There have been reports that the next Xbox will block consumers from playing used games on the system. Matthew Karch, CEO of Saber Interactive (which built the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and is developing Inversion), thinks a new approach is needed.
“I don’t think we should prevent people from playing used games. I understand why they would want to do it, but I think the approach should be different,” said Karch. “As long as games are distributed on physical medium as physical goods, players should have the right to buy and sell them.”
“$60 is a lot to pay for a game, and if a player buys a dud and is stuck with it, then that’s just not fair to force him to keep it. If people buy Inversion and it’s not for them, then why should they be forced to turn it into a drink coaster ” he added. “Publishers feel that reviewers have too much control now, and if games can’t be traded, then reviews will become gospel. This doesn’t serve anyone’s interest. For me the approach is to bring the cost of games down and to sell them as digital content where they can’t be bought and sold. If someone pays $15 for a game, then it’s less painful if they need to keep it.”
“Last time I spoke about this, some people misconstrued my comments to imply that I didn’t think that games should be ‘full-length’. This isn’t the way I feel about it,” he noted. “A $60 game has about $30 of waste in it in getting the game to retail. I really believe that with digital distribution, you can get that same full-length experience for $30.”
“With Inversion (or games like Battlefield or Gears of War), for example, you could break that experience into two components – single-player and multiplayer – and sell them for $15 each or sell them combined for $30. If someone spends $15, then the trade-in value would be minimal anyway even if it were permissible. I think that’s the way to go, lower the costs for the same access by bringing them to market digitally. Then a no-used solution is fair,” he concluded.
Source: CVG {link no longer active}
