A Sticky Situation (clarification)
I posted some interesting excerpts on Thursday from an interview Victor Godinez had with GameStop’s CEO, Dan DeMatteo, and in the excerpts Matteo uses quite a few data points from their corporate research on the used games market.I didn't mean to imply that I thought the data was accurate. I mean, it's Gamestop, and any survey they conduct about used games is going to have the questions framed in such a way as to be of maximum benefit to them. In no way would I consider them objective.
I do think the data is very interesting, though, in terms of GameStop's corporate strategy. That's their position on their impact on the gaming industry, and it's very helpful to see it laid out like that.
I'll post a link to Victor's article as soon as I can find it.
I wish that publishers would, just once, admit that pricing games at $59.95 has been the greatest thing that ever happened for the used game market.
Also, Simon Van Alphen made an excellent point via e-mail: lower prices for used games allow gamers to broaden their gaming horizons much more readily. Seriously, how many people have enough money to buy a ton of $59.95 games when all they can do is toss them in the trash when they're done?
The biggest risk for the gaming industry here is that they grossly underestimate the effect of a thriving used game market on the gaming base in general. If they're wrong, it could be a catastrophic mistake.
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