E3 2013

DRM actually hurts the bottom line for both Developers and Publishers. Nobody who actively pirates software has ever (And I literally mean ever) been thwarted by DRM, and in fact many people who would be "honest buyers" will get cracked versions that don't have ***like that old SecuROM.

DRM and Anti-piracy measures are just words used to calm shareholders, even though they make the problem worse, the best way to thwart piracy is make it easier to buy what you want. Just look at the music industry with digital distribution.

Not just piracy, used game sales are what are being targeted here. The developers aren't the ones implementing the new DRM systems here, but they are the ones losing tons of money to outlets like Gamestop.

Comparing the video game industry to the music industry or film industry is probably the weakest argument against DRM you can possibly make. The revenue streams for these markets are nowhere near the same and piracy/used sales affect the video game industry in a drastically different way than the others.

Used game sales are the same as any other used item. Since when is the gaming industry entitled to make additional income off the private resale of my property (intellectual rights issues not-withstanding)? That'd be like me having to pay rooms to go when I sold my used couch. It's dumb.

You don't pay an additional fee when you buy a used Blu-ray disc... why would you think it's ok to do so on a used game?

Edit: And they aren't "losing" tons of money... they just aren't making it in the first place. That's a different issue altogether.

Personally, if I really care about a game, I'll buy it new. Buying used, you run the risk of it being scratched in that one spot that makes it impossible to pass through a certain part in the game. If I've owned the game before though, I'll buy it used, lol.

The difference is that the video game market does not have multiple revenue streams like the film industry. When you buy a used DVD it doesn't affect the film maker as much as they have revenue from the box office, rentals, DVD sales, digital distribution, TV syndication etc etc.

Video game sales have sales, rentals in a much more limited capacity, and DLC (add on content and digital distribution). So if you buy a used video game you are effectively taking what could have been two sales from the developer standpoint and cutting that in half, you are affecting the developers revenue stream much more directly.


The way that stores like Gamestop push used games sales, they are in fact LOSING out on sales. When a customer brings a new copy of the game to the counter and the cashier pushes a used copy, that is a LOST SALE for the developers.

Microsoft could have wowed us, but they would have had to show non exclusive titles. They opened with Red Gear Redemption: Snake Eater 5, but then they went in the exclusive direction, leaving the multiplatform AAA titles out. They came back with BF4 and Witcher 3, but it was pretty much too late. I think it was dumb, when a console costs 500 bucks, they should have showed the biggest games possible. Sony is going to show off Destiny tonight, they don't care that its coming out for 4 platforms, they know its big.

If I am hotly anticipating a game, or I've played it and it's awesomeballs, I'll buy new as well. That doesn't mean that I shouldn't be allowed to sell it at a yard sale or something. I shouldn't have to use a third party system to sell my used games when I'm done with them. And the buyer shouldn't have to pay a fee to activate that used copy. That's BS.

And the gaming industry has always faced those issues of distribution and revenue. The rules haven't changed ever. Why do they feel that they are now entitled to extra money? How did they survive before resales were an additional source of income? Yes, costs have gone up... but so did the price of purchasing a game.

They see a possible new source of money, and they are going for it. Plain and simple.

I'm not too sure about used games, I haven't done a lot of reading about it, but there is no defense for the current DRM/Anti-Piracy policies of any publisher, they have always ended up with no effect to an actual loss, and that's not including all the effort going into making and enforcing the measures.


Why do all the Publishers/Developers give them exclusive benefits then? You are saying 'Used games hurt" but when every developer is giving Gamestop DLC or Pre-Order deals... I really think you are totally misinformed or not looking into the issue deep enough.

MS knows they were on limited time, hell if I were gonna show things off I wouldn't show multi-console stuff. I'll leave that to Sony who doesn't have much original content to show. Anyone with a brain will know it's on 4 consoles and will be the same there. I'd pack as much original content to say, "Hey this is what makes our console different" and not , "Hey this is how our console is an avenue to do the exact same thing as all the others." Thats what people should be interested in. At least I look at original content and what makes consoles different, not how its the same.

Not trying to say it doesn't happen, but I've never had that happen to me in Gamestop. They usually inform me of the return policy, check me out, throw in some idle chat about how good the game is, and send me on my way.

Having worked at a Gamestop I've never tried to talk someone into buying a used game when they ask for or bring up a new copy. However if they come straight to the counter and ask for a specific game I would usually ask if they wanted it new or wanted me to check if we had a used one in stock.

Nah, it's not even next gen exclusive.

Sony has way more original content than Microsoft does, its not even close.

Bah, the destiny website seems to be down at the moment lol... Too many people trying to see it maybe?

Edit: Working now. Edit Edit: Why is Call of Duty listed in the legal speak on the Destiny website... Does Activision just throw that in there because they assume they'll mention it on every site they publish? lol

Also, wasn't there some snafu on indie titles for the Xbox One? I don't remember the details... But isn't there more support for indie devs on the PS3/4 now?

Indie devs won't be able to self-publish, that's all I heard. That basically makes them not indie.

Titanfall look spretty sweet, but the one game i'm real excited about is the remake of Flashback coming out for Xbox Arcade this summer.

Ah. I expect a lot of the little guys will probably jump ship then. It'll be easier than ever considering the similarities between the Xbox and PS hardware this time around.

The major problem with Gamestop and stores like it is how much power they actually have over the game market. They can sell used games for a 90% profit and give nothing to the developers of the game when asked, and in the past developers have asked Gamestop to share in these profits and Gamestop said NO. On top of this Gamestop then has the nerve to demand, not request but demand, that game developers create or limit the distribution of content for Gamestop Exclusive bonuses, and if the game developers were to try and stand up for themselves Gamestop simply threatens to not stock their games.

I honestly think that the system Microsoft is putting in place is not one designed to prevent piracy, as everyone is quick to point out that is not effective. Instead I think that this is a system intended to put a control system in place to better regulate the market of used games in a manner which will allow game developers to get a cut of the used game sales as well.

This way instead of Gamestop paying me $3 for a game and selling it for $55 and the developer getting nothing now the system will be more like, Gamestop gives me $3 for my game, they then pay the developer $10-20 to reactivate the game, they then sell the game used for $55.

OR if the burden of reactivating the game falls on us, then Gamestop is selling nothing more than a piece of plastic to put in our systems, in which case the money we put in the hands of Gamestop becomes significantly less.

I think that if you try to not associate the DRM with the ideas of piracy and how horribly they fail, and think of it as more of a way to deal with the used game market (Specifically Gamestop) it doesn't seem so bad.

GameStop is a corporation that is able to exist because of used game sales. By, likely, destroying or maiming this company, many people will go jobless. That said, they are minimum wage jobs and further the gaming climate by very little.

By redressing the income GameStop gets to the actual console and game developers, not only will games become a more lucrative business, thereby creating job opportunities, increasing frequency and quality of games, and expanding the industry, but it will also reduce prices of games at a more rapid rate.

Nothing they showed looked like a $500 dollar ride to me. maybe The Witcher 3, but seriously, why can't I chop up dudes with the monster sword?! A wedge is a wedge goddammit.

All publishers do that, the first Titanfall Screenshot featured text on the bottom saying "After a bitter split with Activision and COD, blah blah blah."


Agreed. And the Witcher 3 isnt exclusive.

Dead Rising 3 looked really good to me, then again, I enjoy massively slaughtering things with anything I can find. Sucks its only on Xbone..

Why not just make the XboxOne digital distribution only then? Or better yet, charge less for Digital copies over XboxLive. Again, the evidence I see says that Gamestop is actually a developer/publisher's secret best friend. So Unless you can rationally explain to me why Games on Demand prices are the same as a new Retail Copy at gamestop...

You just said it yourself...
Really...
Do you not understand business?

So, then we'll just go back to selling our used games willy-nilly at yard sales, to friends, on the internet, etc... We really don't NEED Gamestop, nor does the video game industry need Gamestop. There are loads of different stores to buy games from. I doubt Gamestop has that much thrall over the industry.

Additionally, MS can keep their filthy paws off my used sales entirely. I don't want, or need them to tell me how and what I can sell.

I guess not, Steam's prices must never fluctuate at all with great deals.

Yep, and used games are clearly a major issue through steam.
YUP....
Daft.