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Lincoln
Snapperhead
Lincoln
15,966 Posts
20 Feb 2007, 8:37am

Why I don't buy used games

After a conversation with a local comic book store owner, Brian reflects on why you shouldn't buy used games.

Want to support brick-and-mortar stores and huge profit margins? Go ahead and buy 'em. Want to support game development? Buy new.
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WingXero
New to the neighborhood
WingXero
2 Posts
21 Feb 2007, 12:42am
I agree with you to a point Brian. I too prefer to support the developers but prices for video games are getting out of control. I have a hard time justifying $60 per game for PS3 and XBox360 games that in my opinion don't offer anything revolutionary besides eye candy. Being a software developer myself I can appreciate the hard work that goes into the process, but as a paying customer the price is just too high for a lot of the games being released. If every game that was released was a Halo, or Final Fantasy quality I would probably just suck it up and pay the $60, however far few games are anywhere near this quality.

Maybe slouching sales will force the not so stellar developers to produce a better product. Not that I'm defending stores like GameStop but there isn't a whole lot of margin on new video game sales, so the majority of there revenue is probably made from used games sales. I don't know about anyone else but when I want a particular game I want to pick it up ASAP. I don't want to pay shipping (and pay even more) and wait a few days for the game to arrive. If buying a used game every now and then means keeping stores like GameStop open so be it.
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WingXero edited : 21 Feb 2007 at 3:25am .
Madball
Resident Carpenter
Madball
410 Posts
21 Feb 2007, 2:50am
I prefer to buy used if I don't know if the game is great or not. It makes me feel better if I buy a bad game, if I know I paid less than full price for it. Of course there aren't too many used Wii games out there and when I do find one they're only about $5 less than full, new price. In that case I'll just buy the new game.
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Kwitko
Sheriff of Dicktown
Kwitko
6,522 Posts

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21 Feb 2007, 3:22am
You should add used CDs and movies to that. It's the same thing, the artists and actors don't get the royalties from used stuff.
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primesuspect
The Icrontic Guy
primesuspect
27,799 Posts
21 Feb 2007, 3:41am
Quoting WingXero
I agree with you to a point Brian. I too prefer to support the developers but prices for video games are getting out of control. I have a hard time justifying $60 per game for PS3 and XBox360 games that in my opinion don't offer anything revolutionary besides eye candy. Being a software developer myself I can appreciate the hard work that goes into the process, but as a paying customer the price is just too high for a lot of the games being released. If every game that was released was a Halo, or Final Fantasy quality I would probably just suck it up and pay the $60, however far few games are anywhere near this quality.

Maybe slouching sales will force the not so stellar developers to produce a better product. Not that I'm defending stores like GameStop but there isn't a whole lot of margin on new video game sales, so the majority of there revenue is probably made from used games sales. I don't know about anyone else but when I want a particular game I want to pick it up ASAP. I don't want to pay shipping (and pay even more) and wait a few days for the game to arrive. If buying a used game every now and then means keeping stores like GameStop open so be it.
I agree with you that there are many, many games out there that are NOT worth $50-$75 - however this is where we vote with our wallets. If a developer makes a crappy game @ $60, and nobody buys it.... They may learn their lesson.
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Leonardo
F@H Reign of Terror is back!
Leonardo
14,701 Posts
21 Feb 2007, 3:42am
Gamestop and other used game outfits have been a great boon for my family. When my son was younger, used games were the way to go simply because I would NOT spend $$$ on new games, not even knowing whether he'd like them or not. Also, my son usually bought his own games. He received a monthly allowance from me. His responsibility was to manage his money, budgeting for charity, savings, and entertainment. Part of training him to be responsible and savvy with household income was allowing him to spend frugally. Used games came in many flavors: NES, Sega Saturn, N64, and later XBox. There's no way he would have had many games at all at full retail prices. Our household simply does not allocate much money to entertainment. There were the times, yes, when full retail purchases were made. An example of that was Halo for PC.
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bothered
pondering and wandering along
bothered
4,548 Posts
21 Feb 2007, 7:17am
I see no differance between buying used games or used cars, houses, TV sets, anything. The manufacturers build the development costs into the price. If they do a good job they will survive, it's evolution in action. Having said that it is extremely rare for me to buy a used game. There just arn't any excellent used games I don't already have/want, for many people though, it is there only option.
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DogDragon
Veteran Icrontian
DogDragon
1,858 Posts
3 Mar 2007, 1:45am
I buy both new from the store and used from people I know online.
So the retailer not getting paid over & over, But people(I know online)who buys a game and they don't think it's all that gets some of their money back and I save a couple buck.
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mmonnin
Veteran Icrontian
mmonnin
10,545 Posts
3 Mar 2007, 5:09am
Quoting Kwitko
You should add used CDs and movies to that. It's the same thing, the artists and actors don't get the royalties from used stuff.
Music artists dont get crap from NEW albums. Their money comes from concerts.
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Leonardo
F@H Reign of Terror is back!
Leonardo
14,701 Posts
3 Mar 2007, 6:50am
I see no differance between buying used games or used cars, houses, TV sets, anything.
Exactly.

Make games that are worth the price, and it will take care of it itself. Something is only worth what people are willing to pay.
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Nightwolf
Veteran Icrontian
Nightwolf
2,316 Posts
11 Mar 2007, 3:47am
Quoting mmonnin
Music artists dont get crap from NEW albums. Their money comes from concerts.
Depending on the genre and popularity of the artist.
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Nomad
-
Nomad
3,503 Posts
11 Mar 2007, 6:12am
I buy used because it's cheaper. I show the developer that their material is not worth paying full price for by doing so.
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AMobileGeek
Hopeless
AMobileGeek
10 Posts
12 Mar 2007, 3:16am
$60 sucks for a game, but I remember paying $60 for Sega gen games... I always wanted to know how I could afford them when I was little.
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Leonardo
F@H Reign of Terror is back!
Leonardo
14,701 Posts
12 Mar 2007, 3:38am
but I remember paying $60 for Sega gen games... I always wanted to know how I could afford them when I was little
We - our family and my son - afforded those games for N64 and Sega Saturn by buying used. Sure, there were purchases of new games, the ones he really wanted but couldn't find used, but the new purchases were few and far between. The shops that allowed swapping and credits and offered used games allowed us to have many games instead of just the most popular two or three.
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AMobileGeek
Hopeless
AMobileGeek
10 Posts
12 Mar 2007, 6:01pm
Last summer I used Gamefly for games that I wanted to play, but didn't really want to keep to play again after I beat it. Before that, when I traded my PS2 for an Xbox 4 years ago and it was nice to pick up the popular games for xbox used when I got the system.
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Keelhaul
army strong
Keelhaul
37 Posts
11 Jun 2007, 2:20am
As a consumer, my primary concern is paying as little as possible for a product (for me, it is my only concern).
Whenever someone has to appeal to the consumer's morals to earn a buck, something is wrong. Same thing with little local businesses whining about online stores and trying to make you feel guilty about not supporting local business. Well guess what, not my problem. Either find a new way to distribute your merchandise or vanish. The market dictates the rules, not morals.

EDIT:
I agree with bothered there: Oblivion sold quite well, despite not even having copy protection.
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