The importance of used games AND digital content

Hey there, you are among the few to be reading my very first blog post. You probably made it over here by following me on twitter.com as @tommygamerblog. Hopefully this is making it out to SOMEONE real. Even if it doesn't, I am glad to have my own space to rant and rave about the video game industry and nerd culture in general. I have been considering this possible waste of time (to be added to my pile of wastes of time) for a while now. I like to talk about video games, and sometimes, no one I know is willing to listen. So here it goes.

The subject of my first post is, in a way, in response to a post on Kotaku.com that I read earlier. The post had to do with the recent complaints made by gamers everywhere in regards to game developers shipping online passes with new games. This is fine if you buy a game new. If you are "cheap" you probably buy games used from various stores that offer used game trade-ins for in store credit. That's where the frustration is arising. Companies are now charging you to buy an online pass if the redemption code from the used game you bought was used before you bought it.

Moving on from the history (as you may already know), this post on Kotaku's website was ATTACKING, outright, gamers who are complaining about this. I could see some of this posters points. But, it seemed so heavy handed and unreasonable. Like it was written by a 12 year old, spontaneously spouting off nonsense. If it wasn't a 12 year old, I guess it was an angry game developer. If neither of the former, I guess it was some game reviewer who never pays for video games, anyways. I suggest you go and read the post at http://kotaku.com/5881619/

I would like to rebut with an emphasis on why used games are important, alongside digital content. As a game lover and family man, I love my family more than my games. This, along with being sole income earner, has lead me to try to save money on my hobby where I can. Buying games I am unsure if I will like used is an obvious choice. A choice that game companies are trying to take away. I think this could be detrimental in many ways. I have bought games new that I wish I hadn't, and games I bought used that I am glad I didn't pay full price for. That being said, I have bought games used that have lead me to buy games NEW later on in  that particular series. A few examples:
Call of Duty: Black ops. I sucked at FPS games, and I'm still not great, but I bought this game used for $45 to try it out. Turns out I loved it. I bought 4 out of 5 map packs, coming to a total of $60 in themselves. This also lead me to go and buy Modern Warfare 3 right when it released. I would not have done either of these things if I couldn't have tried black ops at a discounted price.
I bought Fallout 3 used, and I will buy the next fallout new, probably on release day.
I bought Mass Effect 2 used (because I loved the Dragon Age series) and ended up buying EVERY DLC. Then 3 months later, went to EB games and pre-ordered Mass Effect 3 collectors edition.
I bought Hunted: the demons forge used, and I am glad I did not pay full price for it.
I was able to make future decision on games, studios, and game series based on my ability to save a few bucks on a game. Call me cheap, but every dollar matters. It doesn't matter who you are, your hard earned money matters!

In closing, I will comment on this "war on used games" (not sure who coined this phrase, but its about as ridiculous as the war on drugs or terrorism). I will compare taking away our right to buy and sell used games and still be able to use it to its full potential to furniture. Yes, furniture.
Say someone buys a new recliner from a store for $1000. A year later, this person takes this chair to a used furniture store, who gives him $300 for the recliner. Then you go and buy this recliner for $600, and take it home. You get it settled in, sit down in front of your TV, reach to pull the recliner lever, and its stuck. You open up the chair to see a lock on the mechanism, and a note that reads "To access all of the features of this recliner you must pay a $10 activation fee." You're outraged. This is the big furniture stores attempt to wage war on used furniture sales. You can still sit in the chair. But you can't use it to its full potential. What a load of crap. Tommy OUT!