QuistisTrepe

@believer258 said:

Have you ever fucking seen Steam? Or GOG? Or Origin? The first thing you see when you open any of them are advertisements. It takes half a second to look and see what's being promoted, and it's all over the place. Not just sales, brand-new games are shown with scrolling ads, same way you'd see posters on the way into Gamestop. Your reasoning for sales discounts being more hurtful than used games is laughable at best.

Again, five people buy Max Payne 3 at $60. Fifty buy it at fifteen. You do the math. You tell me which one is more profitable. Go ahead, pull up the calculator on your computer. Do it. Tell me what you get. And then tell me that you really believe that deep discounts actually hurt developers. It's right there. A substantial amount of people buy games they never would have even touched in the first place when Steam sales come along.

Why are you so hell bent on avoiding my argument? You're almost straw-manning. I'm not talking about digital distribution at any length, I only brought it up in the first place to counter the point of used games devaluing the industry and that's all. You're approaching this topic one-dimensionally.

Your bit about calculating the arbitrary figures of new and used titles is irrelevant to the discussion as it fails to cover variables which you have chosen to ignore. For starters, the developer and publisher already made their money by the physical copy of the game even appearing on store shelves. Beyond that, you're supporting the retailer with your purchase. The only way any gamer can directly support the developer is to pre-order a title and purchase any available DLC, and that's about it. This is why your hair-splitting about buying an arbitrary number of discounted new titles is irrelevant to the discussion, again, the developer/publisher already made that money in the months previous to that game hitting the bargain bin. For someone yaking about math, I'm amused that you overlooked something so rudimentary.

When gamers are trading in their old titles, they're putting that credit towards the latest hot title. Man, those "discounts" must have really hurt the developer as more new copies of a game are purchased with store credit, eh? Gee, I guess used games aren't so bad after all.

@believer258 said:

@QuistisTrepe said:

@Getz said:

@QuistisTrepe said:

By that logic, Steam, gog.com, Amazon, Origin, eBay, Gamestop, craigslist, are all culpable in hurting the gaming industry. But they don't, do they? For all the people who whine about used games as though the gaming industry was the only such industry that has to cope with the secondhand market, I find it odd that the gaming industry continues to thrive like never before as it supports more platforms with each passing generation.

This is a terrible analogy. Steam, Good Old Games, and Origin are all direct links to developers and money on game sales gets chopped up even less than it would at retail. What are you smoking? Hell, Origin is even publisher-run!

Uh, so used games are bad, but Steam selling (for example) Max Payne 3 at 75% doesn't have the same effect? What are YOU smoking?

Five people are willing to buy Max Payne 3 at $60 the day it comes out.

Fifty are willing to buy it at $15 a month later.

You tell me which one is more profitable. Let's not forget that actual physical copies cost something to produce, whereas the only cost for digital copies is the upkeep of servers and internet connections.

That's not even the point. And besides, neither scenario is profitable. Without a secondhand market, the developers would actually take a bigger loss. It's already been stated in this thread, used games promote the industry and in order for there to have been a used game in the first place, it means someone already bought it new. I mean really, your fall back is that buying a game new in the bargain bin is so much better for the developer than buying it used? Marginal at best.

The largest retailers of used games are also the biggest promoters of new titles. All those sales people who are constantly pushing preorders in our faces are essentially giving free advertising for the developers (Gamestop is a prime example of this). The relationship between retailer and developer/publisher is symbiotic. If the developers and publishers don't like it, they can start financing their own outlets to sell and advertise their wares.

@TyCobb said:

I'll say it again. Used games are just as bad a piracy.

That has got to be the most insanely idiotic claim I have ever read on any message board anywhere. I'm genuinely unsure if you're merely trolling. I've rarely encountered a premise so intellectually bankrupt as that one. I'm actually somewhat troubled that there are those who would be so willing to sacrifice their own property rights for some corporation that couldn't give a shit about them.

@Getz said:

@QuistisTrepe said:

By that logic, Steam, gog.com, Amazon, Origin, eBay, Gamestop, craigslist, are all culpable in hurting the gaming industry. But they don't, do they? For all the people who whine about used games as though the gaming industry was the only such industry that has to cope with the secondhand market, I find it odd that the gaming industry continues to thrive like never before as it supports more platforms with each passing generation.

This is a terrible analogy. Steam, Good Old Games, and Origin are all direct links to developers and money on game sales gets chopped up even less than it would at retail. What are you smoking? Hell, Origin is even publisher-run!

Uh, so used games are bad, but Steam selling (for example) Max Payne 3 at 75% doesn't have the same effect? What are YOU smoking?

@Rainbowkisses said:

Personally, while I do understand that it does harm the industry a bit,

And that's where I nearly stopped reading. Used games do not harm the industry. If they caused the slightest bit of harm to the industry, it wouldn't continue to grow every year. Used games haven't hurt the industry any more than secondhand books and public libraries have hurt the publishing industry or how pre-owned movies have hurt the film industry. They only serve to promote content, not hurt it as you implied in your point regarding sequels.

In a world where The Pirate Bay and its infringing links are a mere few clicks away, the secondhand market cannot hurt Big Content.

By that logic, Steam, gog.com, Amazon, Origin, eBay, Gamestop, craigslist, are all culpable in hurting the gaming industry. But they don't, do they? For all the people who whine about used games as though the gaming industry was the only such industry that has to cope with the secondhand market, I find it odd that the gaming industry continues to thrive like never before as it supports more platforms with each passing generation.

I swear, if the Redskins could have played decent defense the entire season, they would have wrapped up the division by now. It would be a shame for RGIII to miss out on the postseason.

@JasonR86 said:

My Seahawks beat the Bears. Eat it @patrickklepek

In fact, eat every single inch of it.

That was painful, I'll admit. I can't believe the Bears lost to 'Hawks. I suspect the Bears played down to their competition because Seattle seems pretty mediocre to me.

@RecSpec said:

I'm just glad the QB controversy is over in San Fran and they can focus on the next game. Oh wait...

Nope, the genie is out of the bottle and there's no putting it back in. Harbaugh made his choice, now he needs to stick with it.

I didn't even know who Jessica Chobot was until I read through this thread. I wish I hadn't. Anything associated with IGN is pretty much garbage. And what's the deal with this broad, she's really not all that.

As a Wii owner, I too see the Wii U as DOA. It's the Wii with a poorly conceived controller layout. And like the Wii, what developer is going to bother putting in the time and effort for such a hyper-proprietary control scheme only to watch their product collect dust as they have to compete with Nintendo's IPs? I see nothing changing from last gen (except that Nintendo won't dominate marketshare like this passing gen), the Wii U will be this coming console gen's repository for quick buck third party trash.

@Chaser324 said:

@QuistisTrepe said:

@Branthog said:

@Chaser324 said:

How have four people posted in this thread without acknowledging the hobo hat, chops, and chinstrap? This is Giant Bomb, right?

I think we all just like Adam too much. I'd have a hard time poking fun at the guy -- even lighthearted. :)

I'm not trying to be a "that guy," but what is the allure of Sessler anyway? I've never understood why gamers are so comfortable having this guy for go-to commentary. Granted I haven't seen any video material of his in years, but I remember his gimmick was acting like some hyperspaz to Morgan Webb's calmer. down-to-earth demeanor. Frankly, I found it all boorish and patronizing. Perhaps I just didn't get the premise and maybe he's changed since, but his act seemed to resemble a lot of all that was wrong with G4.

If your only exposure to Adam was X-Play, then I can see how you might think that. However, if you ever watched the Sessler's Soapbox videos or listened to the G4 video games podcast, I think it's evident that he is one of the most well-reasoned voices in video games media.

I'll have to look those up then.

@Branthog said:

@Chaser324 said:

How have four people posted in this thread without acknowledging the hobo hat, chops, and chinstrap? This is Giant Bomb, right?

I think we all just like Adam too much. I'd have a hard time poking fun at the guy -- even lighthearted. :)

I'm not trying to be a "that guy," but what is the allure of Sessler anyway? I've never understood why gamers are so comfortable having this guy for go-to commentary. Granted I haven't seen any video material of his in years, but I remember his gimmick was acting like some hyperspaz to Morgan Webb's calmer. down-to-earth demeanor. Frankly, I found it all boorish and patronizing. Perhaps I just didn't get the premise and maybe he's changed since, but his act seemed to resemble a lot of all that was wrong with G4.

Halo 4, these low-budget indie games just don't get any respect I tell ya.

@Jeust said:

Catherine will be overlooked.

That would be for last year, wouldn't it?