What is Digg?100 Comments
- AllYourBase3, on 04/10/2008, -4/+51Maybe when games aren't $60 and only 10 hours long people will buy more new games
- crussell96, on 04/10/2008, -3/+34you get 2hrs of entertainment from that $8 movie ticket.
you get 2hrs of entertainment from that $20 dvd.
most game can be played at least 10hrs. Add in multiplayer if its got it and you have well over 100hrs of entertainment. - kamikazecow, on 04/10/2008, -3/+20I wonder what hurts publishers more, PC games and piracy, or used games and consoles?
- plizard, on 04/10/2008, -0/+12you paid 30 bucks for doom 3? wtf is wrong with you?
- dist0rtedwave, on 04/10/2008, -0/+11I wouldn't even call the quality of the games into queston. Thing is, there is clearly a price at which gamers are willing to buy games and for a lot of them $60 is not it. If the game companies feel like they are being hurt by this they should either start out at a lower price, or drop prices more quickly after release so they can still appeal to those who aren't willing to pay as much.
- megaton, on 04/10/2008, -11/+18People buy used games because $60 is too expensive!
$8 for a ticket to a movie that cost 15x more than the top games cost to produce
$20 for a dvd/blu-ray for a movie that cost 15x more than top games cost to produce
$60 for a game with awkward camera controls, anamatronic-like acting, and that costs 0.06% as much to produce as a top movie
You do the math. - NathanielJ, on 04/10/2008, -3/+9$20,000 for that car that cost 0.00001% of the production cost of the top games to produce.
Man, cars are a rip-off! - glacius99, on 04/10/2008, -0/+5I'm pretty sure he means that less games will get traded in and therefore less will be bought used. Ergo, more people will buy the games new, thus generating more revenue for the publishers.
Reading comprehension FTW! - Nobi-Wan, on 04/10/2008, -0/+5Movies don't have advertising, shipping, and retail markup?
- petebot, on 04/10/2008, -0/+5You lucky bastard. I want my own old guy!
- plizard, on 04/10/2008, -0/+5ha you beat me to it!
- jayvisaria, on 04/10/2008, -1/+6I happily paid $60 for Call of Duty 4 and halfway into the game realized that I'd even pay 80 bucks for it. Not all games are created equal. On a 360 I know that CoD 4 and Halo3 will always have lots of people playing multiplayer for a long time to come, not so for some other games - and paying 60 bucks for a scripted and short linear campaign is a bad idea (usually). Most publishers can't guarantee a critical mass of multiplayer buddies online and so aren't really justifying the 60 bucks they're asking for (think Turok, Frontline:FOW or any of the other bombs out there). RPGs with their massive single player experience or beat-em ups like Soul Calibur 4 make a much better value proposition at the 60 dollar price point.
- Lugano, on 04/10/2008, -0/+4For places like Gamestop, it is easy to see why pre-owned games are such a big part of their revenue. Sell a game for $60 to customer X, X comes back and sells the game back to game stop for $15 (or whatever they are giving now...) and thenn gamestop sells the game AGAIN for $50. The second time around they have a much much bigger profit margin.
- demiurgency, on 04/10/2008, -0/+4Speaking from personal habits, I would say used games, by a long shot.
I will always buy a game used at EB if I can get it used, versus paying new.
When I pirate a game, it's to try it out and play it for maybe a day or two. The games I pirate are not "lost revenue" for the publisher, because they're titles I would never consider paying money for, regardless of whether they can be pirated or not. The games I buy used from EB are games I will pay money for, I'm just trying to save 5$-10$ dollars by buying used, and that does reflect lost revenue for the game publisher.
OTOH, game-reselling may result in more games being sold. People may be more liable to pay $50 for a game, if they feel they can resell it for $20 of trade-in credit. I don't know, as I've never sold a game before to a reseller. - merper, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3"Findings by MI6"
James Bond investigated this? - Tyrghast, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3Sure I buy used games all the time... then return them within seven days.
- Nobi-Wan, on 04/10/2008, -1/+4A soccer mom is more prone to stopping in at EB/Gamestop for a used copy of a game for little Johnny than using Bittorrent to download the game that will only be playable in a PC/modded console.
Piracy does not equal lost sales. I'm willing to bet that a lot of people pirating games would have probably never bought the game in the first place and at most would have just rented it. I'm never going to need to pirate an Xbox 360 or PS3 game because I know if I'm curious about a certain game I can demo it on Xbox Live or PSN. - nelis, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3I wouldn't agree either. Movies are targeted for a mass amount of people, 10 million plus. A game selling 10 million copies would be a great feat. I agree with staticneuron, the argument of movies vs video games is retarded.
- requiem3, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3By your logic, a basketball that gives me several dozen hours of entertainment should cost me several hundred dollars. 60$ a game is simply not affordable to do more than every once in a while for a game, if they decreased it to around 20$ - 30$, I sure as hell would be buying a lot more.
- Shadow82v, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3He said for newly released games, and yes, for nearly all newly released games you usually get 25-50% back when you trade it back in within 2-5 weeks or release.
- cvindustries, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3Ebay = passing gamestop's profits back to gamers.
- Austin7687, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3Used games are great! I hardly ever buy new. It just doesn't make sense when I can wait a month and buy a game for 20 bucks cheaper.
- larsoncc, on 04/10/2008, -1/+3GOOD! I'm happy there is a thriving, vibrant used game market!
I guess I'm just sick of the inevitable complaints from game publishers.
Where do they think these used games come from? Games aren't born used, after all! What would publishers / developers have us game consumers do? Throw away our games when we're done playing them? Maybe they'd rather give us a product that doesn't function for anyone else unless the publisher says so - that'll work, that won't piss anyone off. I know that digital distribution is "the way of the future", but I don't have to be happy about losing a ton of money on some crap that doesn't entertain me any more.
The used game market is good for gamers and for publishers. If an average guy buys a game used, or sells back a game, he's gaming, and that's the important part - he could buy downloadable content, or he could purchase discount games...
If the publishers can't find a way to profit from used games, that's their problem. There is NOTHING stopping publishers from participating in that market, they could offer trade up / trade back programs, and they could offer lower cost entertainment choices. - lejake, on 04/10/2008, -1/+3If you do buy a new game and play through it in a week, the simple solution is NOT to sell to Gamestop but to re-sell it on Ebay. You can usually recoup most of your costs because some people don't have easy access to a retailer that sells games. Generally I can sell a $60 for $50-$55 within a few weeks after it's been released.
Or you could just rent games from Gamefly. - CarzorStelatis, on 04/10/2008, -1/+3Erm... if someone uses a 'pirated' version of a game for a couple of days as an evaluation, then there is no lost revenue. By your logic, companies lose revenue by releasing a demo.
- MattyLite, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2I've been buying used 360 games on eBay for $30-$40. As a college student, I really can't afford $60/game.
- omgbanana, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2I really don't think used games hurt them as much as they want us to think.
I work at a Gamestop that does about 1.5 mil yearly. Sure people buy used PS2s, but at this point that only hurts Sony who's profit margin is probably larger on a new PS2 than Gamestop's is on a used PS2 (55%). After that, the system is in the owner's hands and they may or may not buy used.
After that, we do a whole ton of sales on $.99-$14.99 used games. Most people who consistently buy those games are not the people who would be in the market for a new $30 PS2 game or--god forbid--a collector's edition of GTA4 that rings in at $80.
Yes, sure. There are 360 owners who wait until a game comes in used. But for each one of those people, there is another costumer who wouldn't buy a used game even if I begged them.
And finally, I didn't see Bungie being bent over by the used market last September. - ELCad, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2Renting does make the game makers money. The rental company buys the game.
- Shadow82v, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2After discovering just how cheap some used games are on eBay, I very rarely buy new anymore. The only time I buy a new game, is to get it immediately when it is released, and if the game is worth $60. The only games that are really worth $60 are the ones that I'll be playing 6-12 months from then. (Ex. SSBB, Halo 3, MGS4)
- NYC10004, on 04/10/2008, -2/+4No wonder there's a profit. Used game prices are a joke. You might as well by a brand new copy with a pristine disc for the pathetic $5 bucks your supposedly saving.
Used games should be sold at half the price of a new game with a 2% - 3% markup for the reseller, that would be a real deal. - EgonWest, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2I don't remember any NES or SNES game costing more than $60 (and it was rare to find one over $50).
What game(s) are you talking about? - staticneuron, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2Games are more valuable. People being cheap doesn't negate the games value. the sheer fact that the games were used means someone purchased them before.
- TotalHalibut, on 04/11/2008, -0/+1I don't know what terrible games you're trading in but yeah, for decent titles, you will get $15 or higher.
I frequent the local Gamestop, it's the only place I'll buy games in fact. There's frequent trade-in deals available. If I'm buying $60 titles and trading them in a few weeks later, I'll generally get between $25 and 30 for each, sometimes more (I recall getting $40 for a used copy of Bioshock that I bought around release for $55, as part of a trade-in deal).
Having worked games retail, let me tell you this. Most people trade in ***** that no-one will buy. Stores absorb the cost of this because they can't simply turn people away and say 'sorry no, that game sucks, we don't want it'. The old store I used to work at had 187 copies of Pro Evolution Soccer 4, and that was a small store. They'll never ever shift all of that, and shipping it around to different stores to try and clear the stock incurs costs, so by the end of it it's not even worth the hassle.
Moral of the story? Don't buy terrible games, do your research beforehand, and don't expect amazing prices if you're going to be trading in something that's not going to sell. Put yourself in the retailer's shoes for a change and you might find yourself getting a better deal. - inajeep, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2Which ever is #1 or #2 they both hurt the publishers. Although the used game/consoles can be measure a lot more realistically then imagining someone who pirates a game would ever buy it in the first place.
- adml_shake, on 04/10/2008, -2/+3Or even better is the 60 dollar game that is nothing but 10 hours of eye candy. With no creamy good story center.
- FloorModel, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2my kids used to hit the garage sales and flea markets to get used games. when they had to spend their own $ on games they became much wiser. They can get two used games for less than 1 new game.
- bllambert, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2Goozex is much better than buying used. Trading might not get you brand new games quickly, but stuff that is a month of two old comes very quickly. You get a $60 games for a $60 game. Unlike Gamestop, where you get a $20 credit for a $60 game, and pay another $50 for a used game.
- Nobi-Wan, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1I just use Craigslist. No fees.
- Shadow82v, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1Really? http://search.ebay.com/gears-of-war_W0QQ_trksidZm3 ...
You can get GoW for less than $30. - BobsYourUncle, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1I don't buy used games, but now I'm more selective of the games I DO buy. Play lots of demos and unless a game really "grabs" me in some way, I don't bother with it again. And I expect to keep the games I do buy for a long time. Keeps me from going broke, and I appreciate the games I do have more.
- staticneuron, on 04/11/2008, -0/+1I understand what you are getting at but you still seem to ignore the fact that the games were purchased first and then sold back. There is no real reason to believe that the people purchasing the games at these low cost are even interested in the game or just looking for a deal. I am one of those people that purchased geometry wars but at 5 bucks it was a throwaway price. A gamble that I would not have felt bad about if I didn't like the game. But I did like it, even so it still did not get as much play time as these $60 dollar games I own have had.
You are under the mistaken impression that these people buying games as a deal means that it is recieved as true valuation. What makes you think that these used sales aren't mainly fueled by youngsers who do not have jobs or strapped for cash? Even as such games are priced for what is spent to make, advertise and ship them. The already make a huge gamble on the current price point and we have lost quality studios because of that.
My opinion is this..... the publishers have noticed that this industry is growing. They have noticed which genre's and markets have netted them a profit and who to target. The best way for them to cut corners is to go multiplatform. Which is the trend..... until they see that exclusives still clean the house when it is all said and done. Gamers are finicky and prefer quality that is why there is such a large amount of money generated the first sales that they see and they are not going to back down on quality for the sake of gamers trying to save a buck because they risk losing the larger market.
This still is all driven without assumptions about the original owner of these preowned games and how much time they were on the market since resale. I have bought a few PS2 games I missed out on and there was no way I was ever going to spend full price on them so sales like those do not represent a loss of sales or the actual value of games. Thats like looking at a car on the market now that is worth 75k and then pointing to the used sales of that model to indicate value. It is a poor way to look at things and most likely would not work in any situation or item you are talking about. - petebot, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1Half as much is pushing it. Gears of War is still over 50 bucks.
- TheMatches, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1Oh totally! And then you can just never do anything with those ***** games you bought and played for 10 minutes before finding you didn't like it.
- DangerMouse9, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2If you'd never consider paying money for the titles you pirate, why the hell are you wasting your time downloading them?
If used games are a bane to publishers, maybe they should charge less for them. If they had a package deal you where you could buy a physical copy of the game for $40 or download the game for $20-30, the law of economics state that they would sell more copies of the game. As prices drop, demand increases.
I honestly don't see how this story is news, it'd be like reporting that the sun rose today or fish were found swimming in a lake. - megaton, on 04/10/2008, -2/+3DVDs cost $60 to manufacture?
Or are you saying the R&D into the design and production of the car costs only $20K? - CarzorStelatis, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1Valve haven't really 'pulled off' episodic gaming - yes the games have been great but they haven't done them in the proper episodic fashion. To quote from ZP:
1) Shorter games
2) Cheaper
3) Released more often
As the ZP review of Orange Box made clear, Valve have fulfilled parts 1 and 2 of that specification but are still having trouble with 3 - Nobi-Wan, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1That's cool, but I'm glad I waited until I could get COD4 and COD3 for $40 total when Gamecrazy was having a sale.
- CarzorStelatis, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1If you think $60 is a lot then you'd probably go postal at the $355 people in Europe are being expected to pay for Rock Band. Yes, that is more than the basic 360 CONSOLE!
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