Activision declares war on pre-owned games

Korvanica

GTR63 wrote: »

Screw Activison I had buy my brothers Modern Warfare recently 2nd hand,a Game released nearly 3 years ago because they were still charging €50 for it new.It was thankfully in excellent condition along with the 2nd hand copy of World at War.
Instead of tackling 2nd hand games how about trying to save the Guitar Hero franchise which is dying on its arse.

Please Activision, DO NOT listen to this!!!! Let these Gimmics die already.

I buy most of my games new so im ok here. Games arent that expensive these days anymore anyway .... 45 - 50 for a new game... The used to be £70 !!!!! :eek::eek:
i only buy preowned games if theyre realy cheap (5 - 10 euro)... Decent for a few hours entertainment....

I never trade in, unless its a game im done with ( so basically that means a game with no multiplayer ) and i can get at least 30 for it...

Grumpypants

Korvanica wrote: »

I buy most of my games new so im ok here. Games arent that expensive these days anymore anyway .... 45 - 50 for a new game... The used to be £70 !!!!! :eek::eek:
...

They would still be 70 euro if it wasnt for the used game market. Publishers put a RRP of 69.99 on games here.

I got a price list recently from a publisher that showed what they expect game stores to pay for games and what they expect them to charge. It was in sterling so converting it, games cost just over 42 euro. Now im sure big stores get a better discount for buying large quanities. But if you look at HMV they charge 45 for a new game. So even forgetting about tax, rent, staff, electricity, insurance etc etc that a store has to deal with they would only make 3 euro on a new game sale. :eek:

They will also offer you money on your old game that is now useless to you because developers cant be arsed making it last or to keep updating it to keep people interested.

And publishers have an absolute cheek to say they want a share of their used game sales too !!!!

Retr0gamer

Yeah I remember the start of this generation all the companies saying that games cost so much to make that they needed to sell them at 70-80 euros. It was a joke considering the same game was 40 on PC. They were just money grabbing because it was a new format.

speedboatchase

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Yeah I remember the start of this generation all the companies saying that games cost so much to make that they needed to sell them at 70-80 euros. It was a joke considering the same game was 40 on PC. They were just money grabbing because it was a new format.

Taking aside the fact we're talking about Activision and Bobby Kotick for a second - the money when you buy a game should go to the content creators. I was shocked last week when I went into GAME to find they had a now put up a used game chart alongside their new release chart for every single format - basically ensuring no-one in their right mind would buy a new release when they see them side by side and that GAME could pocket the cash for themselves.

Anyone that doesn't like DLC or the fact downloadable content is expensive/can't be traded in should bear in mind developers are left with little choice when the very outlets that are shopping their wares are doing this kind of practise on such a large scale. It's a difficult one because we all like a bargain but if you only buy pre-owned games you're bringing a download-only future closer and closer. Activision shouldn't be singled out for this, and certainly shouldn't be used as justification to 'stick it to the man' by not paying for new releases - smaller developers get hurt a lot more than Activision by the pre-owned market. GAME and the rest know that their well is running dry and that online is the future so they're trying to scoop as much profit as possible right now

Cuddlesworth

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Yeah I remember the start of this generation all the companies saying that games cost so much to make that they needed to sell them at 70-80 euros. It was a joke considering the same game was 40 on PC. They were just money grabbing because it was a new format.

And nothing to do with the large cut Microsoft and Sony were asking for the games to off-set the loss making consoles.

Retr0gamer

Well they were selling them on previous consoles for 40 and selling them now for 40 with the same cuts to Sony and MS.

I would think that the law against second hand software sales would mean that second hand game selling would be illegal since you are buy a license from the publisher to use the software, not the software itself, shouldn't game, gamestop etc. not actually have any legal right to sell these games anyway without at least the license fee going to the publisher?

Cuddlesworth

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Well they were selling them on previous consoles for 40 and selling them now for 40 with the same cuts to Sony and MS.

I would think that the law against second hand software sales would mean that second hand game selling would be illegal since you are buy a license from the publisher to use the software, not the software itself, shouldn't game, gamestop etc. not actually have any legal right to sell these games anyway without at least the license fee going to the publisher?

Previous consoles(pre xbox, playstation 2 etc) were not selling at a massive loss for the first few years of production. Except Nintendo, who have been laughing all the way to the bank. They have to make back the money somehow.

Mr. Presentable

Second hand games create no revenue for the designers. If you couldn't get a second hand copy you might buy a full price one, or a budget version 12 months later, which will accrue revenue for the designers.

The only solution other than banning resales of games is if the designers can negotiate a percentage with the resellers.

I'm with Activision on this one.

Retr0gamer

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Previous consoles(pre xbox, playstation 2 etc) were not selling at a massive loss for the first few years of production. Except Nintendo, who have been laughing all the way to the bank. They have to make back the money somehow.

Actually the PS2 was selling at a massive loss and only made a profit about 3 years into it's lifecycle (just like the PS3) while the Xbox never made a profit. Anyway why has that got anything to do with third party publishers considering the license fee was practically the same? It was bull****, plain and simple and they pulled the same trick the previous generation as well.

Cuddlesworth

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Actually the PS2 was selling at a massive loss and only made a profit about 3 years into it's lifecycle (just like the PS3) while the Xbox never made a profit. Anyway why has that got anything to do with third party publishers considering the license fee was practically the same? It was bull****, plain and simple and they pulled the same trick the previous generation as well.

If retailers survive because of the profits from second hand sales and the second hand sales are taken away then raising the prices of new games is the only option. The whole thing will tank brick and mortar retail sales and those company's are still too powerful to take this standing down.

GTR63

Korvanica wrote: »

Please Activision, DO NOT listen to this!!!! Let these Gimmics die already.

I'm not saying Guitar Hero had long in the Tank but the series was milked to death really quickly.They could do the same to COD if the 3rd studio working on the series release games too often.I think they're called Sledgehammer they've some good designers some worked on Dead Space but I don't want COD Overkill.I doubt Medal of Honor will challenge COD for sales this year.I think EA should push Battlefield more than the MOH Franchise.

Varik

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

If retailers survive because of the profits from second hand sales and the second hand sales are taken away then raising the prices of new games is the only option. The whole thing will tank brick and mortar retail sales and those company's are still too powerful to take this standing down.

Other shops(Tesco etc.) will undercut them if they raise their prices, and they will bend over and take it like they did with EA. The only ones that need Gamestop and the like are Microsoft and Sony, they need brick and mortar store to sell consoles.