*Used Games?*

[mirgro]

ZenfoldorVGI said:

mirgro said:

Brand spanking new.

Basicallt I buy them new for the same reason I don't pirate. I actually want to support the developer by giving them money, not swindling them out of it. Though, it seems piracy may have less of an afect on sales than even used games if some statistics from the US and Dutch governmens can be taken seriously, so an even better reason not to buy used.

The difference is, with piracy, no money changes hands, and thus the economy suffers. With used games, people in the game industry profit, including gamestop and their employees and the gamers themselves who buy and sell used games. When the flow of money increases, it actually STIMULATES the gaming economy, when no money at all changes hands, period, this causes the economy to stagnate. That is why piracy is illegal. There is an entirely seperate reason why buying and selling used games is legal, but pretty much, I'm just explained to you why piracy is bad for gaming, and the buying and selling of used games is arugable.

Morality aside, most of the people in the videogame industry don't develop or publish games. They are the gamers who buy and sell used and new games, and the employees of the brick and morter, or online stores who sell them, or the people who make VGChartz here, or the millions of reporters and programmers who live their life and make their money off of the industry. Without the buying and selling of used games, people would invitably turn to piracy or just not play those games at all, and thus stagnate, rather than stiumlate the economy.

Another thing to note, piracy is illegal, while buying and selling used games is encouraged by many within the industry. The "talent" as it were gets top billing, but overall, they are only a small part of the gaming economy, and thus should only be considered as a small piece of the pie in any argument concerning the nature and business of our industry. These people can program and perform simple math, but when it comes to economics and instury, they are probably just as ignorant as the common gamer.

 

That's a great way of thinking about it. However, the people at Gamestop are not part of the industry. The Industry consists of the players, and the people who make the game. Everyone else is a middleman. If you want to support the industry, you buy new, if you want to support leeches you buy used.

Furthermore, there have been many studies done to show that piracy in fact DOES stimulate the industry. Pirates buy more than non-pirates, furthermore, both the US and the Netherlands have stated that piracy has no discernable effect on sales. In fact they have stated that the economy itself is better because of piracy.

Lastly, one of the biggest reasons why piracy is such a poor excuse for sales is that cost/value. People who pirate generally see the value of the game nowhere near the asking price, so they pirate it. That said, the people who go and buy the ued game for only $10 or $20 obviusly see the value of the games to be far higher than the pirate's point of view, yet they STILL deprive the developer of money. A bought used game is far more a "lost sale" than a piated copy.

Also legallity doesn't mean shit. In fact piracy is perfectly legal where I am right now, as long as no one makes a profit out of it, so your point is quite invalid when it comes to legality. In a few months I'll be in a place where I don't think they even give a damn about piracy at all.