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Late last month rumors began popping up about the next generation Xbox not being able to play used games. Now today James Durall, Saint’s Row: The Third designer, has offered more insight to how this change would be beneficial to developers.
In a recent blog, Durall instantly address the impact the used game market has on developers. When consumers buy a used game the developers receive no money. Retailers, like Gamestop and GAME, make all of the profit. He also comments that developers themselves have been trying to figure out ways to combat this issue for years.
With downloadable content and online passes already in place, he comments: “These methods are doing a little bit to help offset the loss in income for Game Developers, but it’s really just a band-aid on a large wound. So that’s where we are currently, where do we need to go?”
Durall goes on to outlines many of the issues we brought up with the new system last month while offering his own solutions, such as tying game content to a specific account, rental companies and even the physical lending of games. There are current methods out there to make each of these things work. We all know how easy it would be for Microsoft to limit games to a specific account and Amazon’s lending policy of their popular Kindle books could solve our other complaints.
“In the end, I fully believe that we have to do something about these issues or our industry is going to fall apart. People often don’t understand the cost that goes into creating these huge experiences that we put on the shelves for only $60. They also don’t seem to realize how much they are hurting us when they buy a used game and how pirating a copy is just plain stealing. Maybe something as simple as educating them could help solve the problem…”
What we, as consumers and gamers, see as potentially ruining the industry, developers see as a must to save that same industry. With this rumor receiving so much attention it will be interesting to see which way Microsoft will go in the future. Is it better to cater to the consumer buying the product or the developers making it? Without proper funding, the developers may decide that the work is not justified in the profits, while on the same hand, consumer may decide that these tactics and costs are not justified in certain titles. Who will give first?
Source
Late last month rumors began popping up about the next generation Xbox not being able to play used games. Now today James Durall, Saint’s Row: The Third designer, has offered more insight to how this change would be beneficial to developers.
In a recent blog, Durall instantly address the impact the used game market has on developers. When consumers buy a used game the developers receive no money. Retailers, like Gamestop and GAME, make all of the profit. He also comments that developers themselves have been trying to figure out ways to combat this issue for years.
With downloadable content and online passes already in place, he comments: “These methods are doing a little bit to help offset the loss in income for Game Developers, but it’s really just a band-aid on a large wound. So that’s where we are currently, where do we need to go?”
Durall goes on to outlines many of the issues we brought up with the new system last month while offering his own solutions, such as tying game content to a specific account, rental companies and even the physical lending of games. There are current methods out there to make each of these things work. We all know how easy it would be for Microsoft to limit games to a specific account and Amazon’s lending policy of their popular Kindle books could solve our other complaints.
“In the end, I fully believe that we have to do something about these issues or our industry is going to fall apart. People often don’t understand the cost that goes into creating these huge experiences that we put on the shelves for only $60. They also don’t seem to realize how much they are hurting us when they buy a used game and how pirating a copy is just plain stealing. Maybe something as simple as educating them could help solve the problem…”
What we, as consumers and gamers, see as potentially ruining the industry, developers see as a must to save that same industry. With this rumor receiving so much attention it will be interesting to see which way Microsoft will go in the future. Is it better to cater to the consumer buying the product or the developers making it? Without proper funding, the developers may decide that the work is not justified in the profits, while on the same hand, consumer may decide that these tactics and costs are not justified in certain titles. Who will give first?
Source
