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GAMING NEWS

GameStop Warns Sony And Microsoft Against Blocking Used Games

Posted on Thursday, March 7 @ 12:30:00 Eastern by Alex_Osborn


While Sony has said that they have no plans to block used games with the PS4, we still have yet to see what sort of model Microsoft will follow with the next Xbox. If anti-used game measures do catch on, that could very well bring about the doom of games retailer GameStop, which makes massive amounts of money on used game sales. 

In an interview with Forbes, GameStop president Tony Bartel explained why it would be unwise for either Microsoft or Sony to go in this direction. "There has been a lot of speculation on this topic. Console manufacturers understand that recent surveys indicate 60+ per cent of video game consumers would be less likely to purchase a new console that did not play pre-owned games," he said.

"Also, used games generate more than $1 billion of trade credit annually, 70 per cent of which is credited towards purchasing new games and new hardware," Bartel went on to add.

Do you think Microsoft will be bold enough to block used games with its next console? Let us know in the comments below.

[Via]


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Comments
  • LawnGnome
    LawnGnome

    Joined: Apr 2007
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 12:42 pm
    Even if Microsoft doesn't block used games, I think GameStop is still going to be in trouble since the PS4 doesn't have backwards compatibility. Interest in used PS3 games is going to dry up real quick unlike last-gen where there was still a healthy demand for PS2 titles.
  • Chunibrow
    Chunibrow

    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 12:45 pm
    Bold enough/stupid enough?

    Yes.
  • Chunibrow
    Chunibrow

    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 8:04 pm
    Ahh **** I was scrolling on the iPhone and thumbed myself down!
  • 213EDD
    213EDD

    Joined: Sep 2007
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 1:06 pm
    My response if someone who was intentionally persuading you to buy used and making money off titles used on my platform without giving me a dime?

    Fuck off.
  • Stickyellowsock
    Stickyellowsock

    Joined: Oct 2009
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 1:08 pm
    Just watermark the discs and let the publisher decide what it wants to do.
  • wildmario
    wildmario

    Joined: Jan 2007
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 1:09 pm
    Sony and/or Microsoft don't give a damn if they block used games. They care about their own net profits, not Gamestop's
  • Ivory_Soul
    Ivory_Soul

    Joined: Nov 2005
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 1:19 pm
    Sony isn't blocking used games, no one knows about MS yet. Also, GameStop only makes money off the current generation of consoles. PS2 games are now down to a small shelf in the corner, and GameCube and Xbox 1 games are almost non-existent. If people want older games they usually go on Amazon or eBay, not GameStop.
  • elmoreoocyte
    elmoreoocyte

    Joined: Apr 2012
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 1:44 pm
    I haven't even thought about setting foot in a GameStop in probably 5 years. Their model is already dead to me.

    I do buy used online, but that's usually carts, not disc-based. If I'm looking for a slightly older game I often find it online on Amazon new unopened for what I'd expect to pay for a used GameStop title.
  • UghRochester
    UghRochester

    Joined: Jun 2006
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 2:42 pm
    After you bypass their constant suggestive selling, GameStop isn't that bad of a place (at least not in my area). Microsoft won't be bold enough. In fact, I don't think blocking used games would matter anyways.
  • uptown710
    uptown710

    Joined: Jun 2011
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 6:07 pm
    Once you get past the ass rape that is GameStops "buy/sell" game policy, yea they aren't that bad.

    While any SANE company would know its damn near suicidal to block used games on your machine, we've seen MS defy common sense before...
  • drathbone
    drathbone

    Joined: May 2011
    Posted: Mar 9th, 2013 at 4:45 pm
    Just don't be the one selling to gamestop, that's the only assrape. The system is totally fine for buyers, much like a pawn shop.
  • drathbone
    drathbone

    Joined: May 2011
    Posted: Mar 9th, 2013 at 4:46 pm
    EDIT: maybe the pawnshop wasn't the greatest analogy but you can get great deals at them is my point.
  • R0ADK1LL
    R0ADK1LL

    Joined: Jul 2009
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
    Second hand games retailer does a survey & finds that everyone thinks second hand games are important - who would have thought?

    But seriously, rentals & being able to loan a game to a friend is pretty important as well. Consumers will be pissed if they can only play a game on one console.
  • sliverstorm
    sliverstorm

    Joined: Jun 2007
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 4:44 pm
    That trade credit argument is awful--if they generate that much from accepting used games, guess how much GameStop makes from selling them...?

    That said, it's probably quite the coup for Sony if MS blocks games and they don't.
  • reiandcoke
    reiandcoke

    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posted: Mar 7th, 2013 at 7:34 pm
    I used to think that while used games should be allowed, the "Online Pass" fee was actually understandable. Servers are being maintained and whatnot after the game was initially made in order to support the online infrastructure. This costs money. However, the more I thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. If the initial purchaser is selling the game, and therefore no longer playing it online, are they credited that $10 (or whatever) for no longer using the online portion of the game? Of course not. Even though somebody new is playing it online, somebody else conversely is not. If publishers don't want people to buy used games the solutions is actually really simple: lower the price of games quicker. Not many people are willing to pay full price for a game 3 months after it came out.
  • ballabert
    ballabert

    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posted: Mar 8th, 2013 at 6:03 am
    haha I really hope MS does have the blocker, BURN IN HELL XBOX hahaha
  • strangebiscuit
    strangebiscuit

    Joined: Apr 2008
    Posted: Mar 8th, 2013 at 8:21 am
    Forget GameStops losses, wouldn't GameFly be completely obliterated? I value them much more...GameStop could vanish from the face of the earth and I might not notice.

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