Why Used Games are Better

[Elberik]

If you want an realistic comparison to digital vs physical, take a look at Origin where a "deal" is $55.99

obvious troll is obvious. why feed it? it only does it for the attention

I resent that.

My point is that sites like Steam & GoG are anomalies. They independently decide to have sales and bundles that allow people to get games at insanely low prices. But that does not mean that digital games are inherently cheaper/better than physical copies. By looking at Origin, hell even Gamestop & Amazon, you get a more realistic price-point. With digital copies there's no shelf space that needs to be cleared so prices can remain high even if there is no demand for a game. So an old game that no one liked (Duke Nukem Forever) still costs $20 digital but you can get for $5 physical.

 

[Lilani]

Right now I can go to Gamestop and buy a used copy of Duke Nukem Forever for about $5. If I wanted to purchase a download (which is apparently the better option) I would have to pay $20. Digital downloads are no better (and in some ways worse) than physical copies. Sure they take up less space but that is really it. I can buy the collector's edition off Amazon for $25 but a digital download of the basic game (on Steam) is $20.
You cannot buy a "used" download meaning that you will always be required to pay the sellers' asking price. Used games prices go down so that the seller can get them off the shelf. With digital the price can remain constant regardless of demand. Sure Steam and GoG have deals with bundles but that could end as easily as it began. Digital downloads are not better, certain companies just offer good deals periodically.
If you want an realistic comparison to digital vs physical, take a look at Origin where a "deal" is $55.99

My experience with used games is quite the opposite. A very popular game will stay around $45 or $50 at Gamestop even a year after release, even used, but a year after release a big game on Steam will be down to about $40 or less. Then there's the sales that can drive that price down to about $12. The price of a popular game on Steam drops linearly, whereas in a store the price will stay high because they feel the need to cause a sense of artificial scarcity. They'll charge $30 for a used DS game that's three or four years old if it's in demand enough. But after three or four years a game on Steam will slowly drop to the $10 and even $5 price range.

Of course these things vary, but I trust the prices on Steam a lot more than I trust the prices at Gamestop. And during the sales I think it's safe to say even Gamestop can't beat their prices.

 

[bowandsword]

Oooookay.

Except there isn't really any such thing as used PC games.

So yeah.

Also, at least in Australia, Steam sale or GreenManGaming are noticeably cheaper than buying used in my experience. I do buy used games from time to time, but only for stuff that I can't or don't want to get on PC.

Not just in Australia. Last time I poked my head in GAME here there was about £5 difference between new and used. This was of course with console/handheld games - but that amount of price difference is barely worth the bother.

didnt 'game' shops all close down here last year thats a long to time since you went to a retailer
OT i'm the horible extreme where I only play free to play games and rarly buy games and when i do retail. ONLY because i dont have a credit card and being a school student isn't rolling in money. BUT OMG I wanted Super smash brother on wii when it came out $120 for it USED got love aussie price not much has change since then either. I look at online games now the games i play the most tend to either be free or less then 10 dollars (with the exception of GW 2 only game a purchased full price last year.(huh its been a year ish)) eg lol dota 2 plannetside2 minecraft HUMBLE BUNDLES dwf. given that i only play 1 hour a night at most and 3 on sunday i dont think i count though.

other note but still ot
when my brother goes to buy the new cod every year i shit bricks every time when i see the price tag think it was $150 last year for most expensize edition and $100 for cheapest used and i love how u yanks complain about price rise to $80. that cheap for us. then we have online stuff whats that a game ill play for next 3 months then come back for 2 more over the year $10 no free
thats the power of digital btw frist summer sale i purchased this year spent less then $20 and got games that will last me till this time next year. without inclucding new free game coming ESO
So get back to me when I dont have to save for a year for a game so I can buy it from retail.
ps stingy school student $5 is an investment for me.

 

[Signa]

I disagree. If I wanted to play a game without supporting the people behind it, I'd just pirate the game.

That way I'd:
1) Avoid damaged copies
2) Keep my money
3) Not be supporting leech industries
4) Be able to play the game on my own terms, because pirate copies have all the restrictions taken out

I'm not trying to say that people should pirate, just that weighing used vs. piracy, used only has the law on its side. That means very little to me in the grand scope of things. I only buy new these days, because now that I know what I know about places like Gamestop, I'll just pay the few extra dollars to get a fresh copy.

 

[KOMega]

The thing is is that all those $5 games over at my local gamestop are also the one's I'll most likely not like, or already had for a while already.

Depending on how popular the game is, the price can stay high or at least mid level years after release.

Duke Nukem Forever wasn't exactly a diamond in the dirt. I'm not much of a shooter these days anyways.

 

[Elberik]

Of course these things vary, but I trust the prices on Steam a lot more than I trust the prices at Gamestop. And during the sales I think it's safe to say even Gamestop can't beat their prices.

Steam sales are abnormally good.

 

[Get_A_Grip_]

As far as PC gaming goes I'd much much much rather not have used games and stick with the insane price reductions we get from digital distributors such as Steam, GreenMan Gaming, Gamersgate, Amazon etc. and the stupidly cheap bundles that are available such as Humble Bundle, Indie Gala, Indie Royale and Bundle Stars.

Yes, on consoles used seems to be better value when compared to the XBL Storefornt and the PSN store most of the time, even when you have to pay for the online passes.

Oh and using Duke Nukem Forever isn't a great choice. If you paid me ?5 to play it I'd still refuse.

 

[votemarvel]

No! Stop! Don't enrage the Steam fanboys, they won't accept it's not the best thing ever!

*pokes head up* Hm? Someone say something? Sorry, I couldn't hear anything under all these Steam games!

I kid, I kid.

Imagining you under Steam games is pretty comical in itself, since there's nothing there The magic of DD.

Except that you can quite easily burn Steam back-ups to DVD, thereby giving you both a physical copy and a digital one.

 

[Raikas]

I disagree. If I wanted to play a game without supporting the people behind it, I'd just pirate the game.

In the cases of shops that carry used games though you're still supporting a business - which of course doesn't matter if you don't buy anything other than games that can be downloaded, but sometimes those shops carry other things (whether it's toys, old cartridge-based games, game-related art). If a person is interested in being able to buy those things in person then there's some worth to giving them your business.

 

[Something Amyss]

If only the industry would actually compete with the used games market rather than throwing tantrums and trying to kill it (an act comparable to cutting off your nose to spite your face).

 

[zumbledum]

I resent that.

well if you want to be taken seriously have some semblance of balance, sense and accuracy when you post rather than just pouring out one sided flame bait.

so you went to your local game stop and found one game out of their stock of 100 or so? i dunno how big your local is and managed to find one that was cheaper there than on steam.

so you found a gamestop selling PC games did you? or are you comparing two totally different items in a very deliberately misleading way?

who sets the price at game stop? that's right game stop. who sets the price on steam? the publisher and steam! just because duke nukem's publisher has some unreasonable expectations on its market power is neither the fault of steam any digital distributor or relevant to a anything at all.

you always pay the sellers asking price or you dont thats the same second hand new boxed or download.

yes prices drop on shelved products as they get older, just as they do on Digital, and for the same reason , demand drops. so no digital prices cant remain the same or they can and they wont sell just exactly like shelved games there is no difference except shelved games eventually disappear and are no longer available.


You can buy used digitally downloaded games, Humble indie bundles get bought and sold all the time as can any game from GoG or other DRM free retailer so that's just plain wrong. now maybe you meant to say that you cant sell second hand licences like we purchase from steam. and thats true though the germans are trying to brake that. but again a licence isnt the same as a game. different advantages to each and you take your pick but you dont go buying oranges and then whine they dont taste like apples!

Origin is the worst possible example of digital downloads , its an example of monopoly power abuse. that would be the same if it was digital or physical.

My point is that sites like Steam & GoG are anomalies. They independently decide to have sales and bundles that allow people to get games at insanely low prices. But that does not mean that digital games are inherently cheaper/better than physical copies. By looking at Origin, hell even Gamestop & Amazon, you get a more realistic price-point. With digital copies there's no shelf space that needs to be cleared so prices can remain high even if there is no demand for a game. So an old game that no one liked (Duke Nukem Forever) still costs $20 digital but you can get for $5 physical.

there's no voodoo or anomaly and by independent im sure you meant to go for something more akin to random or chaotic , independent doesn't have a negative connotation. Insanity? try great big piles of cash?

Steam has huge sales because it makes huge profits, people put their games on steam sales because they make huge bundles of cash. its very simple supply and demand logical profit driven same as every other shop in the world economics ffs!

You are right on the next bit none of the illogic used yet proves anything and part of the scope of everything is digital being cheaper or better. Digital games have lower costs, no printing ,logisitcs, material, labour or retail costs. But i bet you would be surprised to actually find out teh reason why steam gog and other DD sell new games for the same price as bricks and mortar.

its because they LEGALLY HAVE TO , thats right , when a publisher is going around asking people to stock their games, wall mart gamestop and the other bricks and mortar retailers go "sure but only if you dont let the DD's undercut us!"
If steam wants to sell pretty much any mainstream new release like any other DD it has to sign an agreement to sell at at a given price point for a set amount of time.

so your best place to look for a realistic price point for DD is on DD after the initial release term is over, looking at teh prices on game spot and amazon will give you a realistic price point for games on amazon and gamstop. theres just no connection or logic in the leap you make.

and that's just picking apart the errors in your argument we havent even touched on your title and the breathtaking number of ways thats just plain wrong yet!

 

[happyninja42]

Right now I can go to Gamestop and buy a used copy of Duke Nukem Forever for about $5. If I wanted to purchase a download (which is apparently the better option) I would have to pay $20. Digital downloads are no better (and in some ways worse) than physical copies. Sure they take up less space but that is really it. I can buy the collector's edition off Amazon for $25 but a digital download of the basic game (on Steam) is $20.
You cannot buy a "used" download meaning that you will always be required to pay the sellers' asking price. Used games prices go down so that the seller can get them off the shelf. With digital the price can remain constant regardless of demand. Sure Steam and GoG have deals with bundles but that could end as easily as it began. Digital downloads are not better, certain companies just offer good deals periodically.
If you want an realistic comparison to digital vs physical, take a look at Origin where a "deal" is $55.99

One factor you are failing to mention though about used games, is:

1. The quality of the disk, I've bought some that were so messed up as to be unplayable.

2. Availability of certain titles.

Sure you say you can buy a used copy of X game cheaper than Steam, but the games you can buy from them used, is subject to their inventory. As you said, they price them low to get rid of them, because they're getting old and nobody wants them. So while you might be able to get Ye Old Game of Total Badassedness for 5 bucks cheaper than Steam, you might not actually be able to FIND any copies of the game to purchase at this magical, theoretical discount.

The Steam downloads don't really have that much of an issue with supply, (yes I know the Product Keys can delay things a bit, but they always create more within a few days.) And you can't get a "scratched" download.

 

[hermes]

Ok, since your point seems to be based entirely on personal experience, allow me to share mine.

Last time I bought a new physical PC game, I had to do it on Amazon, for 50 $. Including shipping, handling and custom taxes, I ended up paying over twice the original price and received the game close to two weeks after I place the order. The box wasn't so great either, just a regular box that didn't even included the manual because the publishers "are green" (as if). When I buy a digital game, I don't get overcharged, don't get ridiculous fees, and am able to play it mere hours after I place the order. Not that that doesn't depend on which online store I use, or even which system. Used PC games are not an option to me, and physical games, in general, don't reduce their price nearly fast enough to compete with digital stores. In fact, given the fees, a new launch game in a store can cost up to 3 times the price of the same game on any digital store, so a heavily discounted game is still more expensive than what the digital was, at launch.

So, to summarize; no, I don't think they are.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

No! Stop! Don't enrage the Steam fanboys, they won't accept it's not the best thing ever!

*pokes head up* Hm? Someone say something? Sorry, I couldn't hear anything under all these Steam games!

I kid, I kid.

Imagining you under Steam games is pretty comical in itself, since there's nothing there The magic of DD.

Except that you can quite easily burn Steam back-ups to DVD, thereby giving you both a physical copy and a digital one.

Burning Steam backups to DVD?

I just use a external hard drive.

\
My point is that sites like Steam & GoG are anomalies.

A service with between 50 to 70% market share isn't an anomaly, its a bloody behemoth.

As I stated in an earlier post (which you didn't reply to) If you were talking about Console Digital Distribution then yes, used games are better. However with the lack of a PC used game market, ease of piracy and the likes of Steam, GOG, Humble Store, GreenManGaming etc you cannot lump PC Digital Distribution into the same boat.

 

[laggyteabag]

Used PC games really dont exist, most PC games now activate through Steam, uPlay or Origin so once the code has been used its bound to an account it can never be used again. If a PC game is second hand its usually pre-steam, just a one off or (from my experience) pre-Origin EA games.

In terms of consoles, sure. Games on Demand for the Xbox 360 charge absolutely outrageous prices for games both new and old, one example is that when Halo REACH was added to games on demand (around 6 months after release) it was charging £50, which is £10 more than a new release at retail, and around £30 more expensive than the game was to buy retail at the time.

For consoles buying used games is much more viable, but for the PC market its just not really an option any more.

 

[loc978]

Ugh. No. Just no.

Used copies of recent (within about 2 years) releases are sometimes cheap for one reason: the game bombed so retailers have extra copies. DNF failed to sell, so it's cheap now. You get to profit off of a developer's failure. Yay. Wait 6 months and try to find a copy of Skyrim for $5 (that's the difference in their release dates). It didn't fail, so that's not going to happen.

There are a couple legitimate excuses for the used games market (people who can't afford new games without trading in old ones and preserving the availability of out-of-production games). This is not one of them.

 

[freedash22]

For a better sense of ownership for rare games or just for scoring old (classic) collector's edition games, used games rule.

Some people (like me) just want to have a physical copy I guess and often, when we try to go back to old games we played when we were young (that we may have "downloaded" for free) like Megaman Legends 2 or Trine 2 CE (European release). Used games are the best way to go.

I am a PC gamer so downloads are my best way to get games right now. I just got Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition for 7 dollars in Steam and no way can anybody else beat that. The convenience and ease is just unbeatable. Still I do believe used games have a place in today's market, just not as big as it used to be.

 

[NLS]

If you want an realistic comparison to digital vs physical, take a look at Origin where a "deal" is $55.99

obvious troll is obvious. why feed it? it only does it for the attention

I resent that.

My point is that sites like Steam & GoG are anomalies. They independently decide to have sales and bundles that allow people to get games at insanely low prices. But that does not mean that digital games are inherently cheaper/better than physical copies. By looking at Origin, hell even Gamestop & Amazon, you get a more realistic price-point. With digital copies there's no shelf space that needs to be cleared so prices can remain high even if there is no demand for a game. So an old game that no one liked (Duke Nukem Forever) still costs $20 digital but you can get for $5 physical.

With Steam though, there's close to slim "production cost" in selling a digital game. If they decide they want a sale where the price of a game goes from 40? to 2? instead, they can do that, because people will buy it in such masses that they'll make money anyways (example: 10000x2? is more than 100x40?). Retailers can't just magically sell more than they've got in physical store, and they have to try to keep the selling price higher than the price they paid for the product. Sure, there's probably retailers out there that actually end up going in minus, due to how they just need to get a crap game sold and out of shelf, meaning they have to push the price down. But they' can't make a living out of selling all games at a loss, thus the prices generally will have to stay higher than a minimum set price.

With Steam, publishers/developers can sell at whatever price they want, and actually get some money back from it instantly. Unlike used games, that only benefit the retailer.

 

[clippen05]

Right now I can go to Gamestop and buy a used copy of Duke Nukem Forever for about $5. If I wanted to purchase a download (which is apparently the better option) I would have to pay $20. Digital downloads are no better (and in some ways worse) than physical copies. Sure they take up less space but that is really it. I can buy the collector's edition off Amazon for $25 but a digital download of the basic game (on Steam) is $20.
You cannot buy a "used" download meaning that you will always be required to pay the sellers' asking price. Used games prices go down so that the seller can get them off the shelf. With digital the price can remain constant regardless of demand. Sure Steam and GoG have deals with bundles but that could end as easily as it began. Digital downloads are not better, certain companies just offer good deals periodically.
If you want an realistic comparison to digital vs physical, take a look at Origin where a "deal" is $55.99

Sure, I suppose if you only look at the two worst digital-distribution platforms out there, Origin and Xbox Games on Demand, I'm sure it must look like digital distribution is terrible. But as many have mentioned, sites like Steam, Gamersgate, and Green Man Gaming give more than a fair deal in regards to prices. And you know what? I don't really care that I can't trade my games in to Gamestop for PENNIES, because that's all I ever got when I did fall for that scheme.

 

[thejackyl]

I usually won't buy a game used unless it's the only way I can get a game, for one reason. I know how some people treat their games. In the old cartridge days, you could drop it, spill water on it, leave it in the freezer and it would still work fine.

Discs, however, are a LOT more fragile, and after a run-in with Gamestop, and multiple issues with a local rental store, I simply do not trust used games, unless I personally know the person who owned it, and they took decent care of it.

Basically, what happened at Gamestop was the guy who did the trade-in didn't do his job and simply took some REALLY scratched up discs back (They looked like someone took sandpaper to them). I ended up buying them(I didn't look at the discs in-store), and when I got home they didn't work, obviously. I took them back in less than a week, and tried to get a refund. Despite the fact that I had the receipt and everything, the guy just said "You can't return these. You should take better care of your games"