| Otakumegane said: Is it just Nintendo pleasing the fans? Or is there something else that they have in mind? |
Nintendo knows what most gamers are able to understand really easily - money spent on used games mostly does end up going to developers in one way or another anyway.
Some of it goes to the gamers that bought the game new. Those gamers will likely then buy another new game with that money.
Some of the remainder goes to companies like Gamestop. Now, some might go "see, Gamestop gets the money, rather than developers"... but I'd remind you, Gamestop then buys new games from the developers, for sale to consumers. The money, if not directly spent on buying more games, quite often ends up going into making more stores or advertising games, etc, which also indirectly benefits the developers.
Now, some of it does go into the pockets of the retail companies directly. But that's also true of new games. And some people won't then spend the extra money they gain from reselling the game on another game. This doesn't invalidate the process.
Furthermore, gamers are much more likely to buy a game if they can be confident that, if they don't enjoy it, they can sell it again. It reduces the perceived risk of purchase. As a result, the prices are able to be higher than they otherwise would be - and that's good for the developers, too. And when a gamer hasn't played any games in a franchise before, they're much more likely to try out the game if they can get it used; if they like it, they'll then be more likely to buy future titles in that franchise new.
Nintendo gets all of this. Most of the smaller game companies also get it.
