Renault on 28/5/2013 at 22:54
Being a Gamefly subscriber, I'm curious to know how rentals will be affected by the XB1/PS4 used game policy. Will MS and Sony develop some kind of separate arrangement with Blockbuser/Redbox/Gamefly? If not, it seems like there won't be much of a future for rentals at all.
Dresden on 28/5/2013 at 22:59
The X-Box has become the new watercooler here at TTLG.
Muzman on 28/5/2013 at 23:38
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
It's worth reiterating that the used game market (which is monopolized by Gamestop) works like this in the US:
- Buy a new game for $60/play it
- Trade game into Gamestop for $10 credit towards another game
- Gamestop sells used game for $55
Are there any numbers around on how much they make on this sort of thing? It's clearly a lot since Sony et al have been trying to wreck it for years (the core business model as I understand it).
That will always be the frustrating thing; ever more intrusive measures with wide implications just to ruin these guys, even though they probably deserve it.
heywood on 29/5/2013 at 00:14
(
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/23/gamestop-used-games-revenue-estimated-to-be-2-billion/) $2 billion
I don't have any sympathy for Gamestop. They are leeches. They gouge. And they sell used games as new. If Microsoft and Sony put them out of business, good riddance.
No way are Microsoft going to get £35 per used game transaction except maybe for fresh AAA titles within the first few months after release. They will get what the used market will bear. Obviously, the market price will depend on the age of the game.
I think Sony will follow Microsoft's lead. If game developers get a cut from Microsoft every time a used game gets activated, they will expect the same from Sony.
Pyrian on 29/5/2013 at 01:46
Used games. Nobody really wants used games just because they're used. They want discounted games. Steam gets away with thumbing its nose at the used games market by offering perfectly good discounts of their own, without the occasional nuisance of scratched media.
Sulphur on 10/6/2013 at 18:22
So, it's done. They promised games, and they showed us games. And nothing else.
Oh, they did talk about the price point: $499.
And that's it. They avoided the whole used games and DRM thing, which was probably a wise choice, because those aren't things to get excited about in a PR reel showcase.
So, what about the games? I've never been so underwhelmed. I guess I should be thankful for the MGS 5 gameplay trailer, at least there was news on that front. There's a new Halo, a new Forza, and a new... Killer Instinct. Insomniac has a bizarre looking parkour FPS multiplayer game. Dead Rising 3 looked pretty tired. Titanfall from Respawn is a wonderfully generic-looking mixed infantry/mech multiplayer game. There were some nondescript indie games just so that MS could show they're not trying to actively undermine them, and Minecraft got a showing to emphasise that.
The only thing that looked interesting is Remedy's Quantum Break, which has a pretty intriguing premise that could be great if they don't fuck it up (but it's Sam Lake writing both the game and, I assume, the TV show, so...), and it looks really next-gen from that 30 second in-engine cut scene. Very pretty, almost like a real-time Pixar movie.
Good job, I suppose. At least instead of showing something that actively alienated their audience this time, MS just put on a show that put us all to sleep.
Queue on 10/6/2013 at 20:35
Quote Posted by Sulphur
The only thing that looked interesting is Remedy's Quantum Break, which has a pretty intriguing premise that could be great if they don't fuck it up (but it's Sam Lake writing both the game and, I assume, the TV show, so...), and it looks really next-gen from that 30 second in-engine cut scene. Very pretty, almost like a real-time Pixar movie.
That does look interesting, while at the same time looking like yet another really bad Fox Network TV show. It could be a hoot!
dj_ivocha on 11/6/2013 at 08:23
Then, one year later, in a "surprise" press conference, Sony announces the <strike>removal of OtherOS</strike> introduction of always-on DRM and retroactive ban of all second-hand games. :thumb:
Sulphur on 11/6/2013 at 08:56
We'll cross that bridge when, or if, it comes to it. Right now, this is the biggest official fuck you I've ever seen to a corporation that thoroughly earned it. I like Sony's taste in music, too, because (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5x_YoweEg8) that particular song had been on perpetual repeat on my playlist for days before the show kicked off with it.
Sony needs to continue being smart and one step ahead, though, because if I were MS, I'd be trying to undercut them by making use of that pro-publisher stance to get big devs to go exclusive, along with sending out feelers for other out of left-field deals.
