MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
GAME Group has stated that it suffered a dip in its pre-owned margins in the 26 weeks ending July 30th. Our pre-owned offer remains the most competitive and widespread on the high street,” chairman Peter Lewis stated. Margins in pre-owned were down by 250 basis points as a result of …
Read More »Can multiplayer stem pre-owned?
A strong multiplayer offering is all publishers need to discourage consumers from trading in their games. That’s according to Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia, who believes Black Ops’ multiplayer is an ideal alternative to the one-time download codes other publishers have introduced in an attempt to dissuade pre-owned sales. Speaking …
Read More »Green Man Gaming to add seven staff
Green Man Gaming is hiring seven new recruits after securing additional funding. The ambitious digital firm is also launching its mobile Android platform next year, and is seeking partnerships with retailers across the world – including those based in the US. CEO Paul Sulyok said: We will be rolling our …
Read More »US: Best Buy rolls out pre-owned
Big-box American retailer Best Buy is to roll out its pre-owned games offer to 600 stores across the US this Sunday (August 29th), it has confirmed. The retailer signalled its intention to make the move in June. To begin with consumers will be able to trade-in their titles for in-store …
Read More »US: Target enters pre-owned sector
American retailer Target is to join the likes of Best Buy, Walmart, 7-Eleven and Toys R Us in offering shoppers the chance to trade in their old games and consoles for in-store credit. Its pre-owned scheme was yesterday debuted in Northern California and is expected to be rolled out to …
Read More »Sony supportive of Online Pass
Having required buyers of SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 on UMD to validate their game online by using a code before they could play online multiplayer earlier this year, it looks like Sony could roll out the model to all of its upcoming titles. On the principle of making online portions …
Read More »THQ doesn’t want to punish used gamers
The boss of core games at THQ Danny Bilson has come out with a far software message for the pre-owned message following scathing comments from the creative director of WWE at THQ Cary Ledesma. Ledesma said earlier today that I don’t think we really care whether used game buyers are …
Read More »DLC codes not denting pre-owned sales
US analyst Michael Pachter claims that US retailer GameStop has yet to experience any dent to its pre-owned sales in spite of a considerable increase in the number of publishers charging second hand buyers an additional fee to access certain content. The company has not seen a negative impact on …
Read More »THQ talks premium online multiplayer, tackling pre-owned impact
Speaking to investors following its recent financial report, THQ CEO Brian Farrell has admitted that a combination of robust downloadable content and premium online play” will be its main weapons against the ‘threat’ of pre-owned games. He believes that the combination will increase our digital revenue, engage players with our …
Read More »Online Pass boosts net play
Publisher EA has said that its first two titles to include an Online Pass – an in-box DLC code that is required to access some of the online features of the game – have both seen higher rates of online play than last year’s iterations. Though Tiger Woods 11 and …
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