Destructoid - The Disgusting Truth About Used Games

The games industry is a multimillion dollar behemoth, currently raking in more cash than Hollywood and growing at an exponential rate. There is no denying that it is the predominant form of contemporary entertainment and looks only set to continue remaining the dominant medium of choice for many years to come.

[Cajun Chicken]

I have a feeling Jim Sterling is attempting to get sacked from Destructoid.

[andron]

But using the same old satire article format, only on different subjects is getting a little old now.

Maybe he ate one hot dog too many...

[Anon1974]

It's weird to be able to watch a site self destruct. It's almost like seeing a slow mo replay of a crash. "Here's were it all started going wrong, and OH! Look at that. Tailspin out of control, then the repeated rollovers, finally the driver is ejected from the vehicle as it hits the wall and bursts into flames!"

Is this article meant to be funny? Satirical? Just annoying? I really can't tell. Is 9/11 and pedophiles now fare game when the tasteless are trying to be funny? This idiot clearly thinks so.

[Mr_Bun]

Piss-poor attempt at humor...I think Destructoid is intentionally trying to turn away viewers

[phalanx_mark]

i thought the article was serious at first lol, now i've given that crappy article a hit: i want my hit back is too much too ask for a hit refund, i mean there making money out of it after all:-)

[MerkinMax]

"However, videogames are under threat. A very real and threatening threat that threatens to threaten everything that we hold dear. This threat is real and it is a threat. I am of course referring to USED VIDEOGAMES."
Was this supposed to be funny?

[gamerdude11]

Sadly this guy got me to click his link. This may be the dumbest thing ever published on the Internet.

[Raz]

..because you read an article that somebody else read first. In fact, Jim Sterling probably read it at least once before he published it - so you're all guilty of reading a USED article.

Ok, I take it back. Jim obviously didn't read it before publishing.

[Traveler]

Sorry, this article was just satire. His other recent article was way off base, but this one was just for humor.

[ObviousTruth]

same old, tired satire? or same old, tired, garbage criticisms?

i think it's more likely you're all still upset that he said something slightly negative about the church of sony. Christ, you're like scientologists. pretty soon n4g will have pull a wikki and ban all IPs linked to members of the church of sony...

oh wait...that won't happen, pretty sure the admins on n4g are Elrond Hubbard clones.

[MiloGarret]

Yes... actually.

[SinnedNogara]

gives you HIV.

OK, I'm joking. But what a weird article.

[N4g_null]

You guys must be new to Destructoid. They have been making fun of fanboys and gamers for a while for being irrational. What is sad is you guys probably though most of their articles where true and agreed with them LOL when they were making fun of your logic.

Actually I find this site to be one of the only sites that does not take it self to seriously.

[Raz]

I'm well aware Jim was parodying fanboyisms. What I object to is the hackneyed, predictable, and highly repetitive humor. This article lacks the depth of true satire - I got bored of reading halfway through. A rare miss; I usually enjoy his roasts. He looks like he enjoys his roasts too. (couldn't resist)

[Ninji]

On 360 you have to worry if the scratch is deep enough to effect your game. With PS3 it doesn't even matter if the game has scratches because it's not as bad as the 360. If a 360 game gets just a tiny scratch it can stop working but it takes more than that to stop a PS3 game from working (you can even scratch up the PS3 disc with a knife and it will still work).

[danthaman15]

Dude, 360 and PS3 disks are made of the same material, a 1.2 mm thick, almost-pure polycarbonate plastic. All disks, on the 360, PS3, and Wii, are made of this material. They all scratch just as easily as one another.

[Dr_Nefarious]

what in the world does this have to do with the article? Well I dunno, but I made it as far as buying a used game means your a pedophile? What the.....any way the authors logic sucked more than any retard I have ever known. I mean how could you say he buys used video games, pedophiles buy used video games, therefore he is a pedophile. What kinda logic crap is this.

I have heard many a retard comments by fanboys on this site, but the retard on destuctoid takes the gold easily.

[-MD-]

"If you pick up your console while it's turned on it scratches your disc"

"Well that's just bad design I'm a big fan of picking my consoles up while they're turned on so I'm buying a PS3"

[RockmanII7]

Nazi's breath air, Terrorists breath air, Racists breath air, and you breath air. Therefore you are all Racist Nazi Terrorists. I r Smart

[Death]

I can usually read through something no matter how much suck it brings. I didn't make it half way through before throwing in the towel on this one. Too many trees had to die for that "article".

-Death

[RockmanII7]

Because I wasn't laughing (probably because I couldn't make it halfway)

[Chris399]

Because Jim Sterling laughs at all his own jokes. Jim Sterling throws fancy parties for himself; where pretty ladies smile and fawn over his glorious bulk (a 'party' being in reality, just him, a mickey, a carton of cigarettes, 2 large pizzas, and his cats in dresses - the "pretty ladies").

Jim Sterling probably refers to himself in 3rd person, like all as$holes do.

I'm just about sick to death of hearing this idiot flap his mouth. He's thinks that being intensely opinionated is in some way investigative when it's really just irritating. High school news-paper reporting at it's finest.

[ChickeyCantor]

" I'm just about sick to death of hearing this idiot flap his mouth."

Its as if you run into his articles with full speed to get annoyed.
Just ignore the guy?

I couldn't read the whole article either, his point was a bit blunt.

[Chris399]

Don't start picking at my comments, as there gaping voids in the logic of what you post and say, should I chose to turn my attention towards the matter.

But I don't, because I'm sensible enough to know that we appear to disagree on everything. So why initiate a conversation that will in some way antagonize the other person (like you did)? Is it some desperate need for conflict or attention? I really don't see the point.

Let's keep our avoidance of one another mutual. Your incessant need to critisize my opinion is flattering, but equally as sad.

Cheers.

And welcome officially to "ignore/block" status. Feel free to do the same for me, I would be honored.

[ChickeyCantor]

Wow,
LOL all that just from me saying he could have simply ignored him?
I wasn't picking, just having a convo.

Chris take your pills please? K thanks.
You seem to take it further that it was intended too.

O boy the block list, I feel special now =D

[JayX666]

Jim Sterling mania sweeps Jim Sterling's appartment.

[wiggles]

@Baseballfan....You actually made it half way through the article?? I got to the child porn part, and then I just closed the window...props for making it that far!

[JD_Shadow]

I agree with sidar (not just that you knew what to expect when you clicked that thing and saw Sterling's mug on there): you're overreacting to an "insult" that's not an insult. If you interpret that as "picking apart your words" and "antagonizing you", I would hate to see what an ACTUAL insult towards you would get as a reaction.

As for this article, I couldn't even understand half of what he was saying. If this was a joke, it wasn't funny, but just stupid.

[Chris399]

It's not that this is the first exchange that we've ever had. So yes, if this was the first time he'd ever commented on a comment of mine, I would clearly be over-reacting, but it's not. He's a contentious personality, thinks it makes him special or something. When he runs out of bubbles, he'll send PMs to continue hammering his point. It's borderline obsessive.

I just come here each day to check the news and post a couple of thoughts. Certain individuals, who spam/ post dozens upon dozens of times within a 24 hour period and have no life outside of N4G (Sidar) really aren't of any interest to me. For example, today alone, he's made about 20 posts. And yet I'm the one that needs to be medicated... Riiiiiiiiight.

If I wanted drama, I'd date my crazy ex-girlfriend again.

[ChickeyCantor]

"Darkpower, with all due respect, Sidar has a rather extensive history of disagreeing, vigorously, with almost anything I say."

@ dark,
Its not as if he never disagreed with me, i mean he always agrees with me...Silly me.
/sarcasm.
I want to know to what point he ever agreed with me.
The pot calling the kettle black!

Chris pretends i have spoken to him allot, in fact we havn't had that many convo's.

" Certain individuals, who spam/ post dozens upon dozens of times within a 24 hour period and have no life outside of N4G (Sidar) "
Really subtle, my compliments.

"For example, today alone, he's made about 20 posts. And yet I'm the one that needs to be medicated... Riiiiiiiiight. "
LOL, Chris sounds more ignorant than i thought, i wonder if it ever occurred to him that i do most of my stuff behind a pc including WORK.
N4G is just for giggles.

But whatever, its ok for him to insult and bash, but when i simply just said something to have a convo, he overreacts.
My what a personality =D but then again its the internet is it not?

[Roper316]

all I will say is I will never buy any SE, Capcom or Activision game new ever again if at all. I would rather support my local game store then these companies. They are just plain scumbag companies that lie and nickel & dime the customer to no end. Activision is buy far the worst company in the gaming industry complaining about the cost of someone else product while they rip off the customer on over priced controllers and rehashed games with a new paint job. And on top of that they want to raise the MSRP on their game 10% come holiday season. So I say screw them you will never see my money again!

[skyfire2261]

Your kidding right? Did you actually mean to say you would support a RETAILER over the people who actually make games? Do you have any idea how retarded you sound?

Retailers are meaningless. I only buy new myself mostly online (very rare from a brick and mortar anymore and with Digital Distribution methods on the rise even less need for retailers) and get this, I only buy the games I want. No one is forcing you to buy anything. Don't agree with the price? don't buy it, you have the power of choice.

Oh and by the way, its retailers who over charge us, NOT the devs and pubs. You see the way it works is the devs/pubs make a game and sell there games to retailers who in turn raise the prices so they can make money. Bring on Digital distribution and WE SAVE money and at the same time it goes to those who make the games we love.
EDIT: oh and before anyone points out if a pub/dev raises prices then the retailer follows suit, its because they need to cover there costs and the, the used game business hurts the industry more then helps it.

[danthaman15]

There's actually a retard in the Open comments trying to say PS3 disks are superiou because they scratch less. A CD is made from 1.2 mm thick, almost-pure polycarbonate plastic. It's the same for all CD's, they all scratch just as easily.

And yeah, used games suck.

[Anon1974]

I thought it was common knowledge the Blu-ray was far more scratch resistant than CD's or Dvd's due to some coating they have on them. Just google it. Take a second to get informed before you criticize others.

[rucky]

Uh no. I bought a couple of used PS3 games before and the beauty of it is that I never felt that there was a risk of them not playing. Same with bluray movies, they're not as fragile as dvds trust me.

[Kushan]

IT depends entirely what you mean by "DVD" and "Blu-ray". Blank, bog-standrd DVD-Rs you buy in stores are a shed-load more likely to scratch and get damaged than a properly pressed DVD film or game.
It doesn't matter, anyway. IF you treat them right, they'll be fine for years and years and years, if you don't, they'll scratch and break. Doesn't matter if it's blu-ray or DVD or CD, treat it right and it'll be fine.
When you buy a used game, it's supposed to come with a warranty, when you buy it and it doesn't work, you're eligible for a replacement copy of the same game.

[KillerPwned]

You are the first guy dan i ever heard say pretty much bluray is the same as dvd`s and cd`s when it comes to scratchs.

Also kushan ur excatly right.

[TheMART]

Wut?

Ofcourse, every 2nd hand sale kills a new sale, thus hurting overall revenue of a company.

BUT

Thats with EVERYTHING thats 2nd hand, not only games. If you buy a 2nd hand car and not a new one, you kill the one new sale otherwise would have been. So what? Thats trading.

I don't get this really. People that sell those 2nd hand games will probably invest the money they earn for the game they just sold into new games. So whats the freaking problem here?

Just make your games so freaking incredible that most people want to play it instantly when it comes out, so the sales will be as high as possible. And go and make money off DLC that can't be resold. Thats the way to score. Reïnvent how you're making bucks!

We've seen that COD4 made great sales and DLC they earned another at least 10 mln. Dollars. If done right, you earn.

BTW this article sucked in the humor department. Badly. I think its written by a pedophile. Jim Sterling, go fack yourself with a Wiimote or PS3 motion dildo.

[phalanx_mark]

people buy games play them once and then want to sell them, people dont ride cars once and then sell them.
with a car the benefit of the investment is in the ownership of the car with media, books,videos and games where you are sold a story the benefit persists as long as your memory - you dont benefit by owning it longer like you do with a car
bottom line a car is less likely to change hands as often as a video game, which can change hands umpteen times and the developers miss out on the revenue
i agree with your suggestions dlc for example means the benefit of game ownership will persist with time!

[zagibu]

It's not even true. People that buy used games buy them because they are cheap. They would never shell out 50$ for a new one, so they are NOT killing a potential sale.

The L4D experiment clearly showed that game pricing is out of whack. They are simply too expensive, and not on the ideal spot of the price/sale function. A new game should be 25$. They would sell more than twice the amount they are selling now, so the gain would be even better.

[locos85]

I stopped reading when he compared it to child pornography.

[ThatStankyDrank]

"Have you considered what happens to a publisher when you buy a secondhand game? They lose money!"
If they want stuff like that to stop, game company's need to stop making some sh**ty ass games and lower the price point. they need to make the price more affordable so people can buy multiple games instead of just 1, some people in this world don't have disposable income.

And that jim sterling overweight fat ass, crater ass, cheese guzzling dwarf needs to stop writing articles like he's going to change the fu**ing world

[Shadowstar]

Yes, because you're saving so much money when you buy a 60$ game for 55$ used...

[GameOn]

Well depending how long you wait you can knock over three quarters of the price off some games, more sometimes.

[Shadowstar]

In those cases, I don't mind so much, personally. When it's half price or something, I can think, well, they're buying it more cheaply, our prices are too high. But a lot of the used games I see are almost exactly the same price as buying new, and it irks me that someone would rather support the game store than the game developer...

[N4g_null]

GameOn by the time you wait that long the developer would be closed down like midway. It think they are still waiting for those kids who though mortal vs dc to buy a copy.

It's much worst on the HD consoles though. If you don't buy a game it really does hurt LOL.

[wollie]

I might be the only one on n4g who thought this was spot on and hilarious

[danofpaco]

I liked it too! Made me LOL. People around here are wound so tight...

[xionpunk]

I don't understand why everyone is so angry.

[N4g_null]

xionpunk I think most people don't like it because they believe gaming is some adult past time devoid of any thing that is not serious fanboy ammo. We mostly play games for fun and if you are not trying to make games that are fun then that would explain why most people here only have 6 friend and most of them are only video gamer players.

[KillerPwned]

This was a complete waste of my time i will never get back i cant belive the guys on that site where agreeing with him. Well we all here at n4g are the mature people and that stuff was just retarded and i found it extreamly immature and rude.

I wouldnt doubt it one bit that this poor 40 yr old is still a virgin.

Ya pre-owned games hurt the sales alittle bit but do u really hear the companies complaining alot? O the best thing i probley heard was do you hear places that sell used cds and clothes. Hey retard its called FYE and theirs plenty of store out their that sell used clothes.

I even worked at gamestop one time and i tottaly agree the trade in credit stuff is just sad that they give so little. Also the prices of used games are just rip off. The only way i would ever recommend geting a used game their is if theirs good deals going on or you get coupons from their email thing they got same goes for trade in those are the only times you will make out decent.

Other then that we always got ebay ^.^

[wollie]

i cant believe some people cant pick up on the sarcasm

[JD_Shadow]

"The games industry is a multimillion dollar behemoth, currently raking in more cash than Hollywood and growing at an exponential rate. There is no denying that it is the predominant form of contemporary entertainment and looks only set to continue remaining the dominant medium of choice for many years to come.

However, videogames are under threat. A very real and threatening threat that threatens to threaten everything that we hold dear. This threat is real and it is a threat. I am of course referring to USED VIDEOGAMES, the single most dangerous beast the videogame industry has ever faced, and a pervasive peril that could tear at the very fabric of American civilization.

Used videogames are a truth. An inconvenient truth, if you will. Read on as we tell you about the disgusting truth that is used games. It's so very, very disgusting.

Some will have you believe that used games are a fair part of business and nothing to be alarmed about. These people are WRONG. Such used game apologists should be ignored or better yet, arrested. Although not technically illegal, the sale and purchase of used games should be considered little more than piracy in another, more alluring form.

So-called "honest" businesses like GameStop are no different from child pornography rings, distributing lurid and perverse wares to equally lurid and perverse customers. While we're not suggesting that those who buy used games should be put on the sex offender's register, we do suggest that somebody suggest it.

So, we've established that secondhand games are primarily bought by pedophiles, probably. However, if you're into this sick filth, you likely don't care, so let's talk about the real damage it does. See, used games don't just affect your pocket, a pocket that grows fat off cheap, secondhand gaming kicks. Oh no, it actually affects more people than that, actually!

Have you considered what happens to a publisher when you buy a secondhand game? They lose money! Oh, you might argue that publishers already make money off the original sale of the game, but they don't! In fact, whenever a secondhand game is bought, the original $60.00 transaction disappears from our corporeal plane of existence, erased from history as if it never happened. Kind of like Quantum Leap, but different. We have proven that this happens using scientific evidence, and if you want to see the evidence, we might show it to you later.

It's not just honest, small-time family businesses like Activision that feel the sting when the Scorpion of Secondhand Games stings it with its stinger. Roughly 500,000,000 development studios have gone bankrupt thanks to the used game market, while US retail chain Walmart has been brought to its knees, unable to compete with cheaper games from unscrupulous purveyors of (metaphorically) stolen goods. Last but not least, think of the poor starving black babies in Africa who cultivate the essential plastic used for packaging, growing the beans from which plastic is produced in plastic fields that make plastic.

Looks a little different now, right? Well done, you've gone and murdered little African babies, making you no different from the average child murderer. Do you think Freddy Krueger paid full price for his copy of BioShock? Think again, murderer!

The main issue with secondhand games is that no other industry ever has to deal with a similar problem. Think about it -- have you ever bought a used car, or even heard of a store selling used clothes or music? Of course you haven't! The very idea is preposterous, so why are videogames being singled out like an assassination target?

Let's delve into the grotesque mind of a used game salesman, shall we? The mind of the used game seller is winding, decadent and twisted. Think of them as human sponges, absorbing the hard work and graft of others, before being squeezed (like sponges) and surrendering the water of ill-gotten videogames into the thirsty throats of vagabonds and parasites. Many of them are foul perverts and brutes, who rough up ordinary people and force them to buy their seedy wares. Often at gunpoint.

We don't want to sound alarmist or sensationalist, but secondhand games are basically terrorism. We have no justified reasoning to back this claim up, but we do know that terrorism is a bad thing, and that's enough for us. If you wander into GameSpot and buy Metal Gear Solid: Guns of Patriots, a patriot is one thing you will not be. You will actually be Al Qaeda I Think I Spelled That Right! Do you want 9/11 to happen all over again? Well put down that used game, and buy it brand new instead!

Hey now, hey, hey, come on hey, hey, I've not got a heart of stone. I realize some of you are poor, or simply greedy, and the lure of cheaper games is tempting, no matter how reasonably priced and rather inexpensive videogames happen to be. The promise of cheap gaming possibly overrides all the damage we've talked about so far ... so let's talk about the serious harm is can cause to YOU, the consumer. Oh yes, you thought that you would get away scot-free, right? NOT RIGHT AT ALL ACTUALLY! Purchasing secondhand software puts you at risk as well. Let's examine how ...

In November of 2004, Susan Winters, who asked to remain anonymous, was walking home from her workplace, a pub in East Kent, late at night. It was a night like any other, except you're not beaten, raped and left for dead on nights like any other, which was what Susan Winters was, so it was actually a night of beating, raping and leaving for dead. Though she survived, Susan was left physically and emotionally scarred by her ordeal and can no longer leave the house without supervision.

Interestingly, when she went to the police station to report her attack that night, crawling painfully from the dark alley where she was left grievously injured, she was found to be in possession of a number of secondhand games that she had bought for her son earlier in the day, most notably Shadow Hearts, God of War and Castle Crashers. One has to ask the simple question: Would the attack have taken place if Susan Winters had just said no to used games? We'll never know the answer, but what we do know is that this attack occurred on a night where she had not, and on many of Susan's attack-free days, no secondhand games were in sight. The dots are there, we merely have to connect them with lines of logic.

The vicious effects of used gaming doesn't just stop at something so minor as rape. One man in Kentucky purchased so many secondhand titles over a three-day period that his head turned into glass. In Atlanta, a crazed teenager was discovered attempting to put Sonic Unleashed into a syringe so that he could inject it into his bloodstream like some sort of daft drug. The madness of secondhand gaming has got into the brainstem of modern society, turning it mad.

Used games are the cancer that is killing the metaphorical Kylie Minogue that is our humble game industry. Something must be done, because if this Satanic Communism is allowed to continue, who knows where it will end? Some kind of recession probably! Now that you are armed with the truth, we hope that you realize exactly what is at stake here. In short, don't be a cl!t -- support the game industry with the loyalty and respect that publishers like EA and Activision show their customers every single day.

Now if you'll excuse me, I just saw a man offering a woman his coat to romantically shield her from the rain and I must put a stop to it ... SHE DID NOT F*CKING PAY FOR THAT COAT! "

[N4g_null]

Hillarious oops sorry wrong post!

[Nathaniel_Drake]

Is this article written by a child?!?!

[Isis06]

I'm never going to that site again.
Last one was crap but this is just pure self loathing.

[SuperStrokey1123]

Guys there was a picture of Boglins, therefore this article is awesome.

[cyborg6971]

The title should read "the disgusting truth about this sh1tty site"

[KilZoneGeneralStrife]

she stands there chuckling like an idiot sometimes. This is a crappy article.

[Traveler]

Guys it was a joke. He was poking fun at the idea that there is something wrong with buying used games.

I thought his other article was poorly thought out, but this one was tongue in cheek.

[Shnazzyone]

sensationalist satire... looks like someone has been watching too much fox news. all the things he seems to be saying about buying used games might actually be what conservatives are saying about nationalised healthcare right now.

[bankai]

i do kinda have a double standard on this. games from alot of companies i wont buy new because they arent really good or they are too short. however, when it comes to companies like atlus, NIS, level 5 or namco/bandai (rpgs) i will always buy those new because the have a habit of bringing out great games

[lizard81288]

i'm glad after i read the 1st paragraph, i scrolled down and thought this is way too long so i ended up doing a tl;dr. although the destructoid comments seem to say this was a great work of art...

however i stopped buying used games at GS after buy a few used games, and they didn't work at all. in fact i cleaned a disk, and put it in my GCN, it said disk reading error, so i popped it out, looked at it, and said WTF!?, the stuff i clean the disk with, was in the disk. needless to say the disk didn't work anymore, so i wasted some money and ended up just buying the game new.

[Dead_Cell]

Who used to comment with the words "disgusting/disgust" every five minutes?
He would love this article,unless he's the guy who actually wrote it.

[free2game365]

Do people actually find these articles funny?