| the2real4mafol said: Like who? I can only think of 4 major ones, THQ, Pandemic Studios, Team Bondi and Bizarre Creations. But just because some companies are going bankrupt, it don't mean they can restrict my rights as a customer does it? Do I decide how much these games will cost to make? No. Does my games retailer sell new games for half price, one month after launch for most games? Yes I could go on like that, but i don't see how you can blame the customers for the collapse of several developers. Is it so wrong that people recycle their games to partly fund their next purchase? and so those who can't afford £40 to £50 a game can still have a chance to afford to enjoy these great games. Once people buy a good, they can do what they want with it except copy it. That's how a market works and that's how it will always work. You may think DRM may help but it will do more harm than good, people will not stand for it with physical goods. It's barely tolerable with digital goods |
Only 4 "major ones". Yes, and an order of magnitude more smaller ones. It's not 'blame', it's a reason. I make a game. 4 million people play my game, but only 1.2m of them actually bought it, and so my game loses money. Gamestop made money on my game, but I didn't, and now I'm bankrupt. Is that somehow fair?
People like you have a flawed view of seeing a video game as a "good". They should be viewed just like digital goods. If I buy a car, and I drive it for 100k miles, it loses value in every sense of the word. It has less use left in it. it is no longer in perfect shape. It is less of a car than it was 100k miles ago. Maintenance costs rise. But a game? It's the same game. I can play it, and give it to the friend, they can play it, and trade it in,and someone else can buy it used. Unless the disk is damaged, ruining it, it's still as good as the day it released.
There's a second issue. When you buy a car, couch, etc, the cost of it is largely set by materials and labor. This car cost $4000 in labor and $8000 in materials and shipping, so when I buy it for $14,000, I know where that money went, and how much is going to support the company's infrastructure/bottom line. But a game? All games, old or new cost probably less than $1... physicially. The entire budget is spend in development and marketting. Not really tangible costs to the consumer. The fact that a new AAA game cost a fortune to make isn't as clear as when you see a new BMW with high tech features, but the company still needs to make money off of it.
Considering this to be wrong is your opinion, but claiming that they company selling it has no right is just plain false. Software on computers has very clear licensing to prevent this - it's necessary and reasonable. The fact that console gamers aren't used to it is the real issue. But the fact is, the average PC game is cheaper than the average console game for this very reason. If PC games didn't have Keys and could be passed on as easily as console games, they'd have to be a little more expensive too.
