[Woundingchaney]

If this is going to sell like their market, than you are going to see prices of 0.1$ per game, since just like you, there are thousands of people wanting to sell the same games they bought through packages.

I dont think it will go that low so to say, but yes it would severely undercut retail cost.

The biggest immediate issue would be how this impacts the retail sales. We have platforms with 10s of millions of users, these same platforms would need to market the "used" title. I could easily see where end consumers would be in situations where they would no longer really ever need to buy a game at retail value even as early as 1 month from release particularly for single player games.

In time depending on how this plays out, this would/could push the market more towards gaming as a service delivery. Which is largely where the software market has been for years.

 

[Torvi]

If steam will allow that there will be even less of a point to use different game launchers like gog or epic

 

[Woundingchaney]

If steam will allow that there will be even less of a point to use different game launchers like gog or epic

Im not sure about this. I would imagine we would see more launchers as IP owners and publishers wouldnt be able to afford the overhead of a platform like Steam given the potential of so many "used" sales. Even launchers with lower percentages would be extremely challenging.

 

[Defoler]

I dont think it will go that low so to say, but yes it would severely undercut retail cost.

The biggest immediate issue would be how this impacts the retail sales. We have platforms with 10s of millions of users, these same platforms would need to market the "used" title. I could easily see where end consumers would be in situations where they would no longer really ever need to buy a game at retail value even as early as 1 month from release particularly for single player games.

In time depending on how this plays out, this would/could push the market more towards gaming as a service delivery. Which is largely where the software market has been for years.

Well developers will definitly worry. Because if this happens to steam, it will be forced on other launchers eventually (like epic's, activision, etc).

And most likely it will drive things more into the subscription. You want to play a game? No more 120$ for a 60$ game and 60$ season pass. 30$ for a "game" which is basically half what the game should be, and 10$ a month to play for a full version. Once you stop paying, you lose the account.
Places like epic will give you a "game bundle" for 20$ a month so you can play whatever you want.
That way you "have a choice" but in reality pay at least the same if not more.

 

[skupples]

so what you mean to say is non MMOs will start billing like MMOs? It does seem likely. Everyone else is going SAAS, it only makes sense gaming will follow. Something like this could definitely be a catalyst.

 

[Woundingchaney]

so what you mean to say is non MMOs will start billing like MMOs? It does seem likely. Everyone else is going SAAS, it only makes sense gaming will follow. Something like this could definitely be a catalyst.

"If" this plays out to that extent then yeah I could see that being a probable outcome. Physical retail had enough issues with reselling, virtual retail could confound that issue significantly given there would be so many users and resellers that and market would be hard to stabilize. Physical retailers (pawn shops, Gamestop, etc) typically used a reference for reselling so the resell value stayed high and buying a new copy was still a reasonable decision, with this many potential resellers prices or value of used good would drop massively.

Although Im not sure what this is going to look like once it makes it through the court system or how international providers handle the ruling, whatever it is.

 

[Gunderman456]

If steam will allow that there will be even less of a point to use different game launchers like gog or epic

You don't need GOG Galaxy to launch your games purchased from GOG. Every game has an .exe independent of any launcher. Galaxy is an option if you want that convenience and is DRM free.

GOG games are DRM free and everyone should buy their games from GOG when possible. Additionally, everyone should buy CDPR games from GOG alone.

 

[Darren9]

I don't think French law applies in the US, nor does European which will be the next step. You probably won't be interested in gaming any-more by the time this makes it to US law.

 

[rluker5]

Well developers will definitly worry. Because if this happens to steam, it will be forced on other launchers eventually (like epic's, activision, etc).

And most likely it will drive things more into the subscription. You want to play a game? No more 120$ for a 60$ game and 60$ season pass. 30$ for a "game" which is basically half what the game should be, and 10$ a month to play for a full version. Once you stop paying, you lose the account.
Places like epic will give you a "game bundle" for 20$ a month so you can play whatever you want.
That way you "have a choice" but in reality pay at least the same if not more.

A subscription service seems like the likeliest solution to satisfy both this ruling and the need for devs to fund their services.

I hate monthly service fees.
I like stocking up on games on Steam sales and then discovering that I really like one and should have played it sooner. I also like to play them at my own pace. I probably wouln't have gone back and played the Dishonored DLCs for the first time between Dishonored 2 and Death of the Outsider if the market was subscription per game based and would have had a diminished experience. And I've altered the timing of a bunch of games due to hardware and game optimization considerations. And mods.

Edit: If you already are paying a monthly fee then something like Stadia seems a lot more palatable.

Stupid shortsighted French courts making things up.

 

[skupples]

I don't think French law applies in the US, nor does European which will be the next step. You probably won't be interested in gaming any-more by the time this makes it to US law.

clearly...

as to disinterested, it all depends where it goes.

I just purchased a switch lite, 31 yo... My last handheld was GBC, during its era.

I needed something for travel & the only game I like on iOS is the mechwarrior'like.

 

[timerwin63]

As far as I can tell, this is probably not great news for the industry. If it's upheld and brought to other platforms, the number of subscription-based services that will crop up in place of the old status quo is probably pretty high. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I don't really want to pay a subscription cost for every game that I own.

Subscription-based "games as a service" platforms like Stadia, Apple Arcade, or EA Play are also not a good solution. These give the publishers power to revoke your ability to play a game at any time, with no recourse from you. Favorite game has a low player count? Too bad for you, we're not going to support it anymore and you now have no way of playing it at all. I don't think this will end well for the digital market.

 

[akira123]

Cannot imagine it if this come true.

 

[mouacyk]

Steam employs a DRM. Let it put its money where its mouth is. Allow the resale, because no two users can actively game with the same key. Storefronts just got too clever and just passively imposed the no resale policy on gamers, despite a history of resale with cartridges, cds, and dvds.

 

[Rei86]

I envision people buying 100 copies of a game during Steam sales and selling them for a profit after the sale is over.

Nah, They'll probably still have one copy per account limit.