here is something even better for all those who feel a need to support the developer you do know that they already got paid the instant the game was finished and that all sales already were paid for buy the folks in retail.
As has been said, if people are buying used, no or fewer new copies are sold beyond the launch window, making the sale of new games unsustainable.
I often hear shit like "Well, a used car has wear and tear and doesn't have X service or Y feature..." as if a used copy of a video game somehow has no wear and tear? Sometimes is missing its case? My used DVDs sometimes have little scratches on the surface. Or the box is dirty and scuffed. But apparently this isn't true in the magic world of video games, who defy the laws of entropy.
We're talking about an entertainment product in data format. A utility purchase (aka something you USE) and an entertainment purchase (aka something you experience or enjoy) are not the same.
Lets not forget that when servers go offline by by to your game has well.
My VC downloads stop working when my console goes offline? Someone might want to tell that to my Wii, cuz it doesn't do that. Just saying.
The fact games don't deteriorate is irrelevant. Their value decreases over time, same as almost anything else.
Cars in the used market are there because they are a "gamble" purchase. You can't guarantee it won't break down, because it has been used. It is a mechanism that requires servicing and the usability of the product is lessened due to its previous use by the very nature of it being a mechanism, and thus is a package product made up of smaller finite-use products.
A game is not a mechanism or a utility, it is a disc with data. It either works or it doesn't, and provides no depreciation of the experience or enjoyment. There's nothing to distinguish it from used aside from cosmetics and packaging.
THIS IS NOT THE SAME THING, and any statement to the contrary is a logical fallacy, especially when you consider how much of what you pay on appliances and cars when bought new is markup and profit.
Profit margins on cars and appliances are HUGE, and it's there partly because of thriving private used markets. Video games, by comparison, don't have nearly the same profit margins as those industries, and any conversation on the impact of used product sales on any industry when comparing to games MUST account for differences such as profit margins, just like comparisons to the movie industry must account for the fact that movies have tiered distribution that offer the experience in different ways (and, more importantly, at different prices), whereas video games usually only have one.
The reason it comes up more often with games is because of places like Gamestop. There doesn't exist a market for used items like there does with games and Gamestop. If the extent of used video games was craigslist and ebay I doubt publishers would give a shit, but they see Gamestop raking in billions and are naturally going to try and get a cut of that anyway they can. They aren't trying to tell you what you can and can't do with your used games. They aren't trying to lobby politicians to pass bills banning used game sales. They are introducing things like Online Passes, and DLC and pre-order bonuses to try and get a cut of Gamestop's action and audience. Most every other non-gaming company in that position would probably try and do the same thing, don't kid yourselves.
This is, in fact, the main problem. Not even the movie or music industries had to contend with a national chain/cartel of stores selling used content, the used market was all independent or niche retailers. You also very rarely saw those retailers selling new products in the same location, drawing people into the allure of buying used over new and using new release content as a lure for their primary business. Comparing used car sales to used games was bad enough, but saying the used markets of other industries are the same when NONE of these other entertainment industries had to deal with the organized structure of a major national retail conglomerate is pretty telling of people's understanding of the situation.
Case in point: I remember that when I was younger, the only place you could sell a video game console and its games or buy used was a PAWN SHOP. After that, it was ONE store that bought/traded and sold used games ONLY. Now it's a trip to any local mall away. See the distinction?