Game Consoles Are Dying: A GDC Talk

[env963]

I dont think that consoles will go away but will shrink down in size. How many people do you know that have a console but rarely use it. There might have been 1 game or so that they wanted. Own that and don't buy anything else or even play it. I work with people like that.

[MrPopo]

No, I'm saying that other products have a cost to buying them used. With a car you have more maintenance to do sooner. Used books are worn down and frequently have pages ready to fall out. A used game is effectively pristine; at worst you lose out on a manual and case. That's valuable to people like us, but it doesn't matter to a large portion of gamers.

Never bought a used album I guess. Never bought a used game that didn't work either.

Bingo. CDs, records, even books are all about the same as games. If MrPopo doesn't think there are scratched games out there, then we know he's not actually debating a legitimate point of view, but rather just trolling.

Proper handling of a car still ups the maintenance over time. Proper handling of a book still weakens the pages/binding. Proper handling of a game does not induce scratches.

[o.pwuaioc]

Bingo. CDs, records, even books are all about the same as games. If MrPopo doesn't think there are scratched games out there, then we know he's not actually debating a legitimate point of view, but rather just trolling.

Proper handling of a car still ups the maintenance over time. Proper handling of a book still weakens the pages/binding. Proper handling of a game does not induce scratches.

Nice how you missed CDs and records. And I'll go ahead and disagree with you on books. I have several books from the 19th and a couple from 18th centuries that are fine with good binding.

More importantly, though, your comment is merely a red herring and has no relevance at all to any part of the discussion.

[MrPopo]

Bingo. CDs, records, even books are all about the same as games. If MrPopo doesn't think there are scratched games out there, then we know he's not actually debating a legitimate point of view, but rather just trolling.

Proper handling of a car still ups the maintenance over time. Proper handling of a book still weakens the pages/binding. Proper handling of a game does not induce scratches.

Nice how you missed CDs and records. And I'll go ahead and disagree with you on books. I have several books from the 19th and a couple from 18th centuries that are fine with good binding.

More importantly, though, your comment is merely a red herring and has no relevance at all to any part of the discussion.

It is full of relevance. Here is my point. Why would any consumer purchase a new game when they can get a used game in the same condition for cheaper, assuming he doesn't need to have the game on day one? The various in-package DLCs and online passes are a response to that. And gamers brought it on themselves by making Gamestop the giant it is today.

[o.pwuaioc]

Proper handling of a car still ups the maintenance over time. Proper handling of a book still weakens the pages/binding. Proper handling of a game does not induce scratches.

Nice how you missed CDs and records. And I'll go ahead and disagree with you on books. I have several books from the 19th and a couple from 18th centuries that are fine with good binding.

More importantly, though, your comment is merely a red herring and has no relevance at all to any part of the discussion.

It is full of relevance. Here is my point. Why would any consumer purchase a new game when they can get a used game in the same condition for cheaper, assuming he doesn't need to have the game on day one? The various in-package DLCs and online passes are a response to that. And gamers brought it on themselves by making Gamestop the giant it is today.

It's irrelevant because you can get newish books and CDs used in great conditions too. Just because something that is used can deteriorate doesn't mean that it always does.

[Flake]

Physical games are not some magical consumer good. Sure, a disc might not get scratched...but usually they do. And inserts get bent, and cases get scuffed. If anything, games probably deteriorate faster than most other consumer goods.