I am going to receive a lot of hate for this, but I really have no problem with us losing used games. Yes, the option of having used games has been great to me and countless other of gamers who don't have the 60 bucks to spend on a brand new title. But considering the rumors that sprung from the news of the new Xbox and Playstation, are we really going to miss them?
Think about this, the PC market hasn’t been hurt by the lack of used games. Steam, a digital distribution service ran by Valve, actually counterbalances the lack of used games with deals almost every month. Just last Christmas, Saints Row: The Third was on sale for $24.99 (as of this writing it is currently $49.99 on Steam).
Will we miss borrowing games from our friends and playing them from start to finish? Absolutely, but if you really want to see how a game plays just download a demo. Chances are, one exists. Gears of War 3, Dead Space 2, Uncharted3 and Mass Effect 3 all had demos last year. Other AAA titles that didn’t have demos, we bought anyway. Out of Modern Warfare 3, Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Batman: Arkham City, I would bet that some of you reading this bought at least two of these games.
Another question I have to ask is what are you really saving by buying used games? Is the five dollar markdown actually it worth it when a new copy can support the developers of the new "it" game?
Used games to me aren’t a big deal and I know that some of us just don’t have it like that. Trust me, I still don’t but I chose to buy new over used, just because I know the savings aren't big enough to really make a difference. Now, with cloud gaming and digital distribution, in about five years, used games won’t even be a thing anymore.
Even with all of this said, it still doesn't give the publishers a free pass for them to charge us whatever they want for their new games, especially if they are turning to the download only method. As a matter of fact, they should follow the same plan that Steam has followed since Valve came into this market. Just a few words of advice for the big timers, if you are not going to allow used games to run on future consoles that's one thing, just respect our money by offering better deals. Otherwise, don't be surprised by the backlash.
