You might have walked into your local Gamestop and noticed along the walls all the titles that have a “used” sticker on them. The price difference is a meager 5 dollars off from the original 60 for most new titles. This doesn’t really mean much but for your average gamer, 5 dollars off is a meal so why not right? While the venture is indeed popular and profitable for retailers like Gamestop and the average gamer looking to save a buck, it can be devastating to game developers. Recently, the gaming industry has taken steps to try and mitigate this threat. Animal Crossing for the Wii was released with a code that “cannot be replaced if lost” for download of the peripheral Wii Speak channel. Gears of War 2 also had a code that was needed in order to download the classic map pack. These small steps ensure that there will be a loss of gameplay experience when buying a used game. This could be the first in a series of steps by game developers to try and hamper the re-sale market.

-Derek

Filed under: Nintendo News, Games, Used