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Topic: Do you think we will ever get the ability to sell digital games to another person?

Posts 1 to 20 of 94

shadow-wolf

Basically what the title says. I feel like it should be a fairly simple process to do (just take away digital rights of one account and give them to another account) but the console manufacturers have decided not to do so for the time being. If digital truly will replace physical in the future, there needs to be a way to sell digital games.

shadow-wolf

GrailUK

Don't be silly. Companies have the ability to restrain resale, something that was impossible even through law in some countries with physical.

Edited on by GrailUK

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Cotillion

Never happen. The industry hates the secondary market as it is for physical.
Every game you buy or sell secondhand is one less sale for them. They see absolutely nothing from any secondary sale and it's the same thing as piracy as far as they're concerned, so why would they introduce something that takes away from their sales? There is zero incentive for them to do so.

Cotillion

komodo182

This is the main reason I avoid digital games unless it is on a great discount.

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Anti-Matter

@shadow-wolf
I don't like digital download only games.
They cannot be sold again, ever.
Better going physical and ignore all the negative comments about being a physical gamers.

Anti-Matter

Luna_110

Reselling digital games doesn’t really make sense, does it? You pay for a license that doesn’t change price over time, so you can’t really sell it for cheaper since it doesn’t depreciate.
Physical copies do show the sings of tear and wear when they’re used, so obviously they have to sell them for less. Unless we’re talking about something that’s very sparse, like Path of Radiance on the GC... those prices are insane.

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dani_ef

I think that the "second hand" will be finished when digital sales will be exclusive.

dani_ef

CurryPowderKeg79

That's not true @Luna_110 physical games do usually depreciate for a while but usually only for a while. They Usually rise in price dramatically a system generation or two after the console the game was originally released for no matter the game. And as you said If there a limited run/produced or obscure physical release title they rise in price immediately after launch, even used. Nes titles such as Mario, Zelda, Contra, Final Fantasy and many more can sell for thousands of dollars even though they are used and not mint and in no way where released in limited numbers. This is how i make a living selling rare and hard to find video games and collectables on Ebay and have been for over 20 years. Sadly me and all the mom & pop shops who do this for a living are about to be out of a job that some of them have been doing for over 40 years.

Edited on by CurryPowderKeg79

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CurryPowderKeg79

And no @shadow-wolf we will never be able to sell digital games. Unless someone takes the game industry to court over this and wins. The video game industry wants to kill the used game market. Because they don't make any money of used game sells. They also want to make you buy the exact same game digitally over and over again for each new system generation. Digital Video Games are the only thing i have ever owned but can not sell.

Edited on by CurryPowderKeg79

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Mountain_Man

Publishers and developers generally hate used game sales. Some of them consider it worse than piracy because at least with piracy, you can rationalize that it's not really a lost sale whereas a used sale goes to someone who was willing to spend their money, and the publisher and developer doesn't get a cent. This is largely the reason for the push for digital delivery and streaming. The only way publishers will allow the sale of "used" digital software between users is if the publisher sets the price and gets a significant cut of the sale.

The Mountain Man

Anti-Matter

@Link-Hero
Meanwhile, i still depend on used games from Ebay since i start to play original games on November 2013. I missed a lot of old games since i have never got the original copies in my game store since here in Indonesia, peoples keep selling the pirated games and jailbreak the consoles to able run pirated games. I still need the used games since i have never owned it, better late than never. I still support some game company by buy their games (the new release) in Brand New condition.

Anti-Matter

Dezzy

Never gonna happen. The best we'll probably get along this line is digital rentals. Pay 1 price to own the game permanently, pay a lower price to rent it for a week, if you have the spare time to blitz through it.

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Heavyarms55

The only way I could see it happening is if countries forced companies to allow it by law.

And I see that happening about the same time countries outlaw financial support of politicians by corporations/executives. AKA ABSOLUTELY NEVER HAPPENING.

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gcunit

What happens if you ban used car sales? Do sales of new cars go through the roof, or do more people start catching the bus?

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Zuljaras

@gcunit You should compare it to something of the price-range of a game not something that could cost well over 10 000$, right?

Ofc people will start catching the bus as not everyone could afford new car.

Edited on by Zuljaras

StuTwo

@Zuljaras Or the price of new cars will fall dramatically to be close to that of a typical used car.

Infact you could argue that the used car market has actually continuously helped the car industry. Without it there would be a downwards pressure on retail price. One or two manufacturers would exploit this and produce ultra cheap ultra low margin cars. This would put pressure on other manufacturers to cut their margins also. You'd end up with cars as commodity products - manufacturers would have to sell many more cars and have far less incentive to invest in raising standards.

What's more - consumers are able to "build in" the eventual release of equity into the price they're willing to pay. We pay more for a new car because we know we can sell it. Some of that difference is retained by the manufacturer in the form of higher profit margins.

The used market allows car manufacturers to position their goods as more profitable high margin products with much lower financial risk because the used market has sucked away all of that risk whilst remaining distinctly different in the eyes of consumers.

...

To the original question though - no - why would they. More importantly - do we want them to?

In a digital only future games may be cheaper for all (this is usually the case - I'm 100% certain the average price paid for a digital game is a fraction of the price of a physical game), they will certainly be more obtainable (games are rarely de-listed whereas many games only ever get one print run) and the developers have more incentive to maintain and update legacy games than they ever have. Sales are common and often incredibly deep.

Allow digital resales and all of that goes. You'd pretty much end up with the worst of both worlds. The eshop would very quickly resemble the App Store or Google Play with a desert of free to play garbage punctuated by the occasional quality game pitched at an unbelievable price.

StuTwo

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gcunit

@Zuljaras Right, so if people that buy used games for 10 bucks each, for instance, can't buy used games any more, what will they do, just start paying 600% instead?

If my gaming budget is 10 bucks a month, I could maybe buy 12 used games (at 10 bucks each) in a year, or 2 new games a year at 60 bucks each.

Ending used sales doesn't give average Joe more money to spend on gaming. And the money people do spend on used games still supports the industry, as it gives the first-hand buyers confidence to buy new, knowing that they can recover some of their investment.

I cap nearly all my digital purchases at £10, because I get a guaranteed zero financial return on that investment, whether I love the game or hate it.

When the games market becomes all digital, I suspect prices will need to drop.

I got into gaming again because of the used market - seems a pretty important part of the system to me for bridging the gap between those who can afford to buy new and those who maybe could evolve into buying new but never get past first base because of the cost of entry etc.

Fwiw - I'm not suggesting re-sale of used digital licences will ever be enabled, I just think it's a bit of over-simplification to suggest that all used sales will just automatically convert to digital sales when the used market dies.

You guys had me at blood and semen.

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Bunkerneath

No.
To my mind that is why games devs are moving to download only so that you can't sell them on. If you want a game you have to pay the full price they want to charge.
This is why I try not to buy digital unless discounted.

Edited on by Bunkerneath

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Zuljaras

@gcunit I do not argue with that. I am just saying that games should be compared to things in their price range. There are no digital cars that you can go from point A to point B right?

Also the second hand market for gaming is my favourite since I do not buy digital. It is not worth my money. I want to own something not just have a license.

Also digital only games are easier to hack. If this is the future I will again start to pirate games and maybe give money to one selected game a year (of my favourite franchises).

If they want to cut their costs I will cut them as well.

Edited on by Zuljaras

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