Breaking it Down

One more update on the case on used games has come to light, in form of an article here written by Soren Johnson, one of the designers for Civilization III and IV (excellent games where the player chooses a civilization from ancient history and guides them through the ages).

One point that he brings up is a very valid one, the point of breaking up game sales similar to the movie industry. In the movie industry, one movie leads to a long term supply of cash. First, there is the theater release, followed by the DVD release, then the network television release, then the cheap DVD release near supermarket checkouts, followed by the anniversary edition, followed by...you get the idea.

Soren makes the point that the games industry is extremely poor at this type of work. essentially, there are only two game sale points in this industry: new and used.

I see this as an opportunity for growth. How many have an old X-box or an old Gamecube sitting around somewhere that they no longer use (OK, granted the Wii plays Gamecube games, but still)? Why doesn't the industry branch out in a new direction? Personally, I'd like too spend $10 on an old classic Gamecube/X-box game that I found at the checkout of my local Wal-mart. If they can pump out cheap movies on DVDs they can do the same with games. It would not be difficult, and it would be an easy way to create a small sub-market out of all those old systems lying around with classic games available for them.

This is one place however, that players can only influence through sales and writing to their favorite developer. Lets get on it people!