China Electronics Wholesaler

Buying used games from a consumer's point of view is generally a positive experience: You get a game you want for cheaper than the standard retail price. What's not to like? And while people frequently complain (and rightfully so) about the amount you get back when trading games in at a store like GameStop, it's the developers and publishers who are truly being ripped off. We've heard complaints about the used game market from people in the industry before, but the founder of Lost Winds developer Frontier Developments, David Braben, has sounded off with some extremely harsh criticisms of the practice of buying and selling used games.

In the wake of UK-based entertainment retailer HMV announcing it would begin accepting trade-ins, Braben claimed that used games are "really damaging to the single-player experience." He pointed out that single-player games are frequently traded back in at stores once players have completed them, he told GamesIndustry.biz.

He also spoke with Eurogamer recently where he made similar statements, although his comments were far more volatile. He even went so far as to claim, "The shops are not giving us a way of distinguishing between pre-owned and new. So the shops are essentially defrauding the industry."

Unlike most people who complain and leave it at that, Braben did offer up some possible solutions, such as a rental system similar to what the film industry has.

They brought out rental copies, and copies not for resale or rental. That distinction is really important in the video market, and all of the chains honor it because they know it's more than their life's worth not to.

My argument is that for every game there are two versions. One is personal, not for resale and it's made abundantly clear you can't sell it. And it's made available for something like GBP 25. And a resale and rental copy, which in film is actually about GBP 80.

He also endorsed the idea of rewarding gamers who own original copies of games, so as to help encourage people to buy new copies from stores. It's not a bad idea; Stardock currently does something along these lines without including any DRM in their games by releasing free patches and updates to Sins of a Solar Empire, provided you can prove you own a legitimate copy of the game.

Without some sort of change happening, Braben thinks the industry will be forced to go completely online, thereby killing off single-player games. That assessment seems pretty far-fetched, but given that game development isn't getting any cheaper, you can't blame developers and publishers for expressing their disappointment with not being properly compensated.