Free Radical and Frontier hate used games @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on October 29, 2007

News: Top developers whine about the used market some more.

It's no secret that publishers and developers really hate that gamers can buy used video games. And the reason for that is simple: publishers and developers do not get a cut of used sales.

But it always amazes me that some people in the industry actually go on record talking about how they believe the industry shouldn't even allow the sale of used games. Do they not understand their customers at all? Or more to the point, do they not realize how stupid they sound?

British game site MCV recently spoke with Free Radical's Steve Ellis and Frontier's David Braben, who laid out their feelings on the subject.

Ellis said, "Of course it isn't fair that retailers are claiming all of the profits from the sale of second-hand titles, and it is bizarre that our industry tolerates it."

He's entitled to feel that way, but Frontier's David Braben steps it up to new heights of idiocy, suggesting that game retailers who sell used games are committing fraud:

"Clearly from the developer and publisher point of view, the second-hand market is a real problem. The shops are essentially defrauding the rest of the industry by this practice, whether they intend it or not. It also means that while newly released games do still sell well, it is only a matter of a month or so before pre-owned stock often saturates the channel Ц with a single copy rumoured to go around the sale/return/sale loop ten or more times Ц amounting effectively, to rental."

Braben did not say why he believes games should be treated differently than other physical property that can be sold and resold as many times as the owners wishes. I'd also love to know where he gets his numbers about the average game being resold ten times or more.

But with the advent of backwards compatibility (and to a lesser extent, the Virtual Console), game makers have to realize they have another choice. The VC has proven that gamers are willing to pay money for "new" copies of unaltered classics (some that they've already bought more than once). The game industry should take a page from the book, movie and music industries and keep titles in print longer.

Look at Free Radical, finding a new copy of their PS2 launch title TimeSplitters is almost impossible. But their are plenty of used copies. If they want us to buy new, maybe they should encourage publishers to republish their past hits. With BC, this also applies to games for the PlayStation, Xbox and GameCube as well. If the game industry wants us to buy new, they have to help us buy new.

source: MCV