Nielsen: Game Playing, Used Game Sales Are Peaking

More people are playing games than ever before, and as a direct consequence, more people are buying games (well, used games, but whatever).

According to the latest Nielsen report, entitled "The Value Gamer: Play and Purchase Behavior in a Recession" and summarized by Industry Gamers, we learn that gamers are participating in their favorite hobby more often than ever, and used game sales are spiking. The study was obviously designed to determine if the past recession had a negative impact on the habits of gamers. For our part, we always thought the increase in home entertainment of any kind during a recession would be obvious...when people can't afford to go out, they stay home. Well, now there are numbers to back it up. As stated in the report:

"Over the past several months, the number of hours that gamers claim to be playing is at an all time high, part of a rising trend in gameplay that began in 2007. Additionally, gamers have increased their purchase of used games to record-breaking totals since the Video Game Tracking survey began asking about this in 2006. The same is true for subscriptions to video game rental services by mail. Taken together, these trends point to gamers’ continued engagement with the category even as their budgets have come under pressure. Overall, the recession has not abated the trend of increasing gameplay and may have in fact accelerated it as gamers look to get more value out of the games they own."

Not surprisingly, the report says mainstream gamers are playing "more of the broadly appealing games," and that the "social aspects" of such titles have engaged them. By that same token, they don't believe that hardcore gamers are causing the averages in question to rise. Lastly, they easily attribute the increase in used game purchases to the recession; gamers simply want to stretch their entertainment dollar a little further. But anyway, gaming certainly hasn't abated and in fact, it's bigger than ever (surprise, surprise).

7/7/2009 Ben Dutka

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Comments (Beta)

Morals
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 11:36:47 AM
Reply

Used games are nice, GTA4 for $30.00.

0 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 12:14:21 PM

Are you crazy? That game's 35usd new.

1 up, 0 down

Random_Steve
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 1:28:23 PM

in game in england, Haze was £30 used and £25 new. make sense of that

1 up, 0 down

ThePearlJamer
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 2:47:48 PM

You don't have to make sense of that, it's a little something I like to call the gamestop effect

6 up, 0 down

LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 3:41:13 PM

ThePearlJamer, your comment just made sense of it. Duh?

1 up, 2 down

fluffer nutter
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 4:15:54 PM

His comment didn't make sense of it. It merely explained it.

1 up, 1 down

LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 4:30:34 PM

Explaining something is the exact same as making sense of it.

1 up, 1 down

fluffer nutter
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 5:27:04 PM

That isn't true. You can explain something but the person may not understand it or it may still not make any sense to him or her. Here's an example. A Chemist can explain the reaction of something to a person but that doesn't mean it will make sense to the other party. You can present all of the facts and you may be accurate but if the other party involved doesn't have a full grasp on the matter, it may still make no sense to them at all.

3 up, 0 down

LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 5:50:58 PM

Good point fluffer, I stand corrected.

6 up, 1 down

Cavan
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 11:51:38 AM
Reply

also whats worth a mention, is that blu ray dics are alot more scratch resistant i would never buy a used ps2 game as there were alwayz scratches on the disc's. but since blu rays are very very hard to scratch buying second hand games are practically like buying new.

6 up, 0 down

www
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 11:57:03 AM

Just what i was about to say i'll still say it nonetheless.

0 up, 0 down

RustEDalex
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 12:23:33 PM

on the ps2 when you play a new game on it, it comes out with minor scratches, its what always happens to me when i play new videa games

0 up, 0 down

Morals
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 12:39:46 PM

Blu-rays are more resistant because of that little glass coating they put on it.

0 up, 0 down

ffrulez
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 7:36:19 PM

They used to be more susceptible to scratches, but it reversed before the release of the PlayStation 3.

0 up, 0 down

www
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 12:03:36 PM
Reply

Used Blu-Rays are half the time 98% New. Compared to buying a Used DVD that might turn up 50% new with countless scratches.

But i love to buy New & Sealed over Used all the time unless its an old game which am not sure about, i may buy it Used.

I wonder how some people buy Used PS3 consoles and are happy with it? I will NEVER buy a Used console i'd rather stay console-less.

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 12:19:52 PM

The one time I bought a used console was after I bricked my original PS2 by trying to fix it myself (It had stopped playing PS1 games) I got a nice price selling it for spare parts and just bought a used one as a replacement. Sucker works great.

0 up, 0 down

www
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 5:18:49 PM

Lol

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 6:09:09 PM

I love buying used!
I've bought all of my 12 systems & almost all of their games used(except for the Ace Combat series) and never had any problems yet, except for an occassional hiccup now starting with this 60 Gig PS3 I bought a few months back.

Every once in a while, it won't acknowledge that I've slipped a game into it, but since I also bought a 12 month warranty with it, it will get replaced.

And with the games, it's OK if it has a few scratches, just as long as they aren't too deep or the label side isn't showing through, then I have a very good buffer(that would be me) that can fix them. And I have some great polishes that a now-defunct used game store owner gave me.

0 up, 0 down

www
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 7:37:55 PM

BikerSaint hope your bikes aren't used lol.

0 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 12:16:33 PM
Reply

Whoever this Nielsen is I think he's right. I'm definitely getting more value out of the games I own. I'm playing Mercenaries 2 for crying out loud!

1 up, 0 down

ThePearlJamer
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 2:48:21 PM

Nielson Soundscan

0 up, 0 down

Nynja
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 12:19:22 PM
Reply

I always buy PS3 games new for developer support. For the 360, always used. Never new, well except for Gears.

5 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 12:35:42 PM
Reply

I think we need some brave soul to start a new brick and mortar used game chain to counter Gamestop, monopolies lead to douchebaggery.

11 up, 0 down

Canuck Pride
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 3:04:20 PM

i'll do it... i've been wanting to do so for a long time... just give me a few years of schooling in business and economy and i'll do it..

1 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 5:19:30 PM

mordakai1 - You don't need all that to run a GameStop clone. You just need a little greed.

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 6:16:30 PM

I could open up a used game store, but I'd have to close it down a few weeks later

And it's because of my collector mentality....
I'd wind up being my own worst enemy cause I'd never want to part with any one of those games(even the crapfest ones), LOL

1 up, 0 down

Oyashiro
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 9:52:52 PM

If you live in the Houston, TX area... go to Gamesplus! ;)

0 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 10:14:16 PM

What just happened? You're Canuck Pride now?

0 up, 0 down

tlpn99
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 12:52:29 PM
Reply

I buy a lot of new games but do on occasion buy pre owned. I bought some good PS2 and PS1 games in the past. I just ask to look at the disk if it's too full of scratches I ask to see another. I am fussy but the shop sellers are ok about this they help you not had a problem so far anyway, last one I bought was Prologue £7.99 the woman helped me in the shop looking through the disks she passed me one said ill wipe it for you she goes gets a soft cloth wipes the disk for me it was brand new not a mark on it. Bargain :)

Last edited by tlpn99 on 7/7/2009 12:53:11 PM

0 up, 0 down

Ultimadream
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 4:31:08 PM
Reply

I've bought alot of Used Games/DVDs and in my experience most have been pretty good, you can ask the people at the counter to let you check the condidtion of the discs first if you want, thats what i usually do. the ammount of money ive saved buying used media is shocking. after a month or two any new release will go down at least half its original price.

0 up, 0 down

Minishmaru
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 5:10:43 PM
Reply

Hey guys, I tried to google this question but I came up with nothing. Maybe someone here can answer it, how do games that are a "greatest hits" that are at least half their original price make a profit? I just don't understand...do they sell enough units just to cover the development costs and then the rest is profit? No idea how it works but I've always wondered that. I TRY to support developers by buying new...but honestly I'm not in the position to buy every new game that comes out that I think is going to be awesome because more so than not...the games are NOT worth full price. So thanks, and if anyone has Warhawk btw, ADD ME! :) DEADxBABIESxINC

1 up, 0 down

Deadman
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 7:05:21 PM

Huh?... No Highlander?

Greatest Hits title have to meet certain sales criteria to make the list ie. For PS1 it was 150,000 units in 24 months.
I think for PS3 its 500,000 in 10 months.
But to answer your question once a game makes back the production cost everything else is profit. So 60*500,000=$30,000,000 which in most cases meets or exceeds production cost.
On average most games cost 10,000,000 to produce.

0 up, 0 down

TheHighlander
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 @ 12:11:06 AM

@Deadman...

You rang?

0 up, 0 down

Deadman
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 5:10:53 PM
Reply

The last 6/7 games I bought were used and I'm starting to get my BDs used also Blockbuster put them out at 2 for $25 or $16 a piece, another place called Buybacks has used Bds anywhere from $15-$20 1 week after release.

0 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 5:21:48 PM
Reply

I bought a used game once. A GBA game. I still feel dirty over the whole thing.

1 up, 1 down

BikerSaint
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 6:24:40 PM

@Alienange
LOL on that one!
I guess since I've bought 99 & 9/10th of my games all used, I better consider myself a "pig wallowing in slop".

But I'm a very happy contented pig, never the less. OINK, OINK!

1 up, 0 down

hezzron73
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 7:23:49 PM

@Alienange

I know what you mean. I bought 3 used games for my 360 for the 1st time a couple of weeks ago at GameStop, only because they had a B2G1 free sale going on. They sit on my self like unwanted red-headed step children with big ugly yellow stickers on them, next to my shiny new unmolested ones. It's ok, but not my favorite.

Oh....and GS sells used games like they have no idea what new ones cost elsewhere.

1 up, 0 down

www
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 7:42:34 PM

Lol,Alienage same here, used games feel kinda dirty to me. I just don't like to imagine what the person has done to it.

For all you know, the pre-owner took the manual to the bathroom several times and there you are holding and kissing the book like "Oh i got this great game cheap and used" LOL.

0 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 10:11:36 PM

@ www - LMAO I didn't even think of that ! You know it's true too !

@ hezzron73 - Use games is bad enough but used 360 games? Really? You're just asking for trouble with that.

0 up, 0 down

Robochic
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 5:41:19 PM
Reply

I sometimes buy used only if it's really good price not like 5 bucks lower than the orginal price. dvds i mostly buy used unless it's a must have on release date plus lately on release date for dvds most places mark it down really well, i bought a blueray movie on release for 19 bucks next day it was 30 bucks.

Games it all depends the only reason i've been buying used ps2 games cause alot of them have been marked down to 10 bucks or lower.

0 up, 0 down

Kangasfwa
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 6:15:23 PM
Reply

Thank goodness for GameFly ;)

I buy used games that aren't made anymore. Like Mark of Kri for example. Old game, but damn fun.

I also shop at a locally owned used game store that would put Gamestop out of business if they went national. Great trade-in deals, fair prices, and scratch-free discs for both games and dvds. A friend of mine even gets discounts because he's in there so often.

1 up, 0 down

Deadman
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 6:45:11 PM

Gamefly is the greatest thats another place that sell used games for a used game price.

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 6:31:49 PM
Reply

Just an FYI for all looking for vintage games,

Might wanna check out www.Gamefunk.com
Once in a while they have a few good priced games or accessories, that date all the way back to the NES days.

0 up, 0 down

Scarecrow
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 6:46:07 PM
Reply

I haven't bought a used game since 2001 or so.

Supporting developers is the right thing to do.

3 up, 0 down

LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 10:10:25 PM

Saving money in rough times is the right thing to do IMO.

2 up, 0 down

ADAM WEST
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 7:27:37 PM
Reply

I buy about 95% of my games new. I do like to have the option to save money when I can, but I'm inpatient.

0 up, 0 down

Qubex
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 9:24:42 PM
Reply

Uhm, in Singapore here, getting used games is difficult. We just don't have an official chain that sells used games; you have to hunt them down at mom and pop stores. Just be thankful you can buy used games officially where you live :(

Q!

"i am home"

0 up, 0 down

Belgaran
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 9:56:27 PM
Reply

I bought all my games used when I first bought my PS3. there were sooo many games that I hadn't played yet and i had some catching up to do. No problems to speak of.

0 up, 0 down

Kr3sn1k
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 @ 10:12:34 PM
Reply

I bought over 50% of my ps3 games used they always work perfect and no scratches!

0 up, 0 down

TheHighlander
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 @ 12:13:29 AM
Reply

Used games deprive publishers and developers of the return on their investment of time, effort and money. Some would say every used game sale represents a lost sale of a new game, I would tend to agree. Don't support GameStop by trading and buying used games. Buy New every time you can, and sell your used games directly via Ebay, at least that way the leeches at GameStop can't rip you off.

1 up, 0 down

Ricochet
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 @ 2:38:50 AM
Reply

I must admit most of purchases are "used" games due to the fact that blu-ray always ends up like new. But I do support the developers by purchasing exclusives at their original prices. other 3rd party games or discontinued ones tend to be bought at the local electronic thrift shop.

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 @ 5:13:06 PM
Reply

WWW,
Yup, I've bought almost all of my bikes used too.
The only one I did buy new was a 88CI CMC Road Warriorfor 21K which wound up being a POS(just like the 99 to 2001 Indians), so I went back to my used, but beloved Harleys. BTW, CMC(California Motorcycle co) was the predesessor for the newer 1999-2001 Indian, which wound up as the same exact junkers too).

I'm now back to Harleys, & own a old 1987 FLHT, but replaced it's 80CI engine with a 100CI Rev-Tech motor, a hot cam, & a pair of long sraight unbaffled shotgun pipes.

It looks just like the pic below, only my paint scheme is a two-toned Burgandy metallic over Charcoal Grey metallic, & I've got the straight unmufflered shotgun pipes, not those OEM muffler'ed pipes.
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/mcy/1235152374.html

0 up, 0 down

KabutoHunter
Friday, July 10, 2009 @ 2:44:15 PM
Reply

Games should debut at $30 and no higher, barring some special peripheral. It's a rare day when I pay any higher for any game. $60 for something that lasts 10-15 hours is a total ripoff.

Lower the price and more people will buy the product new, and not have to resort to used games, which don't support the developers in any way. The consumer gets a better value, the developer sells more games, everybody wins. NFL 2K4 & 2K5 were perfect examples of this. Sega lowered the price to $19 and become a huge threat to EA's dominance. So much so, that EA lowered their price to $29, and eventually eliminated the competition by buying up the NFL rights. They still made plenty of money at that price, but next year it went right back up to the ripoff level.

0 up, 0 down

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