As people sell their old games to afford next generation consoles, there's potential for some real gems to trickle onto the used games market.

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Console Launch Side Effect?

Okay, so we’ve been beaten over the head with all the pretty pictures, and movie clips for the games that are slated for the Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 when the systems come out over the next year. Yeah, they’re pretty, and yeah, games are going to cost a lot, and yeah, people will be forking out cash hand over fist when the new systems hit the streets, to get their grubby little mitts on that new piece of kitsch. But you know, these systems, and games won’t be cheap, and the inevitable bundles that stores will force on consumers won’t be helping matters. We may be on the threshold of heralding in a new generation of game consoles, but there’s something else far greater that will happen during that time. Something that every self-respecting gamer should be salivating over, as we’re about to be staring done the barrel of quite possibly the greatest orgy of cheap, second-hand game buying in years.

With the launch of new game systems, people tend to trade in mountains of games in order to gather the cash they’ll need in order to buy that nice, shiny new console they’ve been eyeing for the last six months. Sure, these new pieces of hardware may be backward compatible, allowing gamers to play their old titles still, but trading in those old games goes a long ways towards making sure one can afford a fresh, new console for a lot of people. As such, the chances for the market to get flooded with tons of used games in the next few months are quite high. Of course, there will be a fair chunk of crappy games that nobody cares about popping up, but after a fair amount of soul searching, many gamers will also likely decide to part with some of the rarer games out there because those titles will fetch a better price, bringing the likelihood of getting a next gen console that much closer.

That being said, this gamer is far more excited about the chance to be batting clean-up on his libraries for current consoles, than forking out an ungodly amount of cash on a new system and a handful of top tier games. I’m going to be realistic about it, and not expect to find the likes of Guitaroo Man, or Rez, but there are a small army of RPGs, racing games, and fighters on the various consoles that I wouldn’t mind picking up, and if I can get them at a good price used, then I’m certainly going to take advantage of it.

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What I’m particularly curious to see is what sort of games will sell when these new consoles start hitting the streets. For a system like the Xbox 360, there will be some obvious hits in the first few months that the system is available: games like Gears of War, Elder Scrolls IV, and Condemned, for instance, assuming that they live up to the hype. This still isn’t a huge number of games, though, and given the backward compatibility promised in the 360, and PS3, how many people will opt to snap up a bunch of used games for current generation systems to keep themselves occupied?

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It wouldn’t be surprising to see a fairly large shift of games when these new systems come out, as those that don’t have a lot of cash hock their games so that they can afford a next generation console, while those with suitably chubby wallets snap up these used games on top of the shiny next gen titles when the systems launch. Taking things a step further, how many people will decide to wait six months to a year to buy a new console if they see all sorts of cool used games everywhere at reasonable prices? As we’ve already discussed, the new systems are not going to be cheap, and seeing several used games showing up at around $30 a pop will be very enticing for many.

Obviously, right at launch the consoles will in all likelihood do quite well for themselves, as early adopters will gladly fork over their cash for a Xbox 360, or PS3, or both, without giving it a second thought. However, not everyone is made of money, and for them value will become a much bigger issue. These people will expect a lot more bang for their buck, and given the track record of console launches, and the lack of quality games surrounding them (with perhaps the exception of the Dreamcast), how can one that isn’t rolling in dough justify dropping $500 for a console, and the maybe three or four AAA titles available for it within the first six months of the system’s life? Chances are, they won’t; instead opting to splurge on older games at better prices. Having a huge variety of used games available around the next generation console launches would not doom the 360 or PS3 by any means, but one has to wonder how much of a speed bump it will throw in front of the consoles after they’re out of the gates.

Just because a game is a little bit older, and not as pretty as some of the new stuff getting released, it doesn’t mean that the game has somehow magically lost all of its fun. I still play games like Morrowind, Diablo II, and Deus Ex, and have a blast, hell, even the original Everquest is still a very fun game. The impending onslaught of used titles will provide gamers with a lot of choices for top-notch budget gaming in the not-so-distant future, which could very well be far more satisfying that plunking down the cash on a shiny new system.

Mr. Nash

(July 15, 2005)


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