Items tagged with used games
GameStop's upcoming PowerPass used games subscription service hasn't even been officially launched yet, and it has already hit a pothole. PowerPass was first leaked late last month, and allows customers to rent an unlimited number of used games (one at a time) during a six-month period. After those six months are up, the last game that you have "out" is yours to keep. However, GameStop has since instructed store employees to remove all signage relating to the program, which has drawn considerable interest from the gaming community. Although GameStop didn't get into specifics, it did confirm that it has decided to delay the introduction of the program -- for now. “We have elected to temporarily...
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A couple of months ago, while a lot of people were up in arms over the Xbox One's potential "always on" requirement, Gears of War creator and former Epic Games developer Cliff Bleszinski said, quite simply, "#dealwithit". Unlike so many others, he simply didn't see the reason why an "always on" console was a bad thing, insinuating that it's the "world we live in". Given this, it should come as no surprise that Cliffy B is also in favor of Xbox One's used game DRM - that is, where a disc-based game can be traded only once. On Twitter, and via Computer and Videogames, he defends the scheme by saying, "You cannot have game and marketing budgets this high while also having used and rental games existing....
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A couple of weeks ago, EA did something truly atypical to its usual business plan: it got rid of something that made it money. I'm of course talking Online Passes, an idea the company once conjured up as a way to make money from the used games market. In effect, you could give or sell a certain game to someone, and then the recipient would have to pay a fee (normally around $10) to gain the rights to play the game online. Obviously, this scheme didn't go down too well with consumers and thus EA, for once, caved in and dropped the program. At the time, it was speculated upon whether or not the company would retroactively drop the Online Pass mechanic from its earlier titles, and fortunately, it...
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The always-on controversy surrounding what we now know as the Xbox One has quickly taken a backseat to a semi-related topic: Used games. Specifically, how is Microsoft planning to approach the used games market since titles will be installed directly to the hard drive, and just as important, will a used game market even exist? The answer to that latter question is "yes," though GameStop and other used games retailers may not like the details. First, a refresher. In an emailed statement to Wired earlier this week, Microsoft said that all game discs are installed to the Xbox One's hard drive to play. Each disc would be tied to a unique Xbox Live account, and while gamers would be free to bring...
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Do you hear that sound? It's the entire Internet, and especially console gamers, taking a collective sigh of relief after learning that Sony will not discriminate against used games. As boneheaded of a decision it would have been to not allow previously owned games to work on a next generation console, rumors persisted that Sony and Microsoft were entertaining the idea, and for all the fanfare during yesterday's PlayStation 4 launch event, Sony didn't touch the topic. No worries though. Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony's Worldwide Studios for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., confirmed to Eurogamer that the PS4 will not block used games. Yoshida was a bit cagey when first presented with the...
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Electronic Arts' Blake Jorgensen has laid out the company's plans for future console games and given some insight into what EA expects the game market to look like through the end of this year and the beginning of next. EA has already stated it plans to invest an estimated $80M in creating next-generation titles in FY 2014 (EA's fiscal calendar starts on March 1), including new Battlefield and FIFA titles. According to Jorgensen, EA's goal for 2014 is to minimize the sharp sales drop that usually accompanies any new console launch. This is always a tricky problem for game developers. As of last quarter, Microsoft has sold some 76 million Xbox 360s. Sony has moved 72.5 million PS3's. If 10% of...
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For years, Sony's game division has been one of the major revenue earners at the beleaguered company; in 2011 gaming provided more operating income than any other division. That leg was rudely kicked out from under the company this past quarter; Sony's gaming revenue fell 17% while operating income dropped by 86%. Yearly sales for the PS2 and PS3 are now projected at 6.8 million units, down from the 7.4M devices the company moved in 2011. The really ugly story, however, is in handhelds. Sony counted all of its PlayStation Vita sales as part of 2012, but only expects to move seven million PSPs and PlayStation Vita's by the end of the year. In FY 2011, Sony sold 6.8 million PSP's. That means Vita...
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Game designer Richard Browne has come out swinging in favor of the rumored antipiracy features in the next-gen PlayStation Orbis and Xbox Durango. "The real cost of used games is the damage that is being wrought on the creativity and variety of games available to the consumer," Browne writes. "The real cost of used games is the death of single player gaming." Browne's comments echo those of influential programmer and Raspberry Pi developer David Braben, who wrote last month that "pre-owned has really killed core games... It's killing single player games in particular, because they will get pre-owned, and it means your day one sales are it, making them super high risk. I mean, the idea of a game...
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The rumor mill is still churning out quite a bit of information on new consoles this week, including new data on Nintendo's upcoming Wii U. According to unnamed developers, the Wii U actually isn't as powerful as the Xbox 360 or PS3, despite boasting HD graphics and significantly improved hardware. According to Nintendo's public statements, the new console will have 8GB of onboard Flash, a new, Power-based CPU built on a 45nm process. IBM has hinted that the Wii U chip leverages technology found in its own Watson, which would make it a derivative of the Power 7 architecture. There's a substantial disconnect between the tech specs being floated and the claim that the Wii U won't measure up to...
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Over the past 10 days, we've discussed the question of used games and how revenue is divided. One of the few points that both GameStop and game developers agree on is that buying a used game doesn't directly benefit the publisher or developer in any way, though there's reason to think that a strong secondary market boosts gaming sales in general. Given how often people quote wanting to help developers as a reason to buy a title new, you might think the lesson is clear. Evidence suggests it isn't. Blogger and game developer Simon Roth recently published a list of nearly 150 games published by now-defunct studios. Roth says this list is merely representative of the hundreds of additional titles...
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Our coverage of the content lockout in the just-released game Kingdoms of Amalur and whether or not studios deserve a cut of used games sales kicked off quite a debate last week. We heard from a number of you with strong views on the topic, both pro and con, including an irate GameStop manager who was willing to give us his perspective* on the used game market and GameStop's business model. He writes: The price comparisons on what we buy for / pay for are not dissimilar to what the Half-Price Books bookstore chain "makes in profit" on a given resold book. And I can guarantee you that if you walk into a pawnshop, they're selling all sorts of merchandise including used video games at far greater...
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Studios and publishers are fighting back hard against the used game market, with the upcoming title Kingdoms of Amular, the latest to declare it'll use a content lock. In this case, KoA ups the ante by locking out part of the game that's normally available in single-player mode. Game reviewers found the following inside their copies. The text reads: "Online pass gives you access to the House of Valor faction quest, featuring seven additional single-player quests" It then gives instructions on how to activate the additional content. Gamers exploded, with many angry that game content that had shipped on the physical disc was locked away and missing, as well as being angry at the fact that content...
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