That mission pack from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 taking up too much space on your hard drive? Well GameStop might just want to pay you for that, in the future, at least.
Microsoft Execs Agree On “Used” DLC Sales.
At the GameStop Expo 2014, Executive Vice President Mike Hogan spoke with Ars Technica about the company’s future. Hogan talked about the prospect of selling and buying used digital content, saying he was “interested in pursuing that.” He went on to say that “If the consumer wants it, and it provides value, then it will happen over time.”
Jason Cochran, Senior VP of Pre-Owned Business, also supported the idea. Cochran even went so far as to say the company could work with current vendors partners and publishers to use GameStop’s sales model (buy/sell/trade) in the digital space. “The possibilities are endless,” he said in the interview.
While Hogan know there isn’t a system in place to accommodate this, he did mention instances where this type of transaction did exist. “Think of World of Warcraft. There’s no fundamental or technological reason why that couldn’t happen.” He’s referencing the in-game auction houses in which digital game goods are traded for in-game currency, Blizzard also attempted a real world auction house in Diablo III which traded the goods for real cash.
It all works in a digital theory, but the question becomes can it work for DLC’s?
GameStop seems to think so. They have even mentioned being in talks with developers like Valve, who runs the digital market Steam, Sony, and Microsoft. While Sony declined to comment, Microsoft spoke about this possibility:
“When a game is digitally purchased, the license for that game is associated with the user that purchased it. There is currently no means for that user to relinquish the license and sell or give it to another user or intermediary. We believe in digital distribution on Xbox and are proud to offer gamers a variety of ways to purchase and experience their games, but have nothing to share on the potential of trading and reselling DLC at this time.”
Response from the public has been mixed at best.
With consumers being considered in this decision, it’s probably good to get an idea of how they feel. Some are skeptical that this idea worth pursuing, while others are just plain confused. A handful of gamers have commented, questioning how GameStop even fit in all this:
While this is all talk from GameStop, it doesn’t take away the merit of possibility. This quote from September 2013 by Xbox Director Albert Penello, proves GameStop wasn’t the only one thinking of this idea.
“I think we need to do that. That has to be part of the experience,” he said in an interview regarding plans to support trading, loaning, and reselling of digital games down the road.
Do you feel like it’s a good idea or just another attempt to get your cash? Let me know how you feel about this new possibility in the Digital Era.
