The second hand games market is something for the industry to be concerned about according to Bethesda vice-president of public relations and marketing Peter Hines.
Talking to Destructoid, Hines suggested that nobody has quite worked out a solution that keeps developers and publishers happy with used game sales but that the used game market is completely understandable because people are always looking for ways to keep gaming affordable.
These comments follow unqualified rumours that the next Xbox will require a constant internet connection in an attempt to combat the used game market and older rumours that the Playstation 4 might attempt to do the same, a move that has been widely acknowledged by industry commentators as commercially unwise.
One of the popular assumptions that a lot of publishers and developers make is that the issue of used games means that single player gaming is dead and just going to fuel the second hand gaming market once an initial customer cashes in the title. With recent success stories like Dishonored and Skyrim under its belt, Bethesda obviously disagrees.
'Single-player games aren't going anywhere,' said Hines. 'Skyrim was a complete success. A single-player RPG. There's practically a cottage industry dedicated to talking about how that isn't possible or why that won't succeed.'
'No publisher or developer making single-player games ever comes out and says single-player games won't work. Guys that do mobile games predict that console gaming as we know it is dying. People that do console-only games proclaim that PC is dead,' added Hines. 'Funny how people don't predict failure for the thing it is they're making or doing.'
Whilst this is a good point and backed up by the fact that Bethesda has seen regular success from the single player market, it is worth revisiting that Hines is vice-president of marketing and public relations and would be unlikely to say anything to the contrary.
One of the tactics that Bethesda has used to great success is to work on additional DLC and expansions. The Knife of Dunwall DLC was released for Dishonored this week and Skyrim has seen the release of three official expansions since its initial 2011 debut and has encouraged a vibrant modding community to continue adding extra content to the game.
Talking to Destructoid, Hines suggested that nobody has quite worked out a solution that keeps developers and publishers happy with used game sales but that the used game market is completely understandable because people are always looking for ways to keep gaming affordable.
These comments follow unqualified rumours that the next Xbox will require a constant internet connection in an attempt to combat the used game market and older rumours that the Playstation 4 might attempt to do the same, a move that has been widely acknowledged by industry commentators as commercially unwise.
One of the popular assumptions that a lot of publishers and developers make is that the issue of used games means that single player gaming is dead and just going to fuel the second hand gaming market once an initial customer cashes in the title. With recent success stories like Dishonored and Skyrim under its belt, Bethesda obviously disagrees.
'Single-player games aren't going anywhere,' said Hines. 'Skyrim was a complete success. A single-player RPG. There's practically a cottage industry dedicated to talking about how that isn't possible or why that won't succeed.'
'No publisher or developer making single-player games ever comes out and says single-player games won't work. Guys that do mobile games predict that console gaming as we know it is dying. People that do console-only games proclaim that PC is dead,' added Hines. 'Funny how people don't predict failure for the thing it is they're making or doing.'
Whilst this is a good point and backed up by the fact that Bethesda has seen regular success from the single player market, it is worth revisiting that Hines is vice-president of marketing and public relations and would be unlikely to say anything to the contrary.
One of the tactics that Bethesda has used to great success is to work on additional DLC and expansions. The Knife of Dunwall DLC was released for Dishonored this week and Skyrim has seen the release of three official expansions since its initial 2011 debut and has encouraged a vibrant modding community to continue adding extra content to the game.
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