Whelp, another reason to boycott Capcom.

[dsheinem]

All I'm trying to do is argue that there is a problem and we shouldn't hate game companies for trying to solve it.

We're not hating them for trying to solve the problem though, we're hating them for the way that they're trying to solve the problem.

Right, and the fact that this conversation is happening here (and probably many other gaming forums) is key. I would like to think that a vocal customer base is the reason that Ubisoft ditched the always online requirement for PC games and why Sony made their games region-free this gen. I am guessing that Capcom will ditch this technique if people don't buy the game and give this as a reason.

[gtmtnbiker]

The reason that used games are so attractive to Gamestop, Amazon, BestBuy, etc is because they have better margins. I mean, what is the margin on a new game?

One way for game publishers to counteract used sales is to discount prices over time. If that 3DS game is $25 six or nine months down the road, they'll make used games less profitable.

I know people dislike not having physical media but making games download only is another way to counteract used game sales.

[Erik_Twice]

The volume is the problem, though. You didn't address the volume, simply the fact that people should be able to sell things they buy.

Volume doesn't matter. I'm allowed to sell what I own, even if what I own is two million different games.

If a "pop and mom store" can do it, there's no reason Gamestop can't.

All I'm trying to do is argue that there is a problem and we shouldn't hate game companies for trying to solve it.

And all I'm stating is that there's no problem because they are not entitled to have buyers. The premise is flawed.

Used games reduce profit but so does competition and a healthy working enviroment. I wouldn't call those problems either.

This is why Capitalism in the long run encourages low quality, cheap products.

No. It encourages whatever the costumers want because you can't sell something if people don't like it. If people want quality, they will buy it. People choose with their money.

It's not like anyone was forced into watching Twilight.

[CRTGAMER]

Recycling is good.

Seriously I do not feel pity for the industries. They need to adapt to the times. That is how it works. For example with books now there are print on demand services. So they should print a small initial run (perhaps at inferior quality), price them accordingly and print more when there is demand for it because the other ones are getting tattered.

This is why Capitalism in the long run encourages low quality, cheap products.

Fuel For The Fire
Pitiful that games are becoming disposable with the one time save. At least a disc doesn't have a built in flash memory for game saves. Wait a minute, some of my Wii game saves are locked to the console. Taken a step further with a mandated firmware update, will the games you already own eventually get the one save lock?

Maybe there will be a "Future Proof" insurance for games too?

[MrPopo]

The volume is the problem, though. You didn't address the volume, simply the fact that people should be able to sell things they buy.

Volume doesn't matter. I'm allowed to sell what I own, even if what I own is two million different games.

If a "pop and mom store" can do it, there's no reason Gamestop can't.

Agreed. They have every right to. But the huge volume of Gamestop (that doesn't exist in the mom and pop store) is causing a very noticeable economic impact for the industry.

[isiolia]

I totally lost my huge post

I'll sum it up:

1. used sale = lost sale is a fallacy (just as pirated game = lost sale).

I think it depends on what you're looking at for used.

I agree, there are likely times that a used sale would not have equated to a new one - but not usually at the retail level. Generally, you're looking at maybe a 10% difference there for the consumer. It's not the same as paying half of retail on craigslist, or giving a buddy $10 for a copy of something they didn't like.

Even then, a used sale is -still- a sale. Maybe one that wouldn't have happened until the game was in the bargain bin...but someone paid money regardless.

Seriously I do not feel pity for the industries. They need to adapt to the times.

Just remember that when the only way to get new games becomes non-transferable direct downloads, because that's the clear-cut way to make money on every copy sold. That or other methods of tying a game to an account permanently (activation codes, etc). I don't like the idea, but I can't blame the industry for heading that way.

Just like textbooks are starting to include one-use codes for time-limited online content. At least for college textbooks (keeping in mind a friend of mine is a textbook buyer for a bookstore). That and, as mentioned, they make new revisions purely to force new sales.

[BurningDoom]

What makes the game industry special? You don't see the movie, music, comic book, or novel industries whining about used sales. And a whole lot more people buy those things used than the niche market of gamers.

[dsheinem]

What makes the game industry special? You don't see the movie, music, comic book, or novel industries whining about used sales. And a whole lot more people buy those things used than the niche market of gamers.

Have you read any of the comments/discussion on the thread above?

[Metal Militia]

I already pre ordered and paid in full my copy of Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D at Best Buy cause you get a $10 gift card with purchase before I heard about this news.

[pepharytheworm]

I already pre ordered and paid in full my copy of Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D at Best Buy cause you get a $10 gift card with purchase before I heard about this news.

Thats alright, I will buy it from you when your done. Let's see $2 sounds fair