I always buy pre-owned if I can. I save money and occasionally there will be a save file left over from the previous owner for me to toy around with, as was the case with my copy of Golden Sun (all level 100s lololololol).
I really don't like how us PC gamers have been shafted in the case of games made in the last 3 years or so. Take Call of Duty: Black Ops for example. I beat the campaign in about 3 days, and the multiplayer I found to be inferior to Modern Warfare 2. So basically I paid $60 for three days of mediocre entertainment that has no resale value.
For those who are not PC gamers: pretty much all modern major PC releases are registered to the player's Steam and/or EA Games account. These games cannot be transferred to anyone else's account once they have been registered. Sure, you could sell the game disc, but without a Steam key it is essentially a shiny piece of plastic.
I think this is supposed to be some kind of method to counter piracy, but in my opinion it
encourages piracy. Why pay $60 for a game that you might not like knowing you won't be able to sell it to recoup some of your profits? A lot of gamers see piracy as the answer to this.
Also, funny little note: my local GreedStop has a used copy of Emerald Version for sale for $45.00! Hilariously, it's right next to the stand selling brand new copies of Black/White for $10 less!!! (I'll post pictures the next time I'm in town)
I always buy new games new whenever I can, unless it's an old game that I won't find a new copy of anymore. I actually care if my money goes to the developers because I'm not an ass that practically steals the effort of many people for an extra $5 off the price tag.
It's a horrible idea. The shares are already split between developers and marketers and games are becoming much more expensive nowadays, so it's harder for companies to turn a profit.
And to be honest, I don't think stores should get away with this crap either, at least not when they see 100% of the profits. Hope you all realize you're slowly killing the physical game industry.
@Luck: I wouldn't mind if there were a 5-10% royalty fee on used games so that the developers can eat too. Sadly, I don't see GreedStop doing this anytime soon, especially since their used titles are just barely below the price of new ones.
However, there are some developers I won't support. EA for example with their "exclusive rights" to NFL titles not to mention that their long-standing series such as Need For Speed get worse and worse every year. NFS: Most Wanted was an amazing game which I bought new at $40. I also bought Carbon (also very good) and ProStreet (decent) after that... however, I bought Undercover new and was totally displeased to the point that when Hot Pursuit came out, I snatched a (probably bootleg, I didn't care) copy on eBay for $18.00, sure enough the game was garbage. The Undercover situation also brings me back to my first point: I bought the PC version and cannot sell this awful game because the serial number is tied to my EA account.