Look at all those used games for sale!
When I was about 10 years old, I wandered into a little store called Funco Land. I distinctly remember it being next to a Bradlees and asking my mother to take me in because I saw all these TVs inside through the windows. They had something I had never seen before, a “used games” section, with prices that were lower than new games! I had been an introduced to a whole new side of retail in the gaming industry.
Of course, Funco Land turned into GameStop, and GameStop eventually merged with EB Games, and now we seemingly have a GameStop or EB on every street corner selling used games. Is the used game market good for the industry as a whole, or is it the seedy underbelly of the video games industry? espion4ge and I decided to tackle this huge topic for a discussion that got so big we needed to split it up into three parts. We also know that people have a lot of opinions when it comes to GameStop and used games in general, so we’d love to hear what you think in the comments.
In Part 1, espion4ge and I talk about our own used game habits and whether we think used games are beneficial or harmful to consumers.
Part 1: What is your personal policy on buying/selling used games? How do you think the used game industry benefits and/or harms consumers?
In the interests of full disclosure, I think it’s good if we start by talking about our own buying habits. Personally, I’ve been cutting down the number of used games I buy these days. Generally, I sell games at GameStop when I am getting something out of it. The last two times I sold games at GameStop were when I got a 20% bonus towards my Halo Wars pre-order and when I got a 40% bonus for trading in 6 games (I combined with a friend). I usually use that credit to buy new games. I don’t think it’s worth saving 5 dollars to get the used copy, plus I enjoy the tactile sensation of tearing the plastic off a new video game. The only time I buy a used game these days is if I can’t find a copy of the new game or sometimes if it’s really cheap (like $10) I’ll just pick a used game up. But as we discussed in our previous discussion on game price points, I generally just wait for sales to pick games up.
One of the reasons I don’t buy used games anymore is because I am worried that used games will hurt the developer and ultimately end up hurting me. Take Mirror’s Edge for example. Right now I can pick it up for $35 used at GameStop. Instead, I am waiting until I can find a new copy for $30 or $35 dollars, so that the developer is the one pocketing my cash, not GameStop. “Wait,” someone might say, “by waiting for the price to drop the developer ends up making less money anyway.” That’s true, but the developer still makes more money than 0, which is what they would get from a used game sale. Also, if I buy a new game, that will eventually come out in NPDs and then I can be one of the million or so people whom the developer counts as buying their game. In the case of Mirror’s Edge, I want the publisher, EA, to know I appreciate the fact that they took a risk with a new IP in Mirror’s Edge (Deadspace, too, but that game is probably too scary for a chicken like me), so I want the new copy I buy to show up in their bottom line. If too many people buy Mirror’s Edge used, EA might decide not to make a sequel, and then they will never get a chance to improve on all the things they still need to work on from the original. Even worse, they will just pour their money back into their money makers, the sports franchises, and I will have less choice as a gamer. That is something I am trying to avoid as a consumer, and the only way I can show my support for developers is by opening up my wallet for new games.
Obviously, the used game market benefits us by offering us cheaper games. Also, there are other options out there besides GameStop that I probably would consider using if I wasn’t so lazy. Personally, I just see more harm to the industry as a whole if I buy used games, so I try not to. espion4ge, since you’re always on top of the B2G1 used deals, hit me with your opinions on this question!
Should I have taken the leap into Mirror’s Edge earlier?
As much as I hate to admit it, I’m cornered and have to confess: even though I’m a hardcore gamer, I probably buy as many used games as retail games. It’s not something I’m completely proud of, but to me, saving my own money takes more precedent than contributing to the development studio. Of course that sounds selfish, but I’m not talking about a $5 difference between used and new. If I was given the option of buying a used game for only a few dollars cheaper than a new copy, I’d scoff at that and always go for the new game. But when the used game is practically half the price of a new game, my “deal hunting” instinct overrides that. I often amass games, then only trade them into GameStop when they run a promotion (like their current trade in 6+ and get 40% bonus trade-in credit.) I almost always use this credit at their store only when they run a B2G1 used free. As a result of the paucity of good titles left for me to buy and the number of times a year GameStop runs the promotion, I carry hundreds of dollars in credit at the store.
While I realize that buying used doesn’t help developers at all, the world is used to the second-hand industry. Take cars for example – do Toyota and Honda deserve a cut of the profits if a used Toyota or Honda is sold? Sometimes people need a car and can’t afford to buy it new so they instead buy one used. So as long as games are physical (as opposed to digital), the used industry will exist and it is how it is.
One other thing to note is how buying new helps a developer. It’s not so cut and dry that buying a new copy of a game at any time will help a developer. With someone I know working in the videogame industry, publishers that put out the games that developers work on only care about the first month or two of sales. That’s because statistically, that’s the lion’s share of sales. If you buy a game right at launch, that will help the developer. But if you wait several months afterwards following price drops and all that (Mirror’s Edge) for example, I don’t know if the developer will really see much. Often times when price drops come around it’s because the games aren’t selling. But keep in mind, publishers care most about how many copies of the game have been sold to the stores, not to the end customers like us.
As far as the publisher/developer is concerned, each copy shipped to a store is counted as the sale. So if people buy all the copies from a store at release and a store needs to order more copies, the sales count goes up. But if those copies don’t sell, they will sit on the retailer’s shelf until they decide to put it on sale or price drops come around. The stores are then just trying to clear out inventory, because they’re stuck with the games. If you’re buying Mirror’s Edge now at $40 instead of months ago for $60, it doesn’t matter much anymore. Plus, EA already decided to go into cost savings mode and switch back to focus on sports titles, just because the game did not sell well enough in its first couple of months. I would argue that buying Mirror’s Edge today at its reduced price is perhaps not much better than buying it used. So does the used market hurt the gaming industry? I think it has the potential to, just like the used market of any industry, but I don’t think it’s taking much from the first month or two of a game’s sales and that’s what would really affect the developer.
That’s a great point about the first two months of sales, I totally forgot about that. My apologies, Mirror’s Edge, I have failed you! I guess that continues the comparisons that have been made recently between the video game and movie industries. Blockbusters in both industries need to recoup most of their costs in that initial blitz of sales/viewings. Unfortunately, the difference is movies can keep making money through DVD sales long after that initial blitz if it didn’t go well. I don’t think developers should get a cut of used games sales either, so I guess I’ll need to try harder to support good IPs up front.
You brought up your hundreds of dollars of credit at GameStop, which leads us nicely into the next section. Since GameStop is such a strong force in the used game market, in Part 2 we’ll evaluate GameStop and discuss whether there is a way used games could be done “better.” Tune in tomorrow to hear our thoughts.
Until then, tell us in the comments what your personal habits are when it comes to buying or selling used games!
i think the “first two months = most sales anyway” argument is a little flawed.
it may be the case that the first two months are important for sales *because* of the used-game market. before gamestop became huge, it was much more difficult to find used games. now that gamestop is practically everywhere, developers have to look at the first months of release before enough people tire of the game and the used market cannibalizes sales.
i think it parallels the movie industry. before dvds/xvid, the ticket sales for movies were much more evenly distributed over several weeks and movies would be out for much longer. you practically had to wait at least a year before the movie would come out on tape. but with the widespread availability of pirated (i.e. “used”) movies, studios end up only seeing ticket sales for a month or so before sales die down. dvds practically come out within months after the movie is released. you see the same pattern when music cds are released early if the albums are leaked to the internet.
for the record, i don’t have a problem buying used.
tldr: instead of assuming a front loaded business model okays the purchase of used games, i argue it’s the used game market leading to the front loaded business model in the first place.
good point eeyore. i didn’t quite look at it in that way, but am starting to agree with what you are saying. of course, with more and more games going digital and thus not having a used game equivalent, digital game sales do seem to not be as front loaded. games like Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead on the PC, which don’t have used equivalents, probably continue to sell healthily and evenly.
so ya, the used game industry is forcing publishers/developers to adapt different marketing strategies to survive, but i guess at the end of the day the used game industry does benefit us consumers. whether it benefits us more than hurts developers is the main “tug of war”. because while i’d love to support developers, i’d also like to pay my own rent!
I find that most of the time EB’s “used” prices, aren’t much better than their new prices. I’ll usually buy a game used if its at a reasonble price or if its one of those rareities that are no longer stocked new (Bladestorm comes to mind), even if the price isn’t quite “used”.
For the most part I’ll get my games at launch or soon after, especially if there’s much multiplayer potential. If I have a few friends picking up say something like Gears of War 2 and after a few plays with them, see that there’s good coopertive play potential, I’ll go out and get it new.
Single player type of games will mostly depend on personal preference of course. Mercenaries 2 I bought at launch because I had adored the first one and had been waiting years for the second to release. If I end up finishing the SP games that I have, I’ll go out one random day and see what’s there up for grabs at a reasonable price in the used section before checking the fresh copies section.
I don’t normally trade in my games to EB or anyone for that matter, because I know I wont be getting a got return on it. Five dollars for something I paid 60$ for a year ago? Sorry, EB but its worth more to me to keep it. The only time I think I ever traded a game in was for a game I bought and regretted a few hours into play. It was one of the Virtua On iterations for PS2 and FFX-2 that I traded in for me and a friend for a Halo 3 T-shirt at the midnight launch. I got little money back for them, but did it for the shirts.