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The Great Debate: New or Used?
Tweet Topic Started: Aug 26 2010, 11:47 AM (254 Views)
dangermouse Aug 26 2010, 11:47 AM Post #1
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Hey guys
I'm sure everyone is all over this already but over at Penny Arcade it seems the debate over buying games new or used has gotten a massive response from readers. THQ has come out and said they don't give a toss about people who miss out on "premium content" becuase they've brought a trade-in from EB or Gamespot (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=261330), and apparently people aren't happy with this development.

I personally rarely buy used games, howeve once every six months or so I'll trade in games I haven't played in a while. I'm not sure whether this makes me part of the problem or, in THQ's eyes, a hypocrite?

Here's the comic: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/8/25/
You all know how to get to the newsposts.

-DM
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JLC215 Aug 26 2010, 01:14 PM Post #2
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Don't care either way - I usually install to my 360 HDD so it doesn't read off the disk (except for the initial install obviously).

What pisses me off is buying a "new" game from EB and it turns out to be "used" cause so many people take advantage of the 7 day rental policy - now I make sure if I'm buying "new" from anywhere its still sealed.
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LeonK Aug 26 2010, 01:55 PM Post #3
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JLC215
Aug 26 2010, 01:14 PM
Don't care either way - I usually install to my 360 HDD so it doesn't read off the disk (except for the initial install obviously).

What pisses me off is buying a "new" game from EB and it turns out to be "used" cause so many people take advantage of the 7 day rental policy - now I make sure if I'm buying "new" from anywhere its still sealed.
I think the main issue here is more that the used game market undercuts developers rather than concerns for the quality of used discs.

My personal belief is that my right to whine about how corrupt and shitty an industry has become is directly proportional to the degree with which I support quality output from said industry. For example, suppose I want to bitch about how many unoriginal games are coming out at the moment to cash in on franchise popularity. By my reckoning, this argument loses all credibility if when a new and original game comes out I choose to pirate it or purchase it second hand. Because in this case, I have provided no financial reward (the only kind that counts in this market) to the developers who have produced exactly what I was asking for.
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raghraghragh Aug 26 2010, 02:02 PM Post #4
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dangermouse
Aug 26 2010, 11:47 AM
Hey guys
I'm sure everyone is all over this already but over at Penny Arcade it seems the debate over buying games new or used has gotten a massive response from readers. THQ has come out and said they don't give a toss about people who miss out on "premium content" becuase they've brought a trade-in from EB or Gamespot (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=261330), and apparently people aren't happy with this development.

I personally rarely buy used games, howeve once every six months or so I'll trade in games I haven't played in a while. I'm not sure whether this makes me part of the problem or, in THQ's eyes, a hypocrite?

Here's the comic: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/8/25/
You all know how to get to the newsposts.

-DM
While I buy new (unless the game is from a previous generation and I can't find a new copy) and this doesn't affect me, there's a massive problem with this whole 'let's go after people who buy used games' thing.

- People often trade in games to buy NEW games. If game stores can no longer sell these used titles because of a lack of interest, less new games will be sold. People who buy used often do so because they can't afford a new copy (kids, students etc).
- Many stores rely on used game sales to stay afloat (EB for example).
- If these stores can no longer make the same sort of money from used games, they'll be forced to shut down.
- Fewer stores and less competition means that game prices could perhaps go up.
- People will buy less NEW games.

I don't think these games companies are really thinking this through. They're doing what the music industry did when Napster came around (that is that everybody who steals a song would have otherwise purchased it), which is bizarre because the used game market has been around almost as long as changeable cartridges have been. But what's even more bizarre is the fact that it seems like nobody cares about piracy anymore, just this stupid 2nd hand market.
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dangermouse Aug 26 2010, 10:43 PM Post #5
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I agree with your point ragh. Perhaps they feel that this battle against used games can be more easily won then the one against piracy? I would have thought they'd spend more effort on that issue.
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Jason_Level3 Aug 26 2010, 11:48 PM Post #6
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Ragh really beat me to this one, and his Napster point is spot on. The companies need to make sure they don't treat their customers like second class citizens, because if there is no loyalty from customers, then the piracy issue will only get worse.

Also, considering how many people responded, you could say we were mass debating. You were all thinking it.
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CloneTrooper Aug 27 2010, 04:42 AM Post #7
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I for one dont want to see EB and the dry. I prefer going into my local EB and knowing the guys who run it, and getting looked after with superior service.

I trade there so I can afford new games, because of the position the distributor's in with buying their stock overseas...and having price-fixed games at around 100-120. Its a bitch of a situation.

I support EA's Project 10 Dollar with the extra content they provide in new games....and understand why they want to do the multiplayer thing....but yeah.

MS charges us to play games online, and the publishers dont see any of that profit....so I guess you can see why they want to get in on that cashcow.

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Darth_Level3 Aug 27 2010, 06:38 AM Post #8
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Personally, I prefer to buy new, but I'll buy used if I'm after something in particular that's quite hard to find. For instance, I'm not expecting to find a new PS2 copy of Marvel vs Capcom 2 anywhere soon, so I'll have to pay the $100 to get a used copy - which I did a few years back.

But I also gotta agree with Ragh's point. It's getting to Napster-esque levels, and while I don't mind the one time codes or the project 10 dollar stuff, it's almost getting to the point where PC games are now - with ludicrous measures to ensure that you don't get rid of the game or whatever, that really hampers the experience. Of course, it's not THAT bad, but it'll slowly get there at this point.
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Jason_Level3 Aug 27 2010, 09:18 AM Post #9
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Darth finally makes a real post.
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Ozzy Aug 27 2010, 05:56 PM Post #10
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I buy used as much as I can. If the Australian distributors want to charge me over $100 AU for a brand new game that they probably purchased for less than $10 US, they don't deserve my money...

I usually give myself a $30 limit when buying games. If I can buy it new for that price, I will.
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CloneTrooper Aug 30 2010, 12:41 AM Post #11
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Aug 27 2010, 05:56 PM
I buy used as much as I can. If the Australian distributors want to charge me over $100 AU for a brand new game that they probably purchased for less than $10 US, they don't deserve my money...

I usually give myself a $30 limit when buying games. If I can buy it new for that price, I will.
Not quite...

They settled on the $100 mark awhile because they have to purchase it from their distributors overseas in the overseas currency....which can be fucking expensive sometimes. Especially when its in Euros.

Hell its a big reason why Red Ant collapsed. The set price is to ensure our RRPs dont fluctuate with the rising and falling of the currency markets. I know its a whore, but yeah.

Quote:
 
When the Australian dollar crashed at the beginning of what we now refer to as the Global Financial Crisis, it spelled trouble for the game and DVD distributor. As an importer of videogames and films from overseas, dealing mostly in Euros, the weakened Aussie dollar saw Red Ant lose money with every order they made. Being locked into contracts meant they had to go through with orders made prior to the dollar weakening and, even though the sales of their titles were up, the losses were far greater.
Source


Anyway, most places like JB and such are slashing the costs of alot games at release...and EB and GAME do price matching along with JB so you can pick up new games for fairly cheap.
Edited by CloneTrooper, Aug 30 2010, 12:44 AM.
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