Used Game Buyers = Pirates??

Well, that’s a new one on me. Some game publishers and even a gaming web comic have decided that if someone throws their hard-earned money on a used game, they’re no better than someone who pirated the game for free.

To the publishers: I ask you this simple question. What happens after I shell out $80 for “The Best Game Ever Game 3” and find out *Gasp* I don’t like it. If I send the game with the receipt and a self-addressed stamped envelope will I get my money back? Or will I get a letter saying “Too bad, sucker. You wasted your money. Buyer beware.”?

Now, I know the first cry will be to rent the game first.. Believe me; I do rent games before I buy them. I want to be sure I’m going to like the game before throwing a month’s worth of saving down the drain. Problem is, those wonderful developers would rather we not be able to rent the game first, because poor them.. They don’t see the money from those rentals. So again, wonderful developers, once you get rid of the scourge that is video game rentals, when I shell out $80 on “The Greatest Game Ever Game 3” and don’t like it, will you be giving me my money back? I doubt it.. It’ll already be added to the CEO’s bonus.

Now, if you’re like me and able to afford maybe three games a year, cost is a factor. I don’t have a lot of money at my disposal. So I like the fact that I can rent a game before I buy it. I like the option of paying for a used copy because they’re cheaper. I’m still putting money out. I’m not getting the game for free. Being able to trade games I don’t want or selling them is a great option as well. Being stuck with a game you don’t like is not fun.

It’s easy to argue that the more sales a company gets, the better the product will be. In video games, there is a small problem with that logic. You will see fewer games, fewer types of games, and more clones of the same genre. Instead of five first-person shooters, you will see twenty. Companies will take fewer risks than before, knowing that if they spend millions on a game that doesn’t sell, that affects their earnings, affecting what the stockholders get.

Ultimately, not being able to rent a game will result in lower profits, because people will become gun-shy at spending $80 on a game they don’t know. And without being able to trade the game in for something else, it would make many people leave the hobby altogether.

Now.. To the creators of the web comic that agrees with the developers. Can you say you have never bought a used game? Can you say you’ve never traded in a game? I seem to recall that, while I read your comic, you started a charity for gamers to send games to distribute to others in the name of charity. My question is simply this.. Are you using charity to steal from the same developers you agree with, or is this a case of not recognizing the pot calling the kettle black?