Publishers insist that used game sales are killing them.  Gamestop laughs all the way to the bank with their massive profits from used game sales.  Gamers, well, gamers are torn on the issue, including me.  Part of me thinks when you buy a product, you should have every right to re-sell that product in its entirety.  NOT with features disabled or removed.  Another part of me understands that some publishers and development houses are fighting tooth and nail to survive.  The last thing I want to see is a gaming industry where only the giant, mega publishers like Activision can survive.  The third part of me, the smart part, realizes that there MUST be some sort of compromise to be made.

The publisher’s position on used game sales is easy to understand.  Publishers don’t see a dime from used game sales – at least not directly.  They tend to dismiss the idea that used game trade-ins actually contribute to new game sales.  

Retailers certainly don’t give publishers any portion of used game sales.  In addition to that, retailers tend to only knock off 5 bucks at the most on the price of used – which they have learned is a perfectly acceptable price point for consumers.  “I can get the same game for 5 bucks less?  I’ll take it!” 

Used game sales are almost pure profit for retailers.  With sites like Amazon that can cut prices to the bone on new games, retailers HAVE to keep their margins low on new games, and hence don’t see a large profit.  But sell them your used game for 25 bucks that they can turn around for more than double that, and you can see why they are happy with the way things are now.  Like the publishers, they are in business to make money. 

So how could retailers and publishers work together to fix this?  I have a few ideas that they could try.

Make new game sales more compelling by lowering the introductory price.  If you want to make new games more compelling, quit trying to push prices UP.  I remember when game makers started making the switch from cartridges to disc-based media.  One of the ways they "sold" this was to suggest that game prices would come down.  What they failed to mention is that they would shoot right back up shortly thereafter.  Now I’m not naive, I realize that development costs are a little bit crazy, but games at a softer price point could spurn larger sales numbers to make up the difference. 

Lower initial game purchase price to brick and mortar retailers.  B&M stores NEED used game sales right now because they can’t compete with the power of Amazon and other retailers that can slash prices due to lower overheads and such.  Publishers have to help B&M retailers out, and one way to do that would be to sell new games at a discount to those retailers.  If you let them increase their profit margin on new releases, perhaps you could also work out a deal for part of that used game pie.

Find a way to restrict used game prices.  If you insist on implementing things like the $10 fee EA is putting in place, you need to control the price used games can be sold at.  Savvy gamers will be smart enough not to pay for used games at a mere $5 discount if they then are forced to pay $10 for full functionality, but not all game consumers are that well informed.  Work with the retailers.  Tell them if they want to be able to sell your NEW games in the future, they have to keep their used game prices down. 

My question is this:  why aren’t the publishers working with the retailers to find a way to remedy this?  From the recent “new game only” DLC to the new one-time-use online codes from EA, the publishers are going right after the people who buy used games.  Maybe it's easier to go after the consumers rather than try to negotiate any kind of deal with retailers, but that's no excuse.  

Let’s imagine that a particular store is breaking street dates with reckless abandon.  You decide to head over there to grab Super Awesome Robot Hunter 6 a little bit early.  The game company finds out about said store, and decides to punish the people who bought the game early while allowing that store to continue its practice with no repercussions.  In what universe does this make sense?  If publishers want to see some money from those used game sales, they should start with the companies reaping all the profits – not the consumers.