this is why gamestop does gangbusters on their used game sales. price, price price.

i can buy a new 360 game for $60, or i can buy two or three used ones for the same price. not a hard decision to make, unless you're talking about an absolute must-have new release.

i would def buy more new games if the initial cost was lower. i remember some cd stores around here used to sell new release cds for cheap (around 10 or 15 bucks) for the first couple of days to drive sales, then after that the price would go back to retail. if i was on the verge with an album, the cheap price would usually make me go for it. for aaa titles, the publishers would be shooting themselves in the foot, but like oobgarm said, something similar for new ips or niche titles would be a good sales booster.

on second thought though, i wonder how well this kind of thing would work in a brick-n-mortar. valve has so little overhead on steam, they can afford to do a drastic sale. cutting the price on physical releases (whose price includes distribution costs and the retailer's cut) would drive margins down for everyone. sales would increase, but would it be enough to offset those losses?