Used sales / trades under attack again according to this article.
"We would prefer to participate in the sale of our products, especially when we spend years putting one of these things together and we have to continue to provide support for all these new customers without creating any new revenue from it at all," said Pete Hines, vice president of Bethesda Softworks. "We're not big fans of that."
We all know that GameStop would have closed up shop years ago without used games, so naturally they take the 'pirates are the best customers' argument:
GameStop denies that it's hurting its content partners and said its practice of selling used games actually promotes the sale of new games and opens up games sales to more price-sensitive consumers.
Uh huh.
This is something that isn't going away - and we as consumers are already feeling the impact. It is one thing to have DLC and PSN stuff that is untradeable, and even direct digital downloads like stuff on Steam. But we are increasingly seeing retail tied to Steam and Impulse and PSN and so on ... and are made to think it is to prevent piracy. Whether or not that is true, the ability to squish the used market is a great benefit for these guys.
-- Mike
Catch my stuff at GearDiary,com!
txa1265: Used sales / trades under attack again according to this article. "We would prefer to participate in the sale of our products, especially when we spend years putting one of these things together and we have to continue to provide support for all these new customers without creating any new revenue from it at all," said Pete Hines, vice president of Bethesda Softworks. "We're not big fans of that." We all know that GameStop would have closed up shop years ago without used games, so naturally they take the 'pirates are the best customers' argument: GameStop denies that it's hurting its content partners and said its practice of selling used games actually promotes the sale of new games and opens up games sales to more price-sensitive consumers. Uh huh. This is something that isn't going away - and we as consumers are already feeling the impact. It is one thing to have DLC and PSN stuff that is untradeable, and even direct digital downloads like stuff on Steam. But we are increasingly seeing retail tied to Steam and Impulse and PSN and so on ... and are made to think it is to prevent piracy. Whether or not that is true, the ability to squish the used market is a great benefit for these guys.
That is why the rumored XBox 720 (my name) is supposedly all DLC.
Goozex Forum Moderator
txa1265: and are made to think it is to prevent piracy.
and are made to think it is to prevent piracy.
I agree 100% with this. It's not exactly good PR for the entire industry to say "we want as much money as we can get from the consumer--their own wallets be damned," so they publicly target piracy, while the legitimate consumer gets to feel the brunt of what is supposed to be an unpleasant side effect. But it's not exactly a secret that pirates get around DRM fairly easily
mafafu:That is why the rumored XBox 720 (my name) is supposedly all DLC.
I would welcome it, so long as it WORKS.
taintedzodiac: mafafu:That is why the rumored XBox 720 (my name) is supposedly all DLC. I would welcome it, so long as it WORKS.
I heard you can turn the retail box inside out and it has a preprinted 'Return to MS' label on it! Innovative!
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GreenManGaming
Kenny007: taintedzodiac: mafafu:That is why the rumored XBox 720 (my name) is supposedly all DLC. I would welcome it, so long as it WORKS. I heard you can turn the retail box inside out and it has a preprinted 'Return to MS' label on it! Innovative!
Does it also have a box to check if you'd like another box mailed to you for the one you have to buy while it's in for repair?
taintedzodiac: Kenny007: taintedzodiac: mafafu:That is why the rumored XBox 720 (my name) is supposedly all DLC. I would welcome it, so long as it WORKS. I heard you can turn the retail box inside out and it has a preprinted 'Return to MS' label on it! Innovative! Does it also have a box to check if you'd like another box mailed to you for the one you have to buy while it's in for repair?
I don't see how it could lack such a feature! However, to be safe, one may want to throw the MS devs a bone and suggest it.
I'm sure you could find more info at their newly constructed returns center in WA.
Kenny007: I don't see how it could lack such a feature! However, to be safe, one may want to throw the MS devs a bone and suggest it. I'm sure you could find more info at their newly constructed returns center in WA.
Actually they decided to be responsible to the environment and use a building that no one needs anymore.
...the first thing that came to mind when seeing that pic were two keys in bloody mortal combat in a sandpit....
I need to go home.
All I can say is, if and when this happens, my game purchases will drop to almost zilch. I don''t want to be tied down to a product forever. If I don't want it anymore, I should have every right to resell it. I'm not going to pay $60 for a game I may potentially not want or hate after 2 hours of playing it and then not have the option of getting rid of it.
Paying $10 or so for a XBLA game or DLC is one thing, but paying $60 or so for full games that I can't resell when I'm done with it is another.
kingofoldschool:Paying $10 or so for a XBLA game or DLC is one thing, but paying $60 or so for full games that I can't resell when I'm done with it is another.
Just a mater of scale, really. I don't buy much DLC/DLG because I know I've never getting any of that money back. I don't buy a game for $60 because it's a lot of cash to put out for something that may entertain me for only a couple hours.
I dont think I have bought a single brand new game retail in person since a year and one week from tomorrow,june 12th 2008.
Or better known as the day Metal Gear Solid 4 was released,the day before my bday :)
Game publishers do not see a cut of the secondary sale because it falls under the first sale doctrine, which allows consumers to resell software. "It's a real problem right now and it's a loophole that people are using, and we're getting cut out of that model," Denis Dyack, president of developer Silicon Knights, said at a gaming conference in the spring.
"It's a real problem right now and it's a loophole that people are using, and we're getting cut out of that model," Denis Dyack, president of developer Silicon Knights, said at a gaming conference in the spring.
A "loophole"? A LOOPHOLE?!?! This guy is talking about something that's been codified into law and is the subject of multiple court decisions at every level, and he calls it a "loophole"? Freaking awesome. Guys like this deserve none of my respect. Consequently, they receive none.
Video games are different from movies or CDs, which often hold more sentimental and replay value over games, which can be played through in 10 hours and then discarded. The challenge for the industry is to get consumers to buy games they'll want to hold on to.
I'd contend that it's nowhere near as "different" as the author would have us believe. Otherwise, Netflix would be out of business and no one would refuse to part with their favorite games.
publishers are pushing more and more downloadable content - delivered on a timely basis - that extends the life of a game through map packs, weapons and new episodes and levels but requires the original physical disc. Some like EA have included bonus perks in games that can be used once with an online code but must be purchased for a second time use. NBA Live 09 offers consumers dynamic information provided through NBA Live 365, but using the feature on a second console costs $10.
Some like EA have included bonus perks in games that can be used once with an online code but must be purchased for a second time use. NBA Live 09 offers consumers dynamic information provided through NBA Live 365, but using the feature on a second console costs $10.
I'm fully behind this idea - by all means, I'll pay for extra stuff if it's worth it to me, even if that means I have to hold onto the original disc. Not unlike having to retain MechWarrior 4 in order to install & play the Mercenaries expansion. It's not as revolutionary as these guys are making it out to be.
If you make something worth keeping, people will keep it. It is as simple as that.
And here I thought once someone buys your product, they own it and can do whatever they want with it. Including selling it to someone else. Huh. So much for the concept of "ownership".
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