According to a blog post over at ConsoleDeals.co.uk, a site that compares videogame pricing, Microsoft “intends to charge up to £35 for an additional license for a second hand game” citing a “senior employee at one of the UK’s largest video game retailers” as the source.
This suggests that pre-owned games will retail at a much higher price than they normally do, because the retailer simply won’t have room for margin given the £35 license fee.
As the blog says, customers are used to getting pre-owned games at around 50% of the regular price of a new, sealed version, although that obviously varies depending on the outlet and the game.
We covered how the Xbox One ‘game fee’ works a couple of days back. It was assumed then that the re-licensing fee would actually be the whole price of the game as new, so if this £35 figure is true, then that’s actually better news, assuming the rest simply isn’t passed onto the customer.
That said, how does that value change as the value of the game decreases over time? Videogames rarely hold their launch pricing past a few weeks in this current market, and if it’s cheaper to grab a new game for £25 in a sale surely the £35 re-sale value doesn’t hold any water.
We reached out to the site in question for clarification on the source of the leak but they were unable to name any individual or outlet on the record.
YOURMUMANDME
Surely if the publisher is always receiving 1st and 2nd hand profit the overall price of titles should drop to ensure customer satisfaction doesn’t plummet?
hazelam
it should, but it won’t.
double-o-dave
It wouldn’t surprise if Microsoft announce you need to get a registered electrician to plug your new Xbox into the mains before it works… A Microsoft Registered Electrician.
Alos88
This could cripple the industry, and will most likely ensure that the “long tail” for console games could shrink to next to nothing.
If Sony make the same move, I’m jumping ship to Wii U, and I never thought I’d say that.
DirtyHabit
I know this is all Xbox, but are we sure Sony aren’t going to put the same/similar model in place?
If Microsoft steamroller on and get away with it why wouldn’t Sony?
My other concern would be that the high preowned prices will bolster the new release prices so the retailers can keep the two costs as far apart as poss. i.e make the preowned games look like more of a bargain.
spooner_22
This is what I’m worried about. But I’m hoping deep down that Sony are looking at this and seeing the feedback from it and laughing to themselves…hopefully if they have got the same scheme going on, they will have enough time to change it.
Having said that, if they think they will make more profit this way, then they’ll do it.
xdarkmagician
thats what I was thinking too. Amazon is taking PS4 preorder games at $99.99, so that would make buying a used game next gen about what it costs to buy new this gen. which when you think about it sounds like something a business would do. Turn a used sale into the same profit as a new sale.
Broonba
Speaking personally, I’m pretty sure that Sony won’t have any scheme to try and stop you from buying second-hand games. This is only MY opinion mind you.