14 DAY TRIAL // GameStop, one of the world's biggest video game retailers, has shared its view on the used game business and how, despite the general opinion, such a system actually benefits both developers and publishers. The pre-owned games debate has been going on for quite some time, with developers and publishers saying that they're being robbed of honest sales, while retailers like GameStop are raking in the profit by themselves.
GameStop doesn't really believe this, as its Executive Vice President, Mike Mauler, showcased a few special details about this so-called problem.
"I can understand the feelings," he told Edge magazine, "[but] we've sat down with developers and publishers and really gone through the data. I personally think there's a lot of benefit to the publisher."
Mauler exemplified with yearly games that are experiencing good sales because fans trade in the older copies.
"A great example is sequels, where there's a large percentage of people who are just not going to spend $60 every single year without being able to do something. They'll look at their shelf and see ten FIFAs, Pro Evos or Maddens. Being able to take the older one and do something with it in order to buy the next version is really important to consumers. That drives new sales quite a bit."
This doesn't stop many publishers from implementing precautions against used games, like the infamous online passes which lock out second-hand buyers from the online mode of the title. This doesn't really affect customers, though, according to Mauler.
"Our data says that used customers play a lot less online than new customers," he said. "The number's very low - like 15, 20 per cent."
In the end, the GameStop executive emphasized that publishers should really take a look at their retail strategy first, before trying to blame second-hand gamers, as releasing many high-quality titles in the space of just a couple of months, isn't good for regular customers.
"We the industry have done it to ourselves," he explained. "We take all the great releases and put them all in a two-month period. If you're an FPS fan, you look at all the games that are coming out this fall, and you'd have to be pretty wealthy to buy all of them. There are going to be people who buy Battlefield 3, and they're not going to have $60 for at least another month or two…they're all coming out so close together."
Are you still trying to buy all your games as new copies or are you enjoying different kinds of used game offers? Share your thoughts on the issue below.