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.
If they did then collectors wouldn’t be getting f***** over with discless collectors editions
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."
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???
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
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.