Quite a few people on Twitter are having a bit of a moan at the moment. No change there. But one of the moaning points today is about Game’s announcement that they’ll be trialling the ability for customers to pre-order pre-owned games. That is, you can order a second-hand copy of a game before the game is even out.
Exactly why this is attracting so much vitriol I have no idea. MCV are reporting it as “the first time that a UK retailer has allowed customers to pre-order a used version of a game before its released on the High Street”, which is, of course, complete nonsense as it’s nothing new at all. In fact, it’s the way many game shops already do business, and have done for years.
When I was about 12, my local-at-the-time game shop (Arden Software, in Dereham) used to do this all the time. I was on the waiting list for all sorts of soon-to-be-released Megadrive games, but I only wanted them second-hand because they were cheaper. Sonic 2, World of Illusion, Micro Machines 2… even some MegaCD games as well, such as Slam City. When they got a second-hand copy in, I got a phone call.
Another shop, OSB (with branches in Dereham and Norwich at the time) did the same thing. I had many of the same games on “pre-owned pre-order” there as I did with Arden.
It wasn’t just in the 90s at local indies, either. When Gamestation opened up in Norwich, I was on the waiting list for a pre-owned copy of Steel Battalion – that Xbox Mech game with a massive controller. No way was I going to pay the billion pounds it cost new. I never got it in the end, though – they did ring me but by then I didn’t want it and the price was still even bigger than the joystick.
So it isn’t new, and why is it a problem? I’d rather pay £10 less a couple of weeks after release than full whack on launch (3DS console excepted!), so it’s a good thing for me. It’s a good thing for the retail too, no doubt, otherwise they wouldn’t be doing it.
It’s bad for the game companies, sure, but as I said – it’s not new, and they’ve never made a fuss about it before. Besides, with all this “$10 Project” rubbish they’re going to win out anyway.
Blimey. I never thought I’d post to defend Game.
