Game Designer Makes Case For Used Games 209
We've recently had a couple of discussions about the plans of various game developers to fight used game sales — in particular, the idea of a free, one-time download that may be bonus content or may be a vital part of the game. Now, Soren Johnson, a game designer who has worked on Civilization 3, Civilization 4 and Spore, has written an article defending certain aspects of the used game market. Quoting:
"By opening up retail sales to a larger segment of the market, used game sales mean that more people are playing our games than would be in a world without them. Beyond the obvious advantages of bigger community sizes and word-of-mouth sales, a larger player base can benefit game developers who are ready to earn secondary income from their games. In-game ads are one source of this additional revenue, but the best scenario is downloadable content. A used copy of Rock Band may go through several owners, but each one of them may give Harmonix money for their own personal rights to 'Baba O'Riley' or 'I Fought the Law.'"
Teenagers, poor people and used games. (Score:2, Interesting)
Personally I have never bought a computer game in my life (I've only ever copied, without paying the asked for fee, about 4 times). So this isn't coming from my experience. (I have had games bought for me, and I have downloaded and played freeware games.)
Anyway, why is the used market so good? For people who don't have any money, the used market allows them to get good games cheaply. (I've never had much money either for that matter, but the main reason I don't buy games now is that I don't run MS Windows.)
They get hooked on the game, on the company, on the designer, and then, when they have money (after (if) they get a job), they can go and buy the games for the full price.
Used games are advertising for the company. Take Civilisation, I would happily buy Civilisation Four (or whatever number it is up to now), because I really enjoyed Civilisation Two (I don't, because I don't run MS Windows, and I don't like Digital Restrictions Management). Or Sim City or Command and Conquer, or a number of similar games, I have an older game, and would like to play the newer game.
That's what the used market can do.
Who cares about the customer? (Score:5, Interesting)
They are welcome to do as they please, just as we are welcome to play other games. There's a chance it will work exactly like they want it to, I guess. Time will tell. One thing is for sure: It adds no value to the customer, and in fact *removes* value since they no longer have the option to sell or trade their own stuff.
I'd like to see a car company try something like this.
Re:Authors Make Case for Used Books (Score:3, Interesting)
It's worse than that. Parents are under so much pressure from their kids to get them these games constantly. Either the parents finally cave and find a "friend of a friend" that can hook them with a modded XBOX preloaded with a 1TB HD full of games, or the kids themselves are forced to find out how to do it themselves and start torrenting the games directly. To parents that are already under enormous stresses these days, a quiet and happy (even if it is just distracted) child is worth quite a bit. It is no surprise they take the financial path of least resistance when found.
You have a huge demand at unreasonable prices and whether or not is immoral and unethical you will see piracy rates climb though the roof.
Then we get to your point about gamers buying the games they loved as kids later on in life. You ARE NOT ALONE. I did the exact same thing. Some of those games I purchased 10 years after I had pirated them before.
Re:It's Absurd! (Score:4, Interesting)
"When did it become the gamestore's right to profit more than the developer?"
Where does the gamestore come into this? I'm talking about my rights as an individual to resell what I have bought.
"If used is virtually equal in value to new, and used is slightly cheaper - then many people will choose used"
Absolutely they will, like people do with all sorts of other things in life.
"The problem is that of the £50, probably most of that goes back to the game industry that creates these games.
Of the £45, probably £10-15 goes to the game store, and £30 or so goes back to the consumer (and often a lot more unfair ratio than that) but £0 goes to the game industry."
So fucking what? The games industry does not have a right to profit. I have a right to resell things I have paid for. End of story.
If you want to talk about lacklustre video or GAME or anyone else gouging kids on the used market and making obscene markups then I'm with you all the way.
"So the industry gets fucked"
No, it doesn't. It gets to sell games, people buy them, sell them, rent them, whatever. Just like every other type of product out there. The industry makes massive profits and is supposed to overtake Hollywood in terms of revenue pretty soon. That's not "fucked".
"the industry has to make up for it by making no-risk factory produced crap."
That's what sells. You can't blame the second hand market for the industry producing endless repeats of lowest common denominator bullcrap. What, you think if they got a new sale for each of the used ones they'd roll over and say "We've made enough money this year, lets not put out FIFA 2025:Drunk Edition after all". LOL.
No, they put out that crap because it's profitable. And they won't stop. And if they can squeeze more profit out by selling crippled games with "downloadable extras" or in-game advertising for perpetual revenue, they will, regardless of second hand sales.
Repeat after me - the games industry's interest in profit does not trump my right to resell what I own. And that includes downloadable extras in my opinion.
If you want to do poor wittle old EA a favour and not buy used or resell yours to protect their profits, then go ahead. I'll be sat over here in consumer rights corner.
Re:Ads? (Score:5, Interesting)
On the loading screens. As for which products, know your target market. Source books, dice, miniatures, XXXL T-shirts, pizza delivery, and fizzy drinks. And expansion modules for the game itself, of course.
How About Something Stupidly Obvoius? (Score:3, Interesting)
Used Game Market Helps Keep Landfills From Filling Up With Plastic
I have a game I don't play anymore, what sounds better? "Trade it to a store for $10" or "Toss it into the garbage where it will break down in 1000 years"?
Bringing in new people (Score:3, Interesting)
If it weren't for the used game business, my aunt and uncle, both retired, probably wouldn't play video games.
As it is, they now have 3 PS2s (2 for home, 1 for when they head to Florida for the winter) and 1 Gamecube (which I gave to them when I purchased a Wii).
They buy a lot of used games. My cousins buy them new games for various holidays and birthdays, but whenever they buy games for themselves, it's always used.
Re:Teenagers, poor people and used games. (Score:3, Interesting)
That is their problem with used game sales. If the publishers had their own channel to sell the games used, where they got the profit from the used sale, I'm sure they would be exploiting it directly.
Re:It's Absurd! (Score:3, Interesting)
I agree that once a game (or music, or video) leaves it's initial purchasing channel there should not be a required tax or fee that goes back to the originating party.
I don't agree that extras companies invest in providing (e.g., downloadable content) should transfer as well. It seems a fair balance, and don't feel my "rights" are being violated. I have a choice:
1. Buy new, pay retail, and get additional content
2. Buy used, pay less, receive no frills.
The companies aren't taking away my choice, and based on the quality of the downloadable content is how I choose to exercise it.
Publishers and studios are doing what they can to monetize their games. The games industry as a whole is pretty chaotic. EA is the juggernaut (ranked #1 again this year by Game Developer Magazine) but even EA has had to sack groups of employees and various studios:
e.g., http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=11289 [gamasutra.com]
The smaller studios, owned by publishers or independent, are also not as sustainable as many people believe. For every game that makes it out of the gate and is considered a "hit" there are multiple studios who must sack employees or completely close their doors:
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21113 [gamasutra.com]
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20929 [gamasutra.com]
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17661 [gamasutra.com]
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15486 [gamasutra.com]
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13759 [gamasutra.com]
Making money by offering product value to those who buy a game new is devoid of encroaching on one's liberities. Without doing so more studios would fail.
Re:It's Absurd! (Score:3, Interesting)
The trick to Steam as near as I can tell is to simply purchase each game on its own account.
With each game in its own account, you give away or sell a title you don't want. Simply hand over the account information for the account for that game.
Plus if you get married or have kids you and your wife and/or kids can simultaneously play the different games that you own online. (With all your games on one steam account, only one person can play any of them online at a time.)
What if any, are the advantages of having all your games on one account? You don't have to re-login when you switch from title to title? Anything else? Is it worth having all your games forever tied to one concurrent user for that small bit of convenience?