This is probably the last week of the year that “big” games are being released. For PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, there’s The Saboteur
, which has been getting mixed reviews and some interesting attention for its unlockable nudity. On the Nintendo DS, Link returns in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
. Finally, the Nintendo Wii gets a dose of frights 38 days after Halloween with Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
.
Any of you guys and dolls planning on picking any of these games up? I have my eye on Spirit Tracks, but will probably wait until it goes on sale.
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The Saboteur is on the christmas list… and most likely will be my gift from the in-laws (I have a habit of getting them to purchase content-questionable games for me on the holidays [our first christmas together they bought me GTA:SA]). The world is better with boobs personally, so the game will be bought new, as the only thing better then titties are free titties (There's no such thing as free titties though, is there Zach? Is there?)
I have no doubt the saboteur will be a fun game. while Pandemic never had AAA games they were always fun as I've mentioned on here before. Maybe putting it on my christmas list like Larcenous is a good idea
I really want to buy another DS or DSi so that I can play a handful of games, Spirit tracks is definitely one of the tops games that I want to play. the first one was so good that I was practically screaming for more when I was done. I have been excited about this game since it was first rumored.
unfortunately I am under the "buy any games or cards (I collect decks of cards also) before Christmas and you die" rule from my girlfriend. hopefully she gets me the DS though.
How does that "only people who buy the game new can see boobs" thing work in Saboteur? It's not the digital boobs I am interested in (for once), but rather the technology behind it. I think that if this model is successful, then we will be seeing more developers gimp out games for used buyers. First it starts with boobs, but what is to prevent some overzealous game maker from prohibiting weapons, armor, side missions or entire levels in the future?
-M
I'd like to play Saboteur, but it'll have to be a rental. I've spent more than enough cash on video games this fall as it is.
@Iceman – see you and I are on the opposite side of the coin. I believe whole heartedly that I should awarded a bonus for buying new 90% of the time. I loved how Dragon Age awarded me free DLC just for buying the game new.
If game developers want to end piracy and 2nd hand sales then they need to take a proactive approach if you ask me. This is exactly the fuel they need to combat the used games market. I mean, if it were 50-55 for Saboteur used or $60 new in its intended form wouldn't you just suck it up and buy new?
I hate buying used games, unless it's via the "Keep it" option from Gamefly. They're generally over priced for a "used" product ($5 off at GameStop is a joke). If you get used products online you can't actually see the product to judge if it'll work or not. If you get it in a store and you get home and it doesn't work, you've just wasted the $5 you saved on the gas driving back and forth to the store to get a game that works. Just give me the new game.
And I agree with Shockwave. If these companies want to fight used game sales, this is a good way to go about it. Especially if you still offer the content as DLC, so people who buy used can still get it if they so choose.
@ Shockwave and Nightshade;
I see where you guys are coming from and believe it or not, the overwhelming majority of my games are bought new. I do however, have to play devil's advocate on this one…
A huge chunk of the game market are used game buyers. I really wish I had a good number for you, but let's just say for the sake of argument that it's 30% to low-ball it. Let's say that 30% of the games bought (on line and in store) are used. Pretend that 30% of used games bought is equal to 7 million units. Again, I am just throwing numbers out there as I would like to know what the real numbers are. Imagine if you take all of those used sales away, a large majority of gamers would never play Uncharted or Dragon Age or GTA 4 because they won't buy it new, for whatever reason. If a gamer can only afford to buy 10 new games a year, then they will be able to buy 15 used games per year with that same budget. (not at Gamestop, of course, but most likely online). This means that millions of gamers are playing less games per year, which means less people online playing MW2, which means less popular games because game populations are smaller. In general, this means a regression for the gaming industry. It's taking a step backwards. If developers REALLY wanted to combat this, they would price their products accordingly, but that is not going to happen because most developers feel that they can get $50 or $60 for their game no matter how bad it is. Sure, some games are worth $60, but the majority are not. That is why people buy used games or wait until the price comes down to something they think is more reasonable. Of course no gaming marketing department is going to say; “This game you guys have been working on for the past year really sucks. We are going to start pricing it at $29.99 because you’d have to be retarded to buy this garbage at $60.” If there was this type of honesty on the developer’s side, then there would be a lot more new games being sold. Of course, how are they going to determine how to price the game if it is based on an opinion? That is a good question of which I don’t have the answer to. Many different people buy games at many different price points for different reasons. I would pay $70 right now to play Eternal Darkness 2, but you may feel it’s worth $20. That is why we need the used game market… to determine the REAL value of a game to the end consumer. The open market can determine that much more accurate and quicker than any game company.
Also, there are people like me that bought Assassin's Creed used and liked it so much that I bought Assassin's Creed 2 new. A friend lent me Mass Effect to try it out. You better damn well know right now that I have a deposit down for Mass Effect 2. The first time I played GTA 3 was a ripped copy from Kazza on my PC. Last year I bought GTA 4 new and I am planning on buying both DLC in the form of Stories from Liberty City disk new. I also bought Chinatown Wars for the DS. Used games can be a great way to sample franchises or developer's capabilities so that you buy their stuff in the future based on what you've already played. I know I am not the only one.
-M
I actually have been buying my games used either from amazon or half.com
i pick up a game as soon as i'm done or bored with a previous game and both of these sites provide the games at a much lower rate than the -$5.00 used versions at gamestop/ebgames.
I really don't care about digital boobs, because let's face it theyre not real but i do want to try Saboteur out. It's just going to have to wait a month or two.
@Iceman – I think you brought up some really good points there. I agree with you that borrowing, renting and the like can increase sales, and so can used copies. I don't think used games should go away altogether. I just like that I got a free bonus for being one of the people who bought Dragon Age new. I think that's fair.
Now on the other hand if I bought Dragon Age used in 3-4 months for $30 on Amazon. I think it would be only fair that I'd have to fork over a little more money if I wanted to get my hands on all of the DLC available.
I don't think this argument is about ending 2nd hand games. It's how developers can reward people who support the devs by buying new.
@Iceman: maybe it's just been my experience, but the money I think I'm saving on used games never works out that way. Cause I get home and the disc is scratched because some moron used it as a coaster before trading it in. So now I've gotta trek all the way back into town to get a new one. I'd rather just buy the new one or buy a rental that I know works because I'm already playing it. I live an hour outside of Phoenix and that a long ride back into town to replace something that doesn't work.
As for online purchases, if it doesn't work now I've gotta ship it back and wait for a replacement. I could have just gone and bought it new and be playing it "now." Time is money after all.
I'm not saying that I think used games are "bad." I think they serve a purpose, which your post clearly demonstrates. But since developers don't get a cut of used game sales, I have no problem with them incentivizing a new game purchase over a used game purchase by including first day DLC or changing content slightly, so long as it doesn't change the core experience of the game.
I have my eyes set on Spirit Tracks. But I wanna keep a close look out on how Silent Hill does first.