3 ms·

The real cost of used games is the damage that is being wrought on the creativity and variety of games available to the consumer Yeah, because it's a wel

The real cost of used games is the damage that is being wrought on the creativity and variety of games available to the consumer Yeah, because it's a well known fact that being able to resell your used book has for ages 'damaged the creativity and variety of books available to the consumer'. Our writers have been severely creatively impaired and there are hardly any books available... oh wait, that's actually not how it is. Any measure to prevent the ability to play 'used games' will be reverse engineered and circumvented. Combined with the first-sale doctrine, this will always allow the reselling and playing of used games. If you don't like it, why don't you, you know, think of a creative solution?

liquid_x 15y ago
Yes, but how many bookstores sell both new and used books? On the other hand most of the PC gamers buy games that are activated on Steam, Origin or Battle.Net and that causes the resell value of the plastic disc to fall to Zero
- Tloewald 15y ago
  Powells. Many college bookstores. Amazon. The bookstores that don't are in many cases going bankrupt. I agree DRMed electronic copies cannot be resold, which is good insofar as it may represent a disintermediation of the sales process and cost saving to the customer -- but if EA wants $60 from me for what it used to get for selling me a disk I could sell, lend, or give away, then that's not right. I have no objection with EA wholesaling games to me.
rbanffy 15y ago
... or just find something else to do. I don't think my soon-to-arrive daughter will find as much fun in Pac Man or Space Invaders as I did, but I'm quite sure the arms race in game development cost really got out of hand. Maybe the industry should focus on games they could sell for a profit for less than US$20. With everyone carrying at least one internet-connected PS3 equivalent in their pockets, I don't see a bright future for consoles anyway.

liquid_x 15y ago

Yes, but how many bookstores sell both new and used books? On the other hand most of the PC gamers buy games that are activated on Steam, Origin or Battle.Net and that causes the resell value of the plastic disc to fall to Zero

Tloewald 15y ago
Powells. Many college bookstores. Amazon. The bookstores that don't are in many cases going bankrupt. I agree DRMed electronic copies cannot be resold, which is good insofar as it may represent a disintermediation of the sales process and cost saving to the customer -- but if EA wants $60 from me for what it used to get for selling me a disk I could sell, lend, or give away, then that's not right. I have no objection with EA wholesaling games to me.

rbanffy 15y ago

... or just find something else to do. I don't think my soon-to-arrive daughter will find as much fun in Pac Man or Space Invaders as I did, but I'm quite sure the arms race in game development cost really got out of hand. Maybe the industry should focus on games they could sell for a profit for less than US$20. With everyone carrying at least one internet-connected PS3 equivalent in their pockets, I don't see a bright future for consoles anyway.