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UK Retailers May Share Pre-Owned Profits |
Listed in: News Tags: MCV, used games
The second-hand games market is booming. Companies like GameStop have made billions simply by buying used games and re-selling them at a markup. And while this strategy is great for the company engaged in the practice, it doesn’t do much for the people that developed the game. When you buy a used copy of Battlefield 3, that profit goes to the retailer – not to EA/DICE.
The issue has caused tension between developers and retailers, with game creators recently starting to include mechanisms like online passes to ensure they get a piece of the second-hand market. The battle has been raging for a while, but it looks like a solution may be on the horizon.
In an interview with MCV, some retailers indicated that they would be more than happy to share the profits from second-hand sales with developers, assuming those developers were willing to offer something up in return. Compensation mentioned included the removal of online passes or lower initial costs for brand new games, both of which make it a bit harder for retailers to churn a profit.
The retailer statements are somewhat hilarious when you think about them – for years, retailers have re-sold products with a devil-may-care attitude, and they’re only willing to negotiate now that their bottom line is hurting. The idea that developers would make some sort of conciliatory gesture towards used game retailers after years of being ignored is pretty out there, but perhaps developers would rather have some used profits than online pass sales.
Do you think developers are willing to negotiate now that retailers are worried about their profit potential?
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Comments
I hope that all retailers and developers will do this...
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There is no reason the videogame industry should receieve any special treatment when every other market on the planet does not, nor does it cry so much over used sales.
Publishers need to learn they need to give an inventive to get people to buy software used and support them, raising prices, zero-day ripoff DLC, and ONLINE PASSES of all things are the exact opposite of what you should be doing. You do not take something away that we have had for years (online play in this case), and then re-package it with the product and argue that you are getting a value by getting online access with the game.
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When you buy a car used, does the manufacturer get the money?
When you shop at Goodwill, do the production companies make money?
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Also, how come they're all of a sudden like, "hmm maybe we can take a cut" before they were like, "don't buy used games and retailers don't sell them" So really they've just adjusted their strategy to make more money, because in the first instance they wouldn't.
Also if it's the developers themselves complaining, yes programming and developing can be very very tedious difficult work, but once you've done it, you've done it (plus ure working in a team to get it over and done with). The situation might be different if they worked on some sort of production line and each individual item counted. It's software damn it. You're either making a profit because you managed your development budget beforehand, plus you worked out how many copies to actually make (and face it, it costs sod all to press and package a dvd/bluray etc) or your not because a load of money was plowed into a game that was never gonna work in the first place. I blame the developers for making crap games and the publishers for providing the money to do it. Don't blame the retailers or even the consumers.
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When I go out to buy a used game it's most likely because I already know what it is and just want the cheaper deal.
I make my own decisions thank you very much.
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In future, used games are interesting only if you do not want to play online (MP-mode ... e.g. Battlefield).
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