Used Games

Two points, 1 after a few year the developer stops production of a game. If you wanted to buy Mario Kart 64 new right now, Nintendo would not sell you a sealed copy, even if you had $50 to fork (new price in 1997).

2. If the game is new, the amount of used copies available solely depends on the quality of the game. If the game is short and bad, then people who are unsatisfied with the game sell it asap for the largest refund possible and someone else gets a chance to play that game. If the game is good, long, and people keep it, then the demand will be high enough so that the used price will be nearly the new price and the quanitity will be limited. This is different from piracy because someone has to be unsatisfied with the game before a used copy is available. The developer had a chance to sell the game, sold a copy, and how long that person decides to keep the game for before giving it to his friend making him unable to play it anymore is entirely based on how appealing and good the developer made the game.

Either way, there are limited copies of the game, and for every copy available to play, there was a sale at some point (the developer did make a profit). How many used copies circulate is dependant on quality and longevity. After all many people keep good games even if they don't play them anymore.

Rented Games

This is not a purchase. People who rent these games, do not own them, and never will. They pay for an extended practice to see if they like the game, to see if it's worth buying. Again the number of people who end up buying the game is depandant on quality, and the more popular the game, the more rental copies a company will buy to rent out. So sales are made, and the developer made a profit, and in the end they did sell $60 games to people who would normally not have paid $60.

This is equivalent to two friends buying a game together and letting the other borrow it equally. 1 copy was sold to two people who combined were willing to pay the full retail price, and had this not happened, no game would have been sold.

Companies like BlockBuster and Rogers buy a number of games which reflects the number of how many people will rent it at a fraction of cost. The more people sharing, the more units sold.

Online Piracy

There is no garentee any copy of the game is sold. Someone may have ripped a game off a rental. The price of the game is zero dollars, and supply is infinite, so there is no cost to demand ratio. If more people pirate, no more units of the game are sold. This never translates into a profit for developers except in cases where honorable people are so happy with the game, they purchase a legit copy.

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See with rentals, a game is still sold, it's cost is just split between a number of renters (usually 10 or so) and any extra renters give their profit to the company in charge of this. Not illegal, just smart, and the more popular the title, the more units are bought for rental to meet demand, and regardless, some of every rental is used to pay for the base purchase. Used games too increase demand and overall sales because someone bought the game and buying it from him means that that game is being enjoyed (like it's suppose too) and that the original gamer has more $$$ for new games. After all when a game is sold, it's purpose to to keep the owner entertained for as long as they see fit, I still play Mario Kart 64. However downloaded games never alter supply and demand, and only in small numbers do demo'ers buy the games they play.

It never ends, I'll come back again in a matter of weeks.

Easy to solve. Just stop buying any publisher trying to make it illegal for second hand sales.
I don't buy used at all, but stepping on my consumer rights is a deal breaker.

Well, for one thing I'd have to mod my Xbox, which would get Microsoft breathing down my neck. 

Piracy is free for the consumer, he/she downloads the game off the internet. Commits a crime: theft.
Renting or buying used both hit the consumers pocket but not as much as the high prices charged for new games. Does not commit any crime whether he/she rents or buys second hand game.

haha, people get so serious about this topic, that they:

1. don't notice that this thread is from 2010

2. don't notice that the thread was ment as a joke even back then

*thread necromancy high5*

This is an old thread. Everybody thank Pirate Bay Guy (llewdebkram) for bringing this one back to life.

The OP was a joke thread, which without directly saying it, was essentially implying that renting or buying used games is no different from outright pirating games illegally as developers and publishers receive no revenue *directly* from either transaction.

Essentially it's an excuse for piracy under the notion that renting and buying used is just as bad.

Of course, as it's already been pointed out, games that are in demand as rentals are generally bought in higher numbers by rental services to keep up with user demand and many gamers treat rentals as a paid trial that can lead to a sale either immediately after or down the road.

Renting media is not illegal and is typically done under agreement with the publisher, much like movies.

Used games are simply what happens to any physical product that the original (or secondary, etc) buyer no longer plays/wants. They can sell it, give it away or throw it out. Neither is illegal.

Piracy = no original purchase was ever made and as a result, no revenue ever went to the publisher and developer. In most developed nations it is illegal.

Illegal vs legal means not the same as renting or buying used.

Pirating games gets people off the street, then society doesn't need as much police, which in turn leads to lower taxation for the game developers.

LMAO xD it feels like it was yesterday when I made this thread. Thanks to the guy who revived it, more people fell for it :P I think it's funny but I feel sort of bad for wasting the time of the guys who wrote long responses (I'm still laughing inside though :P).

Someone should revive this every year xD

I tend to only buy games used when they are discontinued by the manufacturer. I want to support devs as much as possible but I am not paying some guy $100+ for a new copy of a game on eBay. Though all the used games I buy are mint anyways.