Seach Independent Gamer Blog

Monday, October 18, 2010

Take 2 announce $10 pricing plan for used games.

Take 2 follows EA and THQ by including online code.



New EA and THQ games require a code to play online if you purchase new games. This shouldn't be news at all but Take 2 have recently announced that it will follow suit by charging a fee for used games to play online. These move is made in order for companies to get in on the used game market which is being dominated by GameStop which records record profit from used games.

As for GameStop, the company does not charge less for used games that require the code. If the game costs $60 and someone trades it in GameStop will charge from $45 to $55 for used game plus 10% off if you have an edge card. Of course sometimes used games will cost less compared to buying new. Madden NFL 2011 costs $59.99 with a used version going for $42.99. $52.99 with the online code which GameStop also sells and is located next to the used game section.

Other companies have praised the practice and chances are we'll see them following suit in order to make a buck off used games.

While I think that this is a stupid system it does make sense. GameStop makes profit from games purchased at $25 that are new and sells them for $45 to $55 making an easy $20 to $35 profit. Sometimes they will pay only a few dollars for a game and sell it for $30 because the game is so rare. Also they don't seem to care whether the game has a case or not. If you walked into a gamestop store you will see what I mean.

Where the code doesn't make any sense though is in games like Greenday Rockband Plus Which if bought used you will have to pay $10 to transfer the songs, $10 to play online, and $10 for the DLC songs from the 21st Century Breakdown Album.

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