Anyone who thinks that publishers would be raking in the cash if there were no used game sales has a very poor understanding of economics. The gain would be minimal, and the overall impact would be negative as the total game-buying consumer base shrinks. Niche developers in particularly could be hurt very badly as the total number of people introduced to their games would shrink. I would very likely never have played the Disgaea series (I don't own a PSP) without used game sales.
So many people are, quite foolishly, convinced that getting rid of used game sales would have a big impact on the money that publishers get. It won't. The total amount of money going into gaming will SHRINK. Because money is NOT static. With used game sales, money transfers between players, and that plays a big role in the money that moves through the gaming industry. Moves, key word. That's what economics is all about, the movement of money and goods.
When people can't sell their used games, they build up an inventory of games they don't play. These aren't doing anyone a bit of good. It's like stacks of cash sitting in the bank, it doesn't contribute to the economy. Today, people can turn those used games into economic activity by selling them to other gamers. They often use that money to buy more games - new or used. People think the publisher can take over the however-many-billion dollars that go through the used game market, but they can't. They just can't. Because that money is generated largely by gamers who sell their games, and turn around and buy more. Shutting down the used games industry will only get rid of that activity, NOT funnel it into publishers and developers. It will be a net loss for the economy as a whole. Publishers will see a slight increase in profits, but by limiting trade, several billion dollars of economic activity will simply vanish.
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