Microsoft's Pre-Owned-Killing Scheme Unveiled in Report
Publishers and platform holder will make cut of second hand sales.
Japan, the land of pre-owned, won't take kindly to this idea.
Microsoft looks set to kill off the pre-owned games market, by introducing a system that requires retailers to pay the platform holder and publishers a significant fee for reselling Xbox One discs.
Anonymous retail sources have said that stores will need to agree to Microsoft's terms and conditions and integrate their till systems with that of Microsoft's Azure pre-owned cloud service. Once they do, they can accept trade-ins of Xbox One discs. When they do, they will need to register the trade-in on the Azure system, thus clearing the owner's license from their Xbox One console.
After that, retailers are reportedly allowed to resell the second hand game for as much (or as little) as they please - but Microsoft and the publisher of the game will get a cut of anything the store makes on it. According to a report on ConsoleDeals, the retailer's cut (after fees) could be as little as ten per cent - a dramatic reduction on what they have previously made from pre-owned.
Given that the UK retail landscape is in dire straits right now, and many specialist game stores are having to rely on trade-ins just to stay in business, this move could seek to indirectly wreak havoc on gaming's pre-owned culture. That, ultimately, isn't a good thing. That certainly wouldn't fly in Japan - where admittedly, Microsoft isn't really interested in targeting anyway.
We have contacted Microsoft for comment, and will add more as we get it.
Source: MCV
Anonymous retail sources have said that stores will need to agree to Microsoft's terms and conditions and integrate their till systems with that of Microsoft's Azure pre-owned cloud service. Once they do, they can accept trade-ins of Xbox One discs. When they do, they will need to register the trade-in on the Azure system, thus clearing the owner's license from their Xbox One console.
After that, retailers are reportedly allowed to resell the second hand game for as much (or as little) as they please - but Microsoft and the publisher of the game will get a cut of anything the store makes on it. According to a report on ConsoleDeals, the retailer's cut (after fees) could be as little as ten per cent - a dramatic reduction on what they have previously made from pre-owned.
Given that the UK retail landscape is in dire straits right now, and many specialist game stores are having to rely on trade-ins just to stay in business, this move could seek to indirectly wreak havoc on gaming's pre-owned culture. That, ultimately, isn't a good thing. That certainly wouldn't fly in Japan - where admittedly, Microsoft isn't really interested in targeting anyway.
We have contacted Microsoft for comment, and will add more as we get it.
Source: MCV
Companies:
Microsoft
Read More Like This
Comments
ergo 25 May 2013 00:30
1/1
I wonder if MS has factored in the uintntedned consequences angle on this? Aren't they aware that this will, de facto, make any retailer that makes money on used games (up to and including behemoths like Wal-Mart in the USA) far more inclined to push PS4 and U over the One? MS *needs* retailers for this, and yet they don't seem to understand the basic economics--or the concept of first-sale doctrine, basically holy writ in Western civ.
Furthermore, this will do two things:
1. It will ensure that new game prices stay higher, longer, than they otherwise would, thus costing MS sales by locking out lower tier customers.
2. That used game prices will stay higher as well, having the same effect.
Both of the above will cost MS marketshare, and I very much doubt they've really run all the angles on how they may get a few more first-tier pricing sales, but they'll loose the war at the obttom once word gets out to Main St.--this is not a trade-off MS is going to want because all of these variables will pile up into a userbase-destroying, cat 5, ****-storm.
Furthermore, this will do two things:
1. It will ensure that new game prices stay higher, longer, than they otherwise would, thus costing MS sales by locking out lower tier customers.
2. That used game prices will stay higher as well, having the same effect.
Both of the above will cost MS marketshare, and I very much doubt they've really run all the angles on how they may get a few more first-tier pricing sales, but they'll loose the war at the obttom once word gets out to Main St.--this is not a trade-off MS is going to want because all of these variables will pile up into a userbase-destroying, cat 5, ****-storm.