Gamers are always looking for a better deal that works in their favor. Whether it is saving a few extra dollars or getting more content for the value of a game, every little bit helps. Yet the same things that work out for the better for gamers in turn hurts the flip side of the equation, the makers of the games. And this is the major dilemma that everyone faces with the debate about used games. Which is the side that should get the better side of the deal, gamers who buy and play the games, or the people who work hard to create the things we all love the most? The grey area is incredibly large in this conundrum of morals and ethics. No matter which side of the debate everyone may agree with, not everybody will be satisfied.
The Xbox 360 launched in North America 18 years ago, and is now officially old enough to buy you a drink in Europe.
Great platform, and many of its games (not bc) still hold up well to this day. Like the PS3, I keep a 360 hooked up for those games you can't play any other way.
The last gasp of greatness from XBox, you are missed, except the RROD that was lame, but amazing exclusives until the Kinect dropped.
I really enjoyed my X360, some great exclusives on it. Used to play the shit out ot Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, two masterpieces
"It would be great if people had to buy more of the thing," says guy who makes money selling the thing.
Nah should be optional. Not a PS fan but I like their strategy of selling an optional external optical drive. Its all about Options and this will let everyone get their way. Cheaper for digital only and then you can chose to pay more for the optical drive if that is important to you.
@Profchaos
But what he describes already exists in the 2 base models. If it is a rumor you can blame Microsoft for really backing it in court but if we are honest we all know it's true.
@Eonjay I'm not denying the appeal of it I can see it being a useful mechanism for allowing gamers to upgrade as needed however until there's concrete proof and not speculation and remember ms still bases that court submitted document off of the same leaks we see on Reddit, 4chan etc I just can't believe it.
The system would be further opened to exploitation and they would need to release an overpriced drive for consumers to buy for it and sure as they do we will hear complaints over the cost of it
Absolutely consoles don’t need disc drives. My house has 2 PS5 digital editions, one since launch. Zero issues with the lack of disc drives. In fact, the digital purchasing lets us all share each other’s games, usually mine, and play the same game at the same time on-line.
If they did then collectors wouldn’t be getting f***** over with discless collectors editions
Lmao
We are paying roughly the same now without the discs. There’s literally collectors editions which are roughly in the same price range that have a disc.
I’d rather pay a little more for something physical anyway
No shock, GameStop is alive because of trading. If they don't have used games on their shelves they are absolutely donezo.
Well of course the GS boss thinks this... that's their bread and butter business. That and funco pops and clothing, though those two were added as a means to supplement the decline in people buying used games or even new games. GS just sucks overall when it comes to gaming. I buy my physical stuff on Amazon or Best Buy.
As for "requiring" disc drives... nah. Not anymore, but i like having them as an option. They had a means back when games actually ran off the discs and were more/less complete. Now they are incomplete and the disc is really an installer with a license to play. If you want to change games you have to take out the disc and put in another. Its more convenient to just use digital. I have been into digital for years now and when the PSPortal comes along i wont even have to go into my game room. I will just play my PS5 from my couch downstairs. I have a bunch of digital installed games to my 5... I'm all set.
Gamingbible writes: "Luckily, if you’re living in the US you can trade your Xbox into Gamestop, where you’ll receive a hefty amount of cash as well as a $50 bonus for certain customers, just short of enough to buy the PS5."
Lol well, we tried. But you cant save a person from drowning if they wanna hold on to their fur coat.
Im kidding off course.
@Julion0715 @ichdich
So you guys won't change consoles?, give me reasons.
Your answers will probably explain why I'm so f**cking pissed off at Microsoft for buying two large mulitplatform publishers.
It isn't easy right? but you guys don't care because is not happening to you.
No thank you? N4G won't stand for this blasphemy!
SF releases next month hopefully that should give ppl incentive to keep their console. I know there's PC you can play there to but not everyone wants to play on PC.
@Hyper,
My guess is they love either their piece of plastic, their corporate overlords or gaming on the cheap.
Likely a combination...
@hyper
Gamepass and I have a gaming PC so, I can play all the Sony "exclusives " at a higher frame rate and graphical fidelity. Why would I trade my Xbox for PS5.
After adding ABK they will have even more games at a great value.
@bryan
By that same logic what would be the point of having an Xbox? If you have a pc that handles both ps5 and Xbox games you don’t need either.
@lex
I got my gaming PC last year to replace my old PC and I already had a XSX. It's pretty simple.
So, Zero horizon was disappointing and Spiderman/ miles ( got both for $50)are just ok. I might get R&C when it goes on sale.
@Hypertension
If I had time for a PS5 I would have bought a PS5 by now. I intend to someday, but at the moment my backlog is too big. Not only would I have to trade in all my games (for pennies on the dollar) and rebuy them for PS5, but Xbox actually finally has some exclusives coming out in the near future that interest me. I'll get a PS5 whenever Naughty Dog's next game comes out, at the latest.
@itsme
"I can play SOME the Sony "exclusives " years later. Some of them run better, some run worse." - Fixed
@bryan
Your logic is amazing.
Not even close to all the Playstation games is being released on PC, and if they are, it's years past release, and often in a state when PC masterrace people cries anyways.
By logic, you should have a PS5, a PC and maybe a Switch if you're into that crap.
Especially as 100% of the Xbox games is also release on the PC, day and day.
@Jin
Judging by the replies here some of these people don't prefer games :).
On topic, I wish I could trade in my xbsx for a steam deck!
What games? FFXVI is the only true exclusive PS5 has right now and that's going to PC eventually too.
Spider-Man 2 and there’s plenty of great games to play that released over the years. Can’t say the same for Xbox.
There's a pretty decent slate of games coming out this year for all platforms. Armored Core looks great, Mortal Kombat 1 looks great, the info we're getting on Tekken 8 has me thinking it's coming this year. Sea of Stars can't be slept in either. If we're just talking about PlayStation games, Spider-Man 2 and Stellar Blade are expected to release this year and both look great.
I believe jin-sakai has an Xbox Series X (I could be wrong), but I reckon they're interested in those games, along with Starfield. That aside, Mario Wonder, Super Mario RPG, Star Ocean, and Suikoden I and II are all very welcome titles for the rest of the year.
I think no matter what platform you're playing on, there's enough there to generate a backlog.
EDIT: How the hell did I forget Lies of P? 🤡
Darxyde
"Starfield. That aside, Mario Wonder, Super Mario RPG, Star Ocean, and Suikoden I and II"
Enough said. That's my game slate for the rest of the year.
That ain't a deal at all. Trading in a beast of a console for that, I don't think so.
It’s a beast alright. Lol
“Digital Foundry about XSX teraflops advantage : It's kinda all blowing up in the face of Xbox Series X“
I mean, I wouldn't trade in one console for another but instead buy both, prioritizing one over the other based on games I like.
That would be the obvious choice but some might only be able to afford one or the other. And you have fans who will only support their console of choice regardless.
The PS5 is a better deal in the end, I really can't see the appeal of sticking with the Xbox.
"A good deal for those who want a console with games."
Like what? After all that bravado, the only game you could name was one that isn't out yet (Spider-Man 2)
Don't get me wrong, the XSX lineup in pathetic. But lets not pretend that the PS5 is any better. You can count the number of console exclusives for both on one hand.
If you're looking at games announced with release windows, there's only one console to get as it stands if you want games and it's not the PS5.
PS5 has one slow year yes but they will start pumping out games soon and everyone knows the quality of their first party games are unmatched.
Did the Xbox get any legend of heroes games, alot of jrpg type games skip the Xbox so unless your not into those types of games Xbox isn't a good choice at all. Alot of us from what I see have stuck with sony for the longest because they've had a great jrpg catalogue from 3rd party developers that xbox just can't touch. Those of us that enjoy alot of different games will get both consoles , I bought my series x about two weeks ago for starfield. It will only get used for a game here or there, most likely anything rpg related.
Hard to tell who are in the Xbox Ambassador program from some of these comments. But for the masses, the console sales numbers are telling us which way the winds are blowing. XBox is in an important/pivotal moment right now imo
At this point in time If I didn't own a PS5 I would have done this in a heartbeat but I had already acquired a PS5 first before I acquired an XBSX.
I'll stick to keeping both. Gamestop though... seems kind of desperate to take in Series X units. What could they be plotting???
They make pure profit on used consoles. They don’t share any of it. And they’re generally only like $50-$100 cheaper than new.
So they “sell”a PS5, make their small cut from that. Then sell the refurbished Xbox and get to keep all of it. It’s win win. They get a small cut on PS5, and a large cut from the Xbox.
Could be two fold sell as much base ps5 stick before the slim or pro drop and resell the xsx for those after a starfeild machine
PS gamers buy games number one. And they make money off used consoles. It’s a double benefit for them
I just want some games for my series X I have both since release and after weighing the offerings in PS Essentials to Gamepass I quickly realized I Owned anything of worth in both catalogs. And, the things I didn't I didn't see as justifiable for maintaining both subs.
Since then my series X is a legacy machine that I play my old games on and that's it. 3 years ago I really thought from that Xbox showcase we were going to have some great games by now. Instead, it's just been a lot of meh
Yep. That's why I waited this generation to have a reason to buy the Series X. Got horribly burnt buying the Xbox One because I decided they had games I was interested in then they canceled the games I wanted right after.
Was tempted after they had that great showing awhile back and am glad I waited because it would have collected dust for 2 years otherwise. Couple games out and on the horizon that look pretty good. Might be a good purchase in a couple years.
This was a great read and alot of valid points raised all throughout.
Is that George R.R. Martin in a Gamestop?
"This ultimately hurts the makers of the games since they lose out on a potential sale, preventing money that directly goes into the game maker’s pockets."
First off good article. This quote is the reason why we need to accept the switch to digital. I myself abuse GameFly because I can pay a discount on used games. I don't go to GameStop that often anymore because of the convience of having the game arrive in my mail box.
These companies do put alot of money and resources into these games and in return many of them take a loss. We read about job loses and studios being shut down every week. Some of those resources and profits of digital sales could be put into better promotion of these games such as timed demos, etc. There will always be the argument that not everyone has internet. It's 2013, if you can buy these games you can afford internet. Hopefully this generation will see the abuse of a cloud system, maybe x amount of storage for x dollars via PSN or XBL.
Excellent article. I'm always concerned when I buy a used game from EB Games/Gamestop. It's also disheartening when games exponentially decrease in price within a few months, but that's another story.. *sigh* ..
Used games is part of the market, and there are as many benefits as there are potential downsides. I agree very good article.
First look at the selling side. When customers know they can sell a product, it has more value and they are willing to pay more for it. Many people will not pay $60 for a game if there is no value after buying it. Also most people that sell games will use it to buy new games. Even if a used game opens the door at least the customer was introduced to the product and will purchase future ones.
As far as the buying side, many people can not afford all of these games. So would you rather have them not buy it? Or buy it and snag them up as a future customer.
Now I will be the first to admit that I was a GS manager for 11 years, and them forcing us to convince people to buy used is wrong, and that does hurt the devs. However GS needs to make that much money on used sales just to stay open. If they went under that is MUCH worse for developers/publishers than selling used games. So many new games are reserved through these shops and if they disappear it is loss for many.
Anyway good read, well written article and good discussion so far! Like I always say, Used and New games are not opposite ends of a conflict, but are both equal parts of an ecosystem. They can both strive and thrive as long as neither side gets too greedy.