Defeating Used Games: Why Incentives to Discourage Pre-Owned Gaming Are Awful

Do you buy your games second-hand? You then are a complete cheapskate and the scum of the gaming industry. You're worse than any pirate sailing the high seas of warez. Or at the very least, that's what publishers want us to think. Whether you have the proper to sell the products you have purchased is irrelevant: the sale of used games is damaging the games industry.

Whenever a new game is traded in or sold to a game store, that money is then kept by the retailer rather than achieving the hands of the hardworking developer who spent blood, sweat and tears on creating their pride and joy. The same game could be bought and sold numerous times and it could be argued that those purchases certainly are a potential sale which includes been stolen from the overall game companies themselves. It is true that you don't hear the music or film industry complaining about their second-hand losses, but does creating an album or perhaps a movie compare to the money and effort allocated to creating a Triple-A game title? As always, it's the consumer that decides whether a game is worth its $50 price tag, and often they opt to opt for a pre-owned price instead.

Rubbish Incentives for New Purchases

Game companies already utilize a number of solutions to gain extra cash following the release of these games by means of downloadable content (DLC) and nowadays there are incentives to buying new. Pre-order bonuses appear to be popular at this time with many games including codes for additional DLC or specific in-game bonuses.

We'll be taking a look at a few of the rubbish incentives provided by publishers to encourage new purchases and what alternatives would be more welcome.

Exclusive DLC & Pre-Order Bonuses: Gamers aren't not used to the thought of receiving bonuses within collectors editions and the like, but more recently we've been seeing plenty of extra freebies within new games or as part of pre-ordering a title. Most of that is in-game DLC, such as new weapons and armor, new maps or various other cosmetic additions which don't actually add that much to the overall game. In fact, the majority of this stuff you can probably live without.  fastwin77  don't actually need the Blood Dragon Armor in Dragon Age Origins and I can live without a tattoo set in Fable 3, many thanks very much. I'd go as far to say that DLC armor is one of the most pointless examples of a DLC incentive, ever. Although perhaps not as pointless because the Horse Armor from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Sometimes, the DLC offered is really a bit more substantial. Some games offer quests or missions, and this feels as though more of a 'thank you' bonus. Bioware took that one step further by offering a DLC delivery service in Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2. This service allows players to download a series of free items, as well as access paid DLC. In Mass Effect 2, this included several extra side-quests and exclusive armor/weapons (Groan). Player's could also add a new character with their game squad, Zaeed, and he was included with their own loyalty mission in addition to a few small areas to explore plus a new weapon. Whilst it is a better incentive and adds more to the overall game, if you didn't purchase Mass Effect 2 new, then getting a your hands on Zaeed would cost you 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). Yikes.