used game sales (as well as used sales of all other media) have always existed. this was not a cause of any problem for console game developers until around 200

used game sales (as well as used sales of all other media) have always existed. this was not a cause of any problem for console game developers until around 2005 or so. the mid 2000s switch to the "next gen" platforms caused a lot of shittiness for gaming. mostly from publisher greed due to the potential for mass profits, and the increased cost of developing at higher fidelity. games were originally for a more niche audience, used to focus more on difficulty over "content" in order to get replay value and lifespan. but if you lower the difficulty you can hopefully get more players experiencing all of your "content", and hopefully you can get them to buy some more after they complete the main part of your game.