Next Gen consoles to not allow used games?

[leo8877]

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/01/xbox-720-used-games/

[CeeKay]

Publishers/developers would love this, retailers would hate it.  it's just a question as to who will have a bigger influence on the decision.

[Misguided]

Publishers/developers would love this, retailers would hate it.  it's just a question as to who will have a bigger influence on the decision.

They'd love it until they came to their senses and realized that game trade-ins finance the purchase of new games for many people. People will hold onto games for longer and be more conservative about buying new releases.

[TiLT]

Keep in mind that used game sales is a much bigger problem for the industry than piracy, and that says a lot! I've never understood the appeal with selling or buying used games so I won't miss the functionality myself.

[Mithridates]

I've never understood the appeal with selling or buying used games so I won't miss the functionality myself.

You may not do it, but surely you comprehend the appeal of saving money?

[TiLT]

I've never understood the appeal with selling or buying used games so I won't miss the functionality myself.

You may not do it, but surely you comprehend the appeal of saving money?

Sure I do, but not paying the developers a single dime for the game you play just rubs me the wrong way. Essentially, as far as the developers are concerned (or so I would think at least), a used game sale is worse than pirating the game, because at least in the former case the customer already showed a willingness to pay money for the product, which is no guarantee for the pirate.

[Morgul]

Interesting.  You feel the same way about other "used" things too Tilt?   

I wonder if Honda/chevy/toyota hates used cars?   Samsung hate used TVs?

[TiLT]

Interesting.  You feel the same way about other "used" things too Tilt?   

I wonder if Honda/chevy/toyota hates used cars?   Samsung hate used TVs?

Both of your examples are things that usually aren't as good when bought used (cars fall apart, TVs become obsolete and worsen in picture quality) and which people usually keep for a while before selling. A game is exactly the same quality when sold (unless there's some kind of content locked away with an access code like in some newer titles), and most such games are sold used mere days after being purchased in the first place, keeping them attractive and relevant potentially for multiple sales. Used physical goods have a natural way of becoming less attractive and useful as they are sold on to others, encouraging the purchase of new products and making them poor comparisons to the subject matter of this thread.

More to the point: Selling used software isn't a right. In fact, much commercial software (such as sample packs for music composers) outright forbid resale in their license agreement. Used games are going to become history soon enough. It's more or less inevitable. As soon as one of the big publishers (or console makers) takes the step and stops the ability to sell their products used (taking a PR hit in the process), the others are going to follow suit quickly.

[metallicorphan]

if its just Xbox then i am running back to SONY,no way am i buying a game at full price knowing that it doesn't matter whether it stinks or not there is nothing i can do about it,i am guessing a lot more people wouldn't take chances either..and a lot more people will be waiting for price drops,infact it would probably screw the video game sales right up(which i think is meant to generate the biggest entertainment income)...no doubt this will add to Piracy as well

I don't understand why it would be Microsoft doing anything about it anyway,why would they care?

I wonder how many hidden gems would find their way into my hands if this happened,i am thinking games like Nier,i don't think i would of bought that if it had not been because of the forum effect


I also lend my games to my sister,and she to me,i wouldn't be able to do that either


HOWEVER.....over the last few months there have been rumour upon rumours(quite a few just this week especially about the nextbox being 6 times more powerful than the 360 or which card manufacturers they are using),which i have been tempted to post on here...but decided not to,i'll wait until its all official before i start kicking off 

[WorkingMike]

this would effectively kill Gamefly as well, which is a service I use quite a bit. That plus trading games with my friends would discourage me from gaming on an Xbox console. I have X amount of money to spend, and I can quite easily spend it on other things. Right now I buy about 6-8 games per year, in addition to renting, because I know that I can get my money back from them and trade them with my friends.

I understand that developers get the shaft a little, but that is no reason to screw the consumer. In the last few months I purchased SR3, Dark Souls, and Skyrim. Next month I'm purchasing Amalur. I'm choosing purchasing over renting because I knew I was going to get my monies worth (I have about 120 hours in Skyrim alone). I will not pay 60 bucks for 8 hours of gaming and that's where the used and rental market comes in. Take that away, you take away half my gaming and most of my incentive to play the lesser titles. I would be all about it if it meant more new and innovative IP's and better overall gaming, but I really doubt that would happen.

I'm quite certain that MS is doing their homework though, so perhaps this is fiscally viable and the market will allow it. I wonder if Sony would follow suit? May be an opening for them to grab some of us die hard Xbox folks

[ravenvii]

Then how would you play *old* games?

Oftentimes the only way to get and play a game is to buy it used.

[Caine]

I really hope they don't go through with this.  I have about a dozen games that I have lent out to friends right now.  I use gamefly and have bought used games from them and occasionally from gamestop.  I don't sell any to them but have sold to people on the forum. 

And as someone who has a Steam backlog into the triple digits, I would gladly sell some of them back to Steam if the option was available.  I have the backlog because of the their insane sales, not due to a desire to move away from physical media.

[Mithridates]

More to the point: Selling used software isn't a right.

I agree with you there.  And if the ability to buy/sell used games is taken away at some point, then I'm not going to like it, but of course I'm still going to play video games.  I just will buy less since I won't have the tradein/sales of my old games to use towards new purchases.

[The Grue]

I really hope they don't go through with this.  I have about a dozen games that I have lent out to friends right now.  I use gamefly and have bought used games from them and occasionally from gamestop.  I don't sell any to them but have sold to people on the forum. 

And as someone who has a Steam backlog into the triple digits, I would gladly sell some of them back to Steam if the option was available.  I have the backlog because of the their insane sales, not due to a desire to move away from physical media.

This is the the thing that bothers me about what these console guys want to do.  They want to charge $60 and not allow you to do anything with the product they sell you in the way of trying to recoup some of that cost.  Also, they want to milk you with DLC, so that if you want it, that $60 can just up to $80 or $100.  Gone are the days where game releases were few and far between.  There are more games out there that I am interested in than I can even play.  What I do, to offset some of that cost, is trade my old games in and use that money to buy new games.  So, with a customer like me, if they restrict that, I will have less money to spend on games and they will lose money from me.

Now, the reason I highlighted the post above is that with Steam and those insane sales, I don't really care that I can't get any money back because I got such a good deal on them in the first place.  So, not only do I buy more new games through Steam because they are priced at a level that makes them easy to buy, there is also no used market.

So, I don't mind if the next gen consoles go to no used sales, just as long as they are willing to sell their product for much cheaper.  They won't do that, though, and I think they are going to learn a valuable lesson that it is in their best interest to allow used sales if they want to continue to charge $60 for this stuff.

[EngineNo9]

If I had to guess, this won't be a system to disable used/borrowed games entirely, but more like a formal system-wide policy to take the place of the "$10 online pass" thing that has become so popular. 

This is all based on rumor and conjecture at this point anyway, so I'd take it with a grain of salt.

[CeeKay]

If I had to guess, this won't be a system to disable used/borrowed games entirely, but more like a formal system-wide policy to take the place of the "$10 online pass" thing that has become so popular. 

about the only way I can think of that they'd be able to stop re-selling of games is to include a unique key with each copy that is tied to your XBL account or make everything download only.

[Misguided]

You guys realize that this is going to necessitate the console be online, at least for the initial install. Some people won't care for that.

Limiting used games is not the answer. Getting people buying used games to purchase DLC is the answer.