Case Against Valve In Germany May Lead To Used Game Sales on Steam

[Scozo]

This could actually kind of kill the idea of the steam sale and may even scare devs off from the platform, possibly?

Doesn't sound great to me, the games are so cheap that I buy I'm fine with resigning their resale.

[aidanjt]

All this talk of right to resale killing steam sales is nonsense. If the publishers have to freely and fairly compete with second hand they'll have no choice but to offer reasonable prices/sales.

[Saracen]

Personally, I don't care either way, because while I don't like not being able to trade on games, I don't, and won't, use Steam and that's not why. The biggest reason why is that I'm not buying a game only to rely on Steam having to validate it in order to be able to play it.

And as I don't expect to see anything change that, I won't be buying any Steam games, regardless of price, or of ability to sell on.

[Kumagoro]

I suppose they could make it so that you got steam credit to spend on other games perhaps even limited to spend on new games and not used.

[Otherhand]

I hope this doesn't go through.

I like things as they are. For years and years, as a PC game player I couldn't sell my physical disc games - they're one sale only, to me, and I have to keep them. We've enjoyed consistently lower prices, despite a slightly smaller userbase compared with the two main consoles.

MP3, WAV and FLAC music has replaced CD and vinyl for a lot of people. I still buy a mixture of physical formats and digital, but it's easy to accept that I can't sell my digital files.

I have loved the reductions across the board that Steam broke for us. At any time of year, I can try Steam, GOG, Green Man, Play-SC and others and pick up the newest games I want at cheap prices and if I don't like any of the prices then I only need to wait a matter of weeks before one of them will be offering a huge further knockdown. This is possible because the games are for one owner only, and it's the best possible situation. I don't know any console owner who has never regretted selling a game, and the only reason they sell is because they pay so much for them first hand. Let's not lose what we've got.

[Otherhand]

All this talk of right to resale killing steam sales is nonsense. If the publishers have to freely and fairly compete with second hand they'll have no choice but to offer reasonable prices/sales.

I don't understand how this logic works. Prices are already phenomenally low. It's hard to imagine how they could be any lower.

From the sale of a full price $60 (US dollars) console game in a physical format, 30% goes to the publisher ($18) and 15% to the developer ($9). The fact that we routinely buy AAA titles for £8-10 within a few months of release is remarkable. It's only been a few years since a time when many major publishers were weighing up whether to bother making a PC version at all (and we lost out many times, too); thankfully the market improved, but let's not pretend we couldn't go back there. Used digital game sales would necessarily raise the price.

[Jonj1611]

I think Steam do need to allow you to be logged into Steam on more than one computer and play more than one game at a time, that is the most ridiculous part of Steam for me.

For instance I buy Black Ops 2 for me and Lego Harry Potter for my daughter, if I had bought physical copies she would be playing on her pc and I on mine, as it is, it's either one or the other and thats ridiculous as I have paid to play those games, even if it is just a licence, but I haven't paid to play them one at a time.

[aidanjt]

I don't understand how this logic works.

It's rudimentary economics.

Prices are already phenomenally low.

Not really. Even mainstream titles aren't particularly low. AAA titles even moreso.

It's hard to imagine how they could be any lower.

Well, that's a failure of imagination. Indie developers are churning out fantastic games for £20 and less these days.

From the sale of a full price $60 console game in a physical format, 30% goes to the publisher ($18) and 15% to the developer ($9).

Publishers get a 85% take from steam, and whatever they share with the developer (if the developer is a seperate company, rarely is with AAA titles) is up to the publisher.

The fact that we routinely buy AAA titles for £8-10 within a few months of release is remarkable.

Routinely huh? Someone aught to tell that to the publishers.

It's only been a few years since a time when many major publishers were weighing up whether to bother making a PC version at all (and we lost out many times, too);

That was all bluster to try to coerce anti-competitive/anti-consumer laws, strike publisher-favourable deals with retailers, and force anti-consumer market expectations. There's no way they were ever going to bail out on millions of dollars of revenue.

(and we lost out many times, too);

Yeah, because recompiling an engine for PC costs tens of millions of dollars. Don't talk nonsense.

thankfully the market improved

The market hasn't really changed, PC gaming is just as inaccessible as always (as in, games still have high hardware requirements the average PC/laptop can't handle well), the only thing that has change is just the offerings.

but let's not pretend we couldn't go back there. Used digital game sales would necessarily raise the price.

Raising the prices will kill demand, and thus sales. If you raise your prices in the face of lower priced second hand goods (which are inherently unwearable, no less), then *nobody* will buy from you. You will have *no choice* but to sell cheaper.

[Zeven]

Truly an excellent post, aidanjt. Moving on, I don't see what the issue is. If you wish to sell a second hand game through somebody else, in this case through Valve and its Steam platform, then surely the relevant parties could get a cut out of it as well, just like with eBay and Amazon. While eBay and Amazon are options, however, you won't have anywhere but Steam to sell your second hand games as they are tied to Steam and Steam alone.

[Magnum26]

I'd love the ability to trade in games for steam credit, so any games I no longer want or play I can give back to steam for a reduced cost (much like a shop trade in) and they in tern put the money in my steam wallet for me to spend on other games if I wish.