pre-owned...

gamesradar posts one little story and it all kicks off again. just goes to show what a sensitive debate pre-owned is.

there's three reasons why:
1. it could radically change the industry
2. sony (and ea, and activision, and others) get hard when they think about killing pre-owned
3. despite what people say, if sony decides to press ahead with this, no-one will be able to stop it

the idea that consumers will buy a licence and not the actual software will do the job for sony. it works with things like windows, photoshop and sage. it could work with games. retail won't admit it 'cos it's bricking it, but it's true.

we don't know at the mo whether sony is really going to press ahead with this, but if it does there are two likely outcomes:

scenario a
sony clamps down on pre-owned ps3 sales in the same way it did psp importing, another trade whose legality is debatable. the likes of game and gamestation refuse to stop selling pre-owned, so they are cut out of the ps3 loop.
everyone starts buying their ps3 games from tesco and asda and woolworths, and the already shitty situation for game for gamestation gets even worse. ps3's sales are affected a little, giving wii the chance to pull more or less level with it whilst 360 languishes in third.
this scenario leads to eventual collapse of specialist games retail in the uk, aside from a small elite of indies that includes chips and grainger games. but not gameshop or ninja games.

scenario b
sony clamps down on pre-owned ps3 sales in the same way it did psp importing, another trade whose legality is debatable. the likes of game and gamestation refuse to stop selling pre-owned, so they cut ps3 completely out of the loop.
sony is left relying on the multiples and supermarkets to shift it's stock, but the lack of presence in specialists, coupled with the low output and high rrp of software, starts to hurt the format. publishers also become wary of sony's bullish ways, and third party support starts to dry up.
sony's position as market leader comes under serious threat, with worldwide sales far behind wii and roughly on a par with xbox 360.
a successor to psp is announced, but retail is so jaded with sony's heavy-handed tactics that the machine is sidelined by many in retail. ps4 is the first next-gen machine to emerge, relying purely on digital distribution and cutting out all elements of the retail chain.

of course, we have no idea how this will eventually pan out, or indeed if there is anything to pan out, but if sony does try to ban pre-owned it results in one of two things: the end of sony's dominance or the end of specialist games retail.

given the choice, i know what i'd opt for, and it ain't sony.

cut the shit kuturagi - sony isn't as untouchable as you think. no one reigns forever.

over to ukr...

aside from industry ramifications, idea of banning the sale of pre-owned software is stupid and can only be a bad thing.

ignoring the fact that it is the only thing that keeps retail alive (you could question the value of retail in many ways, if you wanted), games are not like cds or dvds. they cost £30-£50 a shot and in the vast majority of cases will inevitably end up redundant for most gamers - aside from collectors like myself.

once a game is played through to its conclusion, you can't blame people for trading it. even sports games, which in theory provide indefinite play, only last until the next annual update.

the moment people can no longer trade pre-owned is the minute they drastically cut the number of games they buy. that would be bigger kick in teeth for new release sales than any revenues lost through the trade of pre-owned.

sony doesn't see it like that, however.