Kotaku 
Enter your username and password.
Denver, 11:30 PM
Tue Dec 15
64 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip us:
Editor-In-Chief:
Brian Crecente
| AIM | Twitter
Deputy Editor:
Stephen Totilo
| AIM | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Michael McWhertor
| AIM | Twitter
Senior Contributing Editor, Japan:
Brian Ashcraft
| AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, East Coast:
Michael Fahey
| AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, Oceania:
Luke Plunkett
| AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, Weekends:
Owen Good
| AIM | Twitter
Correspondent, San Francisco:
AJ Glasser
| AIM | Twitter
Columnist:
Leigh Alexander
Columnist:
Tim Rogers
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/22/08
Often so much that people just buy things new.
However, the item has been sold once before, so wanting to make money by selling an item twice... Kinda dumb.
Are they going to enforce that on people selling on Craigs list and Ebay too?
As for a universal format, I want universal format for a lot of things. Cell phone and mobile device chargers mostly. But as for games, You won't have a stable set universal media, for long anyway.
If you HAVE to have one, you would have to choose to either dumb down the ps3 and maybe the 360 to meet wii medium standards, or raise them up. It doesn't happen, and the next generation probably won't all use the same format either.
11/22/08
The big G should only step in, if the private sector fails to correctly handle the problem.
Used game sales aren't effecting the economy, and thus does not require government intervention.
The onus is on the big publishers. They are the ones that choose which stores will get games. If they are concerned about Used Game sales taking away from their bottom dollar, they have every right to refuse to ship games to EB/Gamestop.
One has to remember that EB/Gamestop is the middle man, connecting game publishers with gamers. I propose the supposition that gamers do not care where they get their games, as long as they get them when they want, they are reasonably priced, and it's convenient for them.
EB/Gamestop is found a way to exploit the massive library of game content, and more power to them for that.
Government intervention is not required, as the practice of buying used games cheap, and selling them for a profit is not detrimental to the US Economy or the US way of life.
11/22/08
Gamestop is a business like any other. If their practices bother you so much, then spend your cash someplace else. If ENOUGH people do that, then Gamestop will have to adjust their prices or their practices to keep their customers. Problem is, most people are just fine with it, or at least aren't bothered enough by it that they will stop shopping there. The simple fact is that since Gamestop IS the biggest videogame retailer in the country, it makes sense for the publishers to sell their games there to reach the biggest market share. If the PUBLISHERS have problems with the resale of their merchandise, then they can choose not to sell ANY of their product through Gamestop. Why don't the do that, you ask? Again, Gamestop = Biggest Videogame seller = Biggest Marketshare = Most Money Earned.
It all comes down to the profit. If gov't tries to clamp down on used sales profit, then the only way that GS can stay in business is to raise their profit margin on NEW titles, which means 59.99 becomes 69.99. Developers get not one more cent, but YOU, the CUSTOMER, now gets to pay more. Gov't clamps down on that, then GS can't make money and goes out of business, which means you can only buy online or through big ticket stores. Oh, that also means that those rare and niche titles won't be carried because Target and the rest only carries titles they are SURE will sell, so the Mario's and the Halo's and Rockband and little else.
Oh, and lets not forget the smaller publishers, who may not have the capital to do a mass release like the first party studios can. If they can't print enough discs to stock every store in the country, then its online retail only.
And the casual type gamers, the parents, the younger kids? Ya, when game prices skyrocket, they will be LESS likely to walk in a pick up a title or a system on a whim, which means thats one less customer who might be interested in a series or developer enough to buy new or follow their other releases.
I work for GS, but I'm not a fanboy. There are plenty of practices I DO NOT approve of, but the whole GS hatred I see on the internet is just aggravating. Don't begrudge them because they have a business model that works. The simple fact is that by them making money and staying in business, we ALL benefit, INCLUDING the developers.
/endrant
11/22/08
11/22/08
11/22/08
11/23/08
11/22/08
Government regulation of this commodity is fundamentally IMMORAL and IDIOTIC on countless levels.
11/23/08
But I think that the better words to use are that "Government regulation of a commodity in a prohibitive way that breaks the spirited basis of bartering a legal commodity is both UNFAIR AND UNREASONABLE.
It is the very basis of law, as taught by all U.S. Law Students in their first year of Law School, after all.
11/22/08
11/22/08
Now now, that would require effort.
11/22/08
It's bad that the largest dedicated games retailer is satisfied with being little more than a glorified pawn shop, doing everything they can to sell used instead of new, making a few more dollars for themselves while robbing the developers of any sort of compensation for their work.
If you pirate a game, the developer doesn't see a penny. If you buy a used game, you're paying a third party to ensure the developer doesn't see a penny. I don't think we should do away with used games sales (and would definitely prefer if we could lower prices and lengthen game lifecycles enough to make them unnecessary), but their current form definitely needs shaping up.
11/22/08
11/22/08
11/22/08
I'll start with that.
11/22/08
11/22/08
While we're at it, let's abolish the practice of selling used houses - can't you all see it's sucking the construction industry dry? Used buyers should either have to pay a 20% commission to the builders, or tear it down and start from scratch!
...boy it was hard to write that without cracking up...
I've said for a while now that used games are as good as pirated to the publishers/developers, but I think what they should really do is educate people that they're not seeing money from these - not deliberately hinder the games we all pay for one way or the other in hopes that it'll keep people from buying them used. Of course it won't reach most of the audience, but the road they're starting to go down now is directly adversarial to their core audience which is always a stupid move...
11/22/08
ll hl, Lrd bm; Svr frm n hgh!!
Fckng Sclst.
Hr's tp: Sty t f gm rgltns. Ths s th nly mrkt tht hs bn bl t hld ts grnd drng ths dffclt tms. Y ff wth t nd y'r gnn rgrt t, gvrnmnt. Th bcklsh wld b ctstrphc.
11/22/08
Good. Good. Let the hate flow.
11/22/08
11/22/08
11/22/08
11/22/08
11/22/08
He makes a good point, actually. Why Obama-led? He's not Christ, he's a politician. I don't care if you support him or not, but this kind of legislation is much more the type that would be spearheaded by a Senator.
The President has much bigger worries than the used video game market. This editorial really does highlight this attitude that some people have that because Obama was elected, gas prices are going to drop, their mortgage is going to get paid, the economy is going to be fixed, and everything in the world will be better.
Even the most optimistic, pro-Obama supporter who is the least bit realistic will tell you that his policies aren't going to fix your particular pet peeve. The thing is that Obama ran an excellent campaign in which he set himself up as a suit in which to project all of your own values and opinions, by being so vague on so many issues.
11/22/08
11/22/08
It's fine to say Obama has no place in this, but to call the man the anti-Christ because some stranger suggested he do something is out-right ridiculous. Hoping that level of idiocy and ignorance will grow out in a generation or three.
11/22/08
I'd like to call that Kommenter Inkompetence and Ignorance.
11/22/08
(To clarify, I'm not for or against any of it.)
11/22/08
He was asked a question in the BCS matter. Is he supposed to ignore it? He gave his honest answer.
And are you seriously calling into question his lobbying for the Olympics? That's not political and he should keep quiet when it comes to the city he's worked so hard for?
I disagree on all 3 matters.
11/22/08
So, you don't actually disagree on any of the three?
11/22/08
11/22/08
I imagine the fraction is quite similar in the UK (not having lived there for 12 years I'm not sure any more) but in the USA a $60 game at retail returns about $22 to the publisher of which they'll keep all if it's an internally developed game (most AAAs are made by publisher-owned developers so this is a typical case). This means such games need to sell over 650,000 copies to break even on development. Notice we haven't discussed marketing yet. Even AAA games don't sell themselves. We all follow the game biz but the bulk of people who buy the game - they have to be buying to generate that many sales - only really know what they see on TV or maybe the one game mag they buy once in a while or on in-store promotional material. That all has to be paid for at $22/sale as well.
I actually do think the supply and demand curves cross somewhere below $60 in the USA but I'm not sure where and I would be extremely surprised if it's as low as $20 - or UKP20 in Britain given the higher sales tax and higher costs of doing business.
11/22/08
I agree with what you said... except for the cheap jab at Nintendo.
You want to battle piracy and the used game market? Make new games CHEAPER, not COSTLIER.
11/22/08
Let's say a AAA game that cost $15 mil sells 500k copies. At $60 brand new that's $30 mil. So it needs to sell 250k copies to break even.
Excuse me if I don't feel bad for all this crying about "We don't get money from secondhand sales and they cut into our new sales."
Everybody who makes something deals with this and yet I don't hear microwave makers complain that people give their kids secondhand microwaves.
250k isn't a lot of sales to break even, especially if they would spread them out over the year instead of cramming them into OCT-DEC.
And for smaller games, it's even less.
Maybe companies should look more into episodic gaming if AAA gaming is too expensive for all but the big boys.
Not every filmmaker makes Citizen Kane. But a lot of movies make money that aren't very good or target a certain demographic.
Look at Twilight. It's an average movie by most standards, but it is making money hand over fist because it caters to a specific demographic who are absolutely head over heels for it. And it's released in a lull time for the movie industry.
11/22/08
11/22/08
If a console has let's say 20 million consoles sold, 700k in sales is .035% of console owners. If you can't make money by selling to 4% of potential customers, what does that say about your game and/or business model?
11/22/08
11/22/08
11/22/08
11/22/08
We gotta spread the wealth to the game developers. You have to be patriotic so stop complaining about taxes.
11/22/08
I hope you are being sarcastic.
I remember when people remembered what it actually means to be patriotic, and it wasn't an excuse to get people to do things.