In the last couple of years when the new generation of consoles were launched, I've noticed the trend that many Malaysians were beginning to embrace the "Buy Original" mentality and shun away from pirating games; something which I was impressed about and applaud.

I'm not saying that piracy isn't still rampant, it's still there but there's been a noticeable shift towards going "Original"; more so on the next generation consoles as opposed to the PC. This (from my point view at least) is due to a combination of the focus on multi-player gaming on the console, manufacturer implemented copyright protection technology as well as the mentality of todays Malaysian gamers has which has made it pointless to pirate such games as they'll lose the fun value associated with the game.

Having said all this, we all know the fundamental reason why piracy is most rampant in these parts.......the price!

Playing these games is an expensive hobby, one that most of us love but one that many can't afford. This goes back to simple economics, we simply don't earn as much as our counterparts in America do and thus have less disposable income to allocate to our vices if you will.

Consider this, the median household income is the United States is around $50,000 (actually 75% of American fall within this bracket). If we were to draw up a monthly household budget for a single or a couple pulling in $46,000 annually, it would look like this:



Notice how much they pay for utilities and entertainment and then consider how they can easily afford a console game or 2 a month if they decided to skip watching a movie that month.

Now according to a survey done by the Statistic Department for the Economic Planning Unit, the Malaysian average monthly household income is RM3,686, which falls in the RM3-4k group.



If you look at the graph carefully, you'll notice that 57.8% of the families fall below this group, and 29.3% are above it. This shows that on average the families actually have a higher position than the median in the distribution, as the median falls in the RM2-3k group. This mean that the majority of the households are at the poorer side of the income group but the income of the richer side is so much that it is still able to pull up the average income figure.
Now also think about how much you pay for all the categories of items mentioned above and how much are you left with at the end of the day...

What's the point of all this?

Quite simply that we don't earn as much as our counterparts in the states do on average and when you factor in the necessities that we need on a daily basis, spending RM200 on a game or 10% of your monthly income (assuming its RM2,000) is simply not practical or responsible.

So we're left with a dillema, we want to play but we can't really afford it.

Is there a solution where anyone, even those that don't really have that much money can enjoy playing these games?

I firmly believe so.....and I think it lies in the used game market.

You see, those of us who can afford these games go out and buy them and have a great time with them. However, once we're done with them it just sits there on our shelves gathering dust. If all of us, the gaming community, "traded" our used games with one another then everyone would always be able to get a "new" game so much more affordably.

For the buyer of the brand new game, you got a new game which you paid for. When you sell that game to a 2nd hand buyer you're able to recover some of the cost of the game to fund your next purchase. As a 2nd buyer, you've just got a "new" game which is sooo much more affordable. Everybody wins.

Taking a page out of the AirAsia motto.....if we can build a dedicated community around this, then "everybody can play!"

We want to build this community and provide a way that everyone irrespective of their income group can have the enjoyment of playing games and not be in want in this respect.

Which is why we've developed SwitchIT which we hope will help to be a catalyst for the trading of games from one gamer to another throughout the country.

...what do you think?

Wow

So much text to promote his own web site. LOL

THERE NO PC GAME ... I want PC game

I suppose you could look at it like that, but that was not the intention of the post.

If been abroad for quite sometime and I've seen the used game flourish in the states and even in some parts of Europe and since I'm back I want it to flourish here in Malaysia as well. I'm a little passionate about it which was why I wrote what I did.

My apologies if the post rubbed you or anyone else the wrong way.

---

Added on May 6, 2010, 12:14 amHey Mr.Achitz,

I'm actually quite surprised at the number of people asking for the addition of PC games. There was some debate about it over at this thread http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?act=ST&f=162&t=1409467.

And as I told the good Docter, the PC game section can easily be added given sufficient demand for them.

I didn't think there was but if there is, I'll be glad to to make the section available.

This post has been edited by The SwitchIT Team: May 6 2010, 12:14 AM

thanks for your effort,
i'd love to see a used game store here as well.

is it possible that you include the demographic on 1st hand buyers, second hand buyers and "further hand" buyers ?
i would also like to know in depth how the trend goes.

I'm as fascinated as you are to find out the demographics as well.

The site is able to provide these demographics once we have many members signed up and start trading.

The cool thing is that we have a trend analysis of each game (available of the details page of that game) so you can see how many times a particular game has been traded and at what prices for as long as its been traded.

From here you'll be able to see how many 2nd, 3rd, 4th and nth hand traders there have been for a particular game.

This post has been edited by The SwitchIT Team: May 6 2010, 12:24 AM

This will only work if you can guarantee trade success and no con mans

I would like to know what you have in place to stop things like that from happening.

Sending empty dvd boxes and the such

its the price alright, but more so, i believe, is the proliferation of modded consoles. If i were to ask myself if i have a modded console, would I pirate? the answer to myself is i still would sometimes.

Modded consoles are a hassle to maintain, and there are some serious benefit u r missing compared to an unmodded console. but coz the market out there by default sells modded consoles (Wii is a good example, 360 a close 2nd), people who have bought it feel they must as well make use of the modded feature since they are losing out on the benefits of an unmodded one. These are the very people that are not persented a choice between modded and unmodded when buying, coz most sellers sell modded only.

if u notice the more modded consoles there are out there, the less 2nd hand games u can trade. Just look at the wii tab.



This post has been edited by ramz: May 6 2010, 08:31 AM

he, a used game store would be nice what..

We have an extensive FAQ section where these questions are answered in.

Basically, we a providing a service or platform where gamers can trade games with one another and we have checks in place to ensure the protection of our buyers and sellers and to eliminate unscrupulous traders from our service.

What we say is that sellers must send their games via registered mail (so that it can be tracked and a confirmation receipt is obtained when a buyer signs for it). This way as a seller you can be sure that your game was delivered and you don't get a situation where a buyer says he hasn't got it.

In cases of buyers receiving broken, scratched, unplayable games, the wrong game or even empty boxes; they are requested to send those games to us for verification of that claim. If we find that claim to be true, the buyer will be refunded their cost for the game.

In all these cases, the wrongful party will be provided with a severely negative feedback affecting their trading reputation. If they were to do this again, they will be banned from trading.

Additionally, if a buyer claims to have not got the game but actually did and we can verify that via the registered post confirmation receipt, they too will have a negative rating against them and will be black-marked.

You may think that just signing up with another email address will do it, but it won't as we also go by the users mailing address an IP.

---

Added on May 6, 2010, 9:16 amI completely agree with you.

However, if you notice the latest trends in game activation requires you to have a internet connection for verification. An example would be MW2 for the PC and the upcoming Starcraft II with their new BattleNet that has no LAN option. You'll find more and more games requiring this and focusing towards a complete online gameplay. This is for the PC, the most prolifically pirated platform.

Consoles like the Wii, DS and PSP can be modded and until they come up with a blu-ray equivalent there's nothing really we can do about that.

However, the hardcore gaming with the AAA titles are found on the PS3 and 360. Sony has done a fantastic job with the PS3 with the inclusion of blu-ray making it the least modded console and I think other manufacturers will follow suite. While the 360 can be modded, the games available on them are so awesome that many are compelled to forgo their modded versions for the original.

I think that having a thriving used game market would make those on the fence of getting a modded or unmodded console realise that they can still have all the fun of an original console (Game Demos, Hi-Def movies, Music, etc) and original games (achievements, online co-op, etc) at a fraction of the price. Thus, making it more affordable for them.

The only catch I see is that they just have to wait a little, a month or 2 depending on the title. I don't think that's really a big deal.

But like all new things, it will take sometime for people to get into it, for the community to grow and to fully realise the benefits.

p.s. depending on how things go, we might just focus on the 360, PS3 and PC but we'll let the community decide.

This post has been edited by The SwitchIT Team: May 6 2010, 09:16 AM

tried the website, a little slow considering the traffic is pretty much low atm..

and a suggestion, i would recommend you to put in the region information and console compatibility to the games, especially X360 games

eg, someone wanted a copy of fallout goty, and is using a ntsc/u console, and I have a PAL copy... if the trade is successful, the buyer won't be able to play it as it's region locked.

Same thing with Wii games, region important as M'sia players are mostly a mixture of NTSC/U and NTSC/J, and some PAL consoles. Which the region compatibility is an big issue too.

With most of the Malaysian thinking I think is going to be hard for them to accept the used game store....

With used games shop they normally take in your game with less cheaper than what you are going to get. So let say your game now GOW3 worth RM150 they will probably take in around RM120- RM130 as they need to earn from it as well. Will you sell yours GOW at RM120?

I like your website but the problem is there is not too many users till now but I hope this site gets bigger and better

The price for a new game in UK was around 39.99 pound. In US i think around $50-80

Used game for a few month may go 29pound or $30-60, where games around 1 year or more can go as low as 2.99pounds or $10 on ebay, sometimes gameshops do buy 1 get 1 free or special price on new copy.

Imagine if the game sold here brand new is rm40-80. I think it would be affordable (still pricey) to most people. A new console is only $300, imagine if it's RM300.

New DVD in US cost only $9.90, yet in Malaysia a pirate DVD already cost rm5. Here everything not related to life essential items are considered scarced.

I think the first point to realise is that we are NOT a used game store and the don't buy any games.

We are a service to get gamers who want to sell their games to another and then use the service to buy a they want from another member.

The prices we set on our site are the recommended prices for that particular used games that take into account many factors such as its release date, rating, supply and demand, etc.

Ultimately, all the members set the prices they want for their game and whoever is willing to pay for it will accept the offer and the trade will take place between those 2 members.

While you'll initially get some people trying to sell a used game for a lot more that what most think its worth, the beauty of having a marketplace is that market forces, i.e. all the members will eventually determine the fair price for a particular game.

E.g. 5 people have GOW2 and they are want to sell it for between RM40 - RM100 even though the recommended price for the game is RM45. Those sellers offering too high a price will find themselves not being able to sell it and thus have to reduce it to a level deemed expectable by the market. Sort of like the stock exchange.

---

Added on May 6, 2010, 2:20 pmHi tash,

Yup, that is my hope as well. This really needs economies of scale. We just launched it over the weekend so it'll take sometime.

You could help spread the word so that when more people join, they'll be more games available to trade.

p.s. you could easily invite your Facebook buddies via our Facebook connect feature under our "Invite a Friend" section.

This post has been edited by The SwitchIT Team: May 6 2010, 02:20 PM

hmmm "everyone can play" that a good idea... simple yet powerful dream... for this i will help or recommand to my fren.
Looking forward for it to become bigger and larger community.

a game rental biz is a noble idea in MY. good luck. you'll need it.

I am one of the hardcore renters. for 3 bucks, I can play the latest games with no hassle what so ever.I am a gamer, not a collector, so I have no problems with this. I am renting games that are not that interesting and multiplatform release, my purchase usually involves exclusives. people like me, are a LOT. we play roughly 4 new games per month, and costs us way below rm50. Jitu unggul for example, has been very very successful in his game rental business. Backed up with awesome selection and awesome customer service, no luck is required. Man makes his own luck, that is what I believe.

Actually, we're not an online rental service

We're a platform for the trading of used games between members throughout the country. While I do appreciate that there any many hardcore renters as you've rightly pointed out, there are also quite a fair number of people out there who still buy games and aren't sure what to do with them when their done.

I want people, those who are far away from major cities where access to these "entertainment luxuries" a chance to have them at a very low price; and its not just a single platform, its across any platform that our members want.

With renting, sometimes people feel pressured into finishing it within a certain time frame to get their monies worth. With a used game, you get to own that game and take your time with it.

It's really down to an individuals preference; some prefer to collect, some rent and others trade their games to get cash to get another one.

We believe in the used game market and that's what we're about.

thats then thing, i was explaining to the dude there that game renting scene is pretty much alive and expanding rapidly

Heh? I think I never explore Klang Valley market enough. Never new got such thing as renting game.

But the game original or not? Where can I get it? If can I also want to rent one day.

I know a number of these sorts of things are available in the Klang Valley but it is my hope that all those gamers in all cities across all states can have easy access to original games at very affordable prices via the used game market.

Those of us who are able to afford to buy and enjoy these games should count ourselves fortunate as many cannot.

By trading with one another we can now make it possible for those who were previously unable to; to be able to own their own games

Fun and enjoyment for all....not just the privileged

Trading games is not bad but how sure we are that the another trader is not one of the scammer? As you said you wanted all around Malaysia to enjoy the affordable prices but who is going to protect us when we do trading?

and is there any extra charges during trading using your site? If your answer is NO, I would really like to know what are you going to get to open this service for us? (That if you are willing to tell )

This post has been edited by melt: May 7 2010, 09:14 AM

remember the popular idiom, "There's no such thing as a free lunch"
and if you have visited his website and logged in, you can see at the top corner (free trades:2)

so the trading service ain't free, and of cos they gonna charge you some fee for providing such service as middleman for trading games

sorry to say this, judging from most of M'sian mentality (everything wants cheap & free ), and LYN is already providing a FREE platform for trading original games (checkout the garage sales game section, and each console's subforum's sales section)
and most importantly, most of the forumer already knew each others, and there's a mutual trust here.... i would say until now, I've only seen ONE con case (PS3 MW2 seller) which is a pretty rare incident considering thousands of transaction are dealt thru this free LYN forum.

SwitchIT is gonna have a tough time to compete with LYN

he said clearly on his site he charge rm3. i been doing 2nd hand trading on lyn for awhile already. so far i haven't been scammed on 2nd hand games. but it requires u to do some research on the seller like look if he baru buka account just before creating his thread, and his sucessful trades. if i wary about him, i will just give him a call and chitchat. from chitchatting u now how geniune he is. so need to do some homework.

for rm3 i guess he does it for all for you. plus u suppose to get a bigger audience coz a portal is more accessible then an uncoordinated sales forum

TS perhaps u can enlighten us how we can really beneift compared to LYN. as i said, i am pretty happy with LYN

This post has been edited by ramz: May 7 2010, 09:43 AM

melt,

ramz has explained it beautifully! (thanks ramz )

We have what we call a Transaction Fee which is the RM3 service charge we invoke only for buyers. Sellers just have to pay to shipping cost - again their choice of what shipping method to use. For every new member, you get 2 FREE Trades for you to test for yourself that it works

We have a comprehensive set of FAQs that would answer all possible questions you may have.....do give it a read.

We, just like many of you have used the forums to buy and sell stuff and as ramz accurately described, its such a hassle to have to do...



Not only that, you have to keep checking the forum, go through the many pages, find your post, keep refreshing, keep replying to ridiculous PM's etc..... It's such a pain....

An important point to remember is that forums were not designed to be used for trading but its been adapted to do so and it works, but has it flaws.

SwitchIT was designed from the ground up to address these flaws and focus on having the tools and features required to all people to trade effectively, safely and most importantly with ease.

Also, if you look at it, LYN's biggest audience is in the Klang Valley......I don't think a dude in Penang is going to COD anything with a dude in KL.

Yes, we'll no doubt be competing with LYN in a way but we're trying to make it possible for gamers across the country (not just in Selangor), even Sabah and Sarawak to trade with one another and remove all the headaches of trading via the forums.

Since SwitchIT was designed for trading and protection of our members, amongst other things we have:

• A feedback system that rates a trader after every trade (even if you forget to);
• A mechanism to protect buyers and sellers by given them their money back for bad trades;
• Blacklist and even remove unscrupulous trades from the system if they repeat their behaviour;
• Reward members with high ratings and feedback score
  • When you achieve higher user levels within the service, you'll get a FREE trade for every 3 that you make;
  • And the higher you get, you'll even get a FREE NEW GAME of your choice
  • ...there are other achievements and rewards too.....later on, we'll let decide what rewards you'd like
• and more

All this, should make is easier for you and have the peace of mind to trade your games.

This post has been edited by The SwitchIT Team: May 7 2010, 10:33 AM

lol. game renting 'alive and expanding rapidly'? wokays if you say so. I'm just wishing SwitchIT good luck with their biz.

Thanks.

We've got a number of members listing their games and we hope that more will join and add their games coz once they do, you'll end up having a huge selection of games to choose from.

It's quite exciting

Hmmmm... buddy, theres the classified section here in LYN which you can post to promote your services rather than here where we discuss about games and console.

I know, and I did post about the service in the classifieds.

I started this trade on console couch to discuss the sustainability of being able to purchase new games and what to do with them after.

Then I guess, it took a life of its own and is going wherever the next post takes it.

the thing is...most of us would rather do it here

ummm... wait...
i thought LYN doesn't allow seller promoting other website for selling their "thing", like lelong or ebay links. in this case, their service is the selling "thing"

and another thing is seller also cannot promote their sales in this sub-forum, that's why Gamers Hideout, Bernard and all other seller thread have been moved to Trade Zone.

I suppose at the end of the day it's about personal prerogative, we hope that our service will be exactly that, a service. We are able to give the gaming community something that serves them and gives them something of value. With the current economic climate in mind, more and more do we need things that simplify and edify our lives. We look to video games to distract us, entertain us and give us a sense of accomplishment. All very good things for our well being. And SwitchIT is just another medium to make these things possible, as we see it

As our tagline goes we're simply making it easier for gamers to keep gaming and thus keep having fun.

What would we do if all the fun ran out?

---

Added on May 8, 2010, 3:10 amActually, when this thread was started no promotion was intended. The thread was started to discuss the viability and sustainability of a used game market. Which is apparently very relevant to the gamers here, judging by the number of interested forumers who have been contributing to this thread.

During the course of the discussion, several members began discussing the website and its services, we felt that we were obliged to respond .

I believe this discussion falls within the bounds of the viability and sustainability of the a used game market place, as our website happens to be an example of such a service.

If there has been any promotion here, it has been at the discretion and prompting of the LYN membership. We thank them for their support



This post has been edited by The SwitchIT Team: May 8 2010, 03:10 AM

no promotion was intended? but the last few paragraph of your 1st post already been promoting your web site as a way to trade used games.

and with the current direction, people will divert their traffic from here to your website. less hits and less income, don't think Se7en will be happy about that.

My intention with that post was to get a discussion going about how expensive this gaming hobby is (if you bought original off course) and how other countries have managed to make it quite affordable across all income groups to benefit and enjoy this hobby by having a used game market.

I then went on to note that we believe the same can be applicable here in Malaysia.

As for LYN getting less hits and less income, I honestly don't see that happening.

LYN is MANY things to MANY people its not just about games. It has basically become Malaysia's portal and is the #1 place Malaysians to go to for everything, with discussions ranging from cars, property, health, careers, technology, audio and video, life, beauty, you name it.

Again, I truly do not think this post will be of any significant impact to their bottom line.

Having said that, I had inquired early on about advertising directly on LYN and another generous forumer has already informed to get in touch with se7en about just that, so I will in fact be contributing to their income in the very near future.

for PC games, maybe. for consoles, no way. I mean, we'r living in a country reigned by modded consoles.

I'm actually surprised by that statement.

If anything, the PC is THE most pirated platform, but you do have a point; that will change soon as activation technology (and even continuous gameplay) require an internet connection as opposed to the traditional keygens or patches previously employed to activate games. Additionally, as more and more games do away with LAN gaming (Starcraft II, and no dedicated servers for MW2 PC), you'll have to go original.

While I will agree that most of the consoles can be modded, the 2 main hardcore gaming machines the PS3 and 360 have a such outstanding games and a focus towards online multiplayer gaming that I think people will be more inclined to go original. Besides, with the PS3 having blu-ray - that's difficult to mod and while the 360 can be modded, all you can really do is play single player games and if that's fine for you - good. However, I do think MS will move towards blu-ray soon.

But despite all this, just look at the shear number of online and retail shops in the Klang Valley alone that have cropped up and are selling ORIGINAL games.....that saying something.

If we make it affordable, why wouldn't you buy original?

With the value of games depreciating exponentially - wouldn't having a place to buy used games serve the goal of making original games affordable to many?

Yea, games in oversea are fairly affordable especially 2nd hand. Or even if they sell new game half a month or a year later.. It cost as low as RM25 to RM100.. Depending on it popularity.. The more popular it is.. The longer it takes for the massive price drop...

Actually.. I really love to buy new games for the game tittle that i liked.. cuz even though its only tiny bit of support, I wud like to add up their sale even by one copy... But heck.. I really cant keep up though... Even more RM50 at a price of RM80 game.. If i can get a used game that cost only RM30 i will still go for the cheaper one for the games I have no confident in... I feel kinda not comfortable though.. cuz i really like the feel of opening new game box and also support my fav game production company so they will produce more great games.. XD But, will try to get a new one if chance come and I happen to think the game is worth collecting.. lol..

This post has been edited by lilko: May 9 2010, 03:41 PM

I know exactly how you feel. I too can't keep paying these prices but at the same time also want to support those developers.

In fact, recent studies have shown how a robust used goods market boosts the primary market, because the buyers know they'll be able to resell the goods at a later date, if they choose to do so. In other words, it makes the purchase less risky and lowers the bar for making that purchase.

Thus, a robust used market can be quite helpful to a primary market -- specifically in the video game space.

Now, you could argue that the source is biased, but at least this is one more suggestion of how a used market can help improve the primary market.

i don't think a used market can help or boost a primary market

the developers only benefits from the first purchase, as certain percentage of the purchase price goes to them...
when the game is resold again, they gain nothing at all
So far until right now, I haven't seen any developers or publisher is in support of the 2nd game market, in fact most of them are aggressively against it

so, 2nd hand games promotes buying originals = yes
but contributing to developers? NO

u are right. in fact developers are trying creative ways for people to buy new and not 2nd hand. things like one time VIP codes for free DLC are examples. In the case of ps3, there are only 2 groups: buy new group and buy 2nd hand group (there is no pirate group). and i think the buy new: 2nd hand ratio would continue to rise steadily as developers keep on implementing creative ways to boost the buy new mentality, while 2nd hand group will be less compelled to do so coz its the same old story - price. in the future when 360 and wii has better anti modding features, it will be more so. anyway, just my thought. i personally prefer 2nd hand if i get everything a new copy gets. but it may not be a case for some games out there.

While I agree with both your point of view, I do disagree with the statement that the used game market "does not help the primary market".

There are quite a few benefits to buying games used, as you may noticed. But of course, there are also some cons to it as well, some which you've pointed out and others not as immediately noticeable. And then there are reports that video game companies want to do what they can to undermine the used gaming market. But in any case, let's just go over some reasons why it's good and possibly bad to support the used gaming market.

Good Reasons

• It allows out-of-print or old games to become available. There are quite a few games out there that I'd still want to play. The only problem is, they're nowhere to be found in a store. New at least. By allowing people to sell their old games, it allows them to become available for someone who's interested in playing them. The plus side to this as well is that it allows people who never had the chance to be exposed to older games to be... well exposed to them.
  
  
• It lowers the cost of the games you want now. Although the caveat is that you have to trade in your old games first. Trading in your games directly with other buyers allows you get a higher price than in-store trade-ins thus allowing you to get a good value on your game to go get a new game or you can keep buying a used game.
  
  
• It's often cheaper to buy a used game. This is the no-brainer. Used games are cheaper. Depending on supply and demand factors, it may even be considerably cheaper than to buy it new.
  
  
• Used games tend to carry a "satisfaction guaranteed" policy. In SwitchIT for example we try to ensure that the games being offered for trading are in the best playable quality possible for a used game. So if there are issues with the game, you'll be refunded for it.
  
  Whereas the universal rule for all new games to be returned is that you have to have the receipt and it must be in its shrink wrap (i.e., you never opened it). Even so, I know of a couple of shops here that treat a game that you haven't opened as a used game even if you've only had it for a week and decided you did not want to play it. Quite ridiculous if you ask me.
  
  
• A Way of Boycotting. This reason sounds a little weird, but bare with me. PC gamers mostly aren't entirely thrilled with DRM schemes that Ubisoft and EA recently implemented in their games. Fortunately, their games also land on consoles. Now as a sign of defiance against the two, some would either pirate (which is illegal), or just button up and get the console version. If I get the game used, I get most of the benefits of owning the game, but they don't see a dime of my money (see bad reason #1, however).
  
  At least that's the hope.

Bad Reasons

• You don't directly support the video game industry. When you buy a used game, the store only sees that money. Publishers and developers never see a dime off a used game that's sold. This is most of the reason why they want to phase the used game market into oblivion.
  
  But as a caveat, even if you buy a new game, you also directly support the store and the publisher only. You indirectly (the publisher decides where the money it gets goes) support the developer if you buy a new game. This is how the entertainment industry really works, even for movies and music........if you want to know how things really work in the entertainment biz, you should read "Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis".
  
  
• Lack of freebies. As another incentive to get customers to buy new games, more of them are starting to have promo codes and unlockables that you can use in the game. Pre-order (which include collector's editions) bonuses are pretty much a staple for AAA titles these days. If you buy a game used, you're not entitled to any of these because chances are, the previous owner used the codes or kept the goodies.
  
  
• The condition/longevity of games and hardware are not guaranteed. The general rule is, if it works, they'll buy it. The hardware may be on its last legs or if you happen to be living in not so clean environments, dusty, possibly infested. And while larger stores may offer something like a 30-day guarantee, practically all new hardware has a 1-year guarantee. Also, unless there was a manufacturing defect across the board or you just happen to be unlucky, you can almost be certain your new items will outlast used ones.
  
  
• There's no point in directly selling games to a store. A store is trying to make money, but so are you. In practice, stores will buy your games for way less money than you would expect, then mark up the value when they sell it. Basically it's called trying to make a living on their end. But this usually is only the case if you're trying to ask for money. Your game might have more value if you someone else wants to buy as its of value to them, thus you might end up getting more for it.

All we're saying is that, there is a market for used games. You are able to extend the value of your initial purchase and be able to recoup some of its initial value for you to either purchase more used games or a new game of your choice. This is as opposed to continuously shelling out full prices each time a new game comes out (and how many of us can honestly do that at these prices).

However, if you decide to wait a little, someone would have got it, finished it and now have no more use for it......but you do!

So, its really up to the individual, how you really feel about it and most importantly, do you think you benefit from it.

Well, cant say it dun help at all.. If one year people can buy only few first hand games.. Then if the second hand game that they previously played is good from the developer, they may consider waiting for it and buy it first hand when they have new games in the future? So, buying second hand for a game u have no >60% confident, may help build reputation for the developer in long term..? I guess.. if it turns out very good that is.. Well, unless our market can be as good as the EU and NA whr ridiculous price drop for first hand does not matter to the producer cuz they wan quantity... whn the sales not that promising.. XD

imo games are cheaper now than ever.

i still remember last time one SNES cartridge here cost about RM200+

or is it last time i kena con rofl

Games are getting cheaper indeed due to economic of scale

Yup, they are getting cheaper. But that's still relative right.

The point is more that even though its "cheaper" has it become "more affordable" to the masses or just a select few?

i have come to realize that "those" people will JackSparrow to the end.

There was once I walked into this game shop called <NAME WITHHELD> at <LOCATION WITHHELD> and there was this kid looking at whether to kid a PSP or a DS.

the mom picked the PSP, her answer was

"boy you pick this one-ah can download all the games from internet-wan."

Moral of the story:








Don't get your mom to pick your console.

Haha......that's one for the books

Can'ts say that I'm surprised thought.......Malaysia "everything pun boleh".

Just hope we can get out of this mindset sooner rather than later.

there are 3 things i know i will never see in my lifetime

1. Space travel.

2. Car Sales Tax abolished.

3. JackSparrow in Msia going away.

jactsparrow never did go away even in developed country like USA or any other country for that matter. is just that in malaysia is quite bad, but getting better. the awareness of ori is higher now more then ever. why? thanks to ps3, and to lesser extend, xbox360.

This post has been edited by ramz: May 10 2010, 05:10 PM

i find the lack of nintendo in your post disturbing.

it's just as bad,if not worse in the states.
only difference is they do it behind closed doors(internet downloads) whereas we do it in the open(buying pirated discs)

Actually, that's not quite accurate.

Based on the statistics gathered by NationMaster, the US has the least amount of software piracy while the most are from Armenia and countries in Western Europe.

I'm quite pleased that Malaysia comes in at No. 58 (but we're actually much lower than that, you'll see why when you check out the link) at 59%.

+1

"U better do you homework and get number 1 in you next exam son!! Else I confiscate ur psp!! "

read the comments.

and this:


i dont need to tell you what site "warez-bb" is
look at the top visiting country.

dont look too highly upon the states..they're not much better than Malaysians

This post has been edited by Mgsrulz: May 10 2010, 08:26 PM

Interesting stats.

However, if you look closely it appears that Malaysians are indeed much better than the Americans......we're only at 1.5% compared to their 17.1%

I don't think we can conclude much without detailed analysis on the stats,coz:
1. Malaysia' population is only 8% of USA. USA has more people so naturally has more downloads
2. Malaysian internet consumption is much smaller then USA. so USA have more internet users, so naturally more downloads.
3. USA probably likes warez-bb more then malaysia. Malaysian's prefer bit-torrent maybe.
4. i understand warez-bb doesn't only download games, it can be other digital media. so must breakdown the ratio further by media type

Agreed =)

Multimedia pirating encompasses a very large scope.

Video games would probably represent a smaller fraction of the pie in comparison to music or video.

so does that mean pirating other stuff is ok but not games?

no la. but our focus is on games. but games bit hassle coz of modded consoles, which to me not worth the hassle. but for movies and songs- i really in a dillema. give u an analogy: if i stumble across a 100rm note on the floor, will i pick it up and its mine? yes of course. is it my fault that the original owner dono how to take care of his money? so if i stumble across a bittorrent site on d internet and download something in minutes (i have 20gbs line ma) without effort, is it mine? is it my fault that the original owner dono how to secure his IP?

with that in mind,even swithIT's link is pointless.

as for the digital media being downloaded, piracy is piracy,there is no difference.

Well, that seems fair since the stats weren't broken down into further more meaningful detail. However, this article in today's paper looks interesting.

Not sure how they're going to manage tracking the downloading, but seems promising for modded and pirated console games me thinks since you normally buy them from physical shops.

This post has been edited by The SwitchIT Team: May 11 2010, 10:18 AM

bad move,IMO.
question:
how do you tell the difference between a legal back up and a pirated disc?

so i have 50 CDs in the house,which i legally bought.
i dont listen to all the songs on those discs,just some.
so pointless for me to dump them all in my car.
what do i do?
rip them and create back ups in a form of burnt CD-Rs.

now i dont see how that is illegal.
but if this gets passed, how will they(the government/police) know that what i have is legal or not?

it's impossible to prove.

bad,bad move.
instead of going against the pirates, they go against the consumers.
at the end of the day,the consumers get burnt.

in the not near future (i am talking in term of months), the pirated DVD, VCD, and CD will be dead! u just ask these pirate sellers, business is getting worst. i don't need to go and get something tangible anymore. i'll just stream it to my computer. luckily games don't fall into the same trap, coz the protection is built into the consoles (with exceptions)

Its, not impossible to prove.

If it ever gets that far, the only way to prove it is to actually show them your Original copies.

In typical form, our yahoos here obviously haven't thought things through.......

And I agree with ramz, the pirated DVD, VCD, and CDs are history. Its now or soon to be blu-ray all the way. And don't believe these pirate lot talking about selling pirated blu-rays. Its ridiculous to imagine them ripping a 25GB movie and sticking it on a 8GB DVD (which most of them seem to be doing), think how much video and most audio quality is lost.

This post has been edited by The SwitchIT Team: May 11 2010, 10:55 AM

In America, do they allow back ups, even though u own originals?

Yes, I believe they do for CD's and DVDs.

For Blu-ray's you'll notice that some come with digital copies that you can store on your PC as backups.

It's not allowed for video games. I'm not sure that many are aware about this but when you buy a video game (irrespective of platform) you are actually only purchasing the rights to play the game and you don't actually own it. Therefore, making copies of them is in fact illegal.

I think this extends to all media, and its to protect the IP rights.

imo ya sure US torrent the most

but you also remember, US consumers BUYS the most games (second hand sales we not counting here ya).

Look at the monthly NPD numbers. Look at how many games are sold over there.

No wonder why any other market than US, all the publishers (all the major ones are in US anyways) just don't care about the world.

I would love to have similar stats for Malaysia but I think their almost nonexistent.

Think its cause these games / consoles are not officially launched here, or is there actually a way but no one tracks them?

---

Added on May 12, 2010, 5:31 pmUK downloading prohibited


Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/...s-third-reading

According to the guy posting the article:
Now I'm generally ok with it, but I want my hi-def tv series!

This post has been edited by The SwitchIT Team: May 12 2010, 05:31 PM