[citation][nom]QEFX[/nom]Actually it's fairly easy for game publishers to push back. Make the games a lease, aka Pay to Play. Make the game free, and thus no product key but charge a set fee per month. They could even require a 3 month initial rent, which would be very close to what the game now costs. Wait this sounds familiar.Optionally they could make their games suck even more. Bringing out xpac after xpac, for a fee of course, for content that should have been in the game in the first place. Or iffy ports of console games that weren't that good to begin with. Wait that also sounds familiar. It's almost like they know how to suck the maximum amount of money out of us.[/citation]
I think you're overlooking the fact that durability and condition are much more of a factor for other used markets. As long as a game disk isn't scratched to hell, the purchaser gets the full game experience. The value of the experience isn't really hampered. If a car is damaged, a book is damaged, or a shirt is damaged, the value can change quite drastically. A scratch on your car and a prospective buyer might ask for a $500 discount. A scratch on your game disk and most people would barely bat an eye.
Games also tend to be one use products. By that I mean, once you beat it, or decide you don't like it, you rarely have a reason to go back to the game (yes, there are a few exceptions). This is quite a bit different from a car, clothing, and even music.
Many of the other industries that have used markets also have alternate sources of revenues. Most car manufacturers make very little profit on the sale of a car. Service and parts tend to be where their bread and butter are made. So to them, the owner of the car doesn't matter much as long as the owner is getting the car serviced and buys replacement parts. Movies attempt to recapture a lot of their costs through the initial theater release. With music, the artists have concert tours.
Games also tend to have much shorter lifetimes than other forms of media. There are avid fans of classic movies and music, willing to pay full price for re-releases. How many people would willing pay $50-$60 for a ten year old game, let alone one from 25 years ago? Sure, there are costs to restoring or remastering a moving/music, but those pale in comparison to the prospects of completely redoing the artwork for a game.
Games are expensive to make and continue to get more expensive. http://www.develop-online.net/news/33625/Study-Average-dev-cost-as-high-as-28m. Given the limited revenue options game studios have, they really need to recapture costs as quickly as possible.
When you buy used (or worse still, pirate), you essentially remove yourself from the market for that particular game. Very few people re-buy games they've already beaten unless the game is exceptional (and those are rare). You've removed the ability for the game developer to lower prices to match your price point.
I have many great memories from games, and I hope that game developers/studios/publishers continue to have incentive to create games. I always buy new, but that doesn't mean I shell out $50-$60 for every game. I take full advantage of steam sales because I know that the developers get some of the proceeds.
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