Epic Games and EA Fight Used Game Sales

[Changeling]

Error has been good fun on this thread.

[Nomi]

Entertainment media has always had this. Used record shops, movie rental places selling used copies, used book stores... If it's not a temporary or disposable media, it has a resale market. PC games are pretty unique in that the resale market doesn't exist for a lot of games due to license things. I can see why EA would want console sales to mimic this, but they've got a long history of used collections and used new release sales to fight.

I personally buy used unless it's a rare case of wanting a game at launch and used isn't available. In the past 2 years, I've only done this for Halo 3 and Lost Odyssey. Used games are my video game, book, DVD, non-hulu.com entertainment livelihood, so this bothers me. If I buy new, like with LO, I do it with the intent to play the game quickly and resell it while it's got brand new release value going for it. Being able to buy something and actually own it appeals to me (part of the reason I don't go for digital downloads with music or whatever, I dislike the concept). Paying to download extra content that you can only use on one account, sure, those are bonuses. But punishing a customer for legally buying the game secondhand seems total bullshit to me.

[JefmcC]

Really? Well, no, I'm not really worked up about it. But I am tired of companies killing the goose to get the golden egg. This whole problem is happening because some bean counter at Gamestop realized they could make a killing by concentrating on used games. So now some bean counters at EA etc have been trying to figure out new ways of recouping those lost sales and at the same time trying to figure out how to hurt Gamestop.

You really think EA/Epic/ect. are doing this to hurt one of their major distruition channels?

I bet we just hear the same old arguement from the game companies about how expensive it is these days to make their product. That they HAVE to do it or else. And of course that's all bullshit.

I imagine what will happen is people in general won't care.

Or

Someone will file a class action suit thinner than thruth.

[Error]

You really think EA/Epic/ect. are doing this to hurt one of their major distruition channels?

I think game companies would prefer not to have to deal with brick and mortar at all. Think about it. Because of brick and mortar they have to deal with publishers, who take a cut, and resellers, who take a cut, and even the console manufacturers, who take a cut. Now picture a world where the only way you can get your games is online, like Steam or Xbox Live/PSN. All they'd have to pay for is bandwidth and hard drive space. And it would be a captive market because you can't resell a game that is on your hard drive.

It would be great for small developers, but publishers would have to adapt, and retail stores would be screwed. I don't think this is going to happen by the end of the year or anything, but its certainly coming. Steam is paving the way like the fucking army corps of engineers. Every month some new developer is putting their stuff on Steam. Plus you look at the music industry, Itunes is making Apple a mountain of money right now, because its a captive market. It is the most popular online service and it only works with Ipods. You think that doesn't give gaming industry people like Peter Moore ideas?

I think the publishers have put up with retail because up till now there hasn't been an option. But now thanks to their own greed and stupidity Gamestop has decided that they can make more money by selling used copies and in fact encouraging used copy sales, which of course pisses off the game companies. Except that now there is in fact a new option available to developers, and it's become viable thanks to Gamestop. So Gamestop will in the end be the cause of it's own bankruptcy.

[Othello Harrington]

Hay guys, anybody want to buy my copy of madden 2006?

$2,100 used

I also used the instruction booklet to wipe my ass once, but it's still legible.
PM me for shipping details.

Seriously though, wait until the game goes for about 15 bucks at Walmart.

[Joust Williams]

If I didn't think that buying used copies was second only to people not wanting the game in the first place when it comes to limiting gaming options in the future, used game would be semi-ok.

So again, I am glad to see companies doing this and I hope it works out for them. I am not sure how much this matters in the long run (do the majority of gamers, not the hardcore on forums, etc care about Live DNA or a few Gears remakes)?

Assuming the world doesn't implode on itself in the next decade, we are going to see physical games go away and the way to make extra money might be through other means like merchandise for the fans. Games are getting expensive and there are too many similar ones out there. If only 10% of them existed, their sales would probably go so far up as to not get caught with utter bombs like Timeshift (which is not a bad game, there are just too many games for it to be seen)

[George]

I'm actually really surprised at some people here, willing to like this idea because it will hurt Gamestop. Yeah, it might, but what about trading games, selling them to friends or off eBay, loaning them out, etc. This idea benefits, in no way, the consumer, the person providing the money in the first place. We have to remember that we're the ones who should get what we want here. I'm in no way satisfied with having to feel obligated to buy a game brand new just so I can get DLC which is ready to go (and therefore should have been on the damn disc already) and feel further thumbed down by the companies QQing all over the place about "how expensive everything is, OMG, how will we EVER recoup the costs."

Fuck game companies and their greedy, shitty tactics. The developers and Gamestop are locked into some sort of fag battle and in turn they both spread their cheeks and shit all over us.

[Joust Williams]

yeah, there is no saint here

the difference is one actually makes the games...if Gamestop goes away, people get games elsewhere. If the devs go away, Gamestop stays but they sell cream corn

There is just a difference in expectations. I would not have a problem with spending 100 dollars a game. I'd buy fewer games, but unlike a lot of people, I wouldn't just toss my hands up and be done with it. I'd probably even enjoy games more too just because it'd be like when I was a kid and you played the shit out of some asshole game like Crap of the Cack Manta because that's what you got for the year and your parents were too stupid not to get Ninja Gaiden

[kingoffighters]

I like buying used games cheap (not $5 less BS from GS, at least 30 to 50% off), so this could be bad. I will just stay away from games that doesn't have full content with used games.

[Space Pirate Roberts]

I have no problem with the way EA seems to be approaching it, but Epic saying you can get the content ONLY by buying new, that's over the line. Good thing I don't care about their shit.