EA declares war on Gamestop

[henryc]

Sorry if this has been posted already - I did a search and turned up nothing. NBA Live 09 has a Dynamic DNA feature that updates the players' stats in real-time according to how their real-life counterparts perform, as well as a replay ability. The feature is enabled via a one-time use code, so if you buy the game used and want it, you'll likely have to shell out the $19.99 to download it unless the previous owner didn't use the code.


Thoughts?

[flyinj]

Anything that brings humanity an inch closer to never having to step foot in a gamestop again is always a good thing.

[MSUSteve]

It's an interesting take and I can see something like that being huge in stymieing re-sale of games, but in the specific case of sports games, I kind of doubt it'll make much difference. The trade-in value that Gamestop offers on sports games is absolutely putrid and I can't imagine why anyone would take a dollar or two to trade in last years version of whatever game. I'd rather keep 'em and let 'em pile up than let Gamestop take them fro $2 and sell them for $15 or $20.

[Moore]

the 20 rockband songs held hostage and only given to first purchaser is also along these lines. I don't care much. I'm not huge used buyer, really. I tend to do a bunch of trade ins once ayear and get a couple new games or some hardware out of them.

[Brian Rubin]

Originally Posted by flyinj

Anything that brings humanity an inch closer to never having to step foot in a gamestop again is always a good thing.

Yes, this, indeed.

[DoomMunky]

This is just another example of incentivizing continued ownership, right? Seems like an unavoidable part of publisher's protection of their profits, and as such, is totally unsurprising. The only question about this kind of action is why it's taken this long for publishers to start.

[Creole Ned]

I give credit to these companies for providing incentives to hold onto their games. How well it works in curbing the used game market remains to be seen.

I noticed that the Future Shop (Best Buy) on Broadway here in Vancouver has started to sell used games. If it goes chain-wide, the majority of Canadian gaming retail (with EB Games) would be covered. EA and other publishers can't be thrilled with that prospect.

[mittens]

Originally Posted by flyinj

Anything that brings humanity an inch closer to never having to step foot in a gamestop again is always a good thing.

Yup!

I wouldn't mind setting foot in a Gamestop if they didn't make me feel like less of a customer for not preordering or trading stuff in.

[gordonrumble]

Is this really done to fight gamestop? Seems like they're doing it because it's expensive to maintain and they want people to pay for the privilege either by buying it new or by paying an additional fee is they get it somewhere else. I'm betting they'll charge people who purchase the game new a year after purchase.
They mentioned that TMobile is paying for the first year of this stuff, so I expect payment in the future unless the corporate sponsor finds this lucrative.

[Midnight Son]

We must also take steps today to wipe out the used car and housing market. Also, libraries are clearly Socialist. Reselling DVD's or music CD's are signs of Armageddon.


But Video Games are different and GODLY! Amen!

[Spasticon]

Originally Posted by DoomMunky

This is just another example of incentivizing continued ownership, right? Seems like an unavoidable part of publisher's protection of their profits, and as such, is totally unsurprising. The only question about this kind of action is why it's taken this long for publishers to start.

Thing is... this also happens to be an excellent way to help combat piracy. Last I checked MMO publishers weren't that worried about piracy. Gold sellers, sure... but they pay their CDKey purchase and monthly fee just like everyone else.

Every game should include a tiny MMOish element rather than crazy schemes like SecuROM.

(Also, I'd rather buy new and reward the publisher and developer than the used product reseller, but that's just me.)

[Adree]

I'd rather buy used and not have to pay $60 for a game or pray that it gets rereleased for $30 in 2 years.

[Staff Sergeant]

The thread title led me to believe that this would be more exciting than it actually is.

[Brian Rubin]

Originally Posted by Midnight Son

We must also take steps today to wipe out the used car and housing market. Also, libraries are clearly Socialist. Reselling DVD's or music CD's are signs of Armageddon.


But Video Games are different and GODLY! Amen!

I'm not against a secondary/used market. I'm just against Gamestop. ;)

[Midnight Son]

Originally Posted by Brian Rubin

I'm not against a secondary/used market. I'm just against Gamestop. ;)

Problem is: They keep buying all their competitors! Hard to avoid those bastards if you like used games.

[Brian Rubin]

Originally Posted by Midnight Son

Problem is: They keep buying all their competitors! Hard to avoid those bastards if you like used games.

I agree, sadly (not sadly that I agree, but sadly that they are buying their competitors). Thankfully there are indie shops, Amazon, Craigs List and Ebay to keep me far, far, far away from any Gamestop.

[Telefrog]

Gears of War 2 is doing a similar thing with it's 5 extra DLC maps given as a code for the original buyer of the retail game only.

[roBurky]

I'm not sure the language in this thread title is terribly accurate.

[Moggraider]

Originally Posted by Telefrog

Gears of War 2 is doing a similar thing with it's 5 extra DLC maps

"Its."


This thread title is bullshit. I came in expecting EA to have mandated that Gamestop stop selling its games used. This might help cut down on used sales, but Gamestop could still survive with new games, or new EA games, only.

[Coca Cola Zero]

The thread title is provocative but it isn't "bullshit". These codes ARE a direct response to Gamestop's used games business.

[Dave Long]

Originally Posted by Moggraider

but Gamestop could still survive with new games, or new EA games, only.

This isn't true. Most Gamestop locations rely on the margins of used games to pay the rent. The videogame industry would be cutting off their nose to spite their face if they ran Gamestop out of business. The company puts videogame sales, both new and used, front and center in retailing. Without them, gaming would simply not be as big as it is today.

New game sales really aren't profitable. The margins suck.

Used games fuel new game sales on a massive scale and the publishers should recognize that or they will shrink their industry overnight.

[Anti-Bunny]

So basically, this means the used game will probably be $10 instead of $30? Score!

[Misguided]

Originally Posted by Dave Long

New game sales really aren't profitable. The margins suck.

Used games fuel new game sales on a massive scale and the publishers should recognize that or they will shrink their industry overnight.

Well said. We may not make huge amounts on new games, per se, but that doesn't mean that they aren't important. New games drive trade-ins and become the source for the used games later on.

I don't see what they are doing as declaring war on Gamestop at all. I see it as a creative way of trying to get a piece of the resale pie. I don't begrudge them for doing that. Personally, I think ten bucks might have been better than twenty, but we'll see what happens. The main thing I'm concerned about is customer service issues resulting from customers that buy the game used and they can't use the feature.

[Moggraider]

Originally Posted by Dave Long

New game sales really aren't profitable. The margins suck.

I know this. I know someone who tried and failed to run his own game store a couple years. But I figure GameStop would get better rates than he did.

[Dave Long]

The more I read about this particular feature, it does sound like a costly service. If they really have gotten T-Mobile to pay for the first go round with a new copy, and there's activation fee on EA's side for every new user, then it makes sense to pass along the activation fee to endusers that buy used.

It definitely seems like a lot of money though. Does that mean T-Mobile will cover $20 per copy of NBA Live '09 sold? Doubtful. There's probably a lot of profit built into the fee.

It's not something you need to play the game, either. It's really a die hard feature for the hardcore fans IMO. We'll never know, but I'd like to see how many people who buy used ever bother with it.

[Dave Long]

Originally Posted by Moggraider

I know this. I know someone who tried and failed to run his own game store a couple years. But I figure GameStop would get better rates than he did.

They really don't. It's better than if you're buying through a distributor, but the margins still suck. That was the whole reason EB got into the business years ago. I know it's broken record time when I bring it up, but I was there at the beginning of the preowned program, and EB was downright scared of the margins they were getting on used games. It completely changed their business, and I think it's easily arguable that it changed all gaming for the better because without used games, new game sales wouldn't be what they are today.

The only high margin videogame items anymore are peripherals and used games. Everything else (system sales and new game sales) simply aren't enough to run a successful business.

There was a UK retailer that wrote about this sometime last year when they got out of the games business entirely due to awful margins.

[Jason McCullough]

I'm curious, if the margins on used games are so high, any theories on how come competitors aren't entering the market and driving them down?

[jfletch]

Well, the margins are so high because GameStop made it so. If you want to enter the business, you have to offer a reason to come to your store instead of GS, which means you'll probably end up giving people more money for their trade ins, or selling used games cheaper... or both. And that cuts into those sweet margins.

I know Best Buy has been testing out used game sales, but they've been doing it for years.

[Anti-Bunny]

Originally Posted by Jason McCullough

I'm curious, if the margins on used games are so high, any theories on how come competitors aren't entering the market and driving them down?

There are plenty of competitors out there. The west coast has the Game Crazy franchise, here they have something called 'Play N Trade'. All very cheap and turnkey as far as franchises go.

[Matt Perkins]

Ok, so the new game margins aren't great. Fine. But what's a better solution...deal directly with gamestop or fuck the consumer?

I think is a very passive aggressive way to handle the situation. Gamestop sells their games. If they want something done differently, deal with gamestop. Don't tell us, the consumer, that we can't buy used games and get all of the features because you don't like the way the secondary game market works. That's bullshit and not cool.

Did you see about the maps in Gears of War 2, for instance... There will be no way for anyone but the first guy to get those maps. You won't be able to buy them separately, etc.

This is definitely a direct attack on the secondary markets and we're fast becoming the target, instead of the actual problem, from their perspective, gamestop.

I could even understand this maybe on some games...but how many copies of Gears of War sold, for instance, 5mil+. They didn't make any loot on that? They made so little loot they feel the need to screw over the used game market?

Why not just make a good game that people want to buy at the prices you want to sell it at and people will buy it. This trying to indirectly control the other markets you really don't have rights to is going to hurt you in the long run. You will no longer get sales for your next time based on someone picking up a cheap copy of the first and going, "man, I really need to buy the second one of these as soon as it comes out." You will no longer build consumer confidence when someone buys a used copy of your game but can't use all of the features because you've specifically locked them out.

/rant

It's far too petty for my taste and it's plain idiotic. Might as well just ship it with someone who stands over your shoulder and smacks you if you do something they don't like with your DVD.