Do you buy your games second-hand? Then you are a complete cheapskate and the dirty of the gaming industry. You are worse than any pirate that sails into the high seas of Warez. Whether you have the right to sell the products you buy is irrelevant. The sale of used games is hurting the game industry.
When a new game traded or sold in a game store. That money not put on the retailer but rather hardworking developers. Who spend blood, sweat, and tears on building their pride and joy. The same game bought and sold numerous times. It argued that those purchases a potential sale stole from game companies themselves
Garbage incentives for new purchases
Game companies already use several methods to earn extra cash after publishing their games in the form of downloadable content (DLC) and now have incentives to buy new ones. Pre-order bonuses seem popular at the moment with many games with additional DLC or code for specific in-game bonuses.
We will take a look at some of the junk incentives offered by publishers to encourage new purchases and what options will be more welcome.
Exclusive DLC and Pre-Order Bonus:
Gamers are not new to the idea of getting bonuses between collector versions and the like. Most of these are in-game DLC, such as new weapons and armor, new maps, or various other cosmetic additions that don’t actually add as much to the game. In fact, most of these things you can probably live without. I really don’t need blood dragon armor in Dragon as Originals and I can live without tattoos set to The Trouble 3, thank you very much. As far as I can tell, DLC armor is one of the most meaningless examples of DLC incentives. Perhaps, though, The Elder Scrolls is not as meaningless as a horse’s armor from the fourth: oblivion.
Online Pass:
Now it seems to be an interesting/worrying trend in recent games, delete as appropriate. It started with EA as they introduced an ‘online pass’ concept for some of their major titles, such as Dead Space 2, The Sims 3, Maiden NFL 11, etc. This online pass is a one-time code that gives them access to online multiplayer functionality within their games. This means that you restricted from play online unless you either buy the new game and thus have a passcode. If you unfortunate enough to buy the game second hand, you spend $10 to earn this pass.
Unresectable Game Saves:
Now this ‘incentive’ really takes the cake. Under Capcom’s recent resident evil tenant title in 3DS, players prevented from deleting their saved data. This means that the game cannot start from scratch and seems to be a direct attack against second-hand games. Now, it’s not a big deal in tenant 3D, because this data translates to roughly high scores and some unlockable ones, but imagine if this system used in other games, such as an RPG? As a result of this move, most rental shops reluctant to stock 3D of mercenaries.
What is the alternative?
So, what is the alternative if these incentives that encourage us to buy brand-spanking new games don’t work, or at best are ‘slightly crap’?
Club Nintendo: Nintendo offers some more attractive incentives for new purchases. Each new game brings a card that can be redeemed for points within the ‘Club Nintendo’ service. Here, gamers can spend their points on a variety of collectible Nintendo merchandise, from posters to clothing. There are plenty of items for which one can save. Never mind that some good items require a handful of points and perhaps ten hundred wee, getting physical items for your loyalty is a pretty neat idea.
Imagine if you could be paid Microsoft Points to spend on XBLA games? Or maybe you can spend these points on real-world items, such as control pads or posters? I would love to see actual rewards as an incentive rather than some vile in-game armor.
Casual and Digital Games:
There is a reason why mobile gaming is so popular along with digitally downloadable games, such as XBLA or PSN. All these services have grown over the years, from selling small retro games to fully gaming experiences that are big enough to cry out for many full-price games. I know I’ll have a limbo in Xbox than some of the tricky Kinect versions of carnival games, and it’s worth a lot more for money as well.
This price is low:
The fact is, not everyone can buy a full-cost video game. We’re living in tough times, and some titles are selling for as much as $60, for many, it’s a case of buying or missing cheap. Some games are quite clearly not worth $50 and are reduced to half the price in a few weeks. Pre-owned games are popular because they are cheaper. Easy, really.
Your friends, supporters, organic search engine results, etc. rarely produce the best results following the natural process of spreading the game through organic means. Moreover, the process involved is so time-consuming that when your game reaches the best of the audience, your idea may get a little older, due to the fast pace of the industry. Therefore, if you really want to get the best output for your game, you have to consider your marketing strategy, and advertising is not the least important of them.
Through this article, we will understand how, through advertising, and other means, you can optimize user acquisition for your game.
Understand the terminology:-
If you use search ads and include displays and other ad formats. It is very important to understand some words that will help you optimize your efforts.
The Ctr-Click-through rate says how many times your ad was clicked after appearing in SERP.
IR- This applies to app ads through which users are taken directly to the installed page of the gaming. The install rate tells you how many users have installed your game.
So what’s next?
Perhaps the game industry needs to reconsider its half-baked incentives. See why gamers should buy second-hand gaming sooner than fork out cash for a shiny new copy. The industry also needs to shake off the idea that second-hand gamers are enemies. We’re not pirates, we haven’t stolen a game. We’re just customers. However, the real problem is with those retailers who maximize their own greed at the expense of the industry.
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