand game is the same...

 

[chuckman1]

It's all about the money man when I only buy new videogames my money goes fast so sometimes I go to the pawn shop or game store and get used copies. Also some games are hard to find new and may cost a ton of money (Rare Atlus Games). I prefer to buy new games but when I want get some ps3 or 360 games for 5 dollars I go to a pawn shop.

 

[Flunk]

1. Don't buy used games at EB Games/Gamestop. Their prices suck.
2. No used market lets the publisher more tightly control prices. See the titles available on Xbox 360's direct download system. Not a good deal to be found.
3. The publishers have proven themselves untrustworthy in the past and taking away any way of circumventing them makes people angry.
4. What happens when they turn the servers off in 10 years, I sometimes still play my Super Nintendo and it would be a shame if I can't do the same with this new system in 10-20 years.

I believe in supporting developers, but i don't trust publishers to keep their word. Especially the big ones like EA and Activision.

 

[Launcelot111]

I buy a generation behind most of the time, so just from an availability standpoint, used is essentially the only viable option.

On top of that, I'm big on store credit, and if Gamestop has one of their "get 30% more when you trade towards used games" things, then after trade-ins, I'll be paying like $3 used versus $20 new.

 

[Arqus_Zed]

I buy a lot of used games, mostly old ones: think PS2-era, or PS3/Wii/X360-games that have been out at least 2-3 years.

The reasons:
a) You can't find them "new" anymore.
b) They are cheaper.

Note that I don't buy a used version of a game after it has just been released. Why? Because right after release, used versions cost about as much as new version - and if I really wanted the game, chances are it's a day one purchase (if I can afford it at the time). The used games I buy are either games I want as collectables or games I simply refuse to pay ? 60 for because they aren't worth the price - and thus if I hadn't bought it at a low price, I simply wouldn't have bought it at all, no sale lost. Now, for a producer, the profit from a hard copy of a game they release three years ago really doesn't matter anymore. This isn't entirely the same with digital downloads, but the games market is kind of like the film market in that regard: the first weeks matter most. Granted, the period in which the sales of a game actually impact its success might be a bit longer that that of most films, but the comparison still holds up.

So, in short, I buy used games (for a reason), but I doubt the producers would suddenly get more money out of me if they banned used games.

 

[Zydrate]

I get used games because they're friendlier to my budget.

Rarely do I ever have more than 20$ to spend at any given time.
Last year I only had two or three games. Everything I own I'm bored of since I've beaten everything to hell and back. I know the entire Mass Effect trilogy front, back, and sideways. I can play Skyrim in my sleep.

People try to tell me "Well, you have a 360?" Yea. It was a Christmas gift that three people had to pool in to get me.

I buy used games because I'm broke, tiptoeing the line of being poor.

So yea. Fuck the Xbox One.

 

[faefrost]

Why do people buy used games?

It's a slightly complicated issue, and not for the reasons that mst rail about. Here's the important point to remember. Every Single Thing that he games industry tells you about used games is at best wrong and at worst intentionally disingenuous. Used games are not a bad thing. They are not the same as piracy (which is theft). They are simply consumer market forces at work. The same as they are in every other third party transaction. Be it a house a car, food, clothing or any other desire able.

Here's the long and short of it. Within the realm of normal natural market forces there is a fluctuating balance point. The point where the perceived value or worth of an item coincides with the sellers asking price. This is the thin line along which commerce occurs. And it is a mutually beneficial point. It is the place where both sides agree. Value = price. Now where we run into problems is where one side of this equation or the other gets artificially inflated so value no longer equals price. If value is too high and price to low manufacturers go out of business. If price is too high and value too low, consumers go elsewhere. Except when there is no natural way to adjust that price. Have you ever wondered why every new video game costs $59? Does that seem like natural pricing to you? Yeah it doesn't seem like it to most people either. That's industry collusion. And as a result the price of the product is currently greater than the perceived value of the product. This is not a great place for it to be in.

Now the industry will argue that the costs of delivering the product are excessive, etc etc. but this is quite frankly all but meaningless. Consumers pay for what they get out of the product. Not what the manufacturers put in. If a developer spends millions adding in special flipping and flowing hair physics to a game, what care is that to the consumer if it does not in fact improve the desire ability of the end product. It's an entertainment product. The consumer expects a certain value of entertainment for their dollar. How much the developer spends to deliver that is the developers problem. And quite frankly those that cannot figure out how to deliver more entertainment for less cost are what is known as business failures. This is true in any business. Just because they are genius computer game makers doesn't change this.

So what does this have to do with used games? Well remember how I said that the price of games is out if balance with the perceived consumer value? In short games are too expensive for what the consumer gets out of them. And those prices are fixed pretty well by industry collusion. Well used games are the consumers way of altering the equation so that they can purchase a game at the point where they do find value. Trading in or selling old games to get credit, and reduce cost/price of new. Buying used games at lower prices for a similar experience. Renting games that have a shorter play duration. These are all tools of the consumer to adjust that price value equation from their end. And quite frankly they only get used this heavily when the price of a consumer good is wildly inflated past its naturally perceived value.

Oh, and I am going to do he unthinkable here. I am going to say something in defense of GameStop and their third party pawn shop model. While I don't like it, I can easily see why it exists, and how it benefits us the consumer more than we realize. Here's the thing. Do we like having local brick and mortar stores that we can go to to buy physical games? Do we think these are still a good thing? If the answer is yes. If you want someplace that you can simply walk in and buy something off the shelf today then we need someplace like GameStop. Now Brick and Mortar retail stores are not cheap and they are not charities. Traditionally to stay in business they need to be making between 30 to 50 points on each item they sell. This s not a matter of greed. That is quite simply how a retail establishment keeps the lights on. That's how they pay rent staff utilities etc. buy at 20 sell at 40. Most MSRP's are designed so that the retailer is getting what they need to survive. Do you know what GameStop gets from a new game? 10 points. (Do our friends in the UK now understand all the fun times a few of your chains are having?) 75% of Gamestops sales are New Games. But new game sales are barely 50% of their operating profits. Those other 25% of used games sales are what are literally keeping the lights on.

So yes the costs of games is f'd up. The pricing of games is f'd up. The way used games are ongoing is f'd up. But it is all be a use those making this stuff have lost track of the consumer value for what they are producing, and failed to allow natural market forces to work.

In short people buy used games because new games are priced too high. If you want used games sales to go away, drop the price of new games by 25%. It really is that simple.

 

[Xanadu84]

Remember that there's a 2 parter behind the used game market: The cheaper game, and the money you get from reselling YOUR used game. As a consumer who has played a game, you get to compete with the original seller with zero risk, versus their massive investments. It's quite profitable for everyone except the game creators. As far as the publishers are concerned, that used market is pure dead weight loss for them, market inefficiency at its absolute worst, driving prices up and discouraging risks and innovation. Getting rid of used games makes complete sense. The problem, and why used games are seen as so important, is because Microsofts business plan is to take a massive chunk of sales from used games for themselves, for zero effort on their part, still charge the same amount for games, and remove the recuperating effects that so many gamers experienced by reselling games.

The end result is in essence Microsoft increasing their margins massively while charging you more for the privilege of them making more money. If most of the new capital MS made went to driving prices down, in the form of perhaps a $45 or $50 price point, MS could have pocketed a smaller sum, ushered in a better digital age of gaming, and put their install base on steroids. But since they have shown that theres nothing in their new marketing vision to benefit gamers, everyone wants to stick with the status quo. If they traded the ability to sell used games for cheaper initial games, people may criticize them, but at least they would have to agree that MS had an argument. Right now, they are making a bigger cake, but still giving you a smaller piece: Might as well go to a different bakery, because you don't care if the cake is technically bigger.