"We combat piracy and resales by making crappy games from the start! We invest so little in them that we can't possibly lose!"

 Reply

We pay a premium on top of the entertainment value because the product is a durable good. It has a store of value, a lasting value beyond the time we spend consuming it. Look at it this way, you wouldn't pay $50 for access to play a game for 200 hours. Why not, you're not likely to play any game for over 200 hours, so the entertainment value per dollar hasn't changed at all. The only thing that has changed is the store of value.

Software publishers seem to be the only industry that shuns this asset of their products. Look at car manufacturers, they advertise the resale value of their products.

They don't realize it, but the fact that these games can be traded in or passed along works in the publisher's favor. We pay more because we can resell, even though most of us don't.

 Reply

I've been gaming since the days of the Commodore 64.

I never know when I might want to pick a game back up and play it again so I don't get rid of them. Also resale values are so low that it makes my head hurt. I'd rather keep it than sell it for 20% of what I paid for it.

But I'm not normal, I realize that. I can also see the logic in making a game fun so people want to keep it.

Duh?

 Reply

I click on next/page number, and URL says it's on page two, but it's still page one. Is it just me?

 Reply