But they are tied to one another...

AAA devs are making repetitive similar games over and ove because they want massive day 1 sales.

They want those day 1 sales because they figure you will resell your game after a week and those used copies will cut in to future profits

They tack on DLC, season pass, and episodic content so you don't trade your games...not because the game needs or calls for it.

And I agree, indie scene is where its at, but would be nice to see some high budget titles take risks too.

Uh...

Index's illegal business deals have nothing to do with Atlus's ability to create unique games on a budget in line with a reasonable sales expectation..

True, but it might impact their ability to create any games at all. They have their shit together, but unfortunately they're standing in it at the moment.

I will always stick to my belief that this is a bullshit excuse made up by the industry to get gamers to blame themselves for everything that goes wrong and accept giving up their options for the sake of padding executives pockets.

Now guess what happened? Yup, gamers are naive enough to blame themselves and now fight amongst each other about how this terrible thing is killing the industry, meanwhile it survived it without any problems for the last 30+ years.

Seriously, I have never seen a consumer base so gullible.

Want to know the real reason why studios shut down? It's simple.

They are doing it wrong! They make stuff people do not want and they show that with their wallets.

If they can't survive, let them die. They are not entitled to stick around. They have to earn it and we as the consumer decide whether or not they should stay.

The focus on day one sales isn't purely about used games.  They also want to sell the majority of their units at full price.  Otherwise you could have a situation like Mirror's Edge where it sells 2 million copies, but is a commercial failure because most of those sales came later when it was $20 or less (granted it was that price after about two weeks).

I'm not sure where you get this impression that publishers will give up revenue streams or take more risks if they get rid of used games.  First of all, just how much additional revenue do you think publishers will get from getting rid of or taking a cut out of used games?  EA alone had revenues 71% higher than Gamestop's preowned revenues.  That isn't just games, that includes consoles and accessories as well.  Let's be generous and say 20% of Gamestop's preowned revenue is from EA games.  Even if EA managed to capture 100% of that, it would be less than a 12% revenue increase.  Do you really think EA will ditch all their DLC and tacked on multiplayer to start making risky games?  That's even ignoring the role Gamestop plays in the industry.  I'd imagine a good chunk of those day 1 sales come from their stores.  Without used games they would certainly trim their number of locations if they could even stay afloat at all.

You said earlier that a price increase wouldn't solve anything, just postpone it.  How is the used game issue any different?  So they manage to raise revenues by 12%.  What happens when costs go up 20%?  What will be to blame then?

The indie scene can take risks because they have less to lose, and have to take risks because they don't have $100 million in marketing to get people interested in their games.  They are also usually the product of a handful of people who probably don't have publishers breathing down their necks about focus tests.

What makes you think that this would stop with the end of used games? Publishers are going to want to maximize revenues, anyway. They will always want to sell as many copies at launch as possible before price protection kicks in. They will always want to sell you DLC and season passes and episodic content anyway. They will always want to make the next Call of Duty and so will target the broadest audience possible. At what point, really, do you think the EAs of the business are going to say, "Nah. You know what? We're making enough money."

Hoping for that is a pipe dream. Anyone thinking otherwise is fooling themselves.

Give up used games and they will find the next way to fleece you for some more money. Along with that they will find something new to blame you for too.

I guess the Steam model is making me think so. DLC and all that stuff does spill over in to Steam from consoles but its often free and not nearly as driven and "front and center" as it is on consoles.  No one on Steam will advertise DLC and tell you... "Unless you buy this DLC pack for a game you just purchased, you're shit...go kill yourself" like they do on consoles. When there are prefectly awesome games available for 4.99 that come in on a weekly basis, why would anyone buy tacked on DLC BS?

You won't see Crysis 3 charge for gun skins on PC as people will just make their own. You also won't see stupid crap like "preorder this game at best buy and get a special armor". If they have preorder incentives on Steam, they are monetary incentives...5-10 bucks off. 

I always feel that I am getting a fuller experience when I buy things on Steam, than when I do on consoles at retail. 

I Imagine the next step will be to pay for each set game you play like in the arcades.