Used Games Account for 20% or More of Players' Libraries – Interpret

December 15, 2008 | By: James Brightman

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The researchers at Interpret have released a new report on the used games market, which sheds some light on how much players look to used titles to save some cash.

A new white paper report from global research firm Interpret – revealed to GameDaily BIZ – has taken a look at the used games market in light of recent comments on the controversial topic by GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo and a rebuttal by industry veteran David Perry.

Publishers have long complained about the loss of revenue due to the resale of video games, and recently game companies have been doing more with downloadable extras to incentivize players to buy new or to at least hold on to their games. This will no doubt be a trend to watch since used games currently account for at least 20 percent of video game purchases at retail, Interpret has found.

"...those who do buy used games have a good deal of their purchasing power soaked up by GameStop and other specialty retailers—to the detriment of both conventional electronics outlets and new game sales in general."

According to Interpret's Gameasure survey, which segments gamers into various types, the Hardcore Multi-Gamers buy the most used games. These are gamers that own four or more platforms for gaming and play a wide variety of genres. It should be noted that these gamers also purchase more games than any other group, and so they actually buy a relatively small proportion (19 percent on average) of used titles out of their total game purchases. More specifically, this group buys 1.16 used games for every 5.10 new games over every six-month period.

Interpret found that the other groups – Casual PC Preferrer, Role-Strategist, Education Gamer, Lead/Rocker Gamer, Racer- Arcade and Sim, MS Primary Shooter/Squad Commander – all purchase between 20-35 percent of their games used. The one standout was the Console Omnivore – Adventurer, which buys an incredible 41 percent used. Interpret describes these gamers as those who own three gaming platforms and play a wide variety of genres.

"Omnivores are interested in a diverse variety of genres, but own fewer consoles than the Hardcore, indicating a slightly more limited purchasing power," notes Interpret. "Indeed, those in this group are nearly twice as likely as Multigamers to use the PS2 more than any other console (32% as opposed to 17%); this result indicates a strong interest in last-generation consoles among Omnivores, borne of both price-consciousness and enthusiasm for gaming's 'back catalog.' Such consumers would not only desire to buy large number of games for the lowest possible price, but would be more interested in older games to begin with—both of which explain their preference for used titles."