EA upset over used game sales. Online fees coming?
Category: Industry, Posted: 08/28/2008 at 02:08PM EDT by Frank Ling, Content Contributor
If you don't mind waiting a few weeks or months to nab a good game, going to the bargain bin or used games section of your favorite game store can save you some money over full retail prices.
But not everyone is happy about this; namely Electronic Arts.
EA is groaning that used game sales of its titles don't make them one thin dime because vendors that sell them reap all the profits for themselves. EA is mad and is trying to think up a way to make buying used games not as attractive.
What does this mean for gamers? EA is considering a new business model that will force consumers to pay not just for the game itself, but pay for additional online services and content to make the game "complete."
Jens Uwe, general manager for EA Europe said:
"What we're trying to do is build business models that are more and more online-supported with additional services and additional content that you get online. So people will see the value in not just getting that physical disc to play at home alone, but actually playing those games online and paying for them."
Used sales are part and parcel of the gaming community and serves not only as a function to extend play value to others, but helps to drive the game industry economy through increased foot traffic; used games draw people into game stores, which leads to sales of new games as well.
The move by EA to enact extra charges to play the full content of a game only shows that EA has missed the point about publishing games; if you make excellent games for your customers, you won't have to worry about second hand sales.
[via gamesindustry]
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Wow, so I get to buy a game and then pay EA again if I actually want to play it?
And EA wonders why people pirate their games?
Just when you think they're coming around...
If those guys over at EA would spend as much time thinking about how to produce new and good games, they wouldn't be trying to squeeze more money out of consumers, the way I figure it. So it like them going,
"Well, most of our games suck. We can't buy too many more game companies. We lost Take Two. Hey, why don't we charge them for stuff they used to get for free!!!"
*sigh*
I doubt this will go through.... if it does, there are still plenty of great games (being most of them) that will still be in the bargain bin.
It's amazing how consumed EA is by the thought of monetary gain.
"if you make excellent games for your customers, you won't have to worry about second hand sales."
And there is your answer, EA. My copy of GTA4 will never see a bargain bin. Nor will Ninja Gaiden sigma. I have games as old as Mario all stars. And I buy them all new. It's the games that are good, but not great, that risk being traded in. And if the game is a must have for me (like the EA published Mercenaries 2), I want it in mint condition, on day one.
So let the gamers handle this. I think most of us will spend the extra $5 - $10 to give the developer what it deserves. Remember EA, you don't have to sell your games through gamestop or whoever sells your games used. But the next time a big EA title comes out, you will lose a sh*tload of sales. Suck it up, guys. In the business world, we call that cost of operations.
If they're going to take game content off the disc and offer it online for a fee, they better reduce the physical cost of the disc....
...it'll eventually be moot to me though. I plan to jump on the digital distribution bandwagon as soon as it's ready to go. I already purchase all of my PC games through Steam, provided that it's offered through the service.
hey ea needs money too.
used games is not profitable to the publisher.
and with digital distribution piracy will go up.
so you cant win any way you go.
I buy most of my games new (being a PC gamer mostly) but I would prefer to get them digitally as tbqh, a box is a box and I don't really care for them. If I did own a modern day console, I would buy the games new if I knew I wasn't going to just sell it again in a month or two. I do however buy second hand games for the consoles I do have with them all being older ones. If EA do implement extra costs however, they will vanish in to obscurity with unsurprising rapidity.
I used to buy used games and sell the crappier ones back, to a mom & pop shop about 15 years ago. Mostly SNES. They sold used games for 25-50% of retail, depending on popularity or condition. They paid me 10-20% of retail price to buy them back. It was a fair system. Cut ahead to the ripoff Gamestop days. Now they stack the deck so that you get royally ripped if you want cash for games, and they try to sell you used games for a few dollars below retail--about 90% of the price for new. No way in hell.
This model works I swear because most people have gotten dumber in the last generation. I don't blame EA for getting just as pissed off about it as I do, though they get no sympathy from me.
Like the article says, used game sales promote new game sales. Eliminating the middle-man, i.e. companies such as GameStop or Play-N-Trade, will only alienate customers because everyone will be forced to pay full value (plus any additional fees) to play any games. Not a good idea at all.
Ea will never change and this is the proof all they care about is the mighty $
"Just when you think they're coming around..."
Brendon said it best.