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

[Junkyrdsalesman]

Microsoft would be digging their own grave if they did this. It would show that they have lost almost all their concern for their customers in exchange for profit. Not only that but it would give competitors an extreme advantage when it comes to marketing their next gen consoles. 'Hey kids! Would you rather buy all your games new for one time use with online verification or do you just want a disc with the data that you can share freely?' I think they are too smart to try something like this

[Leo_A]

I bought Red Faction used due to good reviews for $10 years ago. The risks were small so I didn't mind taking it. Ended up playing through it a few years later, liked it, and went out and bought the sequel new for $20 as a Greatest Hits rerelease and bought the newer games as they were released (Both of which I've yet to spend any significant time with).

If I'm unable to do that in the future, the Volition's of the world can rest assured I won't be taking a risk on their software. I'll buy as I play (Maybe 3-4 big games a year on a console) and won't be buying games with intentions of playing them years down the road since I very well won't be able to due to DRM since I won't really be owning them (So there's $120 Volition wouldn't have from me if the 360 had been that way). So I'd be sticking with safe bets I'm sure I'll enjoy, such as Zelda games from Nintendo and would concentrate even more on classic gaming. And I sure as heck wouldn't be willing to pay anything near $50, $60, or more for pieces of software I don't really own.

Smaller developers like Volition was a decade ago can rest assured that they won't ever get my dollars in their idea of a Utopian future for game developers and publishers that represents vastly increased risks for the consumer with each purchase. I was exposed to their Red Faction series since the risk were low thanks to used games and I could enjoy the game on my own terms when and if I decided to ever do so. And wouldn't you know it, the game was good when I played it and encouraged me to buy future installments new.

If they put half the concern they have about the used game market into their game development where it belongs, I think they'd see significant increases in revenue as consumers like myself positively respond with their wallets. Discouraging consumers sure isn't the way to an improved balance sheet at the end of a year.

[Niku-Sama]

let M$ do the anti used game thing. they will be out for the count and they will claim ignorance because of it. probably something along the lines of "i dont know why our system failed"

used games have alwasye been a huge part of this i dont see why all of a sudden this huge push to get rid of used games or "banning" it some how.
how are you going to ban used game sales? we all own the games, we can trade them in for really poor results at the shops or sell them personally for a much better deal for both parties for all, its kind of our right to be able to do that.

either way if this does happen, a huge source of revenue and a large chunk of the economy will just dissappear and nintendo will have to come along and save gaming in the states...... again

it'd be like ET time a billion because all the little jock gamers wont know what to do and give up because they cant get rid of the CODs for more newer shorter CODs

[heybtbm]

MS isn't doing this. I can't believe we're still talking about it.

[Oobgarm]

I liked the part where he said "only $60."

[calthaer]

I believe I can live quite contentedly as a gamer without Volition's games, especially if part of the profits go to support this tool.

[heybtbm]

I believe I can live quite contentedly as a gamer without Volition's games, especially if part of the profits go to support this tool.

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.

[Griking]

Microsoft would be digging their own grave if they did this. It would show that they have lost almost all their concern for their customers in exchange for profit. Not only that but it would give competitors an extreme advantage when it comes to marketing their next gen consoles. 'Hey kids! Would you rather buy all your games new for one time use with online verification or do you just want a disc with the data that you can share freely?' I think they are too smart to try something like this

Meh.

All it woulds take would be a few good games released and people will forget about their boycott. It happens all the time. How many times have we heard people say that they'd never purchase another product from Microsoft, Sony, Gamestop, Best Buy, Walmart, Apple, HP, etc... yet they're all as big as ever. I know that this will upset some people but the fact is that people are weak and will break easily. When it comes to choosing between their personal standards and a hot new game or a flashy new cell phone or some other device, history has shown that standards go out the window.

Edit: Not to mention that as soon as one console developer goes direct download only the others will soon follow. I have a feeling that both Microsoft and Sony are just kind of waiting and hoping that the other will do it first. They both want it but neither wants to be the initial bad guy

[AceAerosmith]

This is driven by sheer fucking greed. The developers see that Gamestop is making $55 selling a game used a few days after launch and I'm sure they get a few buyers (not me). The developers don't like the fact that they got the first $60 but not that second $55.

Blaming Gamestop is like blaming a used car dealership. People trade something in and they resell it again and make a nice profit. But you don't see the auto industry up in arms.

Game developers are just FUCKING GREEDY PIECES OF SHIT!

While I do zero piracy of anything, I understand why people do it. It's just a nice "Fuck You!!" to the greed of the industry and in all honesty, I think piracy is a small percentage of their actual problem. The anti-consumer attitude and ideas such as this merely add fuel to the rebellion and should be a bigger concern to developers. Just let them keep biting the hand that feeds them and eventually consumers will have had enough.

[Gameguy]

Thrift stores are just evil, what with how they encourage people to reuse and recycle and save money too.

You forgot helping charities, that's apparently another evil that needs to be stopped.

Blaming Gamestop is like blaming a used car dealership. People trade something in and they resell it again and make a nice profit. But you don't see the auto industry up in arms.

I never really got this analogy, car manufacturers still get money as they sell replacement parts for those older cars. And it's not like that 3 year old car you're trading in is still being sold new. It's like complaining that someone is trading in a copy of Halo 1 to buy a copy of Halo 3, but they're actually complaining about people selling or trading in Halo 3 when Halo 3 is still a new release. I don't think developers deserve a cut on used games but this example just doesn't work as a comparison. Used books are a better example, but I don't hear many people complaining about used book stores or libraries either.


I read through the original blog post, I found it funny that he claimed to always buy new games off Amazon so he doesn't have to pay tax on them. Is paying developers somehow better than paying taxes? I thought taxes helped pay for infrastructure and public services, it seems like it would be better to buy a used copy locally and pay taxes than buy a new copy online without paying taxes.

[kedawa]

I never really got this analogy, car manufacturers still get money as they sell replacement parts for those older cars. And it's not like that 3 year old car you're trading in is still being sold new. It's like complaining that someone is trading in a copy of Halo 1 to buy a copy of Halo 3, but they're actually complaining about people selling or trading in Halo 3 when Halo 3 is still a new release. I don't think developers deserve a cut on used games but this example just doesn't work as a comparison. Used books are a better example, but I don't hear many people complaining about used book stores or libraries either.s.

But the publisher sells parts for that used game. It's called DLC and online pass.

[goatdan]

So Microsoft implements this, and then all of a sudden your console gets a red ring, and you're out of luck?

So, when Microsoft stops making the console and yours dies, all of your purchased console just becomes worthless?

If *any* company *ever* does this, I won't buy that console. Sorry. Stuff like Steam and the App store, at least there is some sort of guarantee that those games will transfer in the future.

Yeah, THQ has been hurting. But, eliminate used titles, and you aren't going to magically fix the company. I can buy a used car, why didn't the government outlaw used car sales when Detroit was going bankrupt? Wouldn't that have solved the issue?

[kedawa]

So Microsoft implements this, and then all of a sudden your console gets a red ring, and you're out of luck?

So, when Microsoft stops making the console and yours dies, all of your purchased console just becomes worthless?

If *any* company *ever* does this, I won't buy that console. Sorry. Stuff like Steam and the App store, at least there is some sort of guarantee that those games will transfer in the future.

Yeah, THQ has been hurting. But, eliminate used titles, and you aren't going to magically fix the company. I can buy a used car, why didn't the government outlaw used car sales when Detroit was going bankrupt? Wouldn't that have solved the issue?

I don't think there's much danger of that happening. MS already has a system in place to migrate digital content from one console to another. Locked physical media should be no different. You just have the option of getting the data from a disc instead of the internet.

[Kitsune Sniper]

If *any* company *ever* does this, I won't buy that console. Sorry. Stuff like Steam and the App store, at least there is some sort of guarantee that those games will transfer in the future.

Unless it's a fucking evil company that uses activation software like TAGES and SecuROM, in which case Steam will do shit about it and tell you to complain to the publisher, not them.

[BlastProcessing402]

Yeah, THQ has been hurting. But, eliminate used titles, and you aren't going to magically fix the company. I can buy a used car, why didn't the government outlaw used car sales when Detroit was going bankrupt? Wouldn't that have solved the issue?

Damnit, this is what happens when I accidentally skip page 2, sorry for "stealing" your point, goatdan

[Emperor Megas]

Edit: Not to mention that as soon as one console developer goes direct download only the others will soon follow.

Like the way Nintendo and SONY did after the PSPGo?

[TonyTheTiger]

Edit: Not to mention that as soon as one console developer goes direct download only the others will soon follow. I have a feeling that both Microsoft and Sony are just kind of waiting and hoping that the other will do it first. They both want it but neither wants to be the initial bad guy

It's more than that. ISPs will have them by the balls if they go that route. We've already seen some enforcing data limits on their customers. Now imagine something as prolific as mainstream game consoles essentially demanding tens of gigs worth of transfers per customer per month. What's Comcast going to think about that? And since people can't freely choose an ISP like any other product due to the way the infrastructure works you have a perfect storm for a crippling blow. It's not like the free market where some other ISP can swoop in and undercut the competition. We're pretty much locked down to the few ISPs that control the region in which we live. I doubt either MS or Sony wants to wake the dragon and suffer the consequences.