PC vs. Consoles

[Dan]

I enjoy playing games in bed, that is all

 

[LocutusEstBorg]

I only use my PS3 to play exclusives and collect trophies. I borrow a 360 because the exclusives suck. My bank balance is pretty much constantly at zero with the upkeep of my PC.

 

[Craig Fairfax]

There is also the issue of used games sales.
Yes, I say issue because I believe it is an issue in the games industry.
Games developers do not get 1 penny for ANY used game sale. All the money goes directly to the retailer. This is more harmful overall in my opinion than piracy (no debates about piracy please).

I know this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but since you put it out there. How is a used game more harmful than piracy?

 

[Adiuvo]

There's a chance of a pirate buying the game at a later date if they want a physical copy, whereas with a used game they would already have a physical copy.

 

[KezraPlanes]

There's a chance of a pirate buying the game at a later date if they want a physical copy, whereas with a used game they would already have a physical copy.

Not only that, but retailers get SO much money from the used sales but never share even one bit with the developers. Also, used games are usually really overpriced :|

 

[Abe Froeman]

Why do you think the developers should get a cut of used sales?

If you sell something on craigslist, should the manufacturer get a piece?

The idea that people are complaining about game developers not getting revenue from used sales is the most ridiculous thing I've read today.

 

[KezraPlanes]

Why do you think the developers should get a cut of used sales?

If you sell something on craigslist, should the manufacturer get a piece?

The idea that people are complaining about game developers not getting revenue from used sales is the most ridiculous thing I've read today.

Well yes. But only when sold in retailers like GAME and GameStop.

Where I'm from those greedy dicks give us 5€ maybe 10€ for a game and then go resell them for 40€ sometimes 50€. It's a bad business practice that I do not support. They are making money like crap and not giving one cent back. Not only are customers being robber (twice!) but developers also.

As for craigslist or ebay, I don't think developers lose that much money through there, but retailers? They are milking the crap out of games and not giving one cent back.

 

[Adiuvo]

It's a retailers right to mark stuff up if people buy it. Morally there's nothing wrong with that unless it's an essential item, which video games aren't.

 

[MenaceInc]

Why do you think the developers should get a cut of used sales?

If you sell something on craigslist, should the manufacturer get a piece?

The idea that people are complaining about game developers not getting revenue from used sales is the most ridiculous thing I've read today.

The market for used games reduces the income for development studios and makes it more likely that studios like Bizarre Creations are forced to close. Various industry analysts also believe that used games sales are harmful to the videogames industry.

Even the first comment in that article I linked to highlights the issue.

I dont buy brand new games on day one release anymore, its far to expensive, i might do for games ive been really looking forward to like Rock band 3. But theres games id love to have but just waiting a month or so, and prices come down. Older games tho i buy 2nd hand, you can look on amazon, see a game that came out 3-4yrs ago, buy new could be like 9.99, but the used could be 2.49 and be like new, or very good condition. hmmm which one would i prefer.I like 2 keep most my games just incase 20yrs later i decide to have a retro day but like the other interview on here bout online pass, if they did that with more games, that would make a lot of ppl angry. Im already angry that the pc has games u have 2b online 2 install, or even use which is annoying cuz if the net is hard 2 get on2, i mite wanna play a game 4 a few hrs or something but cant cuz u gotta b online.

I've no issue with paying less for a game but I'd rather the game was brand new and the developers got some of the money at least. Then they'd have a chance to go on and continue developing more games. This isn't an issue for the larger AAA titles out there like Zelda, Call of Duty or Halo but there are many game studios out there that make great games and are closed due to 'lack' of sales.

One example, Pandemic studios. They created Destroy All Humans which was a brilliant sci-fi action game where you played an alien in a 50's b-movie atmosphere ending up fighting giant robots.


Different games companies have recognised the threat of used games sales and even Capcom have put in a one gamesave forever feature into Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. While I don't agree with that particular method as it ultimately harms consumers, it's still an attempt to lessen used games sales.

I know this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but since you put it out there. How is a used game more harmful than piracy?

If a pirate downloads a game, it is usually from a P2P network which incurs no direct cost to the developer of the game. If a consumer buys a used game, they are giving money solely to the retailer for the case and disc which cost the developer money. A tiny amount of money, sure but it still had some cost associated with it. It's nothing if it's looked at as a single case but when high street retailers have more shelves dedicated to used games than new games, then there's a problem there.

 

[january39]

I was not aware dev's got money for a unit sold, more they sold x units to x distribution company, therefore used games sales would not affect them since they have already made the 'sale'.

If a game only got low sales in a shop then it would effect future sales thus less purchased from the Dev by mainstream retailers.

I think it stinks that they are trying to stop used game sales, given the average cost per game.

 

[Abe Froeman]

I understand your point menace, but wholeheartedly disagree. Why do you feel that game developers should be the entitled group that receives a royalty for the used sale of their product?

Should farmers receive a royalty after each time their crops change hands as the food goes to the wholesaler, to the distributor, to the regional distributor, to the restaraunt, and then to you?

I just think it's absolutely ludicrous to think of all the industries in the world, game developers should be the ones to get a cut on secondary and tertiary markets. I personally don't sell games and have only bought one used game ever but have sold some accessories on craigslist.

You can't blame people for being frugle in this economy. If people want to trade in a game they no longer play or buy used games at a discount, more power to them. The developers should be the last thing on their mind when deciding to do anything with something they've spent their hard earned money on.

 

[Craig Fairfax]

I didn't know that many people buy used games.
I only buy games used if it's been a while since it's release because Gaystop doesn't lower the price enough on fairly recent releases. If the only difference is $5 there is no incentive for me to buy the used copy.
I don't really like trading in games; I have to really hate the game or know I'll never play it again. Ideally i'll try to sell a game on craigslist before attempting to trade it in.

I might sound like a dick for saying it, but it's not my job to make somebody else rich.

 

[MenaceInc]

I was not aware dev's got money for a unit sold, more they sold x units to x distribution company, therefore used games sales would not affect them since they have already made the 'sale'.

If a game only got low sales in a shop then it would effect future sales thus less purchased from the Dev by mainstream retailers.

I think it stinks that they are trying to stop used game sales, given the average cost per game.

If you're a retailer then you would be less inclined to buy in new stock if you knew you could sell second hand games and gain more profit. This behaviour could become intentional in the future and used to manipulate the market for higher profits. Of course this is an absolute worst case scenario that only tinfoil hat conspiracy nuts would say would definitely happen.

I understand your point menace, but wholeheartedly disagree. Why do you feel that game developers should be the entitled group that receives a royalty for the used sale of their product?

Should farmers receive a royalty after each time their crops change hands as the food goes to the wholesaler, to the distributor, to the regional distributor, to the restaraunt, and then to you?

I just think it's absolutely ludicrous to think of all the industries in the world, game developers should be the ones to get a cut on secondary and tertiary markets. I personally don't sell games and have only bought one used game ever but have sold some accessories on craigslist.

You can't blame people for being frugle in this economy. If people want to trade in a game they no longer play or buy used games at a discount, more power to them. The developers should be the last thing on their mind when deciding to do anything with something they've spent their hard earned money on.

To use your example of the farmer, the farmer's income isn't affected by the sales of developed product that he created. He sells the milk or wheat but sales of yoghurt and bread don't affect the money he makes. I know what you mean though. You're asking why wouldn't Sony or Acer get royalties for their TV's or laptops when they're sold used if developers would do.

It's a different kind of circumstance though. I don't know about the US but there's no UK retailer that sells both new and used versions of hardware like that. If you walked into a Currys store and seen a new TV at

 

[KezraPlanes]

Sorry for derailing the thread by accident Kezra.

I don't mind at all, this is still related to the topic of gaming which was the whole reason I started this thread so feel free =) I always like to see good discussion, and I'll give my two cents again after studying

 

[january39]

Well to get back on topic, i never have played any games on a PC, always on consoles - i have never viewed my PC as a gaming unit, for me it just don't stack up - Games are what consoles are for.

In part i have always been a little nervous that any game i buy for a pc would run really slow or badly, the criteria required to run X game puts me off a bit, while i am not a PC newbie i could not honestly say i understand every term there is. The other point is that i have a laptop (reasons of lack of space and the portability i need) and so upgrading is hard, if not impossible, on a laptop and certainly to the levels needed to run certain games - to that end i did not even try to run TF2 despite it being free. I knew the outcome would be bad when steam could not recognise my graphics card

 

[slicer4ever]

Well to get back on topic, i never have played any games on a PC, always on consoles - i have never viewed my PC as a gaming unit, for me it just don't stack up - Games are what consoles are for.

In part i have always been a little nervous that any game i buy for a pc would run really slow or badly, the criteria required to run X game puts me off a bit, while i am not a PC newbie i could not honestly say i understand every term there is. The other point is that i have a laptop (reasons of lack of space and the portability i need) and so upgrading is hard, if not impossible, on a laptop and certainly to the levels needed to run certain games - to that end i did not even try to run TF2 despite it being free. I knew the outcome would be bad when steam could not recognise my graphics card

steam can't recognize my graphics card either, but TF2 still runs smoothly, so i wouldn't write it off so quickly.

 

[Zx30]

Personally I would think PC gaming would be overall better but I've never gotten a real chance to experience it(You know like MODs, or actually game because my computer can't run a damn thing). It's generally too expensive for me. I buy a computer and the cheapest I'll probably find is $500(retail). Ok that's enough to run your computer but now you have to upgrade the shit out of it to make games look nice and run smoothly. More $$$. On the other hand, It's just so simple with a console. Roughly $500 gets you all the graphical tech you need and a controller. And they usually last for 4-6 years(until a new one comes out) so it's great. I still wish I could afford a better computer rig though. I'd buy the crap out of Steam games.

 

[Adiuvo]

About $500 can get you a PC that can play recent games on lowish settings if you build it. PC gaming isn't nearly as expensive as people usually think it is so long as you build custom.

 

[Zx30]

Yeah...low setting -_-;. Some people just like simplicity with certain things though. I don't feel like building my own PC even though I know it's cheaper and better to do so. It takes time into something I don't care to learn.

Much in the same way that some people like to make their own food for lunch because it's better/healthier/cheaper or learn photoshop/camera skills to make better pictures.

Other people may know we can physically make our own lunch or use Photoshop but don't care to learn or take the time to learn even though we know in our hearts it's better because we're either too lazy or don't mind spending the extra money on already made things because it's easier.

 

[Craig Fairfax]

About $500 can get you a PC that can play recent games on lowish settings if you build it. PC gaming isn't nearly as expensive as people usually think it is so long as you build custom.

$500 for low settings Isn't a very good deal.