Used Game Sales are 'Destructive' to Industry

[eggrock]

Because, from Valve's perspective, there's no difference between the new games and the used games, except that Valve would get paid much less for the used ones and they would have to set up some system by which the consumer would pay both Valve and the seller. The amount of fraud that would attack such a system would be a nightmare, and they wouldn't get any more sales than they do now. You're asking Valve to make less money for more trouble, so what's their motive?

That's a good point about fraud, particularly with games not purchased directly from Valve--that would most definitely not be an option.

I'm only considering games purchased directly from Steam and resold to other Steam accounts through a payment system--that's an obstacle (CC companies get their cut, too) but not insurmountable.

In the end, Valve sells a game to a user = profit

User sells game to another user = profit - but not so much if the game sucks and the price drops, which is going to happen regardless.

 

[GreenMonkey]

I suppose the next idea will be them hunting down all the used games, putting them in a pile and burning them.
Next they will go out and start doing the same with books... oh wait..

The publishing industry makes the same exact arguments about ebooks.

Welcome to the future of non-resellable movies, books, games, and any other sort of media. None of this is an improvement, people. It's more like a money suck from the people to media corporations. Before long the game industry, or Valve, will turn into the MPAA or the RIAA. Good job, DRM-supporting people.

 

[THEMorUS]

In other news, Car manufacturers wish to outlaw any used car sales.

In other news, used car sales wish to outlaw any pay per part wrecking yard.

 

[Modred189]

Good job, DRM-supporting people.

It has nothing to do with DRM, and everything to do with selling real property and a license.

 

[WBurchnall]

with this mindset that used game sales are bad. if you own something that you no longer want, to get rid of it does it have to be destroyed? if i give a game i no longer want to a friend, am i still committing some evil deed against the industry?

I think it largely depends on if your friend would have ever bought the game. There's a few games I have NEVER played and have no intention of ever PLAYING and thus the said company will never get any revenue from me. If someone gave me that game for free(ie a friend or family member), would the company have lost any revenue from that used-game transaction since I never intended to purchase the game? I would say 'no'.

Granted, Kotick is full of bs in my opinion when he says used-games being sold give gamers money to buy new-games. While on the surface that sounds true, what about if that gamer who sells his used games to a store like EB Games turns around and buy's another used-game? How does the game publishers/game developers receive any money from that transaction? Really, if a game is very story and turned over often enough, 20% of gamers could buy it new and another 80% buy it used from those 20%, then the next 20% of owners, then the next 20% over and over again till 100% market pentration(of customers actually interested in the game) would be reached with 1/5th the sales had used games sales never existed.

The real profiters from that system would probably be the used-game sales company aka EB who receives a 10% markup everytime the game is resold as used.