Best Buy testing used game sales

Fairygdmther · 09-30-2005, 09:09 AM

http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/30/comm...column_gaming/

Lynsie

***fov*** · 09-30-2005, 03:58 PM

Cool. I wonder if it includes PC games? Those are being phased out at many EB and Gamestop stores.

Intrepid Homoludens · 09-30-2005, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games, creators of the "Unreal" franchise as well as the upcoming Xbox 360 game "Gears of War," has vociferously argued against retail sales of used games in the past. The expansion of a major retailer into the field, he said, is disheartening.

"We pay to be in Best Buy's flyers," he said. "We pay market development funds. Publishers drive gaming traffic to these stores. To have them resell the games, with developers having no participation, that's just wrong. That's just fleecing us."

The ironic part of this is that by buying used games at a lower price, consumers could be contributing to higher game prices. Developers and publishers don't see any revenue from the sale of used games, but they do have to handle the additional customer service calls from people who buy used games only to find the authorization keys (a security feature used by PC games to avoid piracy) don't work or their game is scratched and will not run. Those extra man-hours add up quickly.

A substantial rise in used game sales may lead to the expansion of digital distribution -- in other words, downloading games rather than buying a disc. Valve Software saw tremendous success with this model for "Half-Life 2" last year. The game was sold two ways: Through traditional retail channels and via a proprietary digital distribution system called Steam. While Valve consistently declines to give hard numbers for Steam sales, founder Gabe Newell has said that digital distribution is responsible for half of Valve's revenues from the game.

This is exactly what I was thinking before I got to this part of the story. With a small but incrementally popular shift by developers to cut the middle man and distribute the games themselves through download, this shift might be spurred on faster should big chains like Best Buy become very successful selling used games (which could in turn inspire other chains like Walmart and Target to do the same).

Also add that the steadily increasing demographics of broadband internet, and the ability of next gen consoles to offer tons of downloadable stuff. And as more and more people begin to turn to games as a formidable source of entertainment, they'll also become more savvy and discover they can order their games - new and used - online as well as buy them directly from developers to download.

So would it be stretching to theorize that a store like BestBuy would stand to lose more money in the long run by becoming a megasource for used games? Why should I buy Elder Scrolls: Oblivion there for $60 when I can wait a couple months and come back and probably find a used copy for $45?

EDIT: Actually now that I think about it, why doesn't BestBuy just dump the act of selling new games for that matter?

*Melanie68* · 09-30-2005, 11:06 PM

Have publishers gotten this upset about eBay? I just got NiBiRu through eBay because 1. It wasn't at WalMart, Target, Gamestop or EB Games, 2. It was cheaper.

Granted, eBay isn't a big chain and it may not make that big of a dent that a big chain store selling used games would.

Intrepid Homoludens · 09-30-2005, 11:09 PM

This part has me concerned, considering next gen console prices will $10 higher.

Quote:

The ironic part of this is that by buying used games at a lower price, consumers could be contributing to higher game prices. Developers and publishers don't see any revenue from the sale of used games, but they do have to handle the additional customer service calls from people who buy used games only to find the authorization keys (a security feature used by PC games to avoid piracy) don't work or their game is scratched and will not run. Those extra man-hours add up quickly.

SKOPE · 10-01-2005, 11:59 AM

Why is this getting coverage now? Best Buy has been testing used game and electronics sales for several months.

(And it wasn't just CNN/Money that published an article about this recently.)

Fairygdmther · 10-01-2005, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKOPE

Why is this getting coverage now? Best Buy has been testing used game and electronics sales for several months.

(And it wasn't just CNN/Money that published an article about this recently.)

Skope, your in the test target area, so you would know but the rest of us haven't seen it.

Lynsie

Intrepid Homoludens · 10-01-2005, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKOPE

Why is this getting coverage now? Best Buy has been testing used game and electronics sales for several months.

(And it wasn't just CNN/Money that published an article about this recently.)

They may have been testing it for a little while, but that doesn't mean they were sharing the fact with the media the whole time. Often times a company will try something new, and if it shows promise, they'll make the act public.

SKOPE · 10-01-2005, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fairygdmther

Skope, your in the test target area, so you would know but the rest of us haven't seen it.

Actually, I'm not. No one test markets anything in Chicago; too many tourists.

I read about this in the national news months ago when it was first announced. I really don't understand why it's suddenly getting more coverage now.

Fairygdmther · 10-02-2005, 03:42 AM

Skope - click on the link in the first post. The first paragraph of the article states that they are test marketing this in Illinois and California - I'm not making that up, honest.

Lynsie

SKOPE · 10-02-2005, 04:52 AM

Yes, in Illinois, but not in the Chicago stores. This is a big state.

Lifelike · 10-04-2005, 01:32 PM

Returning to the matter at hand, I work at a Portland, OR Circuit City, and while we haven't seen any of those used games get sold where I work, we acctually don't sell that much software at my store, either for consoles or PC. It seems like most people who buy games from us are either parents buying games for their kids or preppy 20-somethings who need a particular game the first day it comes out. One unifying factor that unites the two though is immidiacy: they don't want us to special order the games, they want them in their hands now or they don't want them at all. Until an online game distribution center can be set up with a marketing buzz like iTunes has, I don't think we'll see the last of the plastic CD anytime soon.

Cheers,
Elijah (PS: First post

)

avatar_58 · 10-04-2005, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fov

Cool. I wonder if it includes PC games? Those are being phased out at many EB and Gamestop stores.

Really? There are tons of used PC games at the ebgames where I live.

Orange Brat · 10-04-2005, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fov

Cool. I wonder if it includes PC games? Those are being phased out at many EB and Gamestop stores.

The laws that govern the resale of PC games is different from consoles. There are fines that have to be paid if a retailer wants to sell used PC games, so that's why you don't see them. Someone I was with asked if they sold them, and that led to that info being divulged. So, unless BB is special or pay up, I don't think it'll happen.

09-30-2005, 09:09 AM	#1
Fairygdmther Magic Wand Waver Last Online: 05-29-2008 03:36 AM Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Sarasota, Florida Posts: 3,142	Best Buy testing used game sales http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/30/comm...column_gaming/ Lynsie __________________ Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Ralph Waldo Emerson

10-01-2005, 11:59 AM	#6
SKOPE The Greater of Two Evils Last Online: 09-27-2006 03:12 PM Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 51	Why is this getting coverage now? Best Buy has been testing used game and electronics sales for several months. (And it wasn't just CNN/Money that published an article about this recently.) __________________ inscrutable impenetrable impregnable inconceivable

10-02-2005, 03:42 AM	#10
Fairygdmther Magic Wand Waver Last Online: 05-29-2008 03:36 AM Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Sarasota, Florida Posts: 3,142	Skope - click on the link in the first post. The first paragraph of the article states that they are test marketing this in Illinois and California - I'm not making that up, honest. Lynsie __________________ Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Ralph Waldo Emerson

10-02-2005, 04:52 AM	#11
SKOPE The Greater of Two Evils Last Online: 09-27-2006 03:12 PM Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 51	Yes, in Illinois, but not in the Chicago stores. This is a big state. __________________ inscrutable impenetrable impregnable inconceivable

10-04-2005, 01:32 PM	#12
Lifelike Junior Member Last Online: 10-04-2005 01:34 PM Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1	Getting back on topic.. Returning to the matter at hand, I work at a Portland, OR Circuit City, and while we haven't seen any of those used games get sold where I work, we acctually don't sell that much software at my store, either for consoles or PC. It seems like most people who buy games from us are either parents buying games for their kids or preppy 20-somethings who need a particular game the first day it comes out. One unifying factor that unites the two though is immidiacy: they don't want us to special order the games, they want them in their hands now or they don't want them at all. Until an online game distribution center can be set up with a marketing buzz like iTunes has, I don't think we'll see the last of the plastic CD anytime soon. Cheers, Elijah (PS: First post )

09-30-2005, 03:58 PM	#2
*fov* Rattenmonster Last Online: 03-19-2013 04:05 PM Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: San Francisco Posts: 10,404	Cool. I wonder if it includes PC games? Those are being phased out at many EB and Gamestop stores.

09-30-2005, 11:06 PM	#4
Melanie68 Super Moderator Last Online: 05-19-2012 11:09 AM Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,907	Have publishers gotten this upset about eBay? I just got NiBiRu through eBay because 1. It wasn't at WalMart, Target, Gamestop or EB Games, 2. It was cheaper. Granted, eBay isn't a big chain and it may not make that big of a dent that a big chain store selling used games would.