PS3 and Xbox 360 game studios fight against EBGames
There is growing concern from many game studios regarding the pre-owned video game market. As we have mentioned in a previous story, EA has spoken out against this practice. While retailers like EBGames and GameCrazy are making a killing off pre-owned game sales, game studios are losing out on potential profits.
There doesn’t seem to be a clear solution to this growing problem without disrupting the delicate eco-system that the video game industry has fostered. According to gameindustry.biz, Marty O’Donnell, Bungie’s audio director, says smaller studios may face a greater challenge in recouping investment costs due to the growing pre-owned video game market.
Retailers such as EBGames have seen immense growth in recent years from buying games from consumers at a substantially lower cost and then selling them with a huge markup in price. However, many gamers may feel that the pre-owned business model may be beneficial to the consumers.
This business model provides gamers with an opportunity to purchased used games at a much cheaper price. Also, it allows for gamers who own many games that are left collecting dust, to off-load them quickly at EBGames without the hassle of selling them privately.
Criterion Games recently released a hefty expansion to Burnout Paradise for free. According to Gamepro, this was the studios way of fighting back against the used video game market. Many studios feel that selling pre-owned games is wrong, because it does not compensate for the work done by the studios.
Criterion Games’s solution to this concern is to put more support on delivering substantial downloadable content throughout the life of the product. Providing continuous content will give the consumers a reason to hold onto that copy of the game.
With the development costs skyrocketing into the millions this generation, it seems inevitable that there will be new problems and concerns. As it is, studios are concerned about recouping development costs without having to worry about pre-owned sales eating into profits. The solution is not clear cut in this case, as arguments from both sides seem valid. One thing is for sure, only time will tell what type of effect this will have on the industry at large.
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19 Responses to “PS3 and Xbox 360 game studios fight against EBGames”
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September 27th, 2008
That’s a great idea the only thing Electronic Arts has ever done right is that. I hope other gaming developers follow those step, i hate GameStop and EB Games they suck. Plus new free content is always welcome.
September 27th, 2008
I think the equivalent of EBGames where I live is Cash Converters – but they went out of business. Which is great, since they made a £30 profit on a PS1 game which I had previously bought pre-owned myself (it was Worms).
September 27th, 2008
At the prices they rape us for on “pre-owned” games, it is of little value to me as a gamer to buy them. If they sold for half or less of the full retail price I might be interested, but when they ask me for $50 for a game that retails for $60, I am definately buying the retail and supporting the studio vs. retailer.
September 27th, 2008
Right on the money DavidB, it’s ridiculous to see the prices of the used games at an EBGames location, usually 5$ to $10 cheaper than a new copy. My buddy brought in NHL08 to trade in against the purchase of NHL09, EBGames offered him $2 for it, meanwhile used copies of it were sitting on the shelf at $29.99 and new copies at $34.99.
September 27th, 2008
So, the theory is…in order for developers to be fairly compensated for their time, they will give out things for FREE!
I understand the idea, but it has two problems.
First, if you are going to make enough new content to make people want to hold on to a game after its been out for a while, you’re going to lose a lot of money on that free content.
Obviously the idea would be to provide as little as possible to keep people interested, but people aren’t going to be interested 3 months later with a small update.
Second, many people won’t like paying full price for a game that has more come out later. Many people don’t have internet, and, those that do, many times don’t use their console with it.
Those that can and do have their system hooked up may still not like the idea that they get part of the game now and part later. I am in this group, myself. Personally, if I knew a game was going to get a big update later, even if it was going to be free, I wouldn’t want to pay full price for the game. Finish it before getting it on the shelves.
Or maybe it just annoys me that someone wants to try to stop people from buying pre-owned games. Many of my games were owned by someone else at one point. I may never sell mine, but I have no issues with buying them used.
If they want to stop me from buying the game from below the price of a new game, by not giving the full game right away, but giving updates in pieces every now and then, they can start charging less than the $50 a game costs new to make up for it, if you ask me.
September 27th, 2008
How about the game studios stop charging $60 for a new game? If studios sells a new game for $39.99 then most people would just buy a new one instead of a used one. BTW…if EB Games wants to sell used games, then more power to them, people are buying used games because it is still $10 cheaper, most of them are kids where $10 is still $10.
September 27th, 2008
They sell games for silly prices, bring them down and it’ll be fine!
September 27th, 2008
Scott: and Wii
If only it was that easy. You only thinking in the usual gamers mentality. New next gen games required a higher cost because they need more resources and higher license cost for console developer and many more things. That was not needed in the previous console life.
September 28th, 2008
well if game companys know there coming out with a crappy game to start with they should not charge 59.99, or better yet make a great game for the price, thats why people buy used games that are mediocre because i dont fell like paying full price for crap, if i read a review on a game and they give it a score of 7.75 and up i will consider payin full price to support them but if they got a lower then that i will wait for a used copy if its something in the genre im interested in, plain and simple stop making shitty games and charging full price for them and then you see results, ea doesnt even make that many great games to start with but sport title.
September 28th, 2008
I totally agree, I never buy used games anymore because the retailers have become greedy and it isn’t even a deal anymore.
I constantly get into confrontations with dumbass gamestop/eb game employees trying to convince me buy some else’s trash over a new copy which I prefer, only because I know I will not be selling it back to be scammed and ripped off.
September 28th, 2008
Not sure about the business practices of EB, but used game dealers are crucial to gaming. I’d say half of the games I buy are retro and perhaps rare, and if there aren’t successful used game shops then the culture behind gaming will suffer. If EB makes most of their money selling used copies of recently released games, however, that isn’t helping anyone. Judging from the traffic in my local EB games, though, this isn’t the case as there are seldom any good recent games on display.
The smaller used shops are usually the way to go, though… but I’ve found some hard to find stuff at EB that I’ve been waiting around 6 months for from my favourite independent shop.
Get this though… I was looking for Persona 3 recently and checked a few local used stores as I couldn’t find it new. EB games said it was very rare and that IF they had a used copy it would cost $44.00. I then went to the Amazon website and found that it was still available NEW on-line… so I ordered it for under $30. What a bunch of tools.
September 28th, 2008
what’s next renting?
this sounds to me like money hungry game studios.
so preowned games cut into there profits but renting does not?
if there games don’t suck, then people wont sell it.
September 28th, 2008
I hear people complaining about EB games…but I don’t understand why. I’ve walked in there and seen a game that sells for $60 normally, tagged at $50. Then they have the 10% off membership card which I have, bringing it down to $45. Ooh…only $15 total discount. But I’m still getting the exact same product…for $15 less.
Depending on what games you buy and how long you keep it, you can get 75% of your $$ back anyway. I bought my copy of Final Fantasy 12 for $49. 3 weeks later, they bought it back from me for $44.
You just have to work the system. It’s a great option for some, such as myself.
September 29th, 2008
I buy all my games used so I’m not complaining. But I do buy downloadable content if it’s worth it.
September 29th, 2008
To this day I still have my original copy of Oblivion for the 360 and have yet to tire of it for all of the DLC I’ve purchased, and I haven’t even gotten Shivering Isles yet because I know it will take up more of my time than I’m willing to give right now. The same goes for Mass Effect & GTA4. So If I knew the developers were going to give me some freebies down the line I would definitely hold on to some titles longer or indefinitely. Also, as a former employee of GameStop I can tell you that 90% of new titles can be picked up in a week, pre-owned at a decent price with your discount card, you just have to be a little patient. And it is true, the rarer the game the more it stays close to it’s original retail value. If the shelves are full of something, for whatever reason, you’ll find the price in time rather palatable. And the occasional BOGO offers help a lot too. Bottom line, if your a frugal gamer and can have a little patience you can get some good deals, and if the developers want to curb pre-owned sales maybe they should give us more of a reason to hold onto our games, like free DLC. JMO
September 29th, 2008
For the life of me I can’t understand there gripe… If I buy a car (let’s say a Honda) and turn around and sell it, does the Honda make money? No. They made there money when the car was first purchased from them. That’s they way the world works.
If Sony and Microsoft were smart, they would try to open up retail stores to compete in the used game market. I think there argument that they should be making money on subsequent sales is pretty pathetic.
September 29th, 2008
@ Jo What are you flipin retard?
Rening has been done for years and years through video stores like Rogers.
Duhh.
September 29th, 2008
I ment Renting
September 29th, 2008
I think more devs need to pay closer attention to what Criterion is doing with Burnout. I would have traded that game away a while ago, but kept it for the free updates.
-Arvis