i googled if used games are illegal in japan. and i got results saying that in 2004 that old electronic would be illegal to sell used and 2006 before the launch of the ps3 that people who bought a ps3 game would not have full ownership of the game just a license to play it but unable to sell it if they grow tired of it.

of course this is from 6 years ago.

 

my 2cents I'd hate to be Sony or MS. I you block used games or/and go with a stream/online download retailers bitch and wont push your console, But if they dont block them well publishers bitch and you suddenly find you dont have so many titles.

I wonder if in the days before tracking info and Nintendo ever wondering if used N64 games were killing the market?

 

I'd be fine with it if the games were like 30-40.

As it stands now we pay over 100 on most games after DLC.

 

I'd still buy it. I buy all my games new anyway and don't let people borrow them, so it doesn't affect me in the slightest.

 

Gamers today are spoiled. Once upon a time, before Gamestop, if you want games your options was getting your ass to retailers like TRU, KB Toys or major dept stores like Target. The only option for used games was your friends.

 

I don't see it happening for the next round of consoles. There's just too many barriers to it, namely all the ones that have already been discussed.

What needs to happen is for Sony and Microsoft (or just one of them) to follow the iTunes approach in the next generation of consoles. Distributors will need to offer competitive pricing on all digital downloads. New releases may sell at $59.99 for a disc and 49.99 online before dropping $10 after the initial release. "Greatest hits/Platnum hits" might sell for $19.99 (disc)/$14.99 (online). (Though actually, $9.99 is probably the magic price point where it becomes an impulse buy like 99 cent music.) The trick isn't to force people to buy a game they can't re-sell. It's to get them to choose to buy into that model.

We already know that users are on average only using the system for gaming about 60% of the time. The rest of the usage is for other content/purposes such as Blu-Rays and digital streaming. I think you'll also see more propertiery content streaming on the next console. Smart money would be one of the manufacturer's striking a deal with the NFL. Imagine the number of XBox 720s and Platinum Live Memberships that would be sold if it included a subscription of NFL Sunday Ticket. (More than the number of 360s sold because they could play HD-DVDs for sure.) Hmmm, that stream of conscious typing has got me thinking...

 

If I remember correctly, back in ye olde days of videogames, Nintendo fought pretty hard against game rentals. Kinda the same beef here, with concern that publishers are not seeing profits off of games that people are playing. Anybody know what I'm talking about and can share a bit more about it?

 

Here's one of them. Unable to get video games included in the software distribution act (which prohibited the unathorized rental of computer software), Nintendo instead went after Blockbuster for first renting out the instruction books and later photocopying the booklets for rentals (which led to those instruction stickers inside the cases).

Nintendo Steps Up Blockbuster Battle - Sun Sentinel

 

how does sales work (either price drop or buy one, get one half/free)...do the publishers get the same amount for the discounted game?

 

Reading this makes me wish that I could have taken the videogame law seminar at my school.  

 

The problem with games becoming online only is that high speed internet is not universal*yet* that and most providers limit how much bandwith you can use I think.

 

I rarely play console games anymore anyway. I mostly play games on my iPad now so if Sony or Microsoft does decide to make it like a PC computer then I would probably pass on the new systems. I can't play 60 plus for games. That said I do think if Sony or Microsoft decides to prevent their new devices from playing used games they will still be ok. Just like many other things, people will complain in the beginning but then accept it and buy the games like they do with PC games.

 

Could you perhaps back that up with some kind of evidence because it sounds like total shit to me.

 

Short answer: yes

Long answer: The publisher sells the distribution rights. Some of the larger companies (such as Capcom), act as their own distributor. EA and Square Enix formed a distribution company for their titles. The distributor turns around and tries to sell to retailers. This is the point of trade shows like E3. The retailers and distributors negotiate individual deals for titles which ends the distributor's role in the transaction. The retailers then set the price point for the product and take all profits and losses from that point.

For example*: Activision has paid for the Transformers license. Let's say that you're a lead developer at TFW2005 studios and you create a game called "Transformers: Rise of OmegaScourge". When your team is done with the game, you hand it off to Activision. Activision pays to have the discs pressed, boxes printed, and advertises and markets the game. You go to E3 and tell everyone how awesome your game is and the fans get all excited and a buzz builds around your game. Activision and your bosses at TFW2005 studios sit down with retailers and work on sales deals.

We'll pick Toys R Us. Let's say the buyers from TRU order 100,000 copies of your game for $40/copy ($4,000,000). Your studio gets maybe $10/copy per your deal. (A million dollars? Sweet, you say. Unfortunately you've spent $5 million in salaries, rent, equipment, electricity, heat, etc. during the two years of development so you better hope more retailers are on board.) TRU sells a 50,000 copies in the first six months at $60 ($3,000,000). Now there's only so many people who will pay $60 for a game so TRU drops the price to $50. If they sell another 20,000 copies at that price, they've recouped their initial investment.

Now two things happen at this point. Activision has sold enough copies of the game to recoup their expenses and pick up a small profit. So they can afford to sell your game for a lower price. They sell more games to TRU for a small profit since it doesn't cost much to press a disc and print the labels on a box. The second is that TRU can afford to put the game on sale and still make a profit on the games they have in stock and still make a tidy profit on the order they just placed.

OR....

The game doesn't sell well at all. TRU has 40,000 copies of a game that IGN says, "makes Superman 64 look like Super Mario 64". TRU takes a bath on the title and just sells off the titles at a loss to either consumers or liquidators (like Big Lots) or both in an attempt to recoup just some of the money they've lost on your piece of crap shovelware. Activision will sell their remain inventory to whomever will buy it at whatever cost they can get for it.

What usually happens is somewhere in the middle. The idea of course would be to get closer to the first scenario than the second. The problem with the used market is that it takes a lot of buyers out of the equation and pushes you closer to the second scenario.

The short answer part of the long answer is: While they are not directly affected by the sale, the sale is an indication that the developer won't be seeing as much money from additional transactions with the retailer.

*It's muuuuuch more complicated than that. There are entire college curriculum built on understanding all the nuances. Heck, there are entire colleges built on understanding all the nuances. Advice to anyone reading this far: Do yourself a favor and take a couple of economic classes. You'll be glad you did.

I didn't say online only. The next gen (or two) of consoles will include physical media. I said that if they want people to buy games online they need to need to create incentives. And the biggest consumer incentive is $$$.

 

That's going to come as a shock to all the Game Centers in Japan. You might want to let them know.

 

Hey don't look at this situation as a burden look at it as an opportunity.

NOW is the time to capitalize on The Industries intent on release Internet
authorization based games by buying up ps1,ps2,ps3, xbox, and xbox 360
games before the next wave of consoles are released. These titles can
then be sold at a resonable price on ebay or amazon and people will
pay money hand over fist for games that don't require an internet
connection to play a game.