Does buying used hurt developers?

[vlad321]

CommonMan said:

Mr Khan said:

Vlad is right to a certain extent. To the developers, a used copy is the same as a pirated one, a copy of their game that someone gets to play for which they get zero compensation

 

I'm not saying used=piracy from a moral standpoint certainly, but ultimately it's the same to devs and publishers alike

Sort of. A used copy is still a physical disk, and can only be distributed to so many people. It's very similar to borrowing from a friend, which also takes away a sale. Whereas one pirated copy can be copied ad nauseum, and depending on the diligence of the pirate, distributed basically infinitely. This CAN lead to catastrophic losses for the developer/publisher, just ask the PSP's software numbers.

Notice I mentioned on the individual level. So you are talking about a person's actions. Him buying it used or not is the same as him getting it from the internet or not.