Game developer: Pre-owned games are worse than piracy

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yeah screw these companies...if they don't wanna be pirated or be undercut by used games then CUT YOUR PRICES...be fair to the gamers out there b/c gaming is an ever-booming industry...making me pay $400-500 for a freaking console/accessories then want me to go spend $60 bucks per game?? wtf is this world coming to
 
Games with royalty payments on second hand sales is a rather preposterous idea even for you Tom. I have to say you are always off the chart when it comes to anything copyright.

TomSEA said:
"CDs, books, art don't have royalties when you buy them."

Agreed. But they do have EULA's prohibiting the resale of those items. So if people are going to violate that EULA and applicable copyright laws by re-selling, then there should be a royalty fee for the creator/distributor.

Um, no. EULA does not supersede laws nor is it a law. EULA's in several cases are still a rather large gray area and have been struck down depending on the case multiple times in court. See Vernor v. Autodesk for a great example, one that has been ruled in our favor (being appealed) saying that in this case the software was sold and not licensed. Their is no doubt in my mind that the US Supreme Court will be hearing cases related to digital ownership and privacy in the upcoming years as these issues need to be addressed.
 
So how much longer before we have law enforcement driving around town looking for yard/garage sales and fining people for selling used games, movies, and CD's?

Games? Haven't bought a new game since 2 years after the PS2 was released. I always bought them from friends, pawn shops, craigslist, yard/garage sales. Every game I own came from somewhere other then the "New" shelf at the store.
Although, I do rent most of them first.

Movies? Library. I'm always in the top ten to check out a movie when it comes out on DVD. I keep check on the libraries site and as soon as the movie slides into their database, I put it on hold and wait 2 months for it finally come out. Best of all, it's free and I get the movie for a full week (beats the rental store). And there's also second hand stores (like Goodwill and Salvation Army).

Music? Once again, the library. I check out a CD, listen to it, then go to my blackberry and pull up Pandora and listen to the artist and others like that artist. If there are certain songs I REALLY want, I go to Amazon and download only the songs I like for $0.99. And if I happen to find a CD at a garage sale or second hand store, I buy it there.

So i'd say I get most of my entertainment at garage sales, second hand stores, the library, and friends. So the chances that i'll never be able to get second hand stuff are VERY slim. And let's not forget the free software out there to remove the copyright which allows you to rip to your computer. It's very easy to get a movie from the library and burn it to your own blank DVD. I'm sorry, but piracy and second hand selling are never going to go away. Good luck with that.
 
I'd pay US$200 for every new game that I buy..... provided that I end up liking it, and have the option of returning it for a full refund, no questions asked, if I hate it.

Would probably work out cheaper for me too this way, with the number of absolutely crappy titles out there selling for US$60 or more.

Also, I think some of the arguments here have been taken out of context. They are charging $10 for extra online content, which would have been free if you bought the original game new. Or at least this is what I perceive they are trying to do.

This isn't exactly the best scenario for us, but its much better than $10 for just being able to install the game, which is the vibe I'm getting from the discussions above.
 
The gaming industry is going the way of the dodo - much like the music industry.

There is quantity but definately a lack of quality.

If developers provide quality products people will buy.

There are far too many titles that are released half baked.

MW 2 is a fine example. Why should I pay full price for a quarter of a game ?

There are other fine titles that provide decent single player / mutliplayer and has some kind of technical advancement. The price is also far more reasonable.

Current gen consoles are getting long in the tooth anyway so devs should roll up their sleeves and start doing some real work for PC owners. :p
 
This just in. The Car industry is upset that people are selling used cars. To quote an industry executive "if used cars could not be sold everyone would need to buy new cars, this has caused us to lose $50 billion dollars".
 
Ah, keep selling those used games, Gamestop. Anything to hopefully get developers back to the PC.

You get what you pay for!
 
I 100% agree. I my self dont buy NEW games @ all. 9 out of 10 times most of the games come out are total crap. Why spend $65+ on a new title that you can either wait for it to come down in price or buy a used one from somebody that traded it in. This trading of games has been going on since the late end of 80's. It has been 21yrs pass and now they say that the used game business is hurting thier sales??.. Come on lets get real. All day doing is bitching because they can't or stop the piracy of thier titles on the Internet. So this is why we are starting to see the move on DLC. I have owned so many console and barley bought a NEW game, I always bought used and traded in to buy something else. Just take a look @ the used car business...same concept.
 
This is going to hurt Gamefly bigtime. Luckily I'm a PC gamer and and dont really have to worry about it...yet. I see the industry going the way of software in charging a yearly license or something of that nature. Probably wont happen too soo, but I think it will happen eventually.
 
exactly! ... i can understand there concerns but people are trying to find ways to get it cheaper not get the shaft and pay some sort of license fee's etc.
 
This might come as a shock to gamers.....but what makes you so entitled to......gaming. I've been gaming since the early 80's and it's a HOBBY. Gaming isn't food, gaming isn't shelter or clothing either. The companies are allowed to price items at whatever price they want so long as people are willing to purchase it. Obviously people are since they've held these prices so high for so long, so who's really to blame. Take any game that doesn't sell well from the start....give it a month or two and it'll drop in price $10-$20. So er...just wait to purchase. If everyone did it...the prices would come down. It's people's sense of entitlement, impatience, and instant gratification that feeds these companies greed. Don't be mad at them for what is part of society's inherent problem.
 
Are you kidding me

If I purchased a game for a ridiculous price of $60 and got bored with it, then I have a right to sell it afterwards.

What's next, I buy a car and after a few years junk it instead of selling it because it might cut into the profits of Ford or GM. Pffft these companies are getting ridiculous.
 
This logic is fundamentally flawed in the same manner that all pirates would buy the game if the pirated version wasn't available. Used games sale do not equate directly to new game sales loss. Many people would skip a title entirely just because they are unsure they will like it. How many people have purchased a crappy game. I bet most gamers have at one time or another. I have a shelf full of junk no one plays. Many of them used so it is OK.


I know game prices eventually come down, but they come down as popularity wanes and unless you buy from a online retailer you will never see them again in a store. I buy used games on impulse. I research new games and even then end up with some over hyped drink coasters. The used market also allows for people to get something back on there investment.

If they totally eliminate used games one they will see maybe 0.1% growth in sales (One study has been done concerning piracy and found eliminating it would equate to 1 new sale per 1000 pirated copies stopped), and possibly a loss in sales because some people would be less likely to invest in new game releases until they see some post hype reviews.

Used games also create fans. I have purchased new titles based on the impulse buy of an earlier incarnation of a game.

The analyst just don't understand the whole dynamic. A small fee for online content, well that may work depending on price point and long term management of the online content. Elimination of used games sales will hurt more than it will generate new sales, and may sour gamers over the long run.

They need to do more comprehensive studying on the issue before making these broad and *****ic statements. I would have never paid full price for any of the used games I have purchased. I hate that I did pay full price for some I did.
 
hello ...

this is bad, i'm not a marketing expert, so can't see it their way, but i do buy a lot, i really mean a lot of PS3 & PC games & never selling them back means i'll never face such issues.

but 1 thing for sure, i don't like the idea of preventing re-use (not second hand resale here) ,,,
how can they know if it is used or not? by registering the machine !? or will it be associated to gamertag or PSN ID?

If linked to accounts, may work, EA's model not bad, yet sometimes same problem will rise as for Machine validation.

I don't like gamesharing for PSN games, but need the feature to re-download any purchase (up to 5 times is OK, yet still too limited for me). what my console die on me & i buy another one? what if my account get hacked (assuming i don't have any credit card info on it) & i end up create another one, what will happen ? do i have to pay to play my own game ?

i feel they are pushing it too much, games sharing, second hand sales have always been there & video games industry seem to be doing quite fine, so why do they want to fix something that ain't broken LOL!

i think they'd better leave all this alone, i'll stop buying games, consoles & any accessories if they apply this, i don't want to be limited by their own limitations. Why would someone not want to keep a game? If it has enough content & great replay value, you won't even have to think about this.

then you should also ban game renting or you should stop making games!

If you want more money, do great games, if you want to milk customers, create smaller downloadable ones & sell at lower prices.

cheers!
 
Buy a PS3, don't have to pay to play games online..........food for thought.
 
Companies that pull this kinda Sh!t won't get my money.
Companies and developers that do will. /caugh humble indie bundle.
Squee
 
I hope the car companies dont think of this...what about a home builder... hmmm i built that home if you resale it --- i should make more money... this is just plain Ignorant!
 
Are these people nucking futs? If you don't like the idea of people getting a used copy then quit charging an arm and leg for the original. These game producers are just greedy....
 
I've always been behind in getting new games because I've never been a good game player and always need help in staying alive so always need hacks. £40 is way to much for a game that I'm never going to finish. I got one game so I could race a Porsche 911 turbo only to find your had to get really good to drive the turbo.......PLEASE.....it's a game. I only got Halo to play death match at lans or was that unreal tournament. The whole game business only makes games for nerds and that's why the Wii took off big time...you don't have to be a nerd. A lot of people only want to shoot things and crash things just for fun and £40 for this nerd has got to much.
 
PanicX said:
TomSEA said:
It does make sense that the developer and publisher should get some sort of royalty for the sale of a pre-owned game, but how to do that effectively and consistently is a mystery. Be interesting to see how this EA program pans out.

yukka said:
Then what do I do? Well, I take them to the shop and trade them in to purchase new games as alot of kids obviously do as well otherwise they wouldn't be able to afford new releases.

This is how they profit off of pre-owned sales. When gamers sell their old games, its not a huge leap in logic that they will use the cash to buy other games. Games that they otherwise might not be able to afford.
Adding additional fees to pre-owned games, cuts out a market of gamers that simply can't afford the over inflated release prices. yukka won't be buying as many new titles because he can't offset the cost anymore.

Would you suppose that someone that really wants to play a game, but can't afford to pay for it, might get a cracked version for free instead? I think that's the case and why this is bad for the concern about piracy FUD.

Oh no Yukka is going to have to save for one more month to get his game. What ever will he do?! America needs to learn that sometimes you don't get everything NOW NOW NOW.
 
I'm sure most people would also want to make as much money as they possibly could from a product they spent months on. Then again if you've made millions off the game, then be great full you greedy S.O.B's

I can't see any gaming company going bankrupt because of second game sales, and if they do, well i would think that has more to do with bad management more then anything.

I'd be interested to see what other companies views are on this matter
 
stop buying these games stop the madness and see how far these companies will try to win you back stop making them richer and them fining every which way to squeeze you for money u have the power
 
So I'm reading all this in the TechSpot & Neowin Newsletter. Interestingly in the same issue down a couple lines is a story "$25.3 billion spent on games in U.S. during 2009". Not a bad year for a bad year. I'm surprised that after the game is purchased, there isn't an additional charge for each player to pay for registering to play in multi-player mode on line. They could get $50 for the game, then another $20 for Timmy to play it on line and another $20 for his brother billy to play it on line. That of course would be if they shared a computer. But they are probably sharing just the CD because dad can't afford $100 and we have just begun the criminalization of another American youth. Personally I could care less about all this. The only thing that irks me is having to go past EA's building while on the bus to the doctors. The building that was built on what used to be a wetland.
 
here is what bothers me. from what i've read in the comments so far, the majority of people haven't even read the copyright clause in the constitution. NO on is promised monies for anything. only distribution. what really kills me is that copyright is supposed to protect the "public commons" (as in "us" as citizens and our culture) from the intrestes of the copyright holder. We need for copyright to be set right (meaning back to what the constitution says) and we need corporate charters put back in ( you can thank the oil barons of the 19th century for there removal).
 
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