Used Games: Bad for the Industry?

[Glorb]

No kidding.

But there's no proof that used game sales caused that. I'll bet (and this is just my theory) that people saw it and went, "Oh, it's some lame adventure game, I'll never buy this." I mean, unless you play it, it does look like a generic PS2 action/adventure game.

[bobman37]

Technically, the supposed reason of its failure was a bad release time. It was released in the middle of a few big hitters (I don't remember what they were). I didn't say that it was solely due to used game sales, and I wasn't even trying to prove anything about used games in that specific example. What I was pointing out was this: The game failed because of a lack of sales. Used games cause a lack of sales. The transitive property would suggest that used games cause failures of game sequels and, potentially, entire publishing companies. Sorry for double post down there

[bobman37]

[Glorb]

That's related...how?

But, as you said before that, yes, BG&E did fail because of lack of sales, but used game sales do not cause some huge butterfly effect that will ruin a publisher. I mean, let's look at it this way: So far, Nintendo has made a kafillion gajillion dollars off all their IPs combined. Therefore, used game sales would not make the slightest dent in their profits. For smaller companies, this would be a problem, but that brings me back to my original point: used games have not yet caused a noticeable drop in anything.

[Chupperson Weird]

Of course it makes a dent in their profits. If everyone bought Nintendo's games new, they would make more money.

[BP]

Yes, but people with games they didn't want anymore would simply throw them out.
I don't sell games I bought though. I've done it before and man do I wish I hadn't. Now games I got for some Christmas when I was little and stuff... I don't miss The Jungle Book for the SNES at all.

[bobman37]

Normally I only sell back games I bought when a) they were a gift and really really suck (Nintendogs), or b) it was used and I didn't like it, and less than a week has passed since I bought it (Tony Hawk's American Wasteland), or it's broken (Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga). Gamestop gives you all your money back!

[Kojinka]

a) was a gift and really really sucked (Ping Pals)  I wish I had just thrown that abomination away.  The thing virtually wasn't worth squat.
b) I didn't like it, and about a week has passed since I bought it (Resident Evil 4)
or it's a broken, used copy (Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask)  Software Etc. swapped copies for me free of charge, if I remember correctly; probably because I had just bought that used copy there the day before, and we had the receipt with us.

That's my case scenario.

[Glorb]

You didn't like RE4? For shame.

[Kojinka]

It was great, but it just wasn't my kind of game.

[Suffix]

I'll drink to that. Just as soon as I'm thirsty.

[Matty_G33]

I find used games mostly awful, because of the condition. If you buy one from a rental store, you never get the proper manual and if it's a cartridge, it'll have vivid marking and void stickers on it. If it's a disc, it might have scratches (if you are lucky, a disc guard is stuck on). The case won't be the proper one, but if it is, it might be altered...

Preowned Games from EB and other stores like The Gamesman and Central Park are likely to have scratches or missing manuals, making them useless.

I bought two GCN games on a national auction website and my the system at a rental store for $100NZ, with the Cube, the leads, two memory cards, three controllers, but no games (I bought them after a while; I recently got Metroid Prime 2: Echoes).

So basically, I buy good condition stuff, but only go online if there is a game in perfect condition.

[Glorb]

You know, not all used games are in the condition you describe. The other day I bought used copies of Burnout 3 and Star Wars Battlefront at GameStop, and the discs were in pristine condition, with no scratches or smudges at all, and the case and manuals were perfect, too. Obviously, though, the previous owner either didn't handle them much or was just a neat freak; some used games are even worse than the way you described. I saw a copy of XIII for PS2 at EB Games before, and not only was the disc scratched and smudged, but the manual was missing pages and was actually crusty (apparently, the pages had stuck together and dried after having coffee spilled on it). The case was also a green Xbox case, and the cover was one of the generic "PRE-OWNED GAME" fill-in-the-blanks papers, with the back ripped out and replaced with a black-and-white photocopy of the game's back cover. Obviously, I didn't buy it. But most of the games I buy used are in excellent condition.

[Matty_G33]

When I got my GameCube from VideoEzy, it had "void" stickers all over it as well as the memory cards and the controllers.

This was really annoying, seeing it is hard getting off the silver sticky stuff they leave behind when you rip them off. They also engrave into the plastics, also annoying.

[Glorb]

Well, then don't buy from rental stores; their stuff is crap. It's been used by tons of people, and the fact vthat they're owning for only a few days means they don't care about the condition. The VOID stickers and plastic engravings are there to discourage people from pawning the system they just rented.