Buy your used Splinter Cell 4 now!
Does US games store Gamestop know something we don’t? Are developers of the game already tired of their game and flogging it on the secondhand market? Apparently so, because they most certainly have a listing for used copies of the Xbox 360 version of upcoming stealth blockbuster Splinter Cell Double Agent.
For those unaware, the fourth episode in Sam Fisher’s ongoing struggle to right wrongs through covert operations is slated for release September this year after a few delays. And hey, nothing wrong with preparing for a launch, but already offering used copies of a yet-to-be-released games claiming they are “Back Ordered” and are “guaranteed to work on your Xbox 360 video game console and may not include a box or instruction manual” seems kinda premature.
Found on Joystiq.
Nothing wrong with being prepared, particularly because retailers make more profit on preowned games than on new games (because they’re not obliged to pass a percentage back to the distributor). Obviously they’re not actually going to ship any out before they’ve got any used copies, which won’t be particularly near the release date. If anything, this sort of publicity will probably prevent you from being able to get a used copy for the next 9 months…
Still, offering used copies at least 3 months before the game’s release?
Indeed.. They should suffer the deathpenalty :+
Ok ok, I think it’s pretty weird indeed… Studley is making sense, but shouldn’t they atleast wait until release?
hehe strange bug
if this is a mistake, that’s fine. but allowing people to preorder a used copy is not fair at all to the developers, especially if it’s a good game. they dont make any money on used stuff.
developers are making money on used games, they have been bought retail before. and why should it be unfair to buy a game a bit cheaper?
I think people have looked at this the wrong way. It’s not as if this only applies to video games, there’s flea markets and garage sales all across America filled with merchandise that’s sold where the original seller gets no profit. You should be able to sell the rights to your software whenever you want, to whoever you want.
If a company doesn’t want its customers to sell the items they’re purchasing, they shouldn’t be in retail in the first place.
i’m just talking about pre-ordering, not necessarily buying a used game a while after its been out.
I was thinking about this the other night.
The developer makes money on the first sale and not subsequent sale, unless you’ve got for-pay downloadable content.
If I sold Oblivion used, then the person who buys it may actually purchase the stuff off the marketplace and the developer makes some cash from that.
Perhaps it is not a mistake, as you mention, retailers make far more profit off of used games. By having this ad up, they might get some people to wait to buy the game until it is available used, and therefore make more money.