The battle between game publishers and used videogame retailers is nothing new — it’s been going on for years now, and remains a highly publicised affair. However, something that has materialised only recently as far as the arsenal of game publishers go is the online pass.
When taking into account the amount of money publishers are set to gain from getting a slice of the used game pie, this new trend should come as no surprise. But just how effective is this new tactic? PSU recently had a chance to sit down and speak with Tommi Äärelä, owner of used game store Pop-peli, to pick his brains on the matter.
“Our sales are still good for used games” he said, adding, “It really doesn’t affect us that much.”
When asked what steps his store has taken, if any, to combat this threat, Åärela replied, “We just adjust the price of games that have online passes. We also make sure we let people know at the counter that it requires a paid online pass. No one has turned down a game because of it.”
“If you buy a game, you own it, I think publishers are only hurting their customers here," continued Åärela. “Publishers are devaluing their product."
With more and more publishers jumping on the online pass bandwagon, clearly this is a “trend” that doesn’t seem to have an end in sight. However, this is perhaps not necessarily a bad thing. Let’s face it: developers make games that we love to play, and with rising production costs, they need all the financial help they can get. We just hope that publishers are giving them a cut of these profits.
While as consumers we may not like or agree with this method of gleaning a slice of the cash cow, I can’t help but feel that this may not be such a bad solution. True, it will drive down the amount of cash or in-store credit we might receive for each game, but with the price also being off-set in store, I can’t see how this would be so much of a bad move. We as consumers are essentially paying the same price after all is said and done. At the end of the day however, only time will be the true judge of the failure or success of this endeavour.
Article by Justin Titus