The pre-owned video game market has long been a contentious subject. While major retailers like GameStop generate tons of revenue on the re-sale of games, publishers don't see a dime of those sales. In the U.K., retailer HMV recently announced that it would start selling used games, which Frontier Developments' David Braben said is "shocking," according to GI.biz. Braben also noted that the pre-owned market is one factor that's causing Frontier to embrace digital distribution.
"The shops are not giving us a way of distinguishing between pre-owned and new. So the shops are essentially defrauding the industry," he said, adding, "We've got a lot of retailers eating our lunch and refusing to sell full-priced games. I've been in a shop where I've tried to buy a copy of a relatively recent game, and I've taken an empty box off the shelf and they've given me a pre-owned copy. That, I think, is disgraceful. Not holding stock of new games, substituting them with pre-owned games at the same or much the same price... That is really destroying the shelf-life of our games."
In a recent interview with GameDaily BIZ, GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo defended his company's lucrative trade-in business, claiming that the pre-owned market actually helps fuel new game sales. "New games in the U.S. this year will be $10 to $12 billion, so 8 to 10 percent of the total dollars used to buy new games this year will be from currency from GameStop's trade-in program. What we see is that consumers want to buy new games, but they don't have the cash because our trades go up as our new game sales go up. They're using trade-ins to buy games because more money is going into their gas tank. It's a source of currency that helps drive the video game business. I think the argument that it competes with the new games is false," he said.
Reader Comments (5)
David Braben=Dark Ages In related news, Braben also called on Congress to shut down all used record/cd stores.
I don't see a problem with buying a Pre-owned game. Hell i've purchased pre-owned games many times. Not everyone has the many to buy a full priced game. Developers are still making money from people that run out and pay sixty for a game when they get released. I'd personally rather wait weeks or a month to find that same game for half off. depending on the store i go to i can find a game ranging from ten to forty-five dollars. So i don't see how buying a used game is defrauding the gaming industry. it's not like gamers are pirating games.
That must be why General Motors is going bankrupt! It's all of the used cars they're getting defrauded out of!!! -Rob
Delusional. He should be happy people are buying real games and not pirating software. Make quality downloadable content instead perhaps? This was tried in Japan, failed miserably. Try to do this in the US and you'll be slapped with an anti-trust lawsuit. Jealous of gamestop's profits? Buy their stock and stop whining.
When you re-sell an item why should the publishers receive anything for it. They already received their dimes when they sold the game NEW. I*****ame has been discontinued and is no longer in production, how are games going to find that age old game and play it. The only way is to find it at a Gamestop where they specialize in the re-selling of used games. The same goes with the music industry. There are companies out there that resell used CDs, Cassettes, even LPs and the Record industry does not get a dime for the resell of those either. As Dan DeMatteo said .. the sell of the Used games will drive New Sales cause it bring the customer back into the store to purchase the newest edition of the game they just played.