Used game sales. WTF happened.

[Anteaus]

Look up "First Sale Doctrine", especially how it applies to books and copyright law.

Once a lawfully-made copy of a copyrighted work is sold into the free market, the publisher loses the ability to control the future sales of that copy.

Just to add, First Sale Doctrine as written only applies to software distributed on a physical medium, not digitally. When you buy a boxed game you don't gain ownership of the game itself (it's licensed), but you do own the physically media that the game comes on as well as the box and everything included. The law basically says that since you have a right to sell the physical media, the license is thus legally required to follow the disc. People tend to think of the disc as software, but in reality it is only software once it is translated by a computer. Until then you just own a piece of plastic/metal that has pits in it. That is the part you're actually selling....not the software. It's an important distinction.

Software licensed (notice I didn't say sold) through digital distribution is exempt from first sale doctrine for that very reason.

The long and short of it is that the license of a boxed game is tied to the media, whereas a digitally distributed license is tied to the individual who purchased it. Origin/Steamworks etc games get around it by actually just providing a code and a backup copy of the game. The disc is worthless without the account which is tied to the individual, therefore first sale doctrine is once again exempt.

I know alot of this sounds stupid, but if you if you pay attention you'll notice it all makes sense in practice. People keep asking why rights like First Sale Doctrine seem to be blatantly violated, when in fact everything is perfectly legally in the eyes of the law. This is how they will ultimately kill the used market completely.

I'm not saying I agree with it though. I think it's very shady how licensing is done, but it is what it is.

 

[Skel]

Just to add, First Sale Doctrine as written only applies to software distributed on a physical medium, not digitally. When you buy a boxed game you don't gain ownership of the game itself (it's licensed), but you do own the physically media that the game comes on as well as the box and everything included. The law basically says that since you have a right to sell the physical media, the license is thus legally required to follow the disc. People tend to think of the disc as software, but in reality it is only software once it is translated by a computer. Until then you just own a piece of plastic/metal that has pits in it. That is the part you're actually selling....not the software. It's an important distinction.

Software licensed (notice I didn't say sold) through digital distribution is exempt from first sale doctrine for that very reason.

The long and short of it is that the license of a boxed game is tied to the media, whereas a digitally distributed license is tied to the individual who purchased it. Origin/Steamworks etc games get around it by actually just providing a code and a backup copy of the game. The disc is worthless without the account which is tied to the individual, therefore first sale doctrine is once again exempt.

I know alot of this sounds stupid, but if you if you pay attention you'll notice it all makes sense in practice. People keep asking why rights like First Sale Doctrine seem to be blatantly violated, when in fact everything is perfectly legally in the eyes of the law. This is how they will ultimately kill the used market completely.

I'm not saying I agree with it though. I think it's very shady how licensing is done, but it is what it is.

This is the way I've always understood it as well.. which doesn't say my understanding isn't flawed.

 

[reallyscrued]

Greed. /thread

Just wait till its pay per play or per hour.

Dear God no...that made me shudder.

I can picture it now, charging by the hour becomes the norm and then when a game comes out that's $60 one time fee, everyone jumps on it like they're doing consumers a favor.


To those who are referencing the Video Game Market Crash in...what was it, '82? I was hoping a similar thing would happen to the American movie industry since the MPAA kept complaining and suing people (not to mention the caliber of movies have declined as well and ticket prices have gone through the roof), but it never happened and to my surprise, they are turning HIGHER profits than previous decades (inflation accounted for).

Anyone know for sure that without all the bullshit bitching about piracy and used game sales, if the video game industry is actually going through a depression of the market? Are they not turning profits? Just because something is very unlikely to seem to work as a business idea in this day and age doesn't mean it actually isn't turning profits...look at RadioShack.

 

[xboxist]

I'm definitely not the one to ask because I pretty much have an innate disgust toward buying anything that's used (except a house - I bought one of those used, lol). If there was a game I wanted and my options were $50 new or $25 used, I wouldn't hesitate and buy the new copy. So I have to laugh when I see Gamestop selling used games for $5 less than the cost of a new copy. Who pays these prices? $5 is really worth the savings to you guys when in return you get a sticker-covered and peanut-butter-slathered game case that's been beaten to hell and back by some kid?

 

[Ancalagon44]

Used game sales are "bad" because the current video game publishing model is broken.

Publishers think that in order for a game to sell, it must have amazing graphics. This pushes up development cost.
Because development cost is now so high, profit margins are non existent or razor thin.
To make any money, they need to sell DLC. Hence DLC is pure profit for them.
But theres more - now that they realize costs are skyrocketing, instead of trying to control costs, they are looking for ways to boost revenue. To milk the gamer dry basically. So they've identified used game sales as an area from which they make no money, and therefore it has to be killed.

Forget that pesky first sale doctrine, or the fact that people who sell games now have money to buy more games. Just gut it.

 

[gorcorps]

I am not into copying software, movies etc now in the mid 80s it was different. There is a rumour that Microsoft wanted the next xbox to feature a drive that records

Now that's just flat out wrong. MS has already been telling partners that the next console will have no optical drive at all.