Used Video Games

Reading an interesting article about the possible upcoming new game systems and how some of them may have ways to block it where you cannot play used games on the systems.

http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in ... 39870.html

Am I understanding this correctly.....you would not be able to play used games on these systems and would have to buy all new games to be able to play??? If so, are these people crazy!!!! Some new games are so expensive that if the only recourse is to buy all new games for a new system (that is probably going to be very expensive also) then more than likely some people are NOT going to buy these new systems.

Gaming used to be so much fun, but now it seems to have gotten so complicated. Anyone else feel that way??

Well, they have profits to protect. When you buy a used game, the developers get nothing for it. Only the middleman vendor gets the money. That's how a good portion of Gamestop's business model is built. And it benefits gamers of course but developers lose out.

I personally like used games. It's cheaper for me that way, though I have gotten a few broken discs. But I can also understand why developers are doing what they are. Gaming is a business and they are in it for money. Used games affect their profits so they strive to protect them.

It's a shame but that's the new way of video games, unfortunately...

I saw one report on the rumors theorizing that games might still be sold used, but with the requirement of reactivating them for use with a new account. This reactivation would require a small fee that goes to the publisher, of course. A few games are doing something like that now, like Batman: Arkham City locking off part of the game from used buyers. GameStop got around that by including codes that unlock that part of the game, though.

Something similar might happen if this game to account locking goes forward. If you stop to think about it, an absolute account lock system would kill the game rental industry as well. Companies like Blockbuster and Netflix would loose a huge source of income, but the game companies would also lose sales to rental outlets. There will likely be a work around to keep rental alive, so there's hope that the same might be applied to used sales.

Sure that all the games are going to be sort of "locked" sooner or later and that's really a sad thing but that's it...All the downloadable content is : for some games, the content is already "here" (on the DVD or in a xboxlive game for example) but you need to pay it to use it ! A shame.

The other thing it would kill is just simply lending your games to friends.

Yes , you MUST lend your games to your friends and make them PAY ! lol (it's indeed a joke !!!!;))

Those companies should go all-digital. If used game marketing theorically hurts the publishers (I don't think many people who buy used or buy new thinking in selling the used game later would buy the same number of games if they were locked), used cars hurt the car industry, and used houses hurt constructors. What should we do? Forbid every second-hand transaction? Everything you buy becomes yours, and only yours forever?

Those industries should be worried in keep providing interesting products. I don't see any difficulty for the biggest publishers to profit gazillions out of their best games.

It's just corporate greed, and it's sickening. What happens when a game goes out of print? What happens a few years down the line when it's not being sold new any more? It hurts the gaming industry more than it helps it. Some people only buy a game because they found it at a good price, but then they enjoy it and end up buying the sequel. Why do you think big releases do bigger and bigger sales with each sequel? Some people don't want to take a 60 dollar risk.

But the big companies don't about that, they are greedy. What about all the extra money they making from DLC, locked disc content, garbage like Avatar clothes and props, gamer pics.

I'm sure the hackers will figure it out anyway, but it shouldn't be this way. This is why I don't understand why people care so much about piracy, its not as if they care about you. And before someone says what about the little guy, the problem is that the biggest offenders, are the biggest companies. Like EA, and Capcom. I really don't want to support them.

Wanderer From Ys wrote:

What happens when a game goes out of print? What happens a few years down the line when it's not being sold new any more?

Good questions, those. I also have to wonder what happens when a publisher stops supporting a console's online features. Today it's possible, though difficult, to find PlayStation 1 games that have never been opened. There's no problem in playing those, but I can't imagine that will continue to be the case with these account locked games. When you can't connect to the servers, does the game just become useless? That would be a terrible thing.

tilinelson2 wrote:

Everything you buy becomes yours, and only yours forever?

These game companies don't want you to think of the game as ever being yours. They want total control over the game, even after they sell it. They only want to give you a limited license to play the game. It's a terrible practice, in my opinion.