I don't do second hand games. I never have - and I don't think I ever could. The UK is no different to the US in that respect - walk into a retailer such as Game or Gamestation (now owned by Game) and they'll give you tuppence for a trade-in. Then they'll turn around and put it in their window for near the full price of a new copy (in the case of recent releases). Of course for me, being the way I am, I hate getting something second hand (unless it's free) so with the price of second hand games considered - it isn't an option for me anyway. I'm also not the sort to sell games, I collect. Maybe I'm just being a bit snooty - but it seems the consumer is being shafted from every angle.
Unfortunately there aren't many other options for those of us that want rid of our old titles, eBay, car boot sales and a sale to a friend are just about the only viable means I can think of (with the latter being rare). So it is understandable how many go for the safe option, albeit one where you're getting screwed. The buyer wants to feel safe in their purchase, retailers provide that, while eBay can seem like one huge uncertainty to newcomers.
While this does go on, we do have a choice and don't have to part with near to r.r.p for a second-hand game. Developers do not have a choice; they get paid once for each game sold and so see nothing from second-hand sales, where a game might change hands several times.
Steve Ellis, director at Free Radical (Timesplitters series) spoke out a few days ago (found here at MCV)
I can't imagine going into PC World and buying a pre-owned copy of MS Office. It just wouldn't happen. The logical conclusion of this; the retailers' ultimate goal is that they only ever sell one original copy of any game and then they pass it around between everyone who wants to play it, keeping all of the profit for themselves except for that initial sale. How can that possibly be fair?
Sale of second hand PC games is almost non-existent of course because, like MS Office, each copy has a CD Key - rendering any multiplayer component useless. In the case of Steam activated, and entirely multiplayer games like World of Warcraft - second hand just doesn't work. This is the reason (along with piracy) why so many new titles have found their way on the Steam platform, each copy is locked down to one user account.
Could it be that in future, the same will apply to consoles? Perhaps developers would like to see the erradication of disks altogether? I would feel rather uneasy about that - if the consumer is forced to buy without a retailer, then we will be charged whatever they deem fit - with no alternative. It already happens with the 360's Live Arcade and Wii's VC. Of course, for the retro games on those platforms, the only alternative is the second-hand market. So what to do?
I'm in agreement with most developers that claim the current system is flawed, but I wouldn't want to see this empower electronic distribution or a lockdown on every copy I buy. For games no longer in print - the second hand market should be there, but for new titles I expect gamers to know better than let these retailers rip you off.
So what do you think about second-hand games?
Comments
I think i may have bought a second game once since the "funcoland" days, and it was something i simply had to do (Soul Edge for the PS1, which oddly was in stock on Gamestop.com within the last year).
I almost cannot shop at a regular gamestop/eb anymore because of their shoddy policies about what constitutes "new", and the look i'm given when i say "do you have any new copies of this in?" they say "yes" and then proceed to whip out an opened box and the contents to slip it back in as if i'm renting it.
Listen it may be partially because i'm compulsive but with prices the way they are these days if i choose to pay for a new game, i'm paying to open the damn plastic from the factory on top of it.
i loved the COD4 beta because of the sniper options. lying in the grass in 'overgrown' with a sniper watching people run past and picking them off is something i can imagine spending hours doing, and never getting bored.
i heard somewhere theres going to be 16 multiplayer maps. considering i got hours of fun out of just 3 in the beta i recon its a safe buy.
will you be getting it on day 1? if so we should have ourselves some multiplayer mayhem as i will certainly be picking it up on the 9th if i can.
also, the best line of ace ventura is "like a glove" when he parks his car. absolutely hilarious for some reason.
Dirk - I didn't realise it was quite that bad over there, I am quite like you in that I like getting something sealed. When I bought DOA4 they gave me a copy where the disc was behind the counter, and therefore not in its shrink rap. I said no give me a new copy - they didn't have one so I paid £2 extra at another store. Yes we are compulsive
Geo - the sniping has to be one of my favourite things - day of release for sure! 2 man sniper team ftw. I'll preorder this tomorrow. If I preorder 2 games I get 1000 free MS points at HMV.com
I think I'll do just that.
Having been a PC only gamer for many years I have bought many games that either I didn't like or felt weren't value for money, but once I've paid for it, I can't get any of my money back. Stores refuse to take returns of PC software, refuse to trade it in, and don't sell preowned software. If I buy a console game and have the same issues with it, I can take it back, can trade it in, and can get it preowned for less. I also have the option as a console gamer to rent a game to see if I like it.
Developers may complain about lost sales, but they have done nothing to help PC customers in the past. They already have our money, know we can't sell it on, and are under no obligation to fix the many bugs that may still be in the game, even when lots of people draw it to their attention.
I don't like the idea of locking games to an account, as this makes them unsaleable in the future. Atleast with a physical disc you have something of value that can be traded when you no longer want it.
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