Used games and the Player’s Choice
This article stems from an argument with a friend that took place over Xbox Live. Without giving too much thought about his argument, my friend blindly defended the notion that used games and companies like GameStop are hurting developer’s profits. As a gamer who buys used games occasionally, I felt disappointed that a fellow gamer would be so quick to denounce the used game industry before looking at all the facts.
There has been talk in recent times about the next generation of gaming consoles not playing used games. There has been more talk about the Xbox 720 more specifically not playing used games or forcing the user to buy an activation code to play it. At the moment it’s all speculation.
This Guy writes in his blog about how he wants the next-gen console not to play used games or have all used games have activation fees. He feels this way because when a used game is sold and resold, the developers receive none of that revenue.
My friend tried to make the same argument that the used game market is hurting developer’s profits. I countered with, [quote]“there’s just about a used market for every commodity on earth, what’s your point?” When you sell your Jeep in a private sale, none of that cash goes to Jeep; do you see Jeep tying to charge an activation fee to start the vehicle upon transfer of ownership?[/quote]
Not everyone can afford a brand new car, and not every gamer can afford to buy games new. The used game market is a good way for gamers to get their hands on games that they can’t afford to buy new.
If the next generation of consoles won’t play used games or forces you to buy an activation code, gaming as we know it will change forever.
If the major publishers had it their way GameStop and every mom and pop used game store would be shut down. If the used game market completely shut down the way we experience videos games on consoles would be very different.
First and foremost, is that the industry has been pushing for digital copies for a while now. If you look at how well Steam and other computer gaming services are doing the next logical step would be digital only copies for console games. It’s entirely possible for the big publishers to do this through Microsoft and Sony. They already sell digital copies of full games on Xbox Live and the PSN, but they don’t sell digital copies of games on the day of the release.
With the used game stores gone, publishers could release digital copies only. That would mean the copy you buy would only be registered to your console; the time when you could physically hold the game you buy is coming to an end. For me this would be a travesty, as I love to see my games sitting on the shelf. Being able to hold or touch what you own gives you that sense of ownership.
This also means no more bringing your game to your friends’ house, now you have to bring the whole damn console, or at least the hard drive.
What if your hard drive crashes? Just re-download the games; it’s saved to your account. Well it’s one thing if you have to start over and all gamers know how much it blows to have to restart because you mess your save up or accidentally deleted all your data. It sucks. In this future without used games you’d have to wait to download your game before restarting what took you so long to achieve.
This will also end gaming for those who do not have internet access. Without the internet you wouldn’t be able to use an activation code. There are still parts of the United States and the world without access to internet, and no internet means no downloading digital copies of games.
Probably the most important repercussion of all is that we lose the ability to sell what is ours. Sure you can sell your hard drive with all your games on it to someone, however that’s only if you’re getting rid of the console and not just one game. So now you’re stuck with what you bought. We as consumers lose the ability to make money off what is ours. This is what the industry wants to kill, us, gamers making money off their product. Greed is the enemy of good. We as consumers and gamers shouldn’t stand for this.
Luckily for us the used game market is alive and strong. Many people may dislike GameStop for giving you almost nothing for that new game you traded in, but those who have the money to exchange games and lose money on them are helping those who can’t afford that day one purchase.
For now we have our used games, but how long will that last. Eventually all games will be digital download only, hopefully not for another 50 years, when I can barely hold a controller.