Over at Gamasutra, Frontier Developments' David Braben talks about the resale market. I think he has a realistic perspective, a welcome change from the whiny, ranty position that some developers often take.
"...we don't see anything from the used-game sales, which is one reason why the price of new games throughout the industry remains artificially high," he says. "I mean, the industry has to make all its money from the first sale since we don't get a penny from the subsequent dozen or so sales of that same game."
First of all, in a free market there is no such thing as "artificially high" prices. The games are sold at whatever the consumer is willing to pay. This is the invisible hand at work, people.
Gaming analyst at-large Michael Pachter knows what's up:
"The only real meaningful threat," says Pachter, "is for publishers to stop supplying GameStop with packaged products. And, so far, nobody has made that threat. But, frankly, if it's not [Electronic Arts CEO] John Riccitiello or [Activision CEO] Bobby Kotick, it doesn't really matter. The other guys don't matter. I mean no disrespect to anyone else, but who cares what anyone else thinks?"
The analysis reminds me a lot of Morgan Spurlock's documentary about fast food, Supersize Me. Throughout the movie, he rails on McDonalds, pointing out vague nutritional information, greedy business practices and the like. At the end of the film, he points the blame exactly where he should: the customer. They are the ones responsible for their own destiny. No one is forcing them to go to McDonalds. Of course, in this case, we're talking about the developer. No one is forcing them to sell their games to Gamestop. In fact, as I pointed out not long ago, they are figuring out ways to cut out the middleman, and it's beginning to work.
There are two other options, and Gamasutra's Paul Hyman has taken these into account:
And, indeed, OTX's research confirms that action games and shooters drive the resale market at 60% while only 20% are MMOs which take considerably longer to play. The main reason that gamers hold onto a title is replayability (69%) which is why the top two "keepers," OTX reports, are Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Rock Band.
Give the customer a reason to hang on to your game, whether it's downloadable content, online play, excellent multiplayer, or even fancy packaging with an action figure thrown in.
Last but not least, lower the initial sale price. We are in a recession, after all.
Related Links:
Game Designers: Rockstars, Auteurs, Dweebs?
Gamestop: We Ain't A-Skeered
The Big Question: Are Games Depression Proof?