Richard Blonoff
Make America Rassle Again
Take a trip to your local mall and it is almost a guarantee you will find a GameStop. Chances are there are probably two or three more scattered around the city. In addition to those you have pawn shops, used media stores, and mom and pop shops buying and selling used video games. Larger chains like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Toys "R" Us, and even 7-Eleven have gotten in on the used game market.
While certain places will pay more for your games, buying used is a great way to save money. For the price of one new game, you can often get three used titles that have been released in the past year. The savings you gain are felt in the pockets of video game companies though, and many of them are tired of it.
Take EA for example. Be you a fan of Battlefield 3, Need for Speed, or Madden '13, to play the game online you must has an EA online pass for said game. Buying the game new gives you a free copy of the pass, but buying the game used? No guarantees. Occasionally you will get lucky and get a game with an unused pass, but most often you have one that had already been used. If you want a pass you are going to have to fork over anywhere between $5 and $20 depending on the popularity of the title.
Capcom has taken a different approach. Take Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was programmed to only allow one save game. Once you start a game, you can't restart. Not only does it take all replay value out of the game, but it kills the used market.
Due to measures like this less people are buying used. As a result, the amount offered when selling used games has gone down. Take my own personal experience. In early December while doing some Christmas shopping I stopped at my favored local Gamestop(the cashier is a real cutie and she is not above shameless flirting to sell things). A used copy of Madden '13 was only $30. I happened to ask one of the employees if it was a mistake. The game had only been out since late August, no way was a used copy that low for a game still that new. I was told that because of the EA Online Passes, less people were buying used, so they had to lower the price to actually sell the product.
It doesn't stop there. There are rumors that when the Xbox 720 and Playstation 4 are released they will restrict used play. Further rumors state the 720 will be entirely digital, eliminating the disc all together, opting instead to use a system similar to Steam.
The head of Lionhead Studios(whose name escapes me at the moment), the company responsible for the Fable and Black and White series, has gone on record as saying the used game market cuts into profits more than piracy.
In 2010 Gamestop sales were at an all time high. Just three short years later, with the used game market on the decline, it appears their days may be numbered.
So what say you? Are you in favor of the used game market? Do you support or oppose the steps companies are taking to recoup their losses and put an end to said market? Are you like our very own justinsayne and hate Gamestop no matter what?
While certain places will pay more for your games, buying used is a great way to save money. For the price of one new game, you can often get three used titles that have been released in the past year. The savings you gain are felt in the pockets of video game companies though, and many of them are tired of it.
Take EA for example. Be you a fan of Battlefield 3, Need for Speed, or Madden '13, to play the game online you must has an EA online pass for said game. Buying the game new gives you a free copy of the pass, but buying the game used? No guarantees. Occasionally you will get lucky and get a game with an unused pass, but most often you have one that had already been used. If you want a pass you are going to have to fork over anywhere between $5 and $20 depending on the popularity of the title.
Capcom has taken a different approach. Take Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was programmed to only allow one save game. Once you start a game, you can't restart. Not only does it take all replay value out of the game, but it kills the used market.
Due to measures like this less people are buying used. As a result, the amount offered when selling used games has gone down. Take my own personal experience. In early December while doing some Christmas shopping I stopped at my favored local Gamestop(the cashier is a real cutie and she is not above shameless flirting to sell things). A used copy of Madden '13 was only $30. I happened to ask one of the employees if it was a mistake. The game had only been out since late August, no way was a used copy that low for a game still that new. I was told that because of the EA Online Passes, less people were buying used, so they had to lower the price to actually sell the product.
It doesn't stop there. There are rumors that when the Xbox 720 and Playstation 4 are released they will restrict used play. Further rumors state the 720 will be entirely digital, eliminating the disc all together, opting instead to use a system similar to Steam.
The head of Lionhead Studios(whose name escapes me at the moment), the company responsible for the Fable and Black and White series, has gone on record as saying the used game market cuts into profits more than piracy.
In 2010 Gamestop sales were at an all time high. Just three short years later, with the used game market on the decline, it appears their days may be numbered.
So what say you? Are you in favor of the used game market? Do you support or oppose the steps companies are taking to recoup their losses and put an end to said market? Are you like our very own justinsayne and hate Gamestop no matter what?
