Fable’s Creators Reckon Pre-Owned Sales are Worse Than Piracy

[AcidRaZor]

Marketing is an expensive exercise and when someone buys a pre played game and enjoys it;

Not in this day and age. You can get EXTREME exposure for your products with little to no budget at all. That is why there is such a focus on social media these days. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter... it's crazy how quickly you can become popular without spending a cent. There's a developer busy with a zombie-game, the name eludes me right now, several thousand followers already on twitter anticipating the game and there hasn't been (to my knowledge) any clips showing game play or a demo... only talk. This is while they're developing it.

One of the biggest things Blizzard does right is their hype and their constant "It will be ready when we say it's ready" type attitude. They make great quality games sure, but they also sell a million copies of their games without any real marketing budget expenditure *JUST* from word of mouth / sneak previews / hype created.

Eventually they have the budget to get Mr. T / William Shatner and Jean-claude Van Damme to participate in adverts etc... but still. It grew from basically nothing to something huge based off of word-of-mouth. I sure as hell didn't start playing Warcraft 2 because I saw / bought the game in a store. My cousin bought the game after he played it at a friend's place and I bought my copy shortly after... up and till then I didn't even know it was released...

You don't see second hand / Pre-Played PC Games on shelves, nuff said.

Not in South Africa, since piracy is such a big problem, they usually don't want to have you trade-in pre-played games like that since it's more than likely that you copied it for yourself already. But alas...

 

[mrpossible93]

Forgive me if im being dumb, but in order to buy a game preowned it will first need to be bought brand new by somebody else. Have you ever noticed how many copys of games some game stores have? but that means if a games store has say 30 copies of Mass Effect 2 then all those copies at somepoint would have to have been bought over the counter or online at full or a reduced retail price. In my oppinion if i have already bought the game then it shoudnt matter if i then went to trade it in for money towards another new game i would infact be helping the game companys by buying one at full price, trading that in for money towards another new game at full price.

 

[TheAvenged87]

I don't think the article is trying to put the blame on the consumer. The guy is actually saying it's a flaw with Console games that they are more expensive and easy to re-sell , whereas PC games are much cheaper [digitally] and you rarely re-sell PC Games .

If the Xbox Live Marketplace was anything like STEAM , everyone would be buying their console games on it and the 2nd hand market would not exist. So we know where the problem is.....and it's with Microsoft and Sony.

I agree with what you are saying. If a kid walks into a shop and sees the bargain bin, he doesn't think of the developer (I can actually include myself here). He thhinks "BARGAIN". But this guy's statement does make me think about it a bit differently...

 

[TheAvenged87]

Forgive me if im being dumb, but in order to buy a game preowned it will first need to be bought brand new by somebody else. Have you ever noticed how many copys of games some game stores have? but that means if a games store has say 30 copies of Mass Effect 2 then all those copies at somepoint would have to have been bought over the counter or online at full or a reduced retail price. In my oppinion if i have already bought the game then it shoudnt matter if i then went to trade it in for money towards another new game i would infact be helping the game companys by buying one at full price, trading that in for money towards another new game at full price.

Indeed. But only the sale of the first copy goes to the developers (actually, publishers). The second sale's money goes to the shop that sold it.

 

[mrpossible93]

Indeed. But only the sale of the first copy goes to the developers (actually, publishers). The second sale's money goes to the shop that sold it.

Fair point, If the Xbox live marketplace was like steam (as someone above stated) then i believe that all problems would be solved because then there would be weekly/monthly offers and such which would actually make these games available to everyone. Problem with that is i prefer to be old fashioned in that way. I get much more pleasure pre ordering a game in store, writing the day of release on the calender, going to pick it up, then on the way home trying to resist the temptation of ripping into the packing before you get home. SO i guess im torn.

 

[Prometheus]

I doubt they really can know how many games get resold as there are no records. I would hazard a guess that most games get resold when they are old and hard to get in the shops anyway.

 

[Achtung!Baby]

This is one guy's (or one company's?) opinion, its a dumb one at that. Noone else in the industry is agreeing with him are they? Many of us dont have R1500 lying around to spend on games every month, if second hand games weren't available, people will start bying 1 game every few months. How's that going to affect their sales? They're gonna sell less. And as DarthSWNT said, many purchases are made with the thought of selling it, I do that as well. Its an idiotic comment and idea that hopefully doesnt affect our gaming future.

 

[Prometheus]

This is one guy's (or one company's?) opinion, its a dumb one at that. Noone else in the industry is agreeing with him are they?

Think again!

2. Grant of Limited License
Subject to your agreement to, and full compliance with, the terms and provisions of this Agreement, CRYTEK hereby grants to Licensee a limited, personal, non-transferable and non-exclusive right (the "License") during the Term, as defined below, to use CRYSIS in accordance with the instructions provided in the manual or on the packaging of CRYSIS.

5. Software Use Restrictions
Any use by Licensee of CRYSIS not expressly permitted in Section 2 above is expressly prohibited and any such unauthorized use shall constitute a material breach of this Agreement by Licensee.
This prohibition includes (but is not limited to):
- to copy, reproduce, manufacture or distribute (free of charge or otherwise) CRYSIS, in whole or in part, in any media;
- to transfer, sell, sublicense or lease any rights in and to CRYSIS to third parties;

http://www.ea.com/portal/pdf/legal/EULA-Crysis.pdf

Developers and software distributors are infringing upon my rights as a citizen.

 

[TheAvenged87]

Fair point, If the Xbox live marketplace was like steam (as someone above stated) then i believe that all problems would be solved because then there would be weekly/monthly offers and such which would actually make these games available to everyone. Problem with that is i prefer to be old fashioned in that way. I get much more pleasure pre ordering a game in store, writing the day of release on the calender, going to pick it up, then on the way home trying to resist the temptation of ripping into the packing before you get home. SO i guess im torn.

There is nothing better than new-game-smell LOL.

You make a good point.

 

[phoenix]

But a pre-owned sale? That's a definite purchase, where money changed hands and a physical copy of a game went home with somebody. And not a cent of that makes its way back to a developer or publisher. But a pre-owned sale? That's a definite purchase, where money changed hands and a physical copy of a game went home with somebody. And not a cent of that makes its way back to a developer or publisher.

Um....not necessarily. I would not pick up Fable 3 [for instance] for R500, but would be sure to take it as a second hand title for R199. While I could support the developers by buying said game when it reaches "Classic" or "Platinum" status, not every title that I am interested in does so.

 

[tpex]

Jislak... guys

Alot of you still missing the point, yes games are over priced, I agree, still IMHO its about supporting the dev, thats why I can't wait for uncapped and buy all my games on steam

 

[Prometheus]

Jislak... guys

Alot of you still missing the point, yes games are over priced, I agree, still IMHO its about supporting the dev, thats why I can't wait for uncapped and buy all my games on steam

Err... are we? If we can't resell an expensive game how can we support the developers? Only other way for me is to buy it when it's old and cheap but by that time some games are no longer available.

My point is that nobody is complaining about books and films being resold because they have better business models than game developers.

 

[Triv]

Even though I am a developer I am still torn. I cannot afford R600-R700 for a game so either:

A) I get it secondhand
B) I wait 3-4 years for it to become a "classic title" and they make no money off the sale anyway.
C) I pirate it

I would love to pre-order all my games like I didn't before I was married and before I bought a house. There is only so much I can do/afford. I honestly see the future as being DLC or Free-to-play games like Lord of the Rings / DDO Online.

 

[Prometheus]

B) I wait 3-4 years for it to become a "classic title" and they make no money off the sale anyway.

If they don't make any money off it what would be the use in selling it?

I can guarantee they still make plenty of money off it. Only costs about R10 at most to produce the whole thing, cover+cd+box. So R40 profit in the chain at least. Where developers have lost is not having a constant revenue stream like the big movie studios so they pass their titles on to smaller companies like Sold Out who then make more money further down than they have to pay the developers.

 

[WingNut]

Tis' a slippery slope for sure. I see no problem in 2 individuals selling their new games to each other and recuperating some of the initial costs, but I get an uneasy felling when I think about companies buying people's old games at next to nothing and then going on to selling them at a very tidy profit. And I think this is publishers and developers' biggest complaint about the second hand market. Retailers like Gamestop in the States and BT Games here who make repeat profits/sales on a game that the publisher and developer only sold once.

Though I must say it sounds bit like sour grapes from their side as well "Waaaah, why can they make multiple sales on something that I could only sell one time, waaaah! I also want in on the action!"

 

[firefly137]

FINALLY!!!!

1 point goes to the PC... whahooo!!!!

hahah just kidding.

the sad thing is... how many GOOD quality games are out there... do the dev. ever think about the guy that buy a R700 game and in the end plays for a hour to find the game is CR@P??? in the end its all about the money... SIGH!!

 

[wheunis]

ever think about the guy that buy a R700 game and in the end plays for a hour to find the game is CR@P???

How about the guy paying R700 for the game and finishing it in 3 hours because it's "mainstream"?

Thanks for charging me R200+ per hour for a piece of ####.

 

[firefly137]

How about the guy paying R700 for the game and finishing it in 3 hours because it's "mainstream"?

Thanks for charging me R200+ per hour for a piece of ####.

what game is that? never seen a PC game cost that much... except collector items.

 

[Voicy]

Tis' a slippery slope for sure. I see no problem in 2 individuals selling their new games to each other and recuperating some of the initial costs, but I get an uneasy felling when I think about companies buying people's old games at next to nothing and then going on to selling them at a very tidy profit. And I think this is publishers and developers' biggest complaint about the second hand market. Retailers like Gamestop in the States and BT Games here who make repeat profits/sales on a game that the publisher and developer only sold once.

Though I must say it sounds bit like sour grapes from their side as well "Waaaah, why can they make multiple sales on something that I could only sell one time, waaaah! I also want in on the action!"

Again, I refer to my 'selling-your-2nd-hand-car' analogy.

Selling it to a friend (who can't afford new cars/games) in order to put down a deposit on a new car (read new AAA title game) promotes ongoing commerce. Selling it to a dealership (read BT-Games) will get you less money for it - and in turn they'll put a markup on it and continue making money off the sale even if the supplier (car manufacturer/game publisher) only sells it once.

If they want to make money, lower the prices of digital releases significantly (as the overheads are next to nothing) and that way it's sold for less, but can't be resold.

 

[skande]

Buying a R900 game knowing you will enjoy it for a few playing hours and NOT being able to sell it is nuts. Unless I know I will pull it out in a years time and still get the same enjoyment for it people will always sell if they got the required enjoyment from it.