John “Dubya” Whitehouse
As with most things, there are two sides to the story when it comes to pre-owned games. On one side, why shouldn’t the developers, who have spent years pouring the blood, sweat and tears in to a game, reap the benefits of all their hard work? On the other, why are games being singled out when it comes to pre-owned; when you can buy pre-owned books, DVD/Blu-Rays and CDs?
In my opinion, there will always be a market for pre-owned, as long as a console supports it. Some people don’t want to spend $60 on a game that may have had middling reviews. Why is it such a bad thing for them to wait to buy it a bit cheaper? For every quality title out there that gives you tens of hours of entertainment, there will be 5 games that are piss poor and don’t deserve you spending your hard earn cash on. But is it right to withhold money from those devs and publishers? They work just as hard as the others, and no one really knows that they are working on a stinker of a game!
Some digital and mobile games thrive without a used market.
I firmly believe that we should be supporting the makers of our games. If we don’t, they may not get a chance to make another. Look at Zipper. They were the makers of one of Sony’s most popular action franchises, but after a few poor selling games, they are out on their ears! No one wants that.
But, what happens when the console makers stop pre-owned games from working? We are then slaves to their pricing structure, without the ability to trade in a title that we are finished with. This could then impact the way we buy new games; with many people currently funding new titles by trading in old ones. We will also see a drop in the amount of games being made; with only AAA titles and indie games coming through, because a publisher will not want to fund games that may not have the momentum to shift millions of copies. There is also the subject of DLC. Which is worse; A copy of Call of Duty not being purchased because someone doesn’t want to pay $70, or a pre-owned copy selling with nothing of that sale going to Activision, only for the owner to then go and get all the DLC packs, which then supports the developer and publisher?
It certainly is a divisive subject that won’t be going away any time soon. I think there is a way that one-time passes could work going forward, so that both Publisher/Developer and Consumer benefit. But I think we are a long way off in finding the right balance.
Drew “FrustratedFury” Leachman
I agree with Justin that this rumor is just that. Do I think Sony or any other console manufacturer will create a console that stops used games from being played? No. There’s no way. The used game stores that make a killing off the used game market will not stand for that, and when GameStop tells Sony “Guess what? The PS4 will not be sold in our stores.” Sony will lose a ton of sales.
Only time will tell if used games are a thing of the past.
Don’t get me wrong; I agree with almost everyone here that digital distribution is coming into the mainstream at a very quick rate. I love this fact. Everything is so convenient and, like Nick said, if done correctly and thought out, the digital distribution can open up some nice channels for cheaper purchases. BUT before any of that happens, the United States (among other countries) needs to either do away with or restructure Internet caps. You can’t have an all-download console when some of your consumers are being charged for going above their limit or even having their Internet cut off. They’re charging for air.
I do think used games will always have a market. Granted, developers and publishers are trying their damnedest to stop it by way of locked content on the disc or a download code for online passes, but if GameStop is still around, there will always be a used market. Rumors can rumor all they want, but in the end, gamers are frugal people who can’t always spend $60 on a form of entertainment.
Got questions or comments? Drop ’em in the comment section below or hit us up via email. Suggestions for Reviewer Rodeo topics that you want our opinions on? Hit Drew up at frustratedfury@ztgamedomain.com.
