Why The Next Gen Will Still Play Used Games

1UP, Seth Macy- "Can it be that another crop of new consoles is just beyond the horizon? It seems like just yesterday we were talking about the Nintendo Revolution or the Xbox 2 or the PlayStation... 3. And yet, here we are, once again, letting our imaginations run wild about what the future holds.

Details are sparse at best about the next Xbox and the next PlayStation, but there is one rumor that has gotten a fair amount of attention. That rumor is that neither system will play used games. I'm here to tell you why that won't be happening. Not this generation at least."

[fr0sty]

Oh they'll play them alright, but you can expect things like online passes to become a standard experience.

[aDDicteD]

i hope so..

[Hicken]

Because it would be stupid for them not to. I don't think any of the Big Three are dumb enough to alienate an entire segment of their fanbase by disallowing used games on their consoles.

[helghast102]

It wouldn't just be splitting the fanbase, there wouldn't be a single videogame store in the world that would sell your product, they live off of used game sales.
if they cut out the used market then they're basically committing industrial suicide.

[Finch]

Heck i'm also worried about backwards compatible!

[decrypt]

There will be no backward compatibility. Yes its true, all those thousands of worth games you bought this gen wont be playable on the next box :P

But dont worry MS and Sony have you covered, HD remakes ftw lol.

[Jdoki]

When the 60GB BC PS3 was discontinued I bought 2. (One for me and one for a gift). I thought BC was a critical feature.

But honestly. I rarely used it, and could have easily lived without it by just dragging out the PS2 when I wanted to play an old game.

If leaving out BC results in a cheaper launch price I hope MS and Sony don't bother

[Finch]

I agree won't use it that late, but damn it I would like to sell/trade in the one I got now. And for the first year when there is like nothing to play. Like it is for every new launch to be able to live off the old games until the new consoles can stand on there own. So just to start yes I want it to be backwards compatible. Later on in the life cycle who cares if they drop it just like Sony did. Its the start that has the biggest impact for me and is almost a must.

[aDDicteD]

i agree, just bring out the old console and problem solved for the backwards compatibility

[tigertron]

They will be able to play used games. Why? because game companies understand that its a big market, hence online passes - because they know so many buy pre-owned games.

Besides, game shops like Gamespot, GAME/Gamestation, Blockbuster, Amazon and ASDA/Wallmart would have something to say as they buy and sell pre-owned titles. Trust me guys, the rumours that next-gen consoles won't play used games is false.

[MoveTheGlow]

"I know what you're thinking, "but what if BOTH sides choose to keep us from playing used games?" They won't. Having a clear-cut advantage in the eyes of the consumer is something business people dream about, especially when it costs nothing and it increases sales."

Seth has a little bit more to learn about collusion. With enough publisher pressure, stranger stuff could happen.

[Jdoki]

While fanboys rage and think that MS and Sony hate each other, they forget that both company's work in the same industry and have vested interests.

If one company wanted to get ahead the easiest way would be to massively undercut the other on hardware and games... And yet in general hardware prices mirror each other, and RRP on games is identical (talking about MS and Sony here, not Ninty).

Either Sony or MS could have 'won the war' a long time ago by simply waving licensing fees.

[portugamer]

Imagine a guy only buying 2nd hand games. Maybe Sony won't make a lot of money with those used games... But the guy still bought a ps4 for maybe 300-400$ or even more. Since I don't expect Sony to lose money on each sold ps4(no more expensive blu ray tech), Sony will be really happy to sell this guy a new console.
Beyond the used game, there will be a possible psn+ acquisition, along with avatars, psn games, NEW games, a second gamepad, etc etc.

Even if Sony won't make 100 or 200$ on those used games, they will still make aot of money with what I said above. And a ps4 sold, is still a potential buyer, a psn user, etc. And there are many ways to make you pay those 10$ online passes.

For example, uncharted 3. Even if I'm the biggest fan, and bought it day 1,I was a bit pissed , about their online pass. I understand servers may cost money,bla bla, and they may want to make you pay some cash. But even if I only want to play LOCALLY with a friend, on uncharted 3, you still need a pass. Come on, locally... It costs 0$ to naughty dog, if I play locally with a friend, on some co op missions. Why the Hell would I need a pass for that?

We really need some laws... And fast.

Back to the used games, honestly,I don't think they will forbid used games. These games HELP selling consoles, and these consoles HELP selling a lot of games, avatars,psn,oldies, hd remakes,etc. It would make millions and millions unsold consoles, only because of a 2 yo used game.

Let's wait and see...everything is possible... Money can change the wisest man into a greedy bastard.

[MoveTheGlow]

Unfortunately, this applies not only to games, but to eBooks, movies, TV series, the whole shebang. The concept of "owning" your material is eroding in favor of purchasing a "license to use" a company's material. Sometimes it's pretty cool, like Steam, which is pretty nice with its machine-activation and number of downloads guidelines. Sometimes it's awful, like HBO Go, where you can't even subscribe to their online thing unless you've purchased their package on regular-old TV through certain providers.

What I'm saying is that at least the US Government hasn't budged. They've only cared about piracy, since that's what the super-rich MPAA lobby is talking about. Law? No way.

[sprinterboy]

Apologies if I miss understood above but if you bought uncharted 3 day 1 why was you pissed at online pass, you got your pass free with uncharted purchase new

[portugamer]

I will explain,
Uncharted 3 is one of my top 3 games of all time.
I have a ps3 fat, a 250gb slim, a third one(slim) at my parents, which I play whenever I go there, my nephew got a ps3 I offered him for 2010 Christmas, and I will certainly buy another ps3 late this year, for another house.no, I'm not rich, and need to work, otherwise I will starve, but ps3 is one of the few passions/hobbies I have, and since I don't smoke or drink alchool, I try to save a few bucks, for games and consoles.

Since online passes are tied to a system, if I use my only uncharted 3 online pass on a ps3, if I want to play on another system, it will tell me the pass was already used once.. and while I have the full game, I won't be able to play some co op, locally, on MY other systems.
You understand, now?

[Jdoki]

The problem here isn't whether used games should / shouldn't be playable on next gen hardware - it's that the entire business model for gaming is wrong as it stands.

The only reason stores like to sell used games is because they make a huge profit compared to selling new games. This means the publishers are screwing the stores; and the hardware manufacturers are screwing the publishers with licensing fees (hence why PC games are cheaper than console games).

If game stores were given a decent profit on new games they would have no incentive to sell used at all and the problem fixes itself.

Throw in the fact that development costs go up every gen and it's clear that without a shake up we're going to see less developers survive, and new game prices continue to rise.

That's why the publishers and hardware manufacturers are so desperate for digital downloads to really take off. The best thing for them is to cut out the middle man (the game stores) and sell direct to maximize their profits. The problem with this model (at the moment) is that digital downloads on consoles tend to cost MORE than the physical boxed copy; which just strikes me as price gouging (there's no way server and bandwidth costs are more than distribution, warehousing and production).

It's fine that gamers want to play games at the lowest possible price point - but should they be able to do it at the expense of seeing the original develop profit? After-all we all want to continue playing games in the future - but for every used copy sold that's less money in the developers pocket, which makes it harder to justify a sequel, or even the survival of some developers.

It could be argued that if 'Game X' wasn't available used then the consumer would never have bought it and therefore it's no loss of profit to the dev (it's the same argument people use to justify piracy). But quite often games will appear at budget price a few months after launch, and often the price is comparable to used - so I don't see the argument holding water. Also, I don't think publishers would have implemented online passes if they didn't think that a significant amount of revenue could be made from them.

It wouldn't surprise me if we saw SOME games - such as AAA titles - locked out at the hardware level in the next gen to stop used sales. The PS3 already has this functionality - it's just that Sony never opened it up to devs/publishers.

[bahabeast]

the only thing im worrying about is backwards compatability im sure used games will work just that we will have to buy online passes which dosnt bother me @ all,

[AtomicGerbil]

Surely they must realise that without the used market the gaming industry as it is now will implode?

Think about this, customer buys a new game and soon realises that the reviews were talking cobblers and it's actually a steaming pile of guano. If the used market is non existent he or she is stuck with a game he or she can't sell or trade to fund another new purchase. Not only that he or she is now extremely cautious of buying new at full price so will likely wait for significant price drops. Imagine this scenario with several million customers, ok, they've lost money on the used sales but they've lost even more due to cautious customers.

Another customer this will affect is one like me. If a title is sat at the edge of my radar, I will only buy at the cheapest possible price, more often than not used. On many occasions if the title was surprisingly good it has generated purchases of new titles in the same franchise or by the same developer. Those sales will unlikely happen without that initial used purchase.

So from just two theoretical examples, the lack of a used market will negatively affect the new market.

[Jdoki]

I agree with your second point but not the first.

In the first example, why should the person buying used trade that game towards new? From my experience people who buy used tend to stick to used games and therefore never put any money back in to the development industry.

Your second point is valid, but generally I find some used prices are not far below budget price - so if there's only a 1-2quid difference, I'll buy the new version.

[AtomicGerbil]

You may have misread that in the first example the customer had bought new to start with, then by trading that game it becomes used.

I just wanted to make a point that the games market will struggle to sustain itself as it is without a used market even if publishers think otherwise. Used games have been around for almost thirty years, I know, I used to buy used Sinclair Spectrum games as a child. It clearly is not a new phenomenon.

Another example that has just come to mind is the new DLC culture, used games can and will generate sales of downloadable content. A sale of neither new or used won't.

I agree with your pricing argument, but that is something that can and more than likely will change. If used vendors can't shift used stock then they'll lower the price.

I could be completely wrong, but as it stands I can't imagine the industry thriving without used games.

[aDDicteD]

nice article, well... lets just hope that next gen consoles will still support used games

[maniacmayhem]

Why should Sony or MS care about the used market, when they see 0 profit from a used game sale? Its the 3rd party support they are worried about. I hope this doesn't happen but I can see both companies working towards this goal.

People state that if these companies do implement this feature then stores won't carry their product. Which stores would this be? Gamestop? A store devoted entirely to video games, if they decided to not sell the next Sony or MS console how long would they last? Best Buy? I really doubt they would stop carrying the latest tech.

Like I said earlier I really hope not because I'm all about consumer deals. But I really don't see any reason why MS or Sony shouldn't do this besides not being complete jerks.

[kma2k]

Ive been saying this for a while all sony/microsoft is trying to do with these rumors is whats happening get people so focused on used games that they arent looknig at the big picture. We know next gen leap isnt going to be as big as the leap to current gen but sony/microsoft are still gonig to ask for $500 for the new system. People would rebel at the price, but at E3 when you anounce the system make a big deal about how it CAN play used games people will rejoyce & not focus on the getting screwed price point. People will actually say "Im not happy about the price, but at least it will play used games ill buy it at launch"