This. Fuck Gamestop.
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Forbes: GameStop Slides; Report Next Xbox Won't Allow Used Games
- Thread starter jaaz
- Start date
This. Fuck Gamestop.
What if instead of banning them, just delay selling used version of a release till a certain time, for example: 8 months to 1 year. This way, publishers could earn a greater return on product that is relatively a recent news in consumers' minds. It is a method which the movie industry employs where after around 6 months of the release of the movie in theatres, BD/DVD versions are released into the market.
Colonel Mustard
Banned
Heh. Pricing will stay the same. You're naïve if you believe otherwise.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
What bothers you so much about a new and used game retailer that you're willing to see a very large piece of incoming revenue for this industry fall apart?
It be like if the dealer had a used cars same model and year with 1 mile on it owned for 1 day instead of 0 miles and charging 10% less. And this is 1 day after new models came out. How many people are going to buy the new car in that situation. So both the newest model 1 with 1 mile on it and 10% cheaper or 1 with 0 miles on it 10% more expensive.
No other industry has this issue that I can think of.
Yes but it seems like GameStop is the main problem as far as publishers are concerned. I never see much concern over people selling used games locally on Craigslist or nationally on eBay. It is probably the weirdest relationship I have seen between an industry and its primary "focused" retailer.
Not that I was old enough to be much aware, but it never seemed like the music industry and Tower Records were constantly trying to maneuver around each other in the 90's.
A huge chunk of new game sales would be lost. Bring on the crash. I'm not buying any console that does this.
If you look earlier in the thread that was my suggestion but I think 8 weeks would be enough since most game sales are front loaded in the first 4 weeks anyways. It would get rid of the biggest problem and not trample to much on peoples rights.
In my wildest fantasies (yes I am this lame), GameStop begins to crumble, and NOA buys them out in order to set up their own equivalent of Apple stores across the nation. Like the NYC Nintendo World Store, but everywhere. Selling and presenting their hardware and software on their own terms.
A man can dream.
A man can dream.
I'm fine with that sort of middle-ground, gosh it's like making a deal with the devil.
Mammoth Jones
Member
I didn't even think of that because from my perspective I never by used "new" games. Not getting a used copy with scratches and dings to save 5 bucks.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
That's just gross - not net. There's a muuuuch higher amount of money spent on new stock as opposed to what they spend on used stock.
I also just posted something like this in another thread. It seems sensible to me--I suspect a developer sells most of game copies in the few weeks or months after release. The question I have is whether the technology is even there. Perhaps that's where Sony is heading--by having new copies tied to the users PSN account for a set period of time after release, and then removing that connection, allowing used copies to be played freely.
Technology is there activation code to play a game during the first 8 weeks tied to your account. After 8 weeks are up the game no longer prompts for a activation code. As a bonus to those who put in the code let them have first round of DLC free or discount.
Visualante2
Member
Edge are in big shit if they reported bad sources. The next few days is going to be interesting.
Mr.Squirrel
Tom
If GameStop has a used 1 day old copy of a game, the problem is that game sucked so bad that someone bought it and sold it for a 40% loss in under 24 hours.
That's a pretty crappy game.
Craig Majaski
Member
It's not all about "why do people buy used for only $5 less than new"...it's more about "now I can't trade in these 3 games to afford a new one...guess I won't buy any games". People on this forum forget how many games wouldn't be sold in the first place because people (especially kids and parents of those kids) can't afford to shell out the $60 per game. They use their used games as currency ... giving EA, Activision, etc. the business to sell those $60 games. Looking at GameStop's financials you can see that over 1 billion dollars of trade-in money goes directly to NEW GAME PURCHASES. 1 billion dollars. That will disappear from the ecosystem if this comes to pass.
You might say, "well the kids will have to wait for a price drop on the games". And, how does that help the industry, even in the slightest? Now said publisher and developer will get even less money because way less games are going to be purchased at the $60 price point.
You might say, "well the kids will have to wait for a price drop on the games". And, how does that help the industry, even in the slightest? Now said publisher and developer will get even less money because way less games are going to be purchased at the $60 price point.
This makes do much sense, no idea why this isn't the way MS and PS4 are going. Then again, maybe it is. We simply don't have the details on any if this yet.
You can buy a used copy of a book on Amazon the day of its release. Brick-and-mortar, too; the only thing standing in your way is that so many books are released all the time that the odds of finding the one you want are small. But even that's not a problem at a huge used bookstore like, say, the Strand in New York.
I shall live within stack-of-books-lugging distance of this place some day
And since some books can be read in a single sitting (not too many games are like this, despite how things are going), the used market probably expands more quickly for books than it does for games.
jamesinclair
Banned
Huh?
Its the exact same thing for a game.
You pay a premium to have it shrink wrapped from the factory.
Then youre alone on that. Most people would gladly take $2,000 off for a car used for a week.
Except that only rarely happens because youd have to be an idiot to sell your car back to a dealer on week one.
PatientRain
Member
I'm so curious what Sony's going to do now, especially after the rumors that they were exploring a similar approach to 2nd hand games.
Given the slow-and-steady move towards digital this generation, I'd be worried if I were Gamestop. If the consoles start out with a big digital push, imagine what the landscape will look like in 5 years.
Honestly, too, the convenience of buying digital is often too tempting for me to resist.
Given the slow-and-steady move towards digital this generation, I'd be worried if I were Gamestop. If the consoles start out with a big digital push, imagine what the landscape will look like in 5 years.
Honestly, too, the convenience of buying digital is often too tempting for me to resist.
boredofcanada
Member
If this is true and Sony follows suit then my gaming hobby is over. Yes we all know GameStop sucks but at least they offer you the option to obtain games cheaper and the ability to get rid of a game once you are finished with it. Now not only can I not buy a game used or trade it in for some sort of credit, but I cant sell it online either??? This is completely Anti consumer and insulting.
FairXchange
Member
If console makers remove trade-in, they damn well better lower the price of games while they're at it.
It's getting too expensive to buy games regularly, and that's what sustains the industry. Losing the ability to leverage used copies to buy new ones means they need to make it easier for the consumer to buy the games in the first place!
$40 games, make it happen!
It's getting too expensive to buy games regularly, and that's what sustains the industry. Losing the ability to leverage used copies to buy new ones means they need to make it easier for the consumer to buy the games in the first place!
$40 games, make it happen!
Ace Harding
Member
Holy shit this is genius.
While they're at it though, couldn't they sell unlock codes? So basically you allow used game sales but people have to pay to unlock the game for their account. $10 or whatever (as long as they have a disc). Publisher gets a cut. Same thing they do with "online passes" except you can't play anything except a demo without the unlock.
I'm not saying this is "good," its just the beginning of a workable business solution.
Give the customer $6 for a controller, package it as new and sell as $59.99. I have seen this with my own eyes.
If this is what it takes to stop their thievery, so bet it.
badcrumble
Member
I don't buy used games or trade them in, but I do like to borrow and lend games with my friends. Fuck this if its true.
Entitled publishers.