Why Used Games are Better

[Elberik]

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

 

[Hawkeye 131]

Where to start?

I guess it depends on the circumstances, context and perspective that your observing this argument from. When it comes to price, that can REALLY vary and fluctuate depending on a few different circumstances. For example, I bought Metro: Last Light from Green Man Gaming a few months ago for about $37.50 (CDN), and just a few weeks ago during the Steam Summer Sale it was (if I remember correctly), about $29. Now keep in mind that at the time a physical PC copy of the game at retail was going for $49.99 (CDN). I'm sure there are cases where buying a physical copy of a game is cheaper than buying it digitally but I think that scenario is fewer and farther between than if the case were reversed. By the way, the digital market place is thriving nowadays due to the inherent competition between Steam, GoG, Green Man Gaming, Gamer's Gate, Origin, Uplay, Amazon etc... Also in the land of digital content there really is no such thing as "New" or "Used" considering at the end of the day your literally just downloading 1's and 0's.

An argument could be made that digital downloads are better, especially if done so from the perspective of a PC digital download. Without going into the obvious benefits of PC gaming over console gaming, when you buy digital more often than not the price of said content is cheaper. The game can be modded (even if it has DRM, there are crafty people out there who will bypass it in a matter of hours), you can take screenshots in-game (how many console games do this? Some of the Halo games), once Nvidia releases ShadowPlay people with 600 series Nvidia GPU's will be able to capture in-game videos without the need for capture cards, you don't have to worry about losing, damaging or having the physical copy stolen (sure storage devices can be damaged or deleted by accident but you can usually just redownload/install it no problems).

All that being said, buying digitally does have it's problems like waiting to download, large file sizes (10+ GB's), install, update, patch, get the right driver, compatability, DRM, etc... The point is each system/platform has it's pros and cons. Personally I'm leaning more and more towards purchasing my games and content digitally.

-Hawk

 

[TehCookie]

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

I've always found better deals with used games than Steam sales, so I like them more. Even on the rare occasion I do find a better digital deal it's a different site. Not to mention getting used over digital means owning something physical, not having to worry about harddrive space, downloads and DRM BS. Especially that last one.

 

[piinyouri]

Game X Change around my whereabouts is really really good at making sure all the discs are in working shape. I've never bought one that failed, so I continue shopping there.

It's also very cheap, so how could I not like that deal?

 

[Chemical123]

I never understood the argument that used games are hurting the game industry. It provides an option for consumers to vote with their wallets twice. If a game looks good but is not actually good then a consumer has an option to sell it to recoup his losses, while the developer/publisher who misled the consumer gets lower revenues as he should. Take Aliens Colonial Marines, the game misled the customer like a champ and it took a massive public outcry for people to get their money back on PC, and many games which turn out to be significantly worse than the previews manage to get away with it.

Remove used games and there will no longer be a major competitor in a market where the producer already has most of the control. Prices will soar since your only option for getting a game is from an official retailer. Quality will fall since adding replayability and extra content is pointless when a customer cant get rid of the thing. And finally, gamers that operate on a smaller budget lose the ability to recoup their money and will be forced to either quit their hobby or be very careful about their purchases. Personally, there are only a handful of PC developers that i buy games day 1 from and if i dont buy game day 1 then i wait until it comes on sale and purchase the game for 2-3 USD. I cant imagine me buying a game day 1 for 50-60 USD generates the same amount of revenue as 2-3 USD months later. With consoles I am much more likely to buy Day 1 because I know that I can resell the game if I dont like it and as a result many games on consoles are Day 1 purchases or close to that.

 

[Zhukov]

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.

 

[LetalisK]

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.

 

[Caiphus]

Horribly biased OP aside, used PC games aren't an option. At least they aren't in my country.

Origin doesn't give "an realistic comparison" because it's shit and because EA has already claimed that they believe sales decrease the value of their IP, or whatever.

Steam has plenty wrong with it such as:
Its refund policy
Questionable quality control which, when coupled with its refund policy, is stupid and bad
Higher prices for the ANZ region
And many more!

But their overall pricing, especially during sales, is actually pretty decent. And it also means I don't have to drive to the (if there was one) store in the hope that there is a cheaper used game.

 

[TehCookie]

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.

 

[Racecarlock]

Why does freeware never come up in these discussions?

Yes, PC does not have a used market. It does, however, have whole websites devoted to games you can get legally for free with no strings attached. All you need is a browser.

How many free games can you find on consoles these days besides AC2 and halo 3 and whatever's on PSN and some ouya games?

 

[teebeeohh]

Your 15 dollars support a retailer. My 20 dollars support the dev(and steam and possibly a publisher)
There is no such thing as used pc games

 

[Yopaz]

I have never seen great deals on GameStop over here. I usually get games cheaper new from anywhere else (one time the same GameStop had a cheaper new copy), but that might be a matter of what country.

Now when it comes to comparing used GameStop games to digital content then it also depends on preference. I have a lot of digital games on my 3DS and since it's a portable that is actually very practical. I have games all confined to a small SD card. There's enough games there for the covers to take up half of my backpack. I also like being able to smply pick games from a list rather than swapping discs on my other consoles.

Now there are downsides. I can't let friends borrow them or sell them (which I never do anyway).

Now I have had a few bad experiences with used games. I have bout games which weren't functional. I contacted GameStop who bought the game from me (at their own rate, not what I paid for it) which probably went back on the shelves again. With new games you can be (almost) sure that it will work.

Now this is from the consumer's point of view. Let's swap sides a little. No money goes to the publisher, this doesn't really concern us because it's not our job to look out for the publishers. They won't look out for us so let's not feel sympathy with teary eyed bigshots with houses made of money crying that used games is killing them.

However a game's success will determine if it will get a sequel or not and if games will be localized or not. Used games aren't killing games, but it might play a role in determining if a game with low sales will have enough sales to get its sequel.

Used games are great forngames that have gone out of production, but given the option I get it new.

Edit: Also used games is rarely an option on PC and the selection on GameStop is usually quite limited.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

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

There's your problem!

Using digital services like Origin or PC distribution in general isn't going help your case for used games as the used PC game market has been dead for years.

You do also realize that Steam had sales long before competing services Origin were little more than a jerk-off fantasy in the eyes of EA's board of Directors? They had those sales not because they are simply good people (although it did play a part) but because they had a contender that probably dwarfs them and every other PC distribution service today, websites like The Pirate Bay and other such 'illegal' methods of acquiring games.

If you'd only mentioned the Console digital distribution services (such as they are) then yes, I would have agreed that the used game market is far more superior. However the PC digital distribution services are a completely different set of beasts and there is very little the two platforms have in common in that respect.

 

[VladG]

I'd rather give my money to the developer instead of some retailer. Retailer isn't likely to make another good game, the developer is.

 

[A Weakgeek]

I just got 6 games from the humble indie bundle for 3.5 dollars, and thats 3.4 dollars more than I would have needed to pay. If I had bought physical, each one of them would have cost atleast that much INVIDUALLY, and the money would have gone to the store, and not to charity like it did with the bundle.

Something to keep in mind.

 

[The White Hunter]

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.

Mostly because of DRM and.. reasons? I guess?

Honestly all my old PC games I can install wherever I damn well please. The reason used PC games aren't a thing is the market has been decidedly neutered.

Also, used games are not better in every instance, for PC I find Green Man Gaming's digital downloads to be the cheapest source of gaming goodies. With GOG being the most consumer friendly distributor of content.

On a console yes, used games are cheaper. But I still buy new anyway.

 

[Teoes]

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.

 

[Savagezion]

Wow, didn't expect to ever see a thread with that title on this site, kudos. I am in partial agreement with you but Hawk is more accurate in conjunction. I love physical copies, especially on consoles. I really do have to split them up and I'll explain both.

Consoles: Physical copy every time. Consoles are hardware that is meant to be abandoned. Digital sales simply don't fit with their purpose. In my hous I have libraries for SNES, PS1, 2, 3, Xbox, N64, and a tiny GameCube library. Somewhere I have an Atari 2600 library but don't care. Due to its nature of being abandoned, I take it as my (and others') responsibility to keep these games in good condition when they ARE abandoned. Digital on consoles means rebuying and redownloading the same game over and over on the online store currently. If they plan to abandon the hardware, software support hasn't really got a chance. Thus, for consoles used games markets are necessary because consoles are made to be abandoned and always will be.


PC: I have begun to mostly prefer digital because many old games become incompatible with faster hardware and operating systems. For instance I own the first Port Royale on disc and it runs fine on a single core CPU and Windows 98/XP. As you add cores and upgrade the OS, it starts to stutter, go retarded, and usually crashes. As a result, there is no real benefit to hard copies other than being a collector, which I am - but I am also anti-pack rat and often prefer less clutter if I have the option - even if I have to pay for it. I conserve space and having my games library on Steam/GoG able to be downloaded to any machine of mine I wish is nice. I have a 2.7Ghz single core machine for these old games and a quad core for the upcoming generation. Doesn't matter if it is on a disc or on a dedicated server somewhere. There is the small risk of that company going out of business and me losing my games, but seriously - Steam ain't going anywhere; its a benchmark others are already trying to emulate and can't because of greed. I ain't naming names but it was the ORIGIN that set the bar others must be willing to compete with.