Oct
18
2010
Pre-owned market 'blow for IT contractors in the games industry'
Posted by John Crawley
IT contractors who work in the video game industry have been told about the negative effect that pre-owned games could have on them.
Speaking out after Asda's recent announcement that it is to enter the market of buying and selling second-hand games, Richard Wilson, chief executive of The Independent Games Developers' Association, believed that this will have a mixed reaction.
On the one hand, he believed that consumers will benefit from having more choice available to them, but publishers and developers, including those with umbrella companies, may lose out.
Mr Wilson explained: "It's irritating and disheartening for a developer to bring out a game one week and then go to a supermarket and see a second hand copy on sale – it reduces their revenues."
As a result, he recommends that contractors working in this industry to make games which people will not want to give away after a couple of weeks play, but would like to keep a hold of for a sustained period instead.
MCV recently found that 1,000 more outlets now offer a pre-owned games service since 2009.
IT contractors who work in the video game industry have been told about the negative effect that pre-owned games could have on them.
Speaking out after Asda's recent announcement that it is to enter the market of buying and selling second-hand games, Richard Wilson, chief executive of The Independent Games Developers' Association, believed that this will have a mixed reaction.
On the one hand, he believed that consumers will benefit from having more choice available to them, but publishers and developers, including those with umbrella companies, may lose out.
Mr Wilson explained: "It's irritating and disheartening for a developer to bring out a game one week and then go to a supermarket and see a second hand copy on sale – it reduces their revenues."
As a result, he recommends that contractors working in this industry to make games which people will not want to give away after a couple of weeks play, but would like to keep a hold of for a sustained period instead.
MCV recently found that 1,000 more outlets now offer a pre-owned games service since 2009.