Pre-owned vs Piracy

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BinaryJack

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The gaming threads have been buzzing with piracy and how bad it is and that they should be burned (ok, I said that) etc.
I buy most of my games new, all the titles that I know will be great or give me a good 20hrs minimum of pleasure.

I do however have a few titles that I have borrowed or bought 2nd hand and this made me think:
"Am I any different to pirates with my pre-owned games?"

Pirates and 2nd-handers (lack of a better name) are pretty much the same. Neither are giving money back to the dev companies or distributors.

Pre-owned games are becoming the bane of the gaming developers
It has become such a problem, that there are rumours that additional content will be given to purchased items only. But it is being looked at to be taken to the extreme where certain devs are looking at making the ending available for purchased copies only, where a code will be included with the purchased item and then validated via LIVE or PSN.

So are we any different. I want to scream "NO!!!"
But deep inside I know that what I am doing with my pre-owned games is pretty much similar to piracy.
 
Agree with gdiza ! buying Pre owned is like buying a second hand car ! it is still in its original form and packaging so it does not apply to being pirated
 
Pre-owned is such a stupid way of saying "second hand". Its like people are pretending "its not really second hand if its pre-owned." Or am I getting the meaning wrong?
 
E.g My original intial copy of PGR 3 got cracked (stupid xbox cases) ! i paid R600 for the game when it came out, i was not willing to pay R600 again so i decided to buy a pre owned copy for R89 ! i should have just bought a pre owned copy back then as i would have saved over R500 and would have only lost R89 if it cracked and thats why i only buy pre owned titles these days ! i will only buy a new title aka classic if its in the R200 - 300 bracket !
 
w1z4rd said:
Pre-owned is such a stupid way of saying "second hand". Its like people are pretending "its not really second hand if its pre-owned." Or am I getting the meaning wrong?
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You have the meaning right, but missed the point of the thread.
 
w1z4rd said:
Pre-owned is such a stupid way of saying "second hand". Its like people are pretending "its not really second hand if its pre-owned." Or am I getting the meaning wrong?
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That's why when I sell my stuff I that its been "Pre-opened... for your convenience..." :rolleyes:
 
Kage said:
You have the meaning right, but missed the point of the thread.
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No I got the point... didnt feel it was worth commenting on because others had handled it well. Decided to comment on the silly use of that word for fun. Then you came along :P What a wonderful day.
 
I think that pre-owned games help the gaming industry. Its a way for people to legally get cheaper games. The only way I would get a console is if I knew that I could get second hand games or sell the new games that I get bored with.

For Pc's I think that its a different story.... mainly due to the amount of games that require online activation etc.

Seriously... what do they expect us to do ? We play a game for a week and its finished. R500 - R700 gone !
 
w1z4rd said:
No I got the point... didnt feel it was worth commenting on because others had handled it well. Decided to comment on the silly use of that word for fun. Then you came along :P What a wonderful day.
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Yes I know, I'm in a bit of a cranky mood today. :p
I am a bastard, so throw a rock at me and get it over with! :D
 
pre owned is NOT piracy. thats just ridiculous.

developers dont make royalties for the number of people playing the game. they make money once on the unit itself.

piracy is theft because multiple units are made and the developer/studio only made royalty on the original, and each time a copy is made, their "ïdea" (intellectual property) is stolen with every copy.

and anyone knows every unit/game has a shelf life. once it breaks,you buy again and the developer earns again. thats why they measure income in number of units shipped or sold.

pre-played/second hand is the best thing ever. it removes the desperation from income challenged gamers cos they're getting ps3 games @ 1-2 months old @ cheaper than ps2 game prices...

AND less people searching for cheap illegal games means less demand for pirated goods means another nail in the coffin of bootleggers...

the only downside is that the preplayed market may become so big that it may cause new game prices to rise...

eg. gta 4 preplayed can easily get r400-450. when gta 5 is released, stores will see the demand and just boost the price cos they know there's demand.
JUST like our 2nd hand car market...
 
Nerfherder said:
I think that pre-owned games help the gaming industry. Its a way for people to legally get cheaper games. The only way I would get a console is if I knew that I could get second hand games or sell the new games that I get bored with.

For Pc's I think that its a different story.... mainly due to the amount of games that require online activation etc.

Seriously... what do they expect us to do ? We play a game for a week and its finished. R500 - R700 gone !
Click to expand...


I agree, with this, remember I have pre-opened :p games and will probably buy pre-opened games in the future.
I just find it is very easy to blast Pete the Pirate but somehow it is ok for me to buy a pre-opened game without thinking twice about it.

Pre-owned games are legal now but for how long...the net is rife with stories about dev companies, Epic being one, that are against 2nd-hand game sales and the loss of revenue for them.
 
Kage said:
I agree, with this, remember I have pre-opened :p games and will probably buy pre-opened games in the future.
I just find it is very easy to blast Pete the Pirate but somehow it is ok for me to buy a pre-opened game without thinking twice about it.

Pre-owned games are legal now but for how long...the net is rife with stories about dev companies, Epic being one, that are against 2nd-hand game sales and the loss of revenue for them.
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They're just pissed cause pre owned titles are selling for cheaper than classic titles (which they are still making revenue from) eg. pre owned gears R99 vs classic gears for R275 which one would u take ?
 
Pre-owned games are legal now but for how long...the net is rife with stories about dev companies, Epic being one, that are against 2nd-hand game sales and the loss of revenue for them.
Click to expand...

EA being another one ..... it's scary but I don't think they'll succeed, people will just boycott their products.


(and .!.. me does not throw like a girl you basterdo :p)
 
http://cinemablend.com/games/Epic-Boss-Discusses-Making-Game-Endings-Cost-Extra-13305.html

Epic Boss Discusses Making Game Endings Cost Extra
By Pete Haas: 2008-11-10 14:22:44 ShareThis

Gamestop makes a pretty penny off selling pre-owned games but game companies don't make a dime off resales. One way they've started to combat this is by offering free DLC with new copies of the games. This latest idea sounds a little extreme, though.

Epic Games had an interesting idea with Gears of War 2 to prevent losing sales through the used game market: they would include vouchers for free multiplayer maps inside every copy of the game. If you bought a pre-owned copy, you wouldn't get the voucher and you'd have to instead buy the maps separately. Fair enough.

Epic prez Mike Capps thinks developers might take this even further, though. "I've talked to some developers who are saying 'If you want to fight the final boss you go online and pay USD 20, but if you bought the retail version you got it for free'," said Capps to GI.biz. "We don't make any money when someone rents it, and we don't make any money when someone buys it used - way more than twice as many people played Gears than bought it."

It amounts to the same thing as the free multiplayer maps deal with GoW2 - in both cases content is being withheld if you didn't buy a new copy of the game. However, multiplayer maps are considered "additional content" while an ending is considered part of the base game. Shipping a game without an ending and then forcing players to pay to download it would not be received well. While the plan would be to publicize this fact heavily so everyone would buy new copies with the free endings, the people who bought used, "incomplete" games would cause quite a stir and probably lob a (fruitless) lawsuit or two in the direction of the game company.

Putting a little something extra in new copies of games is a good idea to curb pre-owned sales - offering additional multiplayer maps or side missions really would do the trick. Hitting up people for extra money just so they can finish the game, though? Dick move.
Click to expand...
 
Shipping a game without an ending and then forcing players to pay to download it would not be received well. While the plan would be to publicize this fact heavily so everyone would buy new copies with the free endings, the people who bought used, "incomplete" games would cause quite a stir and probably lob a (fruitless) lawsuit or two in the direction of the game company.

Putting a little something extra in new copies of games is a good idea to curb pre-owned sales - offering additional multiplayer maps or side missions really would do the trick. Hitting up people for extra money just so they can finish the game, though? Dick move.
Click to expand...

I don't think a lawsuit would be 'fruitless' though ..... sillier things have been taken to court, so I reckon the gamers would have a very good case. And like I said, gamers will just vote with their wallets against ridiculous **** ;)
 
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