Video game publishers are killing themselves, and they're too busy criminalising their userbase to realise.
The thing is, I can't justify buying new any more. With a wedding to pay for, a baby on the way and a search for a family home ongoing, it just isn't viable. What's changed? The publishers. Rather, their attitudes towards the used game market.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":688936,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"gbunfiltered,","session":"B"}']I used to fund game purchases almost exclusively by selling titles I'd either already completed or didn't particularly enjoy. Now it takes a dozen games or more to do just that. Online passes, excess print runs and the venom reserved for the secondary market has pushed me out of the whole thing.
I'm not alone. The recession might be over, but employment is still low, wage-freezes are commonplace and the cost of living is up. A constant slew of "must-have" gadgets are providing constant competition for disposable income, and how do video game publishers respond? By forcing us to pay more for less, cutting our ability to pay for it, and accusing us of theft?