Microsoft and Game publishers will get a cut of Xbox One used game sales

Posted by Tiberius Jonez
email at tiberiusjonez@gmail.com
Twitter: TiberiusJonez@GameJonez


I speculated a while back that this coming generation of consoles would be the last, and that the way games will be sold in the future will eliminate retailers like Gamestop, who rely on the fat profit margins they reap on used game sales, virtually overnight. The first step in that direction was confirmed today when it was revealed that Microsoft and game publishers will get a cut of all Xbox One used game sales.

 According to MCV, Xbox One used game sales will be permitted but retailers who choose to sell them will need to use Microsoft’s Azure-based cloud system to do so. This will ensure that Microsoft and game publishers get a percentage of the used game sale rather than having the entire sale go to retailers like GameStop, as is now the case.

Here's how it will work. Consumers will bring their used game(s) into a retailer and trade it in for cash or credit just like they do now. The retailer will then enter it into their Azure system and wipe the game from the seller’s Xbox One Live profile. Retailers will be permitted to set used game prices, within reason, with the eventual sale divided three ways based on a (presently unknown) split percentage determined by Microsoft.

Rumors are flying that the percentage to retailers may be as low as 10%, which could effectively kill used game sales due to the fact that retailers would have very little incentive to go through all the work required to sell used games for such a small profit margin.

It has long been suspected that, at some point, developers and publishers might disallow used game sales altogether, but Microsoft is the first to come up with what appears to be a viable alternative to an outright ban. The move is a very shrewd one as it is sure to draw more developers to Microsoft's new console. Surely, some of those developers will become Microsoft exclusives. I suspect it won't be long before Sony and  Nintendo follow suit.

Microsoft's Major Nelson posted a response to rumors on his website essentially revealing nothing other than "Microsoft supports the sale of used games" and that more information will be coming soon. Not incidentally, Gamestop's stock dropped 5% in early reaction to the news.