X Sucks - How Mircosoft threatens it's console legacy

Fuelled by the lack of any next generation console news in 2012 (no Wii U, you don’t count), 2013 has been rife with rumours, whispers and murmurs regarding the highly anticipated successors to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 4. Yet despite juicy tidbits such as the prophesised PS4 specs and potential hardware additions to improve Xbox’s Kinect peripheral, one topic disappointingly has broached the rumour mill of both consoles, the rumour of one time activation codes for games.

Speculation regarding one time use of gamers on the next generation of consoles isn’t a new topic to enter the fray in the next generation console debate. Mentions of one time activations have been milling around for years however, as with Edge magazines most recent unveiling of new integrated technology that will provide such a service to game developers from sources with “first hand experience” of the new console.

Stemming from the game industry loathsome attitude towards the second hand gaming market that can be found in any games retailer across the globe. While understandably its easy to see why developers have no love for this market as each time one of their games is put through the bargain bins, all the profits for their title exchanging hands lands directly in the retailers pockets, not theirs. 

Yay capitalism!

The Android based Ouya, set to release later this year
looks set to shake up the existing console market

Having raked in $67 billion in 2012, the gaming industry cant have too many complaints seeing as this is one of their highest grossing years and figures show that by 2017 annual incomes should be peaking $82 billion. Yet the issue of ownership and royalty rights are leading the fight behind trying limit access to an easy picking second hand market.

But here’s the thing, coming from a lifetimes experience as a gamer, the second hand gaming market isn’t the pariah developers would have it seem, if anything its just about the biggest free marketing tool available to them.

Having grown up alongside the previous generation of consoles, I made full use of the second hand gaming market. Finishing school on a Friday and running as quickly as possible into town to snoop around the Game retailer bargain bins for a deal before having to catch a bus was one of the highlights of my early teenage years. Sure, at the time I had no idea that I was accidentally ruining a developing game market (please see two paragraphs above) but my familiarity with certain developers and series titles came through foraging like a starving beaver through the rectangular maze of brightly coloured cover art and stickers appealing to my sweet bugger all pocket money budget.

Before stepping back from the edge of the nostalgia precipice and returning to the bleak present and grey tinged future, I distinctly remember when the release of the current generation of consoles launched and left the bargain bins not quite so bargain filled. Gone were five or ten pound titles and here came the twenty quid if-you-play-your-cards-right titles.  Apparently the next generation game selection had much more increased longevity than its predecessors.  

Back to the future, things haven’t changed except maybe kids are more spoilt. Ten years ago games were still a novelty item. Now they’re a hugely significant culture reference point. Show me a child that doesn’t know what a Call of Duty of a FIFA is and I shall present you with a gold plated Kampuchean monkey at a ceremony in Westminster Abbey.

Bargain bins are still, if not now a more central point of games retailers. Running on sales from brand new games can be profitable, if only just, the second hand market works wonders in keeping revenue and stores open.

Introducing one-time activations has been done before and it went down as well as a transvestite stripper on a stag do. EA famously used a maximum of 5 installs on the highly anticipated Red Alert 3 in efforts to reduce piracy of the game which back fired incredibly as fans and pirates alike responded to the gesture with a giant, perfectly harmonised ‘fuck you’ through both boycotting the game and jail breaking that baby.

Gamers will easily say that paying close to £50 for a title entitles you, the purchaser, the individual who is now in possession to do as they want with the product as the transaction has been made. You’ve made your money, now its mine to do with as I please, a selfish if somewhat understandable argument.

The Xi3 Piston shapes considerable competition to consoles
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Think of the uproar that would occur if car companies decided that second hand car sales were unfair, as their sales don’t benefit from such actions. Or if any other major luxury commodity manufacturers did the same. The world would be thrown into chaos.

Trend setting hasn’t been a hobby of the video game industry. Comparatively not as bad as the film or music industries on picking up new platforms and methods of distribution, but still pretty slow at compromising and thinking of ways that please both coffers and customers alike.

Recent innovations such as ‘freemium’ games and downloadable content have revitalised ways of getting cash from frustrated and impatient gamers and as time goes on looks like becoming a more controversial and progress impeding element in future games (this topic is worthy of another piece in itself).

With a market that is growing exponentially and looking to experience a significant boom in the near to immediate future, such actions as one time activation and almost certainly going to leave a considerable portion of the gaming market alienated and angry.

I mean, if kids are going to grow up not knowing the joys of swapping games with friends to experience as much of what is available out in the gaming market that will one day lead to purchasing titles from developers they have learned to have great respect for, this move is only going to bite the gaming software and hardware developers in their dangly nether parts.