Pre-owned games is something that causes a lot of consternation among publishers and developers. However, Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch (developer of TimeShift and the downloadable game for Battle: Los Angeles) said the onus is not on gamers for buying and selling games, but rather on the game makers who need to consider new approaches.

“I absolutely feel that cheaper, digital games have to be the future,” said Karch. “$60 is a lot to pay for a game, and while there is definitely a market for games in that price range, for many people that’s an immediate barrier to entry. People in our industry are in a panic about used games, but honestly, can you blame people for playing a game and then trying to get some value back out of it The only way for many gamers to currently play multiple triple-A games is to shell out quite a bit of money and that definitely limits our consumer base.”

“If you want to reach an audience that is not accustomed to spending or can’t spend that kind of money, then you need to give them an alternative,” he added. “I think this also applies to our core audience. Smaller, high quality digital downloads are a great way to do that.

“I think the price tag alienates gamers. People complain about $5 spent when they don’t like a download How do you think they feel about blowing $60 That definitely limits our audience, he surmised. “The $60 price tag is holding games back, in more respects than one. The primary problem with the price tag is that it limits the market. Because the market is limited, publishers need to make sure they hit as many in their audience as possible with a game. This means that less risks are taken and games end up being much more ‘cookie cutter’ and innovation is stifled.”

Source: CVG

Crowdsourcing is becoming a popular option from marketers, with entire companies being set up around the method. At a panel at the 4A’s Transformation Conference, the consensus was that the movement is here to stay.

“The crowdsourcing model is very young but also very exciting, said Tim McClure, co-founder of Omnicom’s GSD&M and founder and CEO of Mythos Legends, a branding company, and the MindMeld Alliance, virtual crowdsourcing agency. We have to overcome the fear of it because it’s changing.

“What we’re beginning to see across our brands is that we have to accept reality that the brand isn’t controlled by a few people,” said Charles Chappell, digital and e-commerce leader at P&G. “There are thousands of people who like our brands and have conversations about them. For us, crowdsourcing touches everything we do.”

Chappell noted that P&G has used crowdsourced ideas for several of its brands, including a new Hugo Boss fragrance, enlisting students and design schools for concepts surrounding the new perfume. “We’re trying a lot of things, but at the end of the day what hasn’t changed is that we’re looking for the best ideas, said Chappell. What has changed is where those ideas will comes from.”

For Chappell, the biggest fear is the loss of control. P&G has been executing a push to leverage online consumer ratings and reviews for its products. “If the products reviews are good, they will help the brands’ images, said Chappell. But if they’re bad, the marketer could run into problems trying to manage any potential control it had over badly reviewed products.

It’s a risk using those reviewers as brand ambassadors. It’s an experiment,” noted Chappell. “We don’t know if it’s going to work.”

“The spirit of competition makes the work better. Crowdsourcing makes us all nervous but it makes the work better, added McClure.

Source: AdAge