Pre-Owned Game Blocking Tech Won't Improve Sales

Sony has applied to patent a piece of technology that if implemented will prevent gamers from playing second-hand and pre-owned games on their consoles. However, personal experience has proven that this won't improve the sales profits they're hoping for.

[TheLyonKing]

Depends how people view the situation, am on placement ATM so I can afford to buy brand new games but last year at uni I was struggling and when I needed a game I had to buy it second hand.

We have seen with big releases that a lot of people will buy a game brand new but for some games buying it second hand and cheaper is a better alternative when you are unsure about it.

Sony shouldn't go through with it but I think there emphasis is on Gaikai and getting as much users involved in it for the ps4

[JoGam]

If doing this keeps companies from closing down like the many who closed down this year and year before because people don't want to buy games new then so be it. I just freaking hate how so many people complain about this. They act like Game Stop makes the games. People developers needs to get paid. It cost money to make these games and the reason why some developers turn to mobile games because its a cheaper risk with potential bigger outcome where as making a game and selling it for $60 and expecting it to be successful is tough. especially when some people by new then trade in used just so some potential person who don't have the game go's and buy the game used, developers miss out. So when a game is being sold used, developers lose. I understand both sides of the coin. People like me who has two PS3's. How will Sony fix the ability to play one game on both systems? If they can do that, then great

[TacoTaru]

I think the whole problem could be solved if used versions of games couldn't be sold until say six months after a release. The big issue with the used games sales is the $5 discount on almost new used games that Game Stop gives. This would still allow people to buy and sell used games but wouldn't cut into the profits that occur during the first 6 months.

[MostJadedGamer]

Heres what would happen. Big name established games will sell more while the other 90% of games will sell less. People would be much less likely taking risks buying games because they know they will not be able to get any of there money back.

So overall this would be very bad for the industry, and mean even less new IP's since gamers will be even less likely to take a risk.

[NYC_Gamer]

I doubt any console brand would block used games that wouldn't be smart..

[P_Bomb]

Sony's Jack Tretton has already gone on record at E3 saying blocking used games is anti-consumer and he's opposed to blocking them http://www.escapistmagazine... .

Thing is, the strong push from pretty much everyone towards a digital future already has one foot on the path. XBLA's huge self sustaining Games-On-Demand library isn't exactly EB Games compatible.

[MikeMyers]

Digital sales continue to rise, so that path is already there. What I would like to see is alternatives. Why are we still living in an era where you cannot rent games through services like Live?

This is just another case of publishers/companies not willing to work with the consumer. They see it as a buy it once model and throw it away. We should be able to trade our games online or be used as credit towards new games. That's what they tend to forget, people who buy used games often trade in their old ones so they can use that credit. If people are no longer getting credit they are likely to buy less new games.

[Kingofwiiu]

If Sony do this , they lose me as a customer for ever.

Simple as that. Some games NEED to be bought pre owned. I just bought Darksiders 2 for £14 for example pre owned in mint condish. It only came out a few months ago and was £45.

Most games I buy brand new. But some simply don't deserve the full price....

[The_Klank]

That is utter bulls**t, No game 'NEED's to be bought. Also if a game is to expensive for you, you can wait. If you can't wait then you want that game more then you're letting on.

And you can buy DS2 right now on Amazon for £17. Hardly breaking the bank .

[ziggurcat]

well, you can rest easy because this won't get implemented. patents are just patents, they very rarely see the light of day, and all of the major tech companies have patent lists a mile long that never get implemented.

[TopDudeMan]

Exactly. These people who are buying the game pre-owned clearly impulse-bought the game. They saw it was cheap and bought it. The reason for that is because they don't feel the game is necessarily worth the full price. They need to make more games that people need to have.

Cutting out pre-owned games won't improve sales, making better games will, though.

[JoGam]

Sir, so you're saying all the games sold cheap and bought on impulse, developers shouldn't get paid? Just because the game is sold cheap has nothing to do with it...As long as it sold new developers get paid. the problem is the "USED" games. How can developers get paid from "USED" sales? Now you also said making better games will improve sales. IF YOU DON'T BUY NEW HOW CAN IT IMPROVE SALES?....I DON'T CARE HOW POOR OR GREAT THE GAME IS...SALES MATTER.

[TopDudeMan]

I'm not saying they shouldn't get money from it. I'm saying they were never going to get that money, so taking away the option isn't going to solve anything.

And the quality of a game can be obvious before you buy it. It's like saying you should buy cars without taking a test drive.

[ronin4life]

Pretty sure the devs got their money when the disk hit the rack. Me buying used doesn't evaporate anyway: it goes into the games industry to be spent on MORE GAMES.

The fact that so many on here are so deluded they will believe anti used tech is good for them just because it might be implemented by their console of choice is disgusting. The fact that there are so many others here that simply believe used games are bad for the industry just shows a lack in forsight... both of which I am used to seeing on n4g, so I guess I'm not all that surprised...

[The_Klank]

One thing I don't understand about used games sales is why buy them used?

Why not wait until they are discounted in a few weeks? Then you still support the developer and get em cheaper.

If you just have to have a game when its released then you should of already been saving for it.

I never trade or buy used games, I just don't get it.

[P_Bomb]

Unless I absolutely wanna buy week one, I'll almost always see a $39.99 sale a month or so later.

New releases at EB Games are only like $5 cheaper used. Far as trades, they offered me $1.75 for the sealed Rainbow Six Vegas 2 I got with my Far Cry 3. The incentive to buy/sell/trade with them just isn't there for me.

[Tetsujin]

Too many people have the "I NEED this game day 1!" attitude instead of waiting. Very few games I'm like that with anymore, and I'm willing to at least wait a couple of months for a price drop.

I personally prefer at least playing it first due to motion sickness with a lot of games lately that I've played; and I don't want to spend $60+ on a new game only to find out I can't enjoy it due to health issues. The games I like are either rarely on demo, or someone near me doesn't actually own a copy to test first, hence why lately I've been using Red Box if it's available there.

[Brian1rr]

If they drop the price to $40 at launch I'm in

[christheredhead]

I buy tons of products used to save money. I'm not going to make an exemption for games out of guilt. I have hundreds of games on my shelf from nes all the way to ps3 and about 90 percent of all those games were bought used. When I go to purchase a game I'm going to go for the cheapest price. New or used is irrelevant to me.

[The_Klank]

Just imagine this industry if everyone was to think like you.
And its not guilt, its respect for the people who make all those 'hundreds of games' that you enjoy so much.

[ronin4life]

In your example world, people wouldn't think like him by default: he is able to think like that in the first place ONLY because he is able to find used games... Which HAD to be NEW first. So, we are back to reality: used sales exist because of new sales, not in spite of them.

[Paleq]

Argh the argument that developers are loosing out is so infuriating!

Just like in any other industry, the original sale is what makes the developer money. If they want to make more money off a product, they should keep producing units! For example, i just brought a new car; when i sell it, vauxhall won't get a penny of the money. why? because it's now my car and their cut was on the silly money they originally charged for it. While I'm sure they've found a way to wrangle their way around people's rights, you should always be able to sell the things you have purchased.

Personally I'd love to always be able to buy new. For example, I collect retro games and I'd love to buy a pristine copy of Secret of Mana for the SNES (for a sensible price) but eventually manufacturers just stop making the stuff and what do people do then? I know Sony won't give a damn!

By all means, charge extra for multiplayer if servers need to be maintained, but let the rest of us decide how we want to buy or sell our games!

[zgoldenlionz]

I agree, I rarely almost never buy used games but I do sell old games that are just collecting dust and never plan to play again. If I can't resell and make a few bucks to buy something I can't afford ATM I will definitely be more cautious with all my game purchases, resulting in either less games purchased or atleast waiting for really good deals down the road.

[3-4-5]

Sony...if you slap me in the face I'm not going to want to hang out with you even more. I'm going to stop hanging out with you and move on with my life.

Not that I've ever owned Sony besides PSP, but Your fans that have been with you from day 1....some of them will leave you.

[delboy]

If they pull this off, I'm going to buy a used konsole in the first place.
Then I only gonna play F2P,seams like f2p is the next big thing on next gen.
So screw you Sony.