Used Game Issue: Sony Swears To "Do The Right Thing"

I'll be moving out of the country before the ps4 laucnes , i just hope i can purchase one for a price the same as value as it is in usa,and i hope to have internet because god knows i must play killzone shadow fall online come ps4 launch, will bring back memories of my first online experience with ps3 starting with resistance fall of man.Cheers all.

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Is it your avatar a little explicitly?

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Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 2/26/2013 2:05:28 PM

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I think I know that girl.

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How can you tell from that small image World? :)

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Sony always does the right thing for all parties involved, i'm not worrying about it till it's concrete no need to worry about something that hasn't happened yet

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Blocking or needing to pay to "unlock" a second hand game completely and extremely anti consumer. And to those who think it's just about used games, it's not,second hand covers everything, not just used games.

Doing this is nothing good for us, bad for us, no benefit, no convenience, more hassle, headaches and just good for the companies who don't care about us at all.

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Actually friend, you are wrong, it is very bad for us.

Used games give 100% returns to the retailer, and NONE of that money goes to the Publisher.

If the used game market continues to grow, more and more publishers will be denied revenue, which will definitely affect games and the ability to produce AAA content.

Used games are hardly ever even worth it. Seriously in EB Games here in Australia, every single time I go in there, I can find many used games that cost MORE than the brand new one. You buy a game new for $99AUD, then trade it in for $20AUD, then EB resells it for $99 used.

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Game store in the UK: Uncharted 3 new £29.99. Used it's £9. They aren't always a rip off in the UK but that might be different to other countries?

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Sony will always remain my favorite corporate bigwigs. No company has ever had their consumers in mind so much as Sony does.

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I sense a continuation of online passes and content that is exclusive to the online pass.

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I have a feeling that used game sales are the biggest reason for the digital push by game makers.

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That, and dramatically reduced production, distribution, transport and storage cost.
It's downright robbery that digitally distributed games cost more or less the same as retail version.

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Last edited by Beamboom on 2/26/2013 3:52:33 PM

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On the UK PSN new releases are £60 whereas they are £40 in retail outlets. It makes no sense at all.

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Let's just enjoy it while it lasts.

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Support Game Developers...Buy your games NEW! Doesn't have to be a Day 1 purchase, just buy them new (bargin bin).

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Sometimes you want to withhold support though, as with current Final Fantasy games.

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So your stance is: "I won't pay them money on principle, because of the game they made, but I will still pay someone else money for it and do want to play the game, regardless." ??

That's not much of a soapbox to stand on, there. If you don't like what they're doing with a game series, don't buy it, period. Buying it used any way only gives them more ammunition for the anti-used argument. Bulking up the used sales just tells them that you like it, but are too cheap to buy it new.

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Sadly, I agree. Maybe they will fix it with the PS4...

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Buying it used doesn't tell them anything, really. Nothing concrete, anyways.

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I'm not searching for a soapbox, I just don't want to reward stupidity. The fact that I paid for the last two means I get to decide if I want to see what happens, if they intend on holding me hostage through 3 unfortunate games to do that then I will exercise my right to first refusal and instead make some poor sap who DOES spend $60 on it feel a bit better about himself for a day.

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While I certainly do understand the point of supporting developers, as well as others in any medium and everyone involved with said productions, there is also something to be said for used copies as well.

I think everyone has a point.

Consider this, a friend/family member wants to sell you or (generously decides they'd like to) give you the a used copy of a game of their own, because of saving space and/or has played the game multiple times and/or as a present. Well what then? How would that be viewed? I personally don't see the problem with that scenario. Now if someone simply gives something, like a used game to someone, well then there was no exchange of money and therefore no profiting off of someone else's work right? Another thing that can be done is an equal trade perhaps? Now what if that person received that freely given or received a traded game for another, couldn't play it because of the used restrictions? I hope this won't be the case because I know have usually just given or at times temporarily lent/borrowed (and perhaps traded for keeps, can't remember right now)games,movies and music discs; I wouldn't want them to be useless any longer. At most maybe I can see a little validity IF the fee is minimal, like maybe no more than a few dollars. Maybe.

As for buying used from a store, I do not particularly like them, nor some people on Amazon/eBay/whatever to be charging a huge amount to be making a big profit on something they bought. Especially scalpers who buy as much as they can of a hot item to profit as much as possible. I guess the right seems to exist and I am not usually one to be judgmental, but I know I don't like having to pay way more for something especially when it's used and when it was available for less, even new. Now I have bought used games and some movies, but usually not paying more than the initial suggested retail price. I have bought used though, typically for something that has been out for a while and I could not find new somewhere else in my local area. I do however usually buy new, and usually when the price is quite reduced, or perhaps a very good sale if I want it sooner rather than later. I am usually patient, when it comes to price reductions or perhaps a sale, and wait it out though.

As for wanting the game, because the game in itself is per say not without any appeal, but the for some reason the individual does not agree with the devs and/or pub and/or place of retail but still wants the game, I guess I can get that sometimes. Now the game has already been purchased, and if the person simply gives it away I really don't see an issue if no one profited. If the game was sold more than the initial cost and is sold for a higher price than a new copy, well.... not sure how ethical it is. If it is being sold for the same amount or (preferably) less then... hhmmmm? I guess the person gets to break even or loses some cash but they still have had the game and the chance to play and possibly finish the game one or more times. I guess it would seem to be like a prolonged rental in a sense if the scenario plays out that way (take or leave the pun if you'd like).

I guess what I'm saying is, I can see the pros and cons to the varying situations. In the end I'd like for no one to be or feel ripped off, but as long as people who aren't responsible for the creation aren't really profiting, isn't that acceptable. As for people who do occasionally charge or buy for used, I hope aren't being overcharged or over profiting. As for digital copies of titles or digital only titles, I'm especially glad for the option (when available) because of the choice, space saving and environmental benefits as well. I do personally however, prefer physical formats but do like that other people have options, and especially for smaller games and/or companies it's most viable option.

Thank you.

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Just wanted to clarify the context of:

"At most maybe I can see a little validity IF the fee is minimal, like maybe no more than a few dollars. Maybe."

I meant in reference to a possible and MINIMAL, activation fee for a used game.

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For every pre-owned copy of the game on the shelf available to buy, there is someone who is sat at home thinking "I'm bored with this NEW game I bought, thankfully I can get some value back out of it by trading it in".

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Reflecting on this a bit more, I think Gabriel013 and BILB have made some good points as well. I guess I don't see much of an issue with selling, trading or giving something away. Sure the person may get some money back, but once they have parted with it, they can no longer play/use it anymore. I'm not talking about people producing copies to then sell and trade, while keeping the original and profiting off the creative parties involved. I'm talking about their own, legally attained and paid for copy. Sure the people involved in the production of said product, especially those that stand to make further money from sales, would want everyone possible to have their own. Realistically how many other mediums expect to get compensated time and again for the same copy/used product? I suppose that's where the Online Pass comes in, and I think, as stated by others here, the price for a slot of the funded server may merit a small one time fee to claim a spot for the online services/features.

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Well, yeah. If they don't have an official announcement about changing the way things are, they probably should remain vague. Obviously. No big company is going to have an overarching opinion on a hot button issue.

OT: I just beat Ni no Kuni recently, and now I'm depressed it's over.

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Last edited by Underdog15 on 2/26/2013 3:43:54 PM

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OT...
Well... maybe give it some time and play it again? :-) Do you know if there are multiple endings,a new game+ option and/or other rewards for multiple playthroughs? It's on my list.

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Yeah, there's a good number of post-game hours. Nothing truly major, though. A couple neat things, and tougher fights. Certainly enough to be worth playing just a bit longer.

No new game+ as far as I can tell, unless I missed something.

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Ah neat, well it looks good regardless. I really like the lushness of the colors and environments as well as the classically quirky studio Ghibli's art direction.

Glad you enjoyed the game, here's to enjoying it again sometime and thanks for the reply.

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No worries. I wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of the art style or game genre. One of my most treasured experiences of the past decade. It's right up there with Dragon Quest 8 and Xenogears for me. (Two of my favorite games of all time)

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The main reason I personally am against those used sale limitations is not for used games purchase/sale - that doesn't bother me much.

No, it's simply that it hinders me to be able to borrow a game from a friend or give a game of mine along to my son without hassle. And that is a right as a consumer I do appreciate if remains.

Just like when I gave my CDs to a buddy who collects them, or let my neighbour borrow a DVD. I don't hear anyone complaining then.

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Last edited by Beamboom on 2/26/2013 4:20:47 PM

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I understand and agree with that point too Beam. I mentioned it briefly in a prior post as well.

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Heyyyy.

You used the PS4 logo.

Yay!

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On the subject of used games, here's more news on Microsoft's anti-consumer approach:

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Xbox-720-Has-Always-DRM-Blocks-Used-Games-Says-Eidos-President-53032.html

Forcing DRM and the deactivation of used games is suicide, especially considering the amount of countries with crapper internet connection and commonly pirated games. They've essentially given up on that crowd, because it isn't profitable, but what it will actually done is block off a faction of the world from gaming. They Probably think it's OK to blocked used games since physical rental companies are dying out (such as Blockbuster) due to the virtual revolution, and what they're really doing is killing off the tradition of sharing games by personal folk. But consumers aren't to be taken lightly; Microsoft think their fanbase will submit but I really doubt it. The idea of banishing used games already sounds outrageous to pretty much everyone - Let's just hope the go ahead with their plans (that's if they are real) and kill theirselves quicky; the videogame industry dominated by a company like Microsoft is practically a gaming apocalypse. Get RID of this foul plague, once and for all, Sony!

(In a less related note, I didn't know Edge were the first to bring out this information. It kind of shows with the fact that they worked close together to get such information that Edge were indeed Microsoft's bumbuddies during the length of the last generation, hence their bias praise towards 360 exclusives and contant undermining of the PS3).

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wait, dident yoshi just say a few days ago the ps4 is not blocking used games and that patent people are referring too was not for the ps4?
sigh, $onys contradicting themselves YET AGAIN!
once can we have a $ony employee say something without another contradicting him just days later?
just once!?

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Why are we still talking about this? Sony would have been incredibly stupid to try and block used games and they know it would have caused A LOT more problems than it solved, even publishers/developers despite all the bitching, know that.

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How many times should a company/developer expect to be paid for each individual item it manufactures? They set a price which they feel is fair for that certain item(ie., $60.00). Why should they keep getting paid for that item? I can't think of any other merchandise that the maker expects to be paid again and again (other than digital medium) off of the top of my head. It's got to stop!

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