Volition's Jameson Durall says banning pre-owned games is "fantastic" [Escapist]

[Press_Start]

These developers need to grow the balls to admit the real problem here. It's not "used game sales"; it's GameStop. GameStop has a monopoly, and they have the developers bending over getting reamed. They've completely manipulated the system to make greater profits on used sales than new, which is hurting the developers and consumers alike. If they focused on selling new games as they should, game developers wouldn't care about the used sales at independent stores, thrifts, pawns, between friends, etc. I hate to turn this into another anti-GameStop discussion, but they're seriously at the root of this.

If they believe Gamestop's used sales are hurting them, what's going to stop them from blaming brick n' mortal stores like Digital Press?
If they believe Digital Press's used sales are hurting them, what's going to stop them from blaming ad sites like Craigslist?
If they believe Craiglist ads are hurting them, what's going to stop them from blaming Game forums and trade sites like here?
If they believe Gaming forums are hurting them, what's going to stop them from blaming every gamer that trades, borrows, sells, and every method that doesn't involve buying new games?

When you put Gamestop on trial for used game sales, you put all of us on trial.

My point is simply that it's clear as day that when developers/publishers complain about "used game sales", as they're apt to do in recent years, what they're really complaining about is GameStop. And personally, I have a little more sympathy for the people who create the games I love than the corporate bigwigs at GameStop, so I'd rather see a more fair relationship between them than to simply tell the developers to suck it up.

So, you tell one snake to stuff it down his throat while charmed by the other snake.

[Aussie2B]

If they believe Gamestop's used sales are hurting them, what's going to stop them from blaming brick n' mortal stores like Digital Press?
If they believe Digital Press's used sales are hurting them, what's going to stop them from blaming ad sites like Craigslist?
If they believe Craiglist ads are hurting them, what's going to stop them from blaming Game forums and trade sites like here?
If they believe Gaming forums are hurting them, what's going to stop them from blaming every gamer that trades, borrows, sells, and every method that doesn't involve buying new games?

When you put Gamestop on trial for used game sales, you put all of us on trial.

If you read my posts more carefully, you'd see that my argument is clearly more sophisticated than "used games = bad". In fact, I think people buying and selling/donating used goods is a wonderful thing because it's far less wasteful than the materialistic urge to constantly blow through money buying brand new stuff and trashing anything you're tired of, and this was evident from my first post in this topic. It's not about putting anybody on trial for selling a used product; it's about the fact that the biggest retailer of brand new games is the same retailer that actively tries to convince consumers to pass on a new game, even if they walked into the store with the intent to buy new, and go for the used copy. Of course GameStop can continue to sell used games, but I don't see why anyone would be opposed to them slightly tweaking their policies to be more fair to the consumer and publisher alike. With Digital Press, I don't know if they make more on used or new, but I do know they pay more for trade-ins so they're not making quite as huge of a profit margin and aren't taking advantage of the consumer to the same extent.

And publishers aren't going to go after any of those because those don't put a dent into sales like GameStop does. It's apples and oranges. You're talking about small independent shops and individuals. And with those, the used sales generally aren't anywhere near as close to launch as with GameStop.

[Press_Start]

it's about the fact that the biggest retailer of brand new games is the same retailer that actively tries to convince consumers to pass on a new game, even if they walked into the store with the intent to buy new, and go for the used copy.

Wrong! Your whole premise is way off mark. It's not even "Used games = bad". It's "Used games = scapegoat" and you're laying the blame right at the feet of Gamestop without any facts or substantial proof to back it up.

And publishers aren't going to go after any of those because those don't put a dent into sales like GameStop does. It's apples and oranges. You're talking about small independent shops and individuals. And with those, the used sales generally aren't anywhere near as close to launch as with GameStop.

! Are you serious? So DRM and Online Pass were tailor made solely to fight Gamestop and if they somehow "get fixed", it'll all go away huh? Get real! These were hits specifically on the second-hand market and consumers alike (Gamestop or not) and anyone who thinks otherwise are buying the propaganda garbage spewing right out their gold fat butts. They've already did it to Arkham City and they won't stop there. They'll never stop there.

[Gamereviewgod]

It's not about putting anybody on trial for selling a used product; it's about the fact that the biggest retailer of brand new games is the same retailer that actively tries to convince consumers to pass on a new game, even if they walked into the store with the intent to buy new, and go for the used copy.

The biggest retailer of video games wouldn't exist were it not for those used games and the industry would lose all of the benefits that come with a centralized location such as that.

[theclaw]

This boils down to one sadly forgotten thing called "end user rights".

As consumers it is our right to sell/trade/rent the tangible physical content of products we purchased. At any price we like, to anyone we like. Regardless whether DRM prevents second-hand owners from using them for their perceived intended purpose.

If I want to sell used boxed World of Warcraft copies or Xbox Live subscription cards and am able to find buyers who don't care they're 'useless'... I'm allowed to do so.

Besides Gamestop is only current leader due to market forces. They weren't the first popular game chain. They won't be the last. Nobody's stopping a different company from opening another comparable brick and mortar chain who could take away their business. As steep as the entry barrier is. You'd need an ad campaign large/convincing enough to sway people over. Along with comparable enough service/prices/selection to maintain interest, and store locations in similarly enough convenient places across the country to win nationally. Etc. Not easy!

[BlastProcessing402]

To be fair, this guy just watched a huge chunk of his parent company disappear. While used game sales aren't the main reason THQ is doing poorly...it's part of the reason. His comments are a little more understandable when you take them in context.

Well, tough shit for them. GM had a few really bad years and almost went under, does that make it okay to ban used car sales?