This is my method for buying games, started months ago, and I’ve got my reasons. Buying new releases almost guarantees they’ll be in stock and in good condition (I’m impatient). Rolling the value of one game into the next greatly helps with cost (I’m poor). Buying from a chain like GameStop ensures a large selection (I work with three other gamers with vastly different taste, and it rubs off on me).
Admittedly, it’s not perfect. Renting is far more cost-effective. The used copies I’m selling to GameStop hurt the industry. But it’s the best for me, since I’m too damn poor to buy all my games outright, and too much of a cheap-ass to keep them. Personally, I find collecting games to be silly; I don’t buy games so I can dust them off periodically, or because I might ‘get a craving’. And I really don’t feel bad about trading the likes of Army of Two. Nor do I feel bad about paying half price for Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.
I don’t believe renting is the solution. But oh Lord, how it’s cheaper. $20 a month at Blockbuster would get me a GamePass, good for as many games as I could handle, without the bad karma for giving my money to GameStop. And lets not forget GameFly. A mere $16 a month grants me a huge selection of games with no late fees. But, speaking from experience here, GameFly sucks. Turnover time is agonizing, a few days at least, and more likely a week – which is a forever when you’re waiting on a game you want to play. And neither service is any good about new releases.
Of course, by rotating through new titles, I’m constantly selling used copies to GameStop, who then proceed to jack up the price and make sure none of the profits get back to the producers or developers. Rental businesses buy small quantities and pass them through hundreds of players. Both hurt the industry, but not quite as much as outright piracy. No money or games are changing hands, and nothing is showing up on sales charts.
Now, if you’re a bit smarter than the average bear, you’re saying, ‘what about digital download services like Steam and Virtual Console?’. I’ve left them for last, because I feel they’re the solution to all the above problems.
Availability is never a issue, especially if BitTorrent is used. Prices are cheaper since disc pressing and retail outlets are skipped altogether, and resale value is nonexistent, much to the dismay of GameStop. And best of all, since producers and retailers are skipped, more money gets back to the developer.
Flawless victory? There’s still the issue of piracy, and the ability of the scene community to break just about any DRM encryption that comes out. There will always be pirates. But perhaps, if consumers believe they’re paying a fair price for a product, it’ll encourage some pirates to start purchasing. Like we said on the Show, the music industry is way overdue for a overhaul. Perhaps this is the next step for games?
***This issue is huge, too huge to cover in one post. I expect some of you to have strong opinions about what I’ve said here, and that’s what the comments are for. I’ll step down off the soapbox, and leave the floor to you.***
See you in the game.
