wraggster
April 4th, 2012, 00:44
If console makers actually cut out pre-owned what would the impact be?
Used games have been a a whipping boy (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-03-19-used-games-business-is-killing-single-player-experience-says-frontier-developments) for the industry for a number of years now. I'm not quite sure exactly when it became the oft-cited subject it is today, but I believe it started during this current console cycle, when the price of AAA titles geometrically increased again over the previous generation while the number of top-flight developers and publishers noticeably shrank. With the pre-owned boom coinciding with a significant global economic downturn, it's no wonder that people in the industry are looking at ways revenue is being denied them and lashing out (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-12-13-avellone-i-hope-digital-distribution-stabs-the-used-game-market-in-the-heart).
I find it ironic on a certain level since the industry has had something of a love/hate relationship with GameStop. While it's the top dedicated video game retailer in the US, and often supported with exclusive pre-order bonuses for games both large and small, it is also the main cog in the used game sale machine (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-08-23-gamestop-used-sales-benefit-the-whole-industry). It's hard not to talk about used games and GameStop in the same sentence since their size and logistical advantages mean they generate $1.2 billion in revenue (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-03-22-gamestop-believes-next-gen-consoles-will-not-block-pre-owned) from used games.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-04-03-the-nuclear-option-on-used-games
Used games have been a a whipping boy (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-03-19-used-games-business-is-killing-single-player-experience-says-frontier-developments) for the industry for a number of years now. I'm not quite sure exactly when it became the oft-cited subject it is today, but I believe it started during this current console cycle, when the price of AAA titles geometrically increased again over the previous generation while the number of top-flight developers and publishers noticeably shrank. With the pre-owned boom coinciding with a significant global economic downturn, it's no wonder that people in the industry are looking at ways revenue is being denied them and lashing out (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-12-13-avellone-i-hope-digital-distribution-stabs-the-used-game-market-in-the-heart).
I find it ironic on a certain level since the industry has had something of a love/hate relationship with GameStop. While it's the top dedicated video game retailer in the US, and often supported with exclusive pre-order bonuses for games both large and small, it is also the main cog in the used game sale machine (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-08-23-gamestop-used-sales-benefit-the-whole-industry). It's hard not to talk about used games and GameStop in the same sentence since their size and logistical advantages mean they generate $1.2 billion in revenue (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-03-22-gamestop-believes-next-gen-consoles-will-not-block-pre-owned) from used games.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-04-03-the-nuclear-option-on-used-games