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Walmart dips into trade-in market this month, selling used games in summer
The used game market just grew immensely, as Walmart announced plans today to begin taking video game trade-ins across the United States, putting itself in direct competition with GameStop. Starting March 26, those trading their games in at more than 3,100 Walmart stores will receive a gift card usable at any Walmart or Sam's Club location in exchange. All exchanged products are then "sent to be refurbished and made available for purchase in like-new condition starting this summer." The retailer will accept online trade-ins for all games, but will only allow in-store exchanges for hardware. Walmart provided an exchange rate calculator on its website to give customers an idea of trade-in values. As for functional hardware, when including all the accompanying cables and one controller, the Xbox One has a current trade-in value of $390, the PS4 is $375, the Wii U Deluxe is $120, a 3G-enabled Vita is $95 and 3DS XL is $105. Working copies of Grand Theft Auto 5 currently exchange at $27.72, Dead Rising 3 is $38, the PS4 version of NBA 2K14 is $35.42 and Super Mario 3D World is $38. [Image: Walmart]
Valve can restrict resale of digital games in Germany, court rules
The Regional Court of Berlin has dismissed a lawsuit from the German consumer organization VZBV against Valve, for now granting Valve the authority to prevent Steam users from reselling their libraries of digital games. Business as usual, that is. In September 2012, VZBV brought a desist letter against Valve, asking that the company (among other things), allow users to resell their "used" digital game accounts, in accordance with a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling made in July 2012 preventing authors from opposing resale of their digital software. Valve had until October 10, 2012, to respond to the desist letter, or the VZBV would bring about a lawsuit – Valve didn't change its policies, and the lawsuit moved forward. The VZBV argues digital games fall under the doctrine of exhaustion, which dictates that copyright owners have limited ability to control individual copies of their products once those items have been distributed. "A second case dealing with the precise copyright status of video games (coming, incidentally, from Germany) is currently still before the European judges, so the case law on this issue must be considered in flux," legal team Osborne Clarke writes. "But at least for the moment, it looks like digitally distributed video games are not subject to exhaustion in Europe." This was the VZBV's second lawsuit against Valve and its digital resale restrictions. The first lawsuit made it to Germany's highest civil court, the Federal Court of Justice, but was dismissed in 2010. [Image: Valve]
GameStop's motion to dismiss used games class action lawsuit denied
A federal judge has denied Gamestop's motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed over the absence of single-use downloadable content codes for used games, Polygon reports. The lawsuit alleges that this practice violates the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. United States District Judge Robert Kugler's opinion on the lawsuit revealed that the three plaintiffs believed "their pre-owned video games would include all of the content of a new video game." They also alleged that purchasing a used game and a new single-use code actually cost more than if they had purchased a new $60 game. The plaintiffs claim that GameStop knew "DLC was not included with the purchase of pre-owned games, but did not reveal this fact to plaintiffs." They also allege that GameStop "induced" them to purchase used games by stating that its "used game trade program creates value for customers" and by printing savings on receipts.
Gamestop: 'We applaud Microsoft' for reversing Xbox One used-game rules
Gamestop is pleased with Microsoft's announcement that the Xbox One will allow games to be traded in as usual, a spokesperson tells Joystiq. On June 6, Microsoft announced a system for Xbox One that would allow games to be shared only once, and only to someone the player has known for more than 30 days on Xbox Live. Under this system, retailers would have to sign up with Microsoft to resell Xbox One games. Today, Microsoft reversed this decision. "Gamestop welcomes today's announcement from Microsoft about changes in functionality for its next-generation console, the Xbox One," Gamestop says. "This is great news for gamers and we applaud Microsoft for understanding consumers and the importance of the pre-owned market." Gamestop makes the majority of its profit from used game sales, and following reports that the Xbox One wouldn't support used games, GameStop's stock fell 5 percent. Currently, Gamestop's stock is up 2.5 points in after-hours trading, almost 6 percent.
Sony throws down new games, new footage, and the gauntlet at E3 2013
Sony finished day 0 of E3 2013 with a bang, following up on its PlayStation 4 console announcement from earlier this year with some more game teases and reveals, and then laying down one of the most memorable E3 moments ever, with Jack Tretton taking full advantage of the public discontent with Microsoft's Xbox One licensing policies. Here's a post-conference rundown of what exactly took place at the Sony event last night.
PlayStation 4 DRM policies clarified by Sony (updated)
Not so fast, vaquero. While Sony was cheered in heroic fashion for proclaiming that used games would be free and clear to operate on the PlayStation 4, it appears that the reality is actually a bit more complicated. Sony America CEO Jack Tretton has made clear today that while first-party titles will fit in with yesterday's "hands-off" approach, third-party publishers will be allowed to throw some curveballs. "There's gonna be free-to-play, there's gonna be every potential business model on there, and again, that's up to their relationship with the consumer, what do they think is going to put them in the best fit. We're not going to dictate that, we're gonna give them a platform to publish on. The DRM decision is going to have to be answered by the third parties, it's not something we're going to control, or dictate, or mandate, or implement." That's the new word out of Tretton's mouth, which seems to indicate that players like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Treyarch and pretty much any PS4 game maker outside of Sony's own umbrella can cobble together any combination of policies they want. You could say that it's not too different from how the PS3 operates today, but there's still plenty of room for clarifications across the industry. Hit up the source link for the full spiel. Update: Sony itself has responded with the following: "Similar to PS3, we will not dictate the online used game strategy (the ability to play used games online) of its publishing partners. As announced last night, PS4 will not have any gating restrictions for used disc-based games. When a gamer buys a PS4 disc they have right to use that copy of the game, so they can trade-in the game at retail, sell it to another person, lend it to a friend, or keep it forever."
Sony E3 press briefing wrap-up live with Joystiq and Engadget
Our News Editor Alexander Sliwinski and Engadget Senior Associate Editor Ben Gilbert have a difficult task. They have to break down every bombshell dropped during Sony's gasp-filled E3 press briefing. No draconian always-online policy? Used games that work just like ... used games? That price? It's going to be a loaded conversation. Watch it all live, right here, after the break!
How game licensing works on the Xbox One (yes, it supports used games)
You will be able to give your Xbox One games to your friends, but only once and only to friends you've known for more than a month. That's according to the new rules shared today about Xbox One game licensing by Microsoft. All games will be available new in both disc or digital form, and will need to be installed on your Xbox One while logged in. From there, you'll be registered for the game on the cloud, so you'll be able to play it wherever you're logged into an Xbox One, even if you happen to be at a friend's house. You will have the option to resell that game back to a retailer, but that retailer will have to sign up with Microsoft to allow you to do so. Microsoft won't charge fees to do that, but it does say that "third party publishers may opt in or out of supporting game resale and may set up business terms or transfer fees with retailers." You can give the game away, but only once and only to someone who's been on your friends list for that required 30 days. Microsoft also says that the ability to loan or rent games "won't be available at launch, but we are exploring the possibilities with our partners." All of the information about game licensing on the new console can be seen on the official Xbox One site.
Report: No fee to play used Xbox One games, Skype powers voice chat
Citing "sources familiar with the system," Polygon reports that the Xbox One will not require a fee to play used games. Instead, the console will perform regular online checks to verify disc authenticity and ownership. Polygon's sources note that used game sales will continue, as Xbox One game ownership is determined by an on-disc encryption code. Once a game has been sold, traded, or otherwise activated by another console, access to the previous owner's installed content is revoked and transferred to its new owner. Microsoft's Major Nelson addressed recent speculation regarding the upcoming console's ability to play used games in a statement released earlier today. "Xbox One is designed to support the trade in and resale of games," Major Nelson said. "Reports about our policies for trade in and resale are inaccurate and incomplete. We will disclose more information in the near future." Polygon additionally reports that Xbox One voice chat and party chat will be powered by Skype, according to an unnamed Microsoft representative. Recent rumors suggest that Skype will also enable remote play sessions. "Skype technologies are used in Xbox One which improves voice quality during multiplayer game sessions," Microsoft's representative wrote in a statement to Polygon. "Skype can also be used to call any of your Skype contacts for voice or video chat exclusively or while playing a game. Additionally, we have improved the Kinect hardware, from microphone configuration to dedicated audio processing, which contributes to providing a high-quality voice experience whether you are chatting in a game or through Skype."
Report: Publishers to receive cut of Xbox One pre-owned sales
The Xbox One will support the used games market, but how this will happen and who stands to benefit has been a topic of much discussion this week. As Microsoft continues to allow speculation to run rampant, MCV has gotten in touch with UK retail sources who explained a plausible scenario of how the system will work. A customer walks into a reseller with a previously purchased game disc. This can only be done at retailers that, according to MCV, have "agreed to Microsoft's [terms and conditions] and more importantly integrated Microsoft's cloud-based Azure pre-owned system into its own." The game disc, having been registered in the system, now wipes the license use from the previous owner's account so that the installed game on their Xbox One can no longer be accessed. Here's the delicate part: the publisher and Microsoft will now receive a cut from the sale. Previously, a company like GameStop pocketed 100 percent of the used game sale, now ConsoleDeals.co.uk is reporting it could be significantly less if Microsoft has oversight of the market. The pre-owned market would go on, but its glorious margins for retailers would be destroyed. Meanwhile, publishers would finally get what they've always dreamed of: a piece of that pie.
Gamestop: 'Xbox has said that they do support' used games market
Gamestop's approach to the Xbox One's nebulous pre-owned game policies – which may include charging players a fee for booting up a used game – involves emphasis on digital adaptation, and letting Microsoft do the talking. "I figured that question would come up," Gamestop President Tony Bartel said during a financial call's Q&A segment. "Definitely Xbox has said that they do support the trade-in/resale games at retail and that they want to handle communication from this point forward on that. I think what is important to note is that all three of the consoles that have launched have now come back and they say, 'I realize the value of the buy-sell-trade model,' and they have built that into their new consoles moving forward. We anticipate that we are going to be able to leverage that, like we leverage it on the consoles today." Microsoft has yet to clear up its used-game policy with the Xbox One, including whether it will charge a fee for pre-owned playtime. Gamestop generates the majority of its profit from used game and hardware sales, and following Microsoft's Xbox One event, Gamestop's stock fell five percent. Responding to another Xbox One question, Gamestop executives noted that its stores have systems for selling digital content, and they've sold digital products in the past. "Digital content can be easily discovered," Bartel said. "We will actually work with Microsoft and we will work with Sony as they come out with – I guess what you would call 'non-gaming entertainment properties.' We'll be selling those in our store." Customers will be able to pay for this content with trade-in currency, other executives said. In the previous generation transition, Gamestop saw people trade in all of their old games and systems to start fresh, and said it expected customers to do the same this time around. In the first 48 hours after the Xbox One's reveal, 250,000 people signed up for Gamestop's first-to-know list. "There's lots of rumors out there," Bartel said. He later continued, "I, for one, am very interested in what they're going to say at E3." Aren't we all?
Xbox One will definitely be in used games market, details still blurry
Microsoft isn't prepared to share how used games on Xbox One will be handled – which had adverse effects on retailer GameStop's stock price yesterday – but the company is definitely going to be in the market. "We understand the secondary market is incredibly important today in the current generation. It will be incredibly important in the next generation," Phil Spencer, Microsoft Corporate VP of Microsoft Studios, said in an interview with us. "I love the fact that my identity, my saves and my content can go with me to any console I move to. The ability to have me and my content save in the cloud who I am, and I can move around, that obviously requires some capability to know what content you own, associated with you and how you move." He also danced around the always-online issue, something that already caused one public firing at Microsoft. "We also understand that sometime people's internet goes down and I shouldn't stop watching a movie or stop playing a single-player game when that happens. We'll support a tolerance where we can," he noted, but we were seeking specifics on how long the console could be offline. "You asked about the boundaries, how long will that work? I'll just tell you we don't know yet. We'll tell you when we have the answer and we can tell everybody. But we understand that secondary market is important to the ecosystem, no doubt." Asked about the game trading that Microsoft previously mentioned, Spencer said, "Yeah, these are some of the specifics... honestly, I'm not really dodging, I just don't want to tell you something we haven't fully baked yet. "We basically set this reveal up so we could show the hardware, announce the name, talk about worldwide launch this year, show EA and Activision on our stage during our announce – which I think was a pretty compelling point to have both – with their biggest franchises in FIFA and Call of Duty," he concluded the topic. "Then we're gonna use E3 to game, game, game."
EA to end Online Pass program, cites player disapproval
Remember EA's Online Pass program? If you've ever purchased one of the company's games used, it probably rings a bell. The system was devised in 2010 as a way for the company to collect revenue from used game sales, requiring players of second-hand software to pay an additional fee to unlock multiplayer content. Now, EA says the program has run its course. "Many players didn't respond to the format," the company told GamesBeat. "None of our new EA titles will include that feature." The industry still isn't completely sure how to handle used game sales, but at least this unpopular program is at an end.
NPD: Digital game sales growing year-over-year 33 percent
Digital games and downloadable content sales are growing at a rate of 33 percent year over year in the US and Europe, according to data presented by NPD, iResearch and Digi-Capital analysts at GDC. The speakers at the digital games sales talk noted that sales in China are expected to grow over 10 percent every year for the next three years.According to GamesIndustry International, NPD analyst Liam Callahan told attendees that digital game content sales in 2012 reached $5.9 billion in the United States. Sales in the UK reached $1.7 billion, followed by Germany with $1.4 billion and France with $1 billion. Callahan also said that digital content composes 40 percent of the United States' total spend on games, an increase from 28 percent in 2010.NPD estimated that 48 percent ($7.1 billion) of the $14.8 billion spent on games in the US in 2012 came from purchases on brand new games at retail. The other 51 percent was from digital games and downloadable content ($2.22 billion), mobile game sales ($2.11 billion), used game sales ($1.59 billion), subscriptions ($1.05 billion), social network gaming ($544 million) and rentals ($198 million). The NPD also reported a drop in used game sales from 2011 by 17.1 percent.
GameStop reminds console makers that used games matter at market
Used games are an essential part of the video game marketplace, generating more than $700 million in trade credit toward new games each year, GameStop President Tony Bartel told Forbes. Bartel defended the importance of used games in next-gen systems, noting that "recent surveys" suggested 60 percent of game customers would be less likely to purchase a console that couldn't play used games.Bartel wouldn't want to see the pre-owned business evaporate, since used game sales have been known to represent almost a quarter of GameStop's annual revenue. Bartel noted that regardless of next-gen capabilities, there were 100 million current-gen consoles in the US, so that market wouldn't disappear any time soon.GameStop has been banging this drum for years, noting in 2009 that 75 percent of trade-in credit applied directly to the purchase of a new game. Bartel told Forbes that 70 percent of trade-ins went toward new games and hardware per year, of more than $1 billion total trade-in credit.The PlayStation 4 will be able to play used games, Sony Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida confirmed.
Sony patents tech to tie discs to user IDs
A new patent application by Sony, if developed into a real-world product, will make it impossible for game discs to be sold, shared, or traded, by tying each disc to a console or user account. The patented technology works by embedding an RFID tag in the disc, which a reader in the console can log against a user ID. "When the game is to be played, the reproduction device conveys the disk ID and a player ID to the use permission tag," which then determines whether it is permissible for the game to run.Diagrams included with the patent application show "temporary use information," showing that the system can be built to permit limited use of a disc, even if flagged. "The number of temporary uses is within the limits?" reads one of the checks.This is just a patent application, and may never make it into the real world. Therefore, we're not getting irritated about the erosion of rights ... yet.
EU ruling forces digital distribution to allow game transfers, may lead to legal account sales
If you're completely done with your account for a game, you may be tempted to sell it... but doing so usually nets you the wrath of the publisher and a ban on the account, rendering it useless. But that may be changing in the near future. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled today that publishers must allow the resale of digital licenses for software by the user, regardless of what was stated in the original EULA for the game. While the precise wording might be confusing for those members of the audience not versed in legalese, the upshot is that services such as Steam must allow a way for users to sell their existing games to others, even if the EULA forbids it. This precedent could easily extend to resale of game accounts, since the key used to activate your Star Wars: The Old Republic account qualifies as a license enabling play of the game. No word yet on whether or not this will extend to the US, where many of the game companies in question are based.
EU court rules it's legal to resell digital games, software
Buying and reselling any form of digital software is perfectly legal, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled. Software authors – or in the gaming world, publishers – can not stop customers from reselling their games, even if the publisher attaches an End User License Agreement prohibiting resale."The exclusive right of distribution of a copy of a computer program covered by such a licence is exhausted on its first sale," the court has found.This ruling covers customers in European Union member states, and games bought through services such as Steam or Origin. The initial purchaser is now entitled to sell the license of a game and allow someone else to download it directly from the publisher's website. The tricky part now is selling the actual license, since there is no system in place for any such transaction. The initial buyer would need a code for a game's license and upon selling it, he would no longer be able to access that game on his account.The ruling applies to the broader scope of software, covering items such as Windows and Adobe downloads. There is no word yet on whether game distributors will change policies or services to enable a license-selling process, but that would make Steam sales much more interesting in the EU.
Wii U tech won't circumvent used-game sales; first-party titles in 1080p
Nintendo hasn't incorporated any features in the Wii U to discourage used-game sales. Nintendo's Executive VP of Sales and Marketing, Scott Moffitt, told Gamespot at E3 that Nintendo isn't overtly concerned with combating used-game sales: "I don't know if we have a formal position on used-game sales. It is a reality in the marketplace," Moffitt said. "We're not trying to circumvent that." He didn't mention any specifics about online passes or DLC in Nintendo titles.The Wii U's online strategy begins with the Miiverse, as Moffitt describes it, and Nintendo is focused on using its online capabilities to enhance social features, gameplay and "the connectedness gamers feel with one another."Online multiplayer is a part of Nintendo's online strategy for Wii U, but not its entire focus. "Online multiplayer is one part of it, and certainly Wii U will enable the same online multiplayer features that have become popular in some of the competing consoles, but that's really one piece of the online gaming network," Moffitt said. "Our vision is broader."Apparently Nintendo's vision isn't broad enough to include online multiplayer for Pikmin 3 – though perhaps that's a case of not seeing the forest for the Pikmin.The Wii U's output ranges from 480i to 1080p, and Moffitt said he thinks Nintendo's first-party titles will run at 1080p.
Pocket Gamer: How to get Trophies in used Vita games
We've seen Sony's own tips and tricks for the Vita, but as the device ages (six days old already!) more and more will appear, as Pocket Gamer shows with its tutorial that explains how to renew trophy-earning functionality in used Vita games.Upon booting up a pre-owned Vita title, players will get a screen that reads, "You cannot earn trophies in this application. Only the first player to use an application can earn trophies. To earn trophies, you must link the Sony Entertainment Network account of the first player to use this application with the PS Vita system." Pocket Gamer says the following steps will render that warning useless: Go to the main menu and hold down the screen for two seconds, until little bubbles appear on the upper-right side of each game's icon. Hit the bubble you want and click "Delete." A screen reading "All data related to this application will be deleted" will pop up. Hit "OK." Load the game and you should be good to go.This process won't delete the previous player's trophies, Pocket Gamer adds.
