Mister Jack Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 There's an article up on Kotaku stating a rumor that the next Xbox has a "feature" that will keep it from playing used games. That means no buying used from Gamestop, no trading or reselling your games, no borrowing from friends or renting from stores, no anything except buying brand new games that will be yours forever. This hasn't been confirmed, but if it turned out to be true would you still buy the console? If you're a ps3 guy, and Sony went down this route, would you buy the next playstation? Would they be justified in doing this? Is it fair? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDex Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I wouldn't buy on principle. If the system was exactly like the PC currently has, in all it's forms, then I'd probably get it if there was something on it I wanted to play badly but I don't like the idea of Microsoft being the protection police and I'd certainly crack that s.o.b as soon as it was possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 New console games cost around 75-80 euros in Sweden and drop in price very slowly. I can't afford new console games outside of rare exceptions. If used console games were to disappear, I'd either stop buying consoles or just start pirating them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantelope V2 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I'd probably break down and get the system eventually if it had some great games I want to play but I feel it wouldn't be my primary system. Right now I buy amlost everything on Xbox and very few things on PS3 but I might switch that around or even move back to PC as primary if this is the route MS goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I'm already used to PC games being one-shot things, don't see why consoles are any different. Honestly, it kind of surprises me it's taken so long to happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 They actually sell pre-owned PC games here, as long as it's not multiplayer-only or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 They're really not the same thing. 1) Console games cost more 2) Console games take up space 3) Distribution of console games takes place in a much more restrictive marketplace. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madbassman39 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I hate the idea of it. Used games help, they get people interested in a franchise, developer, or even in a genre. From used game sales there is a potential in someone enjoying your game so much that they will buy the next game new. There are people (myself included) who would never jump into a franchise if they couldn't get an intro on the cheap, and used games/borrowed games/rented games help. Not every used game turns someone into buying games new, and not everybody buys used games. I stopped buying used games because there are always deals that I can find/or wait for, get the game new for the same price or cheaper than used games. Also at a $5 premium, I'll take the new over the used, thank you very much. So no, it wont affect my purchases, and I will buy a console no matter what, but I don't like it, and I don't think its a good business practice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4: Gritty Reboot Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 The PC to console comparison doesn't work for a few reasons: PC has a massive back catalog spanning 20+ years that you can buy & sell used. MS would not have that advantage. PC's digital distributors regularly have sales due to fantastic breadth of competition. When Medal of Honor 2010 cost me $5 I don't even know or care if I can participate in the used market with this game. MS would not have this advantage as it's a single distributor on the digital front. PC has a thriving piracy community. I am much more likely to buy a game if I know that there is a safety net comprised of a massive network of computers hosting a backup/cracked copy of the game I can access if necessary. PC games tend to cost less even without sales, from 12%-15% less depending on the game and publisher. Though I cannot resell a PC game, the financial risk is generally lower. Simply put, the PC's open nature makes the new game-only model actually make sense. Note too that not every game even today is like this, and many (single-player) games you can still resell. Edited for clarity. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excel_excel Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) I had a feeling something like this would be happening eventually. If they do this, then I think they'll lock used games out but make you pay a 'play-pass' or something to actually play the game. That's if they actually do it. I can see them not doing it cause of their relationship with Gamestop. I don't know whether I would buy the console or not if something like this happened, it would be a pain in the ass, but games go down in price so fast these days that there's really no point in buying used if you play the waiting game....thinking about it after a few minutes.....fuck this. Buying rare used games is one of life's pleasures and we shouldn't be punished for it. Edited January 25, 2012 by excel_excel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4: Gritty Reboot Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 ...games go down in price so fast these days that there's really no point in buying used if you play the waiting game... The problem with this line of thinking is that we don't know if that would be the case for the games market sans used copies. It could very well be that eliminating the secondhand market would drive up the price for used new copies and sustain higher prices longer as demand for those copies rises. Edited out mistake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantelope V2 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I'm already used to PC games being one-shot things, don't see why consoles are any different. Honestly, it kind of surprises me it's taken so long to happen. Frankly, I'm surprised it's taken this long as well. I don't really like it but I can't think of any reason why MS wouldn't do this outisde of consumer backlash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excel_excel Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 ...games go down in price so fast these days that there's really no point in buying used if you play the waiting game... The problem with this line of thinking is that we don't know if that would be the case for the games market sans used copies. It could very well be that eliminating the secondhand market would drive up the price for used copies and sustain higher prices longer as demand for those copies rises. It seems to work fine on PC. I know its a different market and all but its much the same in principal. Buy one new game and that's it. You can't resell it, you can't lend it to someone. You can wait and buy that at a much lower price in a few weeks on PC as well, like the Witcher 2 which was released at full price and was reduced in a few weeks, and now pretty much stays at around the €25-€30 price point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4: Gritty Reboot Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I can't emphasize enough how far removed the markets are from one another though. We're talking about a physical product with a sweeping elimination of all used sales, something the PC market hasn't even seen (check out any single-player game on Amazon and you'll still see a supply of used copies for purchase, lots of which still work depending on DRM). Once all copies are out of circulation you are reliant on purchasing a sealed copy from a middleman or grabbing from the digital storefront if available, at which point the console manufacturer is for all practical purposes able to charge whatever it feels like. I almost want MS to do it just to observe the undoubtedly fascinating market unfold. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDex Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) Yeah, though used PC games aren't a big thing, they still exist and lending is still viable. It's also varied. Take GoG for example. There are absolutely no restrictions preventing me from giving a copy of my GoG game files to a friend. Then there's companies who choose to remove their DRM. What Microsoft is proposing is taking choice from both the consumer and the developer, for greed more than anything else. I can get behind online passes to a certain extent but this would be a dick move from Microsoft. I wonder what the level of consumer backlash would be. Edited January 25, 2012 by MasterDex 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4: Gritty Reboot Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Yeah, though used PC games aren't a big thing, they still exist and lending is still viable. It's also varied. Take GoG for example. There are absolutely no restrictions preventing me from giving a copy of my GoG game files to a friend. Lending is another interesting point. As you say, with DRM-free PC games there's nothing stopping you from lending it out to as many friends as you feel like. For that matter, with Steam games there's nothing stopping you from giving your (very very good) friend your login info to try out or borrow games in Offline mode. An aggressive no-used policy would kill the ability to lend or borrow far beyond what the PC has done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantelope V2 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Well, the speculaiton is that Xbox won't be eliminating the physical disc. It might just be a code thing like the online passes. Except, instead of online pass it'll just be your complete game pass. The game disc would be worthless without it. I understand why people hate this idea, I don't much care for it either, but I can also see just how much money MS stands to make from such a scheme. Also, PC is different in that you can choose which store to get your games from but some games are changing that, see steamworks titles. I was pretty dismayed when Supreme Commander 2 shipped with only half of the game on the disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4: Gritty Reboot Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Steamworks has no effect on where you can buy the game from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Plus, let's not forget that as of right now, Sony is not rumored to be doing anything of the sort. If Microsoft actually came out and said they were doing this, Sony could come out the next DAY and say they weren't. That would probably automatically convert a lot of people. Plus, Gamestop would completely fuck Microsoft for this. These companies may not like Gamestop, but regardless of feelings, they NEED it. They're pretty much the only widespread dedicated games retailer in North America, They're the ones who actually understand this shit. If the new Playstation can play used games and the new Xbox can't, which system do you think they're going to push on their customers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantelope V2 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Steamworks has no effect on where you can buy the game from. Ah, yes, this is true, and MS could do a similar system. You are still however getting locked into a single DRM system and you can't transfer the license regardless of where you purchased it from. That's more what I meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldorf and Statler Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) The only console manufacturer I have complete loyalty towards is Nintendo. I'll always [eventually] buy their consoles. usually on the cheap, then play all their first party titles. I had a ps1. I switched to xbox due to halo and all these great western games. I moved on to the 360 thanks to halo and all these sweet exclusives. Now MS is focusing the majority of their attention on kinect titles. No new big ip's. So what do we have? Next xbox: - Halo plus the few ip's like fable still hanging around. - paid membership to play online [i mainly pay for xbl for the gold deals at this point] - Kinect. And I'm assuming it'll have a bigger slice of the pie considering it'll come with every console. - Set top box. Will probably become an appliance that most middle-class families will own for everything else. and it has games too! - no used games. - Only rumored to be 20% stronger than the Wii U. Sony right now has the upper hand imho. People are getting more pissed than overjoyed over all these nextbox rumors. What have we heard about the next playstation? ABSO.FUCKING.LUTELY nothing. But Sony already has Microsoft beat in terms of amount of ip's [and they're all great qualities] and the fact the next PS will most likely be extremely fucking close to the next xbox live and will most likely remain free. All Sony needs to say no if these bad rumors are even remotely true, is that they don't plan to shaft consumers and/or the console is really powerful at a competitive price to the nextbox and BOOM. People switch. In the years the xbox 360 and ps3 were announced I had a hard-on for Microsoft. There was no doubt in my mind I was getting an xbox. Now there's a huge doubt. If Sony takes advantage of this doubt, and they better will if they know what's good for them, MS is back at third place. Edited January 25, 2012 by Waldorf And Statler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I don't see it happening. 1. The current "Project $10" stuff has already had a few glitches for the relatively few games that use it. (mis-printed codes etc) 2. I reckon Online Pass stuff probably make a fair amount of cash as it is. 3. It's going to be a damn hard idea to sell on to customers. Kinect is a hard sell, but it's optional. This would be required. (And a hard sell to folks like Gamestop who you'd want ot stock and sell your H/W n games) How the hell do you stand up on stage and tell people in your "this is awesome" voice: "Your games will not be able to be traded in for extra cash, you will only be able to buy games at a fixed $60 cap, also we know there's not many demos these days, there will probbaly be less nextgen so you won't know if you've boughta dud. But hey, you can read the reviews to work that out. Right guys?" There's absolutely no way to sugar coat it for the customer unless you can also say "and because of this, it'll only cost you $30 RRP for new Xbox titles". Which we know won't happen, there's a few publishers already trying to push the PC RRP up to £40/$60 despite being no used market or console-like royalties to pay. And as has been pointed out with all the other negatives Xbox consoles come laden with, they don't want another one on top that gives Sony something to brag about the next day. Fuck they could just go "here's the PS4 prototype, and it lets you play used games!!" and then have Tretton dance around on stage for half an hour and it would still be the better console reveal. I know plenty who aren't getting an Xbox next gen anyway, this would just be a final nail in the coffin (especially for ben, he does tons of trading, enough so I go "can I borrow game X" and he's traded it in months ago for Gears3 or something :/. Which in case anyone is wondering is why I don't own a 360 but do own a few 360 games) 4. It's probably hit chasing with this kind of shock news. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCP Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 The only way this would work is if Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all got on board. If it's just Microsoft, I think this would end up hurting them more than helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I admit it's an unlikely scenario, but by no means is it an impossible one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 At this point I don't know of anything that makes me want either a 720 or a PS4. As far as I'm concerned the Halo franchise is dead (though I'm open to the possibility that Halo 4 will prove me wrong) as is Fable (Fable 3 was a real let-down), and there's no Playstation exclusives I care about either. Add to that that I actually have enough money now to keep my PC up to date and I don't really foresee going back to consoles next gen. I'll probably end up getting one or the other for games that don't come out on PC, but that's about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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