Remember back last week when the rumors of the next Xbox being barring used games went by without a statement from Microsoft? And how that would strike a blow deep into retailer’s pockets while also causing outrage among consumers? Well now, Gamestop has answered those rumors with a sound guys-come on-think-about-this-and-be-smart rebuttal.
VG24/7 reported last night from the Goldman Sachs technology and internet Conference that the retailer has done their own research into the topic and found that consumers are on the side of used games. Chief Financial Officer Rob Lloyd proclaimed that 60% of their customers wouldn’t buy a new console if used games were off the table.
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“Consumers want the ability to play pre-owned games, they want portability in their games; they want to play physical games. And to not have those things would be a substantial reason for them not to purchase a new console.”
While you could argue that the physical format isn’t needed as much anymore thanks to an overabundance of digital sales outlets, it’s tough to deny that an Xbox without used games would be a tough sell if their competition didn’t follow suit. An informal poll over on Kotaku got similar results to Gamestop’s numbers for potential disgruntled users.
CFO Rob Lloyd also went on to explain the way used games factor into the company’s sales figures, citing that publishers are well aware of the back and forth nature of used games. He also reminded everyone that the money customers get from trading in games usually go right back into new games, and thus, promote additional sales for developers.
Gamasutra has a nice roundup of everything Gamestop CFO Rob Lloyd touched on during the question and answer session. So what do you think? How will this affect retailers if used games get the boot and can stores dependent on physical sales survive in the digital age?
[img via Games Thirst]
digital distribution isn’t there yet. much of the country lacks high speed internet, not to mention services in more rural areas such as MiFi will cap your data at something like 2GB a month. physical media’s not going anywhere for a long time yet.
now, if they cut out the pre-owned market, they’re only shooting themselves in the foot. considering the half life of consoles are generally less than their generation, this will become an IMMENSE issue in the case of replacement.
If either MS or Sony cuts out used games or goes entirely digital, chances are extremely high I won’t get their console. I get big, highly anticipated by me, games release day. Others I play by ear & get new but later, & still others I get used cause it’s not as big a wallet hit if I don’t like them. I have a very very tight budget & can’t afford to get burned by crap games. I got, pre ordered, Aliens: Colonial Marines. As of right now I’m still on the fence on if I like it enough to keep it. I also got the season pass, so all totaled this cost me about $100 bucks. When I realized it wasn’t all I thought it would be I used the season pass & got 2 Skyrim DLC’s.
As for digital, I don’t like it. I like to OWN my games. Physically! I do have digital games but only 3 or 4 are ones that are new (or new at the time of purchase). The rest are old titles, PS, N64, GB, GBA, Nintendo, etc. Most of them I still own.
Yeah speaking of digital download services, the pricing needs to drastically change. We’re not paying for physical distribution or printing materials. If I have to choose between two different versions of a game priced around the same price point, one I can resell, the other I can’t. It’s a no brainer that I’d go for the physical copy of a game. The idea of attempting to kill the pre-owned games market without a reasonably priced digital download market is extremely foolish and a mistep on Microsoft’s part. It’s like being anorexic and vowing to run a marathon… It’s not going to work!
I’m basically poor. We, my family, used to be upper middle class, but after the Bush years, my father passing away, the financial drain of the upkeep on my deceased grandfather’s house until it’s suitable for sale, and a myriad of other financial woes, we are basically now considered on the threshold of poor. I do however own a 360 and a PS3, bought back when we had money to spend on luxuries.
As time has passed I buy fewer and fewer “new” release day games. The last one was Skyrim, before that the few were New Vegas, War for Cybertron, and Halo Reach. Maybe one per year, if I’m lucky. Every other game I buy I buy used. 2012 saw me buying everything used.
A console not having the capability of playing used games kills that console for me. If the new consoles adopt the “no used for us” way of working then that console is not worth buying.
Not that I’ll be buying any new console anytime soon, but if I can put funds away for one, it won’t be for one that doesn’t support used games.