Oryx
CoquettishCat
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- Age 31
- Seen Jan 30, 2015
"If I am purchasing games in order to reward their creators, and to ensure that more of these ingenious contraptions are produced, I honestly can't figure out how buying a used game was any better than piracy. From the the perspective of a developer, they are almost certainly synonymous." -Jerry Holkins, Penny Arcade
Many developers have made it clear that they hate the used games industry; they do all the hard work of making the game, then Gamestop turns around, buys the game for 20 bucks, resells it for 55, and pockets the entire profit. Used games drive down sales and harm developers, who receive payments in the form of loans; if the game fails, they have to pay some of that money back. If the game is mostly bought used, then it fails and the developer loses. Add to this that gamers demand engaging stories (that can only truly be experienced once) and that multiplayer is the big way to keep people playing the game, and we have games that don't match the vision of the developer because they're hoping to keep you playing so you don't sell the game back.
On the other hand, AAA games are extremely expensive - $60 is not an impulse buy for many people, especially of the age that play video games regularly. Often used games are chosen by the player specifically for the cutting out of the developer; they can play the game while still sending the message that the developer gets no money for whatever reason they choose. And when games go out of production, used is the only way to buy them.
With all these reasons on both sides of the spectrum, used games are contentious in the gaming community - they pit gamer against developer, a fight that should really never be happening. Is there a solution? Or are we doomed to fight with the people making what we love (or the people loving what we make) forever, souring a relationship that should be good?
Many developers have made it clear that they hate the used games industry; they do all the hard work of making the game, then Gamestop turns around, buys the game for 20 bucks, resells it for 55, and pockets the entire profit. Used games drive down sales and harm developers, who receive payments in the form of loans; if the game fails, they have to pay some of that money back. If the game is mostly bought used, then it fails and the developer loses. Add to this that gamers demand engaging stories (that can only truly be experienced once) and that multiplayer is the big way to keep people playing the game, and we have games that don't match the vision of the developer because they're hoping to keep you playing so you don't sell the game back.
On the other hand, AAA games are extremely expensive - $60 is not an impulse buy for many people, especially of the age that play video games regularly. Often used games are chosen by the player specifically for the cutting out of the developer; they can play the game while still sending the message that the developer gets no money for whatever reason they choose. And when games go out of production, used is the only way to buy them.
With all these reasons on both sides of the spectrum, used games are contentious in the gaming community - they pit gamer against developer, a fight that should really never be happening. Is there a solution? Or are we doomed to fight with the people making what we love (or the people loving what we make) forever, souring a relationship that should be good?