Rumor- Next Xbox will play Blu Rays and may not play used games. Kinect 2 also.

[quote name='KaneRobot']People hate this so much but love Steam, which has essentially done the majority of the work to eliminate used PC game sales. No physical disc involved but it's the same difference.

Don't get me wrong, I'd hate to see this happen as much as anyone, but this is why I laugh when I hear people try to talk up Steam like it's so great. fuck Steam and any & all digital distribution services (including Live). When I buy a game I want to own it, not own a "license to play it." I bought it and it should be mine to do with as I wish. If that includes reselling it, that's my decision. Our gaming overlords are playing Just the Tip this generation with stuff like tying DLC to a console/gamertag combo & "project 10 dollar" - you had better be prepared to get it rammed in your ass hard next time around. Gross.

Fully expect this story, or at least a variant of it which achieves the same result, to be true.

What's sad is, after half a year of that, people will talk themselves into thinking it's not that bad.[/QUOTE]

Couldn't agree more! My SNES still works perfectly fine and all my games would still play on a second used system if my first would break in the future. I doubt the same goes for all my 360 XBLA and DLC stuff. I mean at this point anyone should realize that they don't own a game, only a license. And with so many games tied into a digital system as well they are anything but future proof. Take Army of Two for example. It's pretty much useless after EA shut down the servers.
 
The difference here is that steam games are very cheap, I know they don't always start off very cheap but most eventually get very cheap after a while. When you resell a game you will always lose a certain amount of money, whether it be $5 or $10, so that is a sunk cost regardless. That $5-10 is about what a game costs on steam so you are essentially paying for a game what you would have lost in the act of buying and reselling it. I think its pretty easy to justify cheap digital downloads, but when downloads start crossing the $10 mark is when I start to draw the line.

Yes you can't resell those downloads, but if they are under $10 each, I see no reason to worry about that, as you have to spend some money on gaming obviously, you can't get every penny back that you spend on games. DLC is another story though, this $10 I am talking about would be for a full game.

The only good thing about the Xbox 360 is if your system breaks its pretty easy to download your profile onto a new system, they even have license transfers you can do yourself these days. Your downloads are saved in your profile so if you want it on a new system you just have to redownload it. Though if MS takes down the whole Live network for the 360 that would be a problem, but since millions of people around the world use it, that is unlikely to happen.

The games that play primarily online though are a problem but you know before you buy them what will happen to them in due time if you are a smart consumer.
 
^Another thing that's disappointing is that XBLA titles remain full price for years. Sure there are sales on random titles, but there's no reason a game from 5 years ago should still be full price.
 
Agreed. I'm still annoyed I missed a sale on Bastion a while back since my account was locked for the hacking. Who knows when it will go on sell again. Loved the demo, but not enough to shell out 1200 points.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Agreed. I'm still annoyed I missed a sale on Bastion a while back since my account was locked for the hacking. Who knows when it will go on sell again. Loved the demo, but not enough to shell out 1200 points.[/QUOTE]

Bastion is on sale this week for 1/2 off, but it's only been the 2nd time it was on sale.
 
[quote name='MSUHitman']Bastion is on sale this week for 1/2 off, but it's only been the 2nd time it was on sale.[/QUOTE]

Great news. Hopefully the get my account unbanned before the end of the week so I can buy it!
 
It sounds like it's essentially a move to maintain the non-internet consumer base in the transition to virtual media.

I would imagine that the price point on console games would have to drop for the base to entertain the thought of one-shotware. Paying $60 for a game that doesn't meet expectations means a harder sell for paying another $60 for the next installment. Drop that by 40-60%, essentially the price of a new game less trade-in value, and I think the business plan would hold.

All in all, it's up to the industry to not fuck this up over money.
 
At least we get sales, Nintendo doesn't have any sales on their downloadable games, and the offerings are not as robust as Xbox live. I already have a big collection of old games so downloading an old game really doesn't appeal to me, as if I really want it and I don't already have it I will just buy the cartridge. I also have a CRT TV hooked up in the other room with all my consoles hooked up so I am fortunate to have basically instant access to any old game in my collection I may want to play. Unless its a rare and expensive game but again this boils down to a very small handful of games, probably 5 or less that I might actually want to play where the cartridges are out of my price range. There isn't many good games on WiiWare that aren't available on another platform (certainly nothing like Bastion and Pinball FX), and many games are being ported to iOS like LostWinds and World of Goo where they cost a mere dollar or 2 there.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Agreed. I'm still annoyed I missed a sale on Bastion a while back since my account was locked for the hacking. Who knows when it will go on sell again. Loved the demo, but not enough to shell out 1200 points.[/QUOTE]

Why do hackers like to play with cheats? You dont earn your kills or wins so whats the poiny in ruining an online match for others? I just dont understand the mindset.
 
What does that have to do with my post you quoted?


As for the price issue, I just can't see prices going down for retail games. Development costs are too high to knock prices way down just because games can't be resold.

I think if that happens prices stay at $60 and sales are less common since they don't have to compete with used games, game trading sites like Goozex etc. They're willing to lose customers over all, if they get even a few more buying new games after the change, as it will still mean more money for them.
 
I don't see a 720 this year. They just have no reason to rush one out. The 360 sold record numbers of the holiday season, and they're thus making a solid profit on hardware sales to recoup money lost from the RROD debacle.

Why rush out new hardware where they'll have to take a loss on each unit sold for a few years vs. waiting until Sony is ready to launch the PS4? The Wii U isn't a threat to the core gamer market that MS and Sony thrive on.
 
That I do agree with. A fall 2013 launch seems likely to me. Doesn't make sense for MS if the 360 is still selling well, but I think Sony will want to get a console out sooner to see if they can try to get back on top after dropping in sales this generation compared to the last two.

So that will pressure MS to launch at the same time, if not before.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']I don't see a 720 this year. They just have no reason to rush one out. The 360 sold record numbers of the holiday season, and they're thus making a solid profit on hardware sales to recoup money lost from the RROD debacle.

Why rush out new hardware where they'll have to take a loss on each unit sold for a few years vs. waiting until Sony is ready to launch the PS4? The Wii U isn't a threat to the core gamer market that MS and Sony thrive on.[/QUOTE]

Learn from history. There was another little company that rode that popularity wave one year too long... Atari. You've got their latest system, right? ;)

I see no reason why they couldn't tease something at E3 to steal some of Nintendo's thunder. I fully expect Halo 4 to be a launch title and not a 360 title, despite what they've previously said. 343 could push out Halo 2: Anniversary this year and hold Halo 4 for next year.
 
We'll see. After my hacking experience I doubt I'll buy one anyway! :D

I'm pretty tired of Halo/Gears anyway, and would like to check out some of the PS exclusives I've missed like the Uncharted games, and I don't game enough any more to justify multiple consoles. Though I did re-buy a Wii to have something to play while dealing with this hacking.
 
[quote name='Corvin']Learn from history. There was another little company that rode that popularity wave one year too long... Atari. You've got their latest system, right? ;)

I see no reason why they couldn't tease something at E3 to steal some of Nintendo's thunder. I fully expect Halo 4 to be a launch title and not a 360 title, despite what they've previously said. 343 could push out Halo 2: Anniversary this year and hold Halo 4 for next year.[/QUOTE]

I think Halo 4 would be a huge factor at launch. Thinking back to the 360 launch, it was very much like "oh Kameo... and Perfect Dark Zero.. oh..." (Not to discredit Oblivion, but it was nowhere near as mainstream at the time as it is now). I was thinking about it the other day and think what will get me to drop another $300-$400 at launch for a new console? We all know most major games will get distributed to both for a few years (COD, Madden, etc). But if Halo 4 is a 720 exclusive. It may sway me, and many other gamers, to bite before the holidays.
 
They're not going to full digital this revision so I'm not gonna worry about that.

I also highly doubt they do a no used games feature. If that does come to pass, when then I'm out. I'm getting too old for this shit.
 
[quote name='benjamouth']I feel like we've heard all this before, weren't people saying the PS3 would have some anti used games feature?

I'll believe it when I see it, if it is true I won't be buying the new Xbox till there are decent games available for $19.99[/QUOTE]
I was just coming into this thread to post pretty much this exact same thing. We've heard this rumor before and nothing came of it. I'm not worried. And if in the off chance it does happen, I have no problem sticking with the 360.
 
If Microsoft are pushing online distribution they should release all games on there with a 10-15% discount compared to retailers. That will help with used game sales.
 
[quote name='saunderscowie']If Microsoft are pushing online distribution they should release all games on there with a 10-15% discount compared to retailers. That will help with used game sales.[/QUOTE]

they'd drop their monopoly and allow other online distributors on there too like steam or orgin too. :)
 
I would actually purchase games direct download from the marketplace but I don't for two reasons.
1) I like physical media more. I like having a "proper" collection.
2) Pricing is too expensive.

But if they actually had decent prices I would probably buy into it.
 
This is somewhat relevant.

Kotaku Article: A Strong Kick in the Face to People Upset With Online Passes

You don't like Online Passes? You want the "choice" to be able to buy the game used (and I can't even believe I'm actually saying that, as if the option to buy used was completely removed, when it obviously hasn't)?
Fine then. DON'T fuckING BUY IT, you entitled, self-centered pricks. 38 Studios and every other company who implements an online pass don't have to listen to a fucking word of your whining. When you decide to be cheap and save a few dollars by buying used—and yes, it boils down to you being CHEAP, since if you can't afford to skip one fucking value meal to make up the $5 difference between a new and used copy, you obviously don't have the extra money to waste on the game period and shouldn't be buying it in the first place—those same developers and publishers you're crying a river to are making $0 off you. To paraphrase Penny Arcade, "You are no longer their customer, you're a customer of Gamestop."
Click to expand...
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']This is somewhat relevant.
[/QUOTE]

Not really. It's written by a ranting user. It's no more important than any post on CAG.
 
I actually agree with the "rant". Some CAG earlier posted that they only buy used games. Why would MS care then if this person didnt buy the next system? Essentially, MS will lose nothing by losing this person's "business". Ebay, Gamefly, Gamestop, et al. would be upset, but the platform holder, the publisher, and yes, the developer wouldnt feel a hit at all.

This is coming from someone who, even still, gets a lot of games second-hand. Sure the used market is great for me, but I'm not so dumb as to not be able to see why devs/pubs/consoles would see this as a hurt to their business.

And lets get off this games arent worth 60 bucks kick. A) They vast majority of AAA titles are "worth" more than 60 bucks. How much entertainment can you squeeze out of Skyrim, CoD, Madden, Batman etc. Heck, many of the mid-tier titles are worth 60 like say Alice Madness Returns or Crysis 2.

But the biggest thing is, you rarely have to spend 60 bucks for any of these games anyway. Within 2-3 months, games like B:AC, AC:R, Saints 3 could all have been bought for 30-40. To revisit the car analogy, 60 is the sticker price, but you never *have* to pay sticker price.
 
[quote name='hostyl1']The vast majority of AAA titles are "worth" more than 60 bucks.[/QUOTE]

The worth of an item is determined by what people are willing to pay for it. The used market increases the amount people are willing to spend for new copies.

It's true that publishers don't have much of a direct incentive to cater to secondhand customers. Yet I think there's a limit to how far they can go. If you piss someone off enough, they're not going to buy your games new, used nor your DLC. You take a direct hit when they decide never to buy directly from you, and you take an indirect hit when the used market decreases.

I generally don't buy used, so I don't really have a dog in this fight. I just think the anti-used attitude of publishers is short-sighted and will lead to poor business decisions, which eventually will impact the games I like. I'm worried that the steps publishers take to limit or deny the secondhand market will negatively affect games I buy new, like the pain-in-the-ass DRM systems some PC games have / had.
 
[quote name='ArmyOfFun']The worth of an item is determined by what people are willing to pay for it. [/QUOTE]

100% true.

I pay $60 for some new releases that I really want to play right away and aren't on sale anywhere. But I don't really think they are worth that.

Games are pretty much a one and done experience for me as I very seldom replay games. So on top of not liking the idea of buying games I can resell, I don't like the $60 prices as the gaming experience just isn't really worth that to me.

So I buy very few new games at launch, and just wait and either buy new games after price drops/sales, or get games used off Goozex, as games just don't hold a ton of value for me.

I'm much more willing to lay out money for things like travel, good food and good beer, movies and so on as I enjoy those things more than games so they hold more value for me. Others are hardcore gamers and games hold a ton of value for them and they'll keep on gaming as prices go up, used games go away, things go download only eventually etc.
 
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