Used Up

Here's my biggest gripe with playing games nowadays: This talk of game developers complaining about used game sales. Basically, when you buy a used game from Gamestop, you are only paying them. It's pure profit. The developers, programmers, artists, only see money on new sales, not used.
Game companies want to eliminate middle men like Gamestop and get back their market share. I hate this shit! Listen, there's only so much money I can spend on games. With 2 growing kids, that budget (for me) is getting smaller. Used games allow me experience more bomb games, more bang for my buck.

Plus, THERE'S TOO MANY GAMES OUT ANYWAY!!

I mean, let's be real, how many games are on your "I def need to try that" list? How many games have you loved, only to drop it midway cause the next obsession came out?
I love strolling through Gamestop periodically. Sometimes I see a game that shouldn't have fallen off of the radar, like Uncharted, and boom, 15 bucks? Why not? This has happened to everyone reading this right now. Used games and the third party market cannot go away. 
I completely understand and respect where the Game Companies are coming from, but they need to see it from a consumer perspective. They say our game consoles will move away from disc media all together, and we will have to download everything we want to play. Brick and mortar spots like Gamestop will go away, and everything will be full price. In fact, this would be the best news for the EA's and Capcom's of the world. Non-existent packaging and shipping costs only mean more profits. I don't want to go on a tangent but I hope that day never comes. Since it seems we are safe from that scenario for at least for this next generation, I'm not going to go down that road.

Companies have steadily added extra content that can only be "unlocked" with a code. Multiplayer features for example. Every new game has it for free, by it used, and you will need to fork over 5 to 10 bucks to get your full game. Or, there's the subscription model. Pay a one time free for all upcoming DLC content. You will get all of it at a slightly reduced cost, and the developer just doubled its money very quickly.

Then there's the COD Elite service. A premium subscription that ties in all your COD history, plus providing optimized clan support, and in depth stat tracking. And first crack at DLC, or course. This will run you 60 bucks a year. So that, combined with the obligatory COD purchase every year, your 60 dollar game became 120. Boom.

I can't fault game companies for trying different ways to maximize their cash flow. These types of things will never go away. What should never go away however is the used market. If Gamestop and the like are robbing the development houses blind, take it directly to THEM! I have no love lost for Gamestop, being a former employee, but the "game store" has a place. I'm sure Gamestop would rather partake in some sort of profit sharing then risk out and out bankruptcy.

Instead of used sales going directly into a retail store's bottom line, 25% goes back to the developers. Develop a POS system that developers can share with their retailers. Take it a step further, and give back to fans. Is Joe Gamer trading in Modern Warfare 3 for Blops 2? Then that guy gets the first DLC for free. Or get competitive: Trade Modern Warfare for Battlefield and EA will take an additional $10 off.

Retailers will not let their profits go away without a fight, so there should be some give and take. A retailer should offer some sort of insurance that their game will sell. Let's say a super hyped game completely bombs, or is so short it gets traded in right away. The sudden turn around will have the game sitting in the bargain bin before you know it, and completely waste advertising dollars. In that case, the developers profit sharing percentage goes down, or is less on the next big title. Maybe the percentage can fluctuate between developers depending on Metacritic score and trade in sales.
Who knows?

Bottom line is that gamers need an affordable way to buy what they want on a budget, or they will create a way. Ebay, modded consoles etc. Gaming is a big pie, and everyone can have their fair slice, including US!

What do you guys think? Hit me up. Follow me on Twitter (@floworcrash) or you can rock some USED games with me on XBOX or PS3. It's all the same name. See you out there.