Pre-Owned Games Market a "Double-Edged Sword," Next-Gen Consoles Probably Not Backwards Compatible, Says EA

93
Lee Bradley

Publisher EA has shared its thoughts about the next generation of consoles, saying that the pre-owned games market is a “double-edged sword” and that it’s unlikely the next consoles will be backwards compatible.

Discussing the pre-owned market at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco, EA’s Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said, "It's one of these classic double-edged swords.

“In one way the used game business has been critical for the health of the retail channel, and having a healthy retail channel is an important thing for us. The business will probably never be 100 per cent digital.

“Bandwidths are a constraint, and will continue to be a constraint for many years to come, which hold back the ability to do full digital downloads of some games.

"So having a healthy retail channel out there like GameStop or Best Buy or others is important, and to the extent that used games is important to them, I think that's a positive.

"Would we like to sell everything at full price and not have a used game market? Sure. But I think the used game market's a little like any other kind of market where it creates liquidity. The fact is, that liquidity benefits us in some fashion. 

“So if someone goes in and trades in a game, there's a good chance they're going to buy another one of our games. And so if there's a liquid market, I think that that's not a bad thing at all.”

Jorgensen’s comments come following rumours that the next Xbox will block the use of pre-owned games and require an always-online connection.

"I can't really comment on where the next generation boxes are going to be relative to used games,” said Jorgensen. “I will say that the trend in the business is to have that always-on connectivity and connect with a customer, and to the extent that the software identifies a certain customer is going to create some issues going down the road in the used game market.

“But I do believe that the consumer likes it, and it's been good for the retail channel."

In addition to this, Jorgensen also said that he believes that the Xbox 720 and the PS4 will not be backwards compatible, as such functionality could impede the sales of next-gen consoles.

"An important thing to remember is that next-gen consoles will most likely not be backwards compatible,” he said. “And if you [play] multiplayer on a game, you'll most likely not be able to play with someone on a different generation.

“And so if you're a FIFA player and, and the soccer season's starting in August, and all your friends are playing FIFA, you're going to want to be on the same box that they're on.

“So if they all go out and buy a gen-four box if it comes out at Christmas, then you'll most likely do it. If they all hold on and continue to play on third-generation, you'll probably not see that box purchase until after the soccer season's over.”

[via Gamasutra]

Comments
93
  • I never thought I would see an ea article I agreed with, but here we are.
  • Well, as someone who never buys used games, or trades in my old ones, I'm not really affected by this either way. It's still very interesting to watch it play out though, and I would be shocked if either of the upcoming consoles implement a system like this.
  • But what about single player games like Mass Effect or Dragon Age? Why stop us from playing previous games that we have loved for years?
  • *Is in the same boat as Earth Djinn*
  • "In addition to this, Jorgensen also said that he believes that the Xbox 720 and the PS4 will not be backwards compatible, as such functionality could impede the sales of next-gen consoles." Unsure about Sony, but where the Microsoft console is concerned I do not agree. They have worked very hard to create a 'single entertainment device' - and they have an excellent software attach rate for it. I don't believe for a second that they are suddenly going to make a huge chunk of their digital downloads unavailable on the new platform. I also don't think they'll want potential new customers delaying purchasing the new box until they are in a position to trade the old one. They won't want consumers keeping two Microsoft boxes under the TV as they (ultimately) won't want to support both, and it defeats the point of the 'single entertainment device' approach. I'm still pretty confident at this point that the new Microsoft console will be backwards compatible with the 360.
  • Used games definitely help out EA since they have their online pass bullshit where people have to pay $10 to play a mode that will get shut down in a year or two. But no. That backwards compatibility argument makes absolutely no sense. The problem there is the publisher making a game for PS3/360 and PS4/720. You're the one causing the problem. Don't make it for PS3/360 then, if you want people buying the next gen version. Problem solved. Also, you can make cross-compatible games, you know, EA. Pretty sure there are games that can be played between PS3 and Vita, and the new Monster Hunter can be played between Wii U and 3DS. Heck, there was a Final Fantasy spin-off that could be played ONLINE on Wii and the old DS, together (one person playing Wii, another on DS). And PS3 owners of Portal 2 can play with Steam owners. There's no reason you can't just have FIFA on PS360 compatible with PS4/720. That's your own laziness. It's even your own servers. Oh, and Wii U is backwards compatible, and plays Used games. It may be more like a mid-gen Dreamcast-esque console, but it's still technically next gen, at least in controls and functionality, even if the graphics are middle gen. Just saying.
  • i think that less people will buy the next-gen console since the secondhand market is big and doing great, other people who will buy the next-gen will buy it 4 full price or wait until the game goes down in price.
  • with : buy it 4 full price i meant a game sorry 4 the confusion and second posting.
  • Sony and Microsoft need to take tips from Nintendo on the beauty of backwards compatibility support.
  • It figures the shitheads who created the online pass would say this because we all know they care just look at all the game servers they keep online oh wait they don't
  • As much as i would love the new Xbox if its not backward compatable i wont be buying for a few years as i still have so many games to play as multiplayer gets in the way & i dont trade as its daylight robbery,i tend to swap or lend out and borrow theres.Think not having this is a big mistake if they want good sales this is not the way to go in my opinion.
  • @6 That's not EA's fault. Those are words I never thought I would say... It's Microsoft that does not like sharing it's servers with other platforms.
  • This is when people need to hold on to the 300$-500$ they would spend on the next gen console and first couple of games/accessories they will plan to buy and save up for a PC which it slightly more expensive but certainly not out of a reasonable price range for better quality gaming. No bullshit, better deals and no getting screwed by these idiots who are ruining console gaming.
  • Microsoft will prob do what sony did this gen. Make the consoles unable to play last-gen games but then release them during the cycle as digital downloads and squeeze a few more dollars/pounds out of our bank accounts. I for one tho don't care as this year i'm moving into PC gaming where these issues are very few. In fact i'm still playing games that are over 10 years old on my current PC as backwards incompatability isn't a common PC issue
  • Well Kudos for a bit of honesty, BUT as it stands theres not a crumb of info/speculation out there that's making me consider in the slightest buying a next gen console. I dont buy apple anymore because its so restrictive and expensive and this next gen console seems to be all about raking in gross amounts of $$££€€ without quality service/products, the shitty business models with dlc, day 1 patches, online passes and disc locked content have already shown that on this gen. Itll only get worse, I dont like paying money to the have a shit service dictated to me cough xbox live cough cough
  • Keeps getting worse and worse...
  • I was banned from ps3 trophies.org, my user name was xbox rules, maybe that had something to do with it since I had not posted anything bad on there but people would thumbs down every comment I made, dumb... As a result XBOX RULES!!
  • "So if they all go out and buy a gen-four box if it comes out at Christmas, then you'll most likely do it." I'll be getting the Sega Mega Drive!
  • @17 leave that fanboy shit in the youtube comments not here, thanks.
  • Why is he saying 3rd/4th generation? Did playstation invent video games?
  • Why are these companies so against backwards compatibility, if the PS4 has/is , then I will/would pick it up as this gen I made the mistake and bought a Wii as my second console and would love in the early stages of the next gen when there is shit all out really to buy some of the PS3/PS2(being God Of War collection 1)exclusive's I've missed out on(Heavy Rain, Uncharted, Resistance, Last Of Us, God Of War 3 and Ascension, etc). Apart from the fact I've missed them this gen, some have great stories(Gears, Halo, etc) so would love to replay them. What about all the guys who have paid out on PSN/Xbox Live arcade games etc, what they just loose there moneys worth of content when they trade their console in towards the next gen.
  • the multiplayer argument against backwards compatibility makes no sense, i would expect not to be able to play games online without the matching gen one just like usually you cant between pc and xbox but that doesn't mean it shouldnt be backwards compatible just that they shouldn't allow that through coding. surely being backwards compatible and having a long list of titles that can be played from go is a good thing
  • After reading this article I am glad i made the choice to never buy another console again after the 360.
  • If the new Xbox isn't backwards compatible, at least for SP, that's the difference in a purchase for me. I'd happily wait to finish all my games on the 360 before I get a new one.
  • Every console should be backwards compatible at least one gen back in my opinion. Although, remember after the first batch of 360s they stopped supporting regular Xbox games.
  • I have no doubt EA was one of the most vocal advocates for anti-used behind the scenes. I'm not sure how I feel, tbh. Backwards compatibility, however, I know for sure. I sure hope he's wrong or it's a miscommunication, because I will not pay upwards of $400 for a console that asks me to leave behind a huge library of digital content. They've had forever to get BC sorted out, I can think of no excuses that will change my leaning towards boycott if true. We'll see, fingers crossed. (Don't bother telling me BC doesn't matter, it matters to me, deal with it)
  • I think that all consoles should be backwards compatible, we all spend our hard earned cash (or pocket money which is less hard earned) to buy video games for current consoles, just for them to be of no use when a new console is released. I have over 100, 360 games sat in my bookshelf and i haven't even played 30% of them, i dont think ill be buying the next gen console until im done with my current titles, even more so if no backwards compatibility is integrated. I can kind of understand the point that a 360 player playing Fifa or BLOPs 2 and a player of a "720" playing the same game against each other makes no sense or may be hard to integrate (cant see why) but shouldn't we have the right to be able to do that? I mean we have purchased the game in the first place!
  • ok for the few that kinda don't understand its a lot harder then xbox read the disc it it why you can't take a old pc game from a cd and install it and it works fine its just hard as hell to make happen, with the ps3 there were cases of it ruining the ps2 disc when it was in the harddrive and other faults so they took the feature out. the reason the wii u can do it is if you look at the console specs they are not that high so it isn't hard to emulate the software I was discussing this with a few people I know in the games industry and they all kind of laughed telling me in a perfect world you could play xbox 1 titles on the new gen boxes but look it probable isn't going to happen
  • I might just go full pc mode after all this mindless bs. No backwards compatible consoles is just stupid
  • If the new xbox and playstation require internet connection. What happens when 5 comes out, are they going to shut down the servers leaving us with a useless console?
  • I know quite a few people who can't afford to buy games brand new at £40, they wait until it either drops in price ot buy it pre-owned. They then end up buying the DLC for the title, or the online pass etc. If the next xbox blocks playing pre-owned games then they are shooting themselves in the foot. I bought Assassin's Creed Revelations brand new for £15 the other day, it was available pre-owned for £12. If the next xbox blocks pre-owned games, then prices for games are likely to stay high for much longer and even then unlikely to drop so low. We will all end up paying £30 for a year old game, because they can get away with charging that much for the title. I'm approaching my 30th birthday, i've played games since i was old enough to hold a joystick! The games industry is changing too muchand not in a good way, things like Xbox Live Gold and now this are really putting me off ... could be time for a new hobby!
  • Unless it's part of a series I collect or requires an online pass, I always buy games second hand. If MS & Sony are going the "locked in" route, then all they're doin is drivin everyone to PCs & Microconsoles n layin down the gauntlet for hackers & hardmodders.
  • Still concerning for next-gen console... But I'll never understand those who would rather move to PC gaming. A good PC costs double that of a console, and you're required to update the parts more frequently than you'd like to. I know my friend couldn't even download the Crysis 3 Beta because he needed a new Graphics Card which was $300+ What's the beauty in PC gaming when the cost is ridiculous and all you get is "better graphics"
  • So psyched for the next-gen! I'll buy it regardless of limits, conditions, price & launch titles.
  • Why do people ignore why the 360 was.not bc? Microsoft did not own the original XBox hardware They stopped it ASAP due to never having manufacturing prices lower due to licensing the hardware. BC wouldve been a logistical nightmare. They own 360. There would be no excuse in it not being offered at launch. It would also kill their sales from the moment it was announced
  • I disagree about the Backwards Compatibility. If anything that will make me not buy it because I want to play my good old games and everyone knows good games dont come out on new systems for atleast a year
  • @5 I'm thinking the EA Exec means retail games, not arcade games.
  • “And if you [play] multiplayer on a game, you'll most likely not be able to play with someone on a different generation." Uh, of course not. I wouldn't expect versions of the same game playable together on different consoles. I expect the next Xbox will be fully backwards compatible with the 360. Plus, with Microsoft's focus on social features, I highly doubt they are going to split the community. I expect that you'll be able to communicate via text messages and voice/party chat cross platform.
  • @36 Then don't buy a new system until the "good games come out"
  • Xbox is dead to me.
  • if you buy a EA game on the next gen for full price only to have to keep it for ever cause of the rumored pre-owned blocked shit only to have EA close the servers. i just cant take advise from EA even when i see where there coming from.
  • @33, it's because pc games are forced to constrain to the consoles limitations, do you have any idea how much better skyrim is on the pc?
  • So If I Buy DarkStalkers Resurrection Next month for 800MS Points I Wont be Ever able to play the game after 2013 unless i play with my old 360, If this is True Microsoft can put their mouth where the sun dont shine because that would make me mad enough to jump ship to Valve when they release their SteamBox
  • @15 I agree. I think the launch of the 720 and the industry business model you describe will mark the end of my console gaming 'career'. I may still but 360 games I never got around to, but generally I'm tired of getting ripped off non stop. I, as a consumer, have been deterred from progessing further in this circus act!
  • @43 The "SteamBox" is a PC, it's not a new console, game companies won't be developing games for it, it plays regular PC games.
  • You just know when they bring out the next Xbox that all your favorite games will be available on games on demand for the attractive price of £20-£40 each. I would like to know what happens to all the Arcade Games/Full Games and DLC downloaded.
  • Lol EA been complaints quite lots moment. Hehehehe look like EA having very stress time. :D
  • I suppose they are right about the FIFA analogy. If you lack enough sense to go out an buy a new copy of FIFA, you lack enough sense to go out and buy a new console just to play the same game you played on the previous console.
  • I don't know whether to be terrified or completely confident. This next gen of consoles is either going to be awful or hilarious. Why Do I say that you ask? Well here's the thing, if Microsoft and Sony DO both decide to eliminate the used game market by making their new platforms 'new-game only,' that's a big hit to their customer base right there. Lot of people won't buy the next gen consoles on that fact alone. Then you take no backward compatibility into account, they do that, boom, another huge hit to their demographic and consumer-base. Now, at this point, there's still a fair majority of consumers that will buy regardless of those reasons, because they are strict console gamers and NEED to have the next newest console to play their precious Call of Duty. ENter the Steam-Box. While it is still only really a mythical rumor, if the Steam Box drops at holiday, and Microsoft and Sony's new consoles are Used-Game killers and backward compatible, Microsoft and Sony can pretty much kiss their consumer base for video games goodbye. Steam has one of, if not THE largest library of games available for download, and the titles are all at the cheapest bargain prices anyone could ever imagine, give console gamers access to that library, and boom, huge new consumer base for Valve. And let's say they follow the way the rumors speculate, and the Steam Box Surpasses the current gen of consoles in every single way, and is capable of next gen graphics and gaming, boom, another huge addition to their consumer base. Now, in this hypothetical scenario, around Early Year 2014, we have a huge new demographic of people playing on the Steam Box, people who already have a large player-base to play with in the form of PC gamers, we have a huge loss on the side of Sony and Microsoft, and the gamers who cling to the new consoles are going to be demoralized at the very least by the difference in price they'll be paying for games in comparison to Steam-Box users. Let's just face it, if the Steam Box happens, and it's even remotely close to what it's speculated to be, and Xbox and Playstation try to suck more money out of their already drained consumer base, they are going to end up dead in the water.
  • Won't buy a new console until later if it's not backwards compatible. There are a TON of games I still haven't completed on current gen. No incentive to upgrade at launch if there are fewer new games for me to get through than their are old ones I've already purchased still gathering dust.
  • 97% sure "720" will be backwards compatible and 100% sure we can transport our profiles and DLC/arcade games flawlessly to new console
  • you know what fuck it. im not done with this gen yet so ill worry about next gen when the time comes. can only go so far with rumours.
  • Im worried about needing a constant internet connection,problem with ur internet provider ? well you've sure got an expensive paper weight now eh ?
  • Did he just confirm the next FIFA would be on super nintendo?
  • I find it funny as to those who say they are switching to PC due to no BC. Your solution to not being able to play old content on a new 720, is to buy a new, more expensive system, where you will also NOT have access to old content...
  • This is simply what ea want no pre owned games and always online. If ea are so good why don't they release their own console?! I bet ea are just trying to bully MS and Sony into whatever will make them the most money. If I can't play pre owned, 360 games and have to be online all the time. Then its simple the 360 is my last console ever.
  • Let me see if I have this right....I have to be online all the time, I have to use the sensor, no used games (or even sharing with friends), and it is not backwards compatible....hmmm Really, I doubt this will really happen. It would be a Wii bit of a mistake!
  • Yeah if I can't play any of my 50+ "blockbuster" games on the 3rd gen Xbox when it comes out, then fuck it, I'm gonna keep my 360 and just keep paying more attention to my PC. What a waste of space to keep my 360 because these greedy fucks just want to squeeze more money out of us. Personally I hope this isn't true, and it's just the dumb fucks at EA talking about what their greedy asses want.
  • i disagree that backwards compatibility hurts console sales. at a console's launch, titles are very sparse and limited. the backwards compatibility adds a buffer so someone can retire their old system/move it to a different room while upgrading without losing anything. i definitely used the backwards compatibility on my wii and 360 when the systems launched, and then when the 360 got more quality games, i used the backwards compatibility less and less (and as the wii didn't get more quality games, that system just got used less and less) saying backwards compatibility hurts system sales is a ridiculous claim. it only hurts system sales if third party developers like ea put the same exact game on both consoles with no differences between them, and pump out generic shovelware at launch.
  • I have a hard time believing the Nextbox will not have backwards compatibility. Do we really believe MS is going to turn off people who make this their first jump to Xbox from buying old classics like Halo or Gears of War? Even when the 360 first came out with no BC for original Xbox games, MS made damn sure you could still play Halo 1 and Halo 2. I don't see them releasing their new console without it at least playing their big games like Halo and Gears.
  • I never expected that there would be compatability between the 360 and the next gen that would allow me to play on my 360 with someone on a next gen machine. However backward compatability allowing me to play my current 360 titles on the next gen would ensure I buy the next gen earlier. Otherwise I will be holding off until I complete all the 360 games I have not completed yet.
  • i agree with #61 backwards compatibility ensures more preorders/1st day purchasers what next honestly though? gamer profiles not carrying to the next console so my 176k+ gamerscore is gone and they want me to start at square 1? fuck that good sir fuck that
  • I don't get it. Backwards compatibility and pre owned games are two entirely different issues altogether. Why is it being made into a blanket thing?
  • The bigger games on last gen were backwards compatible, at least the SP was. Halo, Fable, CoD, PGR, etc. I hope that the nextbox will carry that feature over at least, other wise, I won't buy one until halfway through the gen, like I did with the 360. The first Xbox kept me going for 7-8 years, this one should too.
  • @61 "I never expected that there would be compatability between the 360 and the next gen that would allow me to play on my 360 with someone on a next gen machine." why wouldn't you expect that? you could play halo2 on the xbox360 when it launched on live with all the xbox1 players. for games that have their own standalone versions i wouldn't expect cross platform play, but for actual xbox360 games i would expect it.
  • If renting is gone in the new systems, then I am out. Most games are shit and the high price demanded by companies for games means I simply can't stay into video games. I can rent 5 games for the cost of buying one game, and when that is gone, I am out. Not worth it to me to have a system and only one or two games.
  • I buy most of my games used. If I gotta buy an online pass, so what? I'm still paying less than full price.
  • I just can't see the next Xbox not being backward compatible. If anything else surely it's an extra selling point for the new console? Plus when Xbox 360's are eventually replaced and sold (due to the next gen Xbox being backwards compatible) surely it would create more 'liquidity' and further help generate sales for the next gen Xbox and its accompanying new games? If Microsoft do choose to not support backward compatibility they would be shooting themselves in the foot in more ways than one. This 'Always On' initiative also seems like a step in the wrong direction. If the gaming companies are genuinely concerned about how the current economic climate is affecting video game sells and sending companies such as HMV and Blockbuster into administration there are other ways to help generate more profit from new game releases rather than taking away the consumers choice of whether to buy a new or pre-owned game.
  • I still have entirely too many ps3 and 360 games to play. If the new systems are backwards compatible then I'm looking at getting one probably at release, and the other withing 4-6 months after that. If they aren't well then, I have probably another 2-3 good years out of my current consoles. No backwards compatible will make the difference on how quickly I get a new system. Also, if they trash my gamertag and make the last 4 years of grinding achievements like seriously 1,2,3 all for nothing then I think I'll be happy to join up with that little company called steam. Played my first pc "console" games yesterday skyrim, borderlands 2, and battlefield 3, and OMG they looked amazing compared to console. Just saying that they should do stuff to keep their "consumers" happy, and not push us away.
  • this is the only thing about next gen. to come out and make any sense.
  • Supporters of Online Passes, not Used Games saying that we should buy new games? What a shocker this is.
  • I really hope that our new Xbox will be backward compatible. I own a few classic Xbox and 360 games on demand, and more arcade games than I can count on two hands, and that is all, of course, in addition to a game collection that is mostly new purchases, with a fair number of used titles sprinkled in. It would be a humungous slap in the cock if Microsoft were to take any steps to make sure that I don't have access to any of that anymore. Sony made the PS3 back compat, even though they took a loss on every unit sold. Of course, I'm sure anybody that's reading this knows that Sony eventually pulled back compat, and that new PS3s do not have that functionality, but respect the effort; they tried. I love Microsoft and I love the Xbox, but if they shut us down like that, I don't know if I could give them my business anymore.
  • If I can't play 360 games on the "Xbox3", than f_ck it. No sale.
  • I have too many games on he go and too many more that I still want to play for the 360. The only way I will get a new console is by trading in my old for it and there is no way I am going to abandon everything I still want to play just to try a couple of next gen games.
  • I can actually cope with most of these things except the always-online issue. There is no way in hell that me, and many other people, can stay online 24/7. I also do not believe that the majority prefer that, unless over half of the gaming population lives in big cities with ready access to high-speed internet. Total BS....
  • A "next-gen" console has never sounded so shitty. We have anti-piracy (AKA anti-used) measures which will tie each game you buy to one single console. We have prices in digital form that do not reflect the savings of packaging, distribution, or even market value. Now there's a rumor of limited or absolutely no backwards comparability. Looks like PC gaming sales are about to sky-rocket.
  • Ok o got a shyt ton of games and im rven buyin new games for 360 now the new xbox isnt goin to be bc...um ya go taake that system and shove it up your ass sideways. Fuck that ive spent mad money in gettin all the games i traded in back and im not going to buy a new system that wont allow me to play them id rather rip my dick off and then have my wife beat me for rippin it off
  • I still wonder how long into the next generation MS will support the 360. There are a heck of a lot more games on the 360 than were ever on original Xbox. When multiplayer support stops on the 360, you'll looking at a bunch of achievements that won't be obtainable anymore. I really thought the next Xbox would be backwards compatible because of achievement support, but I guess M$ doesn't care how much people actually care about gamerscore.
  • Biggest mistake a multi-billion dollar company can ever make!! If this is the case then count me out
  • @78: The only reason Live support was cutoff for the original Xbox was because it prevented MS from making certain changes to Live. Since each original Xbox game that had Live support all had to build their Live interfaces into each game, that made things like expanding the number of people you can have in your friends list impossible to do. With the 360, there is just the universal guide that you use no matter what game you are playing, so there would be no need to cutoff Live support for 360 games. (What I'd like to know is where are all these damn changes are that we were told was why we had to lose online for games like Halo 2 and Star Wars Battlefront. All this talk from MS about all the big changes they can make once they cut off Live support for the original Xbox, and I still have yet to have learned of a single change that would've been impossible to do otherwise.)
  • @42 How superior is Skyrim on the PC compared to consoles in awesome percentage points ??? A - %17 awesome B - %48 awesome C - %92 awesome D - %126 awesome
  • I have over hundreds of dollars spent on downloadable games so hopefully microsoft makes those games capatible with the new xbox cause i still play certain games i have downloaded from the marketplace, i even have Halo 4 bought over the marketplace
  • "Xbox 720 and the PS4 will not be backwards compatible, as such functionality could impede the sales of next-gen consoles" Impede!? Really!? I could not disagree more. If next gen consoles are not backwards compatible they are almost immediately removing 90% of their market. Not everyone has the money to go out and buy a brand new system and support only it 100%. If the next Xbox is not backwards compatible I will not be buying it. I will also not be buying it if it does not allow you to play used games and if you will have to always be connected to the internet to play the full retail games you purchased. This is coming from a guy who only buys new games and fully supports Xbox Live. Those types of things will ruin what gaming is about. If any of the (hopefully) rumors are true I might as well just go back to my Gamecube.
  • 28 its actually pretty easy... as long as the new Xbox is using a deviation of the CD drive it is as simple as providing the playback software from the older system with a little added to emulate it on the new hardware like your analogy of playing games on pc, its not as easy as just installing it... but it is so easy hat it takes less tan a minute to get working afterwards @33 you dont just get better graphics from PC gaming, you get better graphics, better quality quicker load times, more games in general, cheaper games, a choice of whatever kind of controller you want, freedom to do what you want with your games like modding them, communities that can actually help with bug fixing etc, its cheaper as long as your not an idiot, and the best of all... better games that consoles cant handle like total war
  • I want you all to consider this instead. There are more companies out there than just Gamestop. There are companies that rent games to us. These companies are affected as well. There are companies other than Gamestop that sell used games as well, they too are affected. Now, I want you all to consider this when thinking about how this "does not affect you." I want you all to consider the men and women that are employeed at these companies. All of these people pay taxes. They pay into our economy. They have homes, they have children, they go to school while at these jobs. Now, I want you to think about how these greedy corporations that are thinking that a game should have a one time activation code really affects us all! More people are now on unemployment, just so the game companies can squeeze more dollars into their pockets at the expense of those that sell and rent these games to us. You might say, well, I'll just buy my games at Walmart, Target, or Best Buy. You are right, you have that option, or you have the option to support other businesses than the big box, brick and mortar companies. I mean really, do you want to support Walmart any further, I mean they are responsible for 5% of the GDP of the US alone, and that's talking billions of dollars. So please, do what it takes, write to Microsoft, write to Sony, do what you can, e-mail them. It doesn't take much time to do so, and tell them that you will not be purchasing their console or their games if they come with a single use activation code. I don't care if you lie to them about it and plan on buying the system anyways. YOU - The Consumer! YOU have more power than you realize if you take the time to act. I'm not writing this for my own sake. I looked at the amount of employees Gamestop alone employs. According to Wikipedia, that's 17,000 men and women. That's 17,000 men and women out of work due to greed of these various game companies that have what, given us crap games, given us the same game with a II or III added onto it. I mean, we take this from these companies, we bitch on the forums about it, but what do we really do. This is an opportunity to stand up to these organizations to say, enough. It is our ability to say, this next console generation will not be built with such a constraint. This limits our ability to control what we as a consumer purchase. To allow this, is ignorance on our part as a gaming COMMUNITY.
  • If the new consoles aren't backwards compatible I'm just going to hold off buying one for a while.
  • @3 good point or what about those who can't afford new game prices
  • I think the new Xbox has to prove itself. BC or not, the games on it better be good or else no sale. I'm not going to buy a new system just to play my X360 games when I already have a system to play them on, along with their DLC and arcade games. @85, sure there's tens of thousands of people employed by Gamestop and other companies that sell used games. But if you think about it, they contribute very little to the gaming community. We're here talking about OUR GAMING COMMUNITY, and no other. And why is there the need for online passes or activation codes? It is because those companies that you defend undercut the developers/publishers. EA and the others strikes back with activation codes. Indirectly, Gamestop and the used game business is responsible for the very things you hate. Buying used games is the bane of developers/publishers/gamers. Too bad so many are blind and can't see it.
  • I could get over not being able to play used games. However, no BC would be a deal-breaker. My backlog is over 100 games. I'd be fine holding off a new system purchase until 2018.
  • @88 actually while you are right that thats what the publishers disagree with its completely wrong, the way it works is the same way it works if you sell ANYTHING, its not undercutting them at all, game companies have had their art n the deal when they sold the new game they dont deserve any money after that because they have had their takings. as long as they SELL games that is the way it has to work because when you SELL a product you pass the right to it to the new owner if they then choose to sell it on that is their right That is how business works with everything. Really its the game companies that are conducting bad business over it because they fail to stay competitive in the market and things like this are the wrong way to go about it, you just need to look to things like car sales to see a good way of doing things, when you buy a used car you dont give money back to say nissan for example, your money all goes back to the dealer you bought the used car from but new car dealers offer real incentives for you to buy their new products instead. you can look at business from any point of view and no where will you find a system like the one being talked about, right from big expensive things like a new house which the property developers dont get a cut on every time its sold, just the first when they originally sell it to something as small as say a chocolate bar which when you buy from a shop a cut doesnt get sent to cadburrys because they have already had their cut when they originally sold it to the wholesaler
  • Why can't there be happy rumors?
  • @92 Let's start one. I heard that the Xbox 720 can make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
  • I buy a new console based on two things: Are the launch titles any good? Does the game have any fantastic exclusives? If the answer to either of those is no, I wait on buying the console. I have no desire to purchase some fancy spendy new console that has games that are going to massively suck for the next 6 months of its commercial phase. Playstation 3? I never purchased one. Why? Because of the above two questions. Oh sure, it's store is LITTERED with great games... But, I have to mention that these games are all from 1990 or so. You know, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 7, etcetera. Amazing games... That aren't worth buying a Playstation 3 for. Nope, I bought the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS to play my oldschool amazing games. Yep, got me Chrono Trigger on the DS and got me Final Fantasy 6 on the Gameboy Advance... Both systems purchasing price combined is less than a Playstation 3. I didn't purchase an Xbox 360 until games started hitting the market that I actually wanted to play. Halo 3, for example. Sure, I purchased it months before then and got Perfect Dark Zero... But honestly, there was nothing to play on the console until they started making good games for it, and I purchased right when that began. I likely won't purchase a Playstation 4 at this point either. I'll probably wait to get an Xbox720 as well. Xbox720 currently hinges on the whole "backward compatability" thing for me. Why? I have games to finish, gamerscore to complete. If that gamerscore doesn't transfer forward and I can't finish my games on the new console... What's the point of transferring my account forward like I did from Xbox to Xbox360? Oh sure, my account says I've had it for 8 years... But I've had it since before Halo 2. Once I bought the 360, I transferred it forward and it became some kind of new account that doesn't transfer backwards. If this is the trend for the new console, I might wait a while before purchasing. As for the "used" and "new" market... That argument has always been silly. A game developer gets the money for their games IMMEDIATELY. The stores BUY THE GAMES from the publishers. Publisher already has the money at that point. However, whatever the game stores DO NOT SELL, they sell BACK to the publishers or at massively deep discounts just so they don't have a TOTAL LOSS. Games sold back to publishers result in the publishers having to eat the loss (nothing else they can do, unless they can get another store to buy them, or a customer to buy them directly from the publisher). On top of which, if you already purchased a game, the company already got the money for that copy of the game once. If you sell it "used", then someone else gets your ALREADY PAID FOR copy of the game. Companies like EA are just trying to call "foul" on it because they want you to hold onto your games so that the person who wants to play it HAS to buy a new copy and give them money instead of simply purchasing a copy of the game someone doesn't want anymore. There is no "loss of money" in such endeavors. You can't lose 400,000 "used games" sales unless you already sold 400,000 in NEW GAMES to start with. It just doesn't compute any other way. The easiest way to avoid "used game sales" is to simply produce games that don't suck or produce games that are... I don't know... Actually FUN and WORTH keeping around.
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