Items tagged with used games

GameStop's upcoming PowerPass used games subscription service hasn't even been officially launched yet, and it has already hit a pothole. PowerPass was first leaked late last month, and allows customers to rent an unlimited number of used games (one at a time) during a six-month period. After those six months are up... Read more...
A couple of months ago, while a lot of people were up in arms over the Xbox One's potential "always on" requirement, Gears of War creator and former Epic Games developer Cliff Bleszinski said, quite simply, "#dealwithit". Unlike so many others, he simply didn't see the reason why an "always on" console was a bad thing, insinuating that it's... Read more...
A couple of weeks ago, EA did something truly atypical to its usual business plan: it got rid of something that made it money. I'm of course talking Online Passes, an idea the company once conjured up as a way to make money from the used games market. In effect, you could give or sell a certain game to someone, and... Read more...
The always-on controversy surrounding what we now know as the Xbox One has quickly taken a backseat to a semi-related topic: Used games. Specifically, how is Microsoft planning to approach the used games market since titles will be installed directly to the hard drive, and just as important, will a used game market... Read more...
Do you hear that sound? It's the entire Internet, and especially console gamers, taking a collective sigh of relief after learning that Sony will not discriminate against used games. As boneheaded of a decision it would have been to not allow previously owned games to work on a next generation console, rumors persisted that Sony and Microsoft... Read more...
Electronic Arts' Blake Jorgensen has laid out the company's plans for future console games and given some insight into what EA expects the game market to look like through the end of this year and the beginning of next. EA has already stated it plans to invest an estimated $80M in creating next-generation titles in FY... Read more...
For years, Sony's game division has been one of the major revenue earners at the beleaguered company; in 2011 gaming provided more operating income than any other division. That leg was rudely kicked out from under the company this past quarter; Sony's gaming revenue fell 17% while operating income dropped by 86%... Read more...
Game designer Richard Browne has come out swinging in favor of the rumored antipiracy features in the next-gen PlayStation Orbis and Xbox Durango. "The real cost of used games is the damage that is being wrought on the creativity and variety of games available to the consumer," Browne writes. "The real cost of used games is the death of single... Read more...
The rumor mill is still churning out quite a bit of information on new consoles this week, including new data on Nintendo's upcoming Wii U. According to unnamed developers, the Wii U actually isn't as powerful as the Xbox 360 or PS3, despite boasting HD graphics and significantly improved hardware. According to... Read more...
Over the past 10 days, we've discussed the question of used games and how revenue is divided. One of the few points that both GameStop and game developers agree on is that buying a used game doesn't directly benefit the publisher or developer in any way, though there's reason to think that a strong secondary market boosts gaming sales in general.... Read more...
Our coverage of the content lockout in the just-released game Kingdoms of Amalur and whether or not studios deserve a cut of used games sales kicked off quite a debate last week. We heard from a number of you with strong views on the topic, both pro and con, including an irate GameStop manager who was willing to give... Read more...
Studios and publishers are fighting back hard against the used game market, with the upcoming title Kingdoms of Amular, the latest to declare it'll use a content lock. In this case, KoA ups the ante by locking out part of the game that's normally available in single-player mode. Game reviewers found the following... Read more...