The hot topic of used versus new media came up between me and my friends this weekend. We were discussing the cost of new items versus used and where to make a purchase. We have a store near me that sells Blu-ray movies fairly cheap. I'm not above buying used if the price is right and if you can't find new. Years ago there were tons of these all used media stores that thrived on people selling and trading. Now we have the GameStop that thrives on this as well.


Let’s look at a few things this chain has going on:

1) Money: That’s a given. It’s much better to buy a week old game from some retard for $15, turn around and sell it in the same day for $55.
2) Inventory: They pretty much get to have a hands off approach. They have what they have, and don't what they don't.
3) Pre-Order: Ah the bread and butter. This is referred to as a loyalty by those in the biz. What it means is that they have your money, and you have to continue shopping there. They try to do this in constant so that you always have a reason to goto this store and nowhere else.
4) Poor Staff: The staff are little more than McDonald’s staff. They get paid crap; they have to take alot of crap. They are usually immature "dudes" who treat the job like a Kevin Smith movie, and I can't blame em. I will agree that for someone 16-out of college this isn't a bad job. It’s better than food service, or manual labor.

Now I'm not saying that this model doesn't work because it does. What I hate about this that GameStop has no competition for used games. This allows them to sell used games with little to no discount from the new price. Who guys these games? Have you ever went into a store with the intention of buying a game, but only if they had it used for $5 less? Why do they think every used game they sell is made of cancer curing solid gold?

Not only that but they deface many of the used games. Is it really needed that you remove the paper insert of every game and place a sticker with what amounts to roofing tar directly on the paper so that no one will ever be able to remove it? Another point that I never thought of is that this model is costing the industry big time. Is it possible that all of these retail chains cost the industry more than piracy? I'd wager a fair few more people know how to purchase a game from GameStop than to mod a 360.

I wish someone would compete with this monopoly on a nationwide scale and drive competitive pricing on used titles. That or have GS sell used games MUCH cheaper that the new. I know they would lose money initially, but they would have more turn-around on games getting traded and purchased, as well as more sales in general and more traffic to the store. If you goto GS to buy a $60 game and find the same game on the shelf for $30 in good condition which are you going to buy?
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It's hard to remember hanging out with friends before Rock Band. To me it's like trying to remember a time when there was no TV. What the hell did those people do? It seems that recently my weekends are filled with Rock Band goodness and a compliment of a full band. But I as many of you also have ventured into the Rock Band DLC library and returned wallet lighter, eager to play something besides "Wanted Dead or Alive" for the 500th time. The DLC ranges from awesome to mediocre as expected and feel that it was money/points well spent. All is well in Rock Band-ville. At least I thought so.

I start seeing mentions of new content, A full listing for March, and the ever popular "I wish these were in Rock Band" articles and posts and I start wishful thinking on my own. I start looking around seeing if I can find release lists for upcoming songs. I dive deep into the RB forums and start reading thread after thread on how my song isn't here yet, I hate you guys because you won't include my song choice, I'll never download any song until you release some Dan Fogelberg, and so on. The posts went onto the more bizarre including one that cited "I don't like rock, so I hate all of this crap DLC!" This floored me. A person who doesn't like rock music buys a game called rock band where you play rock music and then complains because the game and DLC is all rock music.

Would everyone prefer that Harmonix/MTV gave you the finger on DLC and instead decided that DLC hurts sales of the next game, stops, and only offers the sequel in full bundle at the retail price of $169.99? Do we have to continue reading how very disappointed you are in this week's DLC selection? Does every emotional response require a post on the internet? It might just be me being paranoid, but I wonder if the constant complaining wouldn't make someone take a look and go, "You know what, this just isn't worth the trouble for the money." and stop doing it. I did see the "You guys rock!" posts from the fans of DLC, but the retardation of the opposition was overwhelming.

I wouldn't be surprised if the next headline you read was "Dumbass sues Harmonix/MTV over "n00b suck gayballs" Rock Band DLC.