There's a Microsoft survey doing the rounds that proposes the idea of "selling back" digital games for store credit. In the questionnaire, it hypothesises a potential scenario where you could essentially relinquish rights to any of the non-physical games stored on your hard drive in return for 10 per cent of the purchase price back. But if this was brought to the PlayStation 4, is it something that you'd use?
On the one hand, the "trade in" value seems low; a $60 purchase would net you just $6, while a cheaper digital download at $15 would see you score just $1.50 for your troubles. But when you consider that there's no way of getting money back from old downloadable games right now, optimists may argue that something is better than nothing.
Of course, the fact that there's no way to trade in digital games at the present means that – PlayStation Plus freebies aside – we all own them in perpetuity, which has its advantages; this author recently downloaded PixelJunk Eden to his PlayStation 3 without issue, for example. However, there are no doubt many PlayStation Network titles that you own which you never, ever intend to play again.
And in those instances, wouldn't it be worth "selling them back" and earning a little boost to your PlayStation wallet in order to fund future purchases? To be honest, we're torn – and it's not even clear how a system like this would actually work. But assuming that it would, is it something that you'd take advantage of? And how much cash back would you expect? Let us know in the poll below.
Would you trade in your PSN games for credit? (273 votes)
- Yes, I’d use this regularly
- Sure, but only certain titles
- It would depend how much I got
- I’m really not sure, y’know
- No way, I’d never do this
Please login to vote in this poll.
How much credit would you expect to get back? (261 votes)
- I’d honestly be happy with 10 per cent
- I’d expect at least 25 per cent, in truth
- Personally, I’d want 50 per cent cash back
- I’d only do this if I got 75 per cent or more
- I’ve already told you: I'm not interested
Please login to vote in this poll.
Comments 65
10% is not even worths it! I will only consider it for at least 50%
If it was a game that I'd never be touching again, then sure. Would even be happy with 10% of the original price. Better than have it sit there in my library for no reason.
Would be nice to have the option.
Like @ShogunRok said if it was a game I'd never touch again I'd take the 10%.
I'd like it if they allowed us to sell our digital games amongst other players and give Sony or whoever a share, I doubt it would happen but it would be a nice option which could convince a lot of people to switch to digital over physical.
I tend to be with @ShogunRok here. I'd only ever trade in games that I never plan to play again, and 10 per cent is better than it being in my library for no real reason.
I'd put that credit towards future purchases, so it would make sense from Sony's perspective, too. Just not sure how this would work with regards to the developers, though. I doubt they'd be happy having to give money back, but I can't think of another way in which this would work.
It's an odd concept. What's in it for them? With a physical game, you trade it in and they re-sell the game at a small discount for a profit. But in this case there's nothing for them to resell. Just a license for access to software which is already available to all. It's madness I tell you!
@RawShark Yeah, exactly - I'm not sure how the model would work at all. Interesting topic to think about, though.
@get2sammyb well if it was Sony or MS paying you the 10% then it would really just be like a discount on your next digital purchase, which I'd say they'd prefer people to be purchasing from their stores and not GameStop etc.
I think it be great I do it around 25-50%.They could after you turn it in thhey remove it from your system anndd downloaded lisst sso you can not redownload.
@itshoggie Sure, that makes sense in the context of a single game. But if someone was to trade in tens of games at once, suddenly it's a lot for Sony/Microsoft to have to pod out.
Another thing as well, would it be 10% from the price you paid, original price or current?
I wouldn't mind getting 10% for my FIFA 16 and use the €7 or whatever on '17
@Grawlog Agree completely - more competetive digital marketplace would mean I would invest more in digital only sales and not care as much about refunds. Now I only tend to buy digital only games since I can get physical releases cheaper.
As a physical only gamer for the most part, I can bring a game to GameStop for much much more than $6. I would not be swayed buy digitally unless they were at least competitive with GameStop. $15-20 back depending on the game seems fair to me.
Personally I think its a good idea. It could encourage more digital sales if people know that they can trade them in afterwards. I do think though that 10% may not seem worth it but its better than nothing and being 'stuck' with a game you no longer want, play and can't sell/trade etc. How it would work with IGC/GwG games I don't know - probably can't sell them as the licence is 'temporary' and linked to your PS+/Gold subscription status.
I think maybe a 'sliding' scale though would be fairer for the gamers. Games within say 2 months of purchase get 75%, 2months-6months get 60%, 6months to a year get 50%, over a year get 25% of their 'current' digital retail value.
I guess 10% though takes into consideration the fact that MS/Sony get 'nothing' out of the deal - its not like they can sell the game 2nd hand to someone else. Its still better than nothing but it doesn't seem fair to gamers. I think people should be able to sell their 'licence' to play games bought digitally - if not to others, then at least to PSN/Live Store. I don't 'trade' my games and don't buy digital games in general.
It would be interesting for games that used to be digital only like Zombi or Resident Evil.
@Bananaman678 In my experience, Gamestop really gives little money back...unless you bring back the "hot" titles of the moment, it's even lamer than CEX in the Uk. Maybe it is better in the US.
a trade in option would be nice but 10% seams a bit low, maybe 15% or 20%
12.5% percent and you got a deal.
We dont get anything now so 10% is good, 1% and you can have surgeon simulator back.
Yes and I'd be happy with 10% of the 'full' price back, not 10% of the price I purchased it at.
@Melucine This is why I don't even trade in games that I will likely never play again. The pittance that they want to give you for it makes it totally not worth it (and 10% is an insult, though I can see why it won't be cheap, they don't 'resell' your copy, or maybe they do, if they get a license back and don't have to pay the publisher again for your copy....). I would rather keep it on the off chance that a friend or family member wants to borrow it, than sell it for next to nothing.
I'd sell them back my PS+ games for sure!
The problem with digital games is the sense of ownership, let's say that PSN goes away then what happens to all the games you bought? At the moment an all digital future hands too much power to developers and publishers and consumers need a bit of a kick back. Personally I'd rather have an automated refund system similar to Steam.
@thedevilsjester
For me 10% is an insult, especially for retail games. If I really don't want a game, I prefer to just exchange it with an other person, not a shop, much better deals like this.
I love having the option to trade in games, I'd only use Cex though as GameStop are just rip offs with what they offer ya. I remember when I was flogging off my 360 to make cash to get a PS4 and Cex gave me €110 for about 6-7 games and a few were quite old as well.
I rarely buy games day one unless it's a game I really want, other wise I know I can pick up newly released games over here for 15-20€ cheaper a week or two after it comes out from an advert app, which I can sell on again myself and make money back off the game.
And that's the main thing for me that digital lacks, even though it's only 10% at least it's something.
I would want the ability to gift the game instead then to sell it.
Even nicer would be the ability to remove a plus game during a sale in order to purchase a game you would like to keep without the dwindling value of the PlayStation Plus service (gone are the better instant game offerings and higher plus discounts during sales)
The credit can't be used anywhere else except the Playstation store so 50% is reasonable seeing as they will get the money back from whatever you purchase regardless. I would enjoy having this as an option, there are a few games I bought from the store that I honestly don't play anymore.
What would be nice is if I could get 10% credit for psplus games that I wanted to trade in. A few of those are the only digital games I will never touch again. It's actually not a bad idea to allow digital trade ins. That is one of the big sticking points for people who prefer physical copies like me. A game like a Call of DUTY that I only play for the campaign a few times I always trade back in. I got almost 30 bucks at CoD at the time I traded it in and only paid about 50 used. If Sony allowed this they could get even more to convert from physical to digital.
What's in it for them?
I think there is a way to make this system work. Maybe whenever someone trades in a game, a "used" version of the game license could be added to the PS Store for sale. The used version would cost slightly less (just like a physical used game), but there would be a limited "pool" of used game licenses based on the number of people who traded their game in.
A few cheaper licenses could provoke more sales overall. And the plus side of people buying used copies digitally too, is that the money would still go to the devs, publishers, and Sony, something that doesn't happen when people buy a used game at retail. So some extra sales on the "used" digital games could be enough to offset the costs of having to pay people for their game trade-ins.
This would make people more open to taking a risk on buying digital games. so I think it could actually profit Sony.
But 10% is a joke. I'd rather keep a junk game in the off chance I'll someday feel in the mood to play it, rather than getting a mere dollar or two.
@FlaygletheBagel that sounds really dumb. I'm sorry for being so blunt, but it's true.
Realistically I think 25% is a fair number for both parties. We can trade in fewer games to get a new one, instead of wiping out half our library for ONE new release..
I'd pay Sony 10% of the value of the demos sitting around on my PS4's library just to get them out of there.
10% just makes this Ntineod's Wii U's Digital Deluxe Promotion, only in reverse.
For those who missed it, when you bought a "Deluxe" Wii U you got 10% credit on every digital purchase up until Dec 31 2014, then the program just went away as we wait for th enw one to launch later this month.
The reason a compnay might do this "trade-in" is b/c it is giving you "store credit" which you will then use to buy new games. It doesn't really cost the company anything. Even if you trade in 10 $60 games for $60 the company still got $600 from you, for downloads - no boxes, no shipping, no manufacturing - does anybody really think a $60 download should cost $60 if the box, disc, cover art version cost $60? And they will get that $60 back as well, as it's not cash, just a store credit. Even if you buy a $60 game for free, it's buy 10 get 1 free, for a diigtal download. I feel confident they are turning a profit. If not, all those Ubi and Lego games wouldn't be half price 6 motnhs aftr release, and other Sony games half price 1 year after release as Greatest Hits games.
We get 10%, they get to sell even more games. And then maybe we even repurchase the game we sold back when it's cheaper. It's a big win for the company that does this, a slight win for us. But so slight it's hardly worth the effort.
If they want to do it right, it should be 50% the first 30 days - think of it as a demo - 25% the next 30 days, 10% after that. That will never happen though, so I'll keep renting games from Gamefly and Redbox and free from my library. Once they go all digital I'm probably done w/ "new" gaming and I'll play everything 2 or 3 years later on sale. Been waiting 10 years for FFXV and TLG, what's 2 or 3 more?
Part of the reason I hate digital is because you can't get anything back if you don't like the game. This is a start, but I can't help feeling 10% is very lowball, especially with how expensive digital games get. I would expect at least 20%, but you could argue that isn't worth it either.
I could still get more off eBay. Once again digital costs more.
Great idea
@Neolit I actually really like your idea. And your right. The gamer gets a slice of the pie, and the developer and publisher does too. If I was a publisher, I'd be inclined to hire someone like you.
I mean, I'd take 1% even because that's more than I get now, but I'd like 50%. Definitely at least 25%.
It would be interesting to see how Sony were to do it, bearing in mind some new releases are as much as £59.99 digitally and of course get reduced over a fairly short period of time nowadays.
IF ya paid full price then 10% is £6 quid, not much but still something. This realistically needs to be at around 15% and based on the price the user paid at the time, although this would likely cause more issues in the long run and hit reduced pricing for sales etc....
Not worth it! I love games and love to have games in a collection to play. Even 50% back is not worth it! When releasing a new version of the same game they should just give it to the ones who already purchased it or at least in a discount. Not try to take them back! I wish they would also allow others to make servers for other games they discontinue that are online so we don't lose great history, stories and art. Many are great experiences that down the road I like to try out again and show others.
I don't know, I probably would never use it since I am careful when buying digital games in that I only buy games I know I will like. Plus I usually buy them on sale so in the end it doesn't bother me. Also if I need the room on my HD, I can always delete the game if I am not playing it where as if I run out of room on my shelf with physical copies I might be tempted to trade some in.
I hang on to most of my games. It's only when I don't enjoy it (try hard to avoid that, but nothing is 100%) that I trade it in. Except when I say I trade, it's not to a store. I go to Gametz.com & swap with someone. So I get a game I've been interested in for one I don't care for. It's a free site (trading costs only the postage to send it to the other person). I've used the site for over a decade & couldn't be more happy with it. Can't do that with digital which is one of the reasons I still prefer physical.
Probably would not be interested in the 10% but would like to be able to gift games to other PSN members like on can on Steam. Or trading games with other people.
The big issue is the high price of AAA rated digital games being more expensive than the physical releases.
Digital is a better system for the fact you can not trade your games the company is always getting money for the product. The 2nd hand market is killing games companies so a lot more of a push needs to be done with digital games. With and less games getting physical releases.
@ShogunRok A great way to lose those games you thought you would love but ended up hating.
I went totally digital this time round as I was never one for bringing back games. The pittance they give you never enticed me. 10% sounds very little if I was to use it. I'd expect 20% - 25% especially as a digital gamer most of the titles I buy are bought at the full PSN first day price which is already OTT in my opinion but I chose digitial so i expected the prices.
I agree with @neolit tho that there is room on all systems (now we have digital) of a second hand digital sales where MS/Sony and the developer take a cut of the second hand sales also. Everyones a winner and ppl won't be afraid of moving to digital. Effectively for a price that suits you(minus second-sale cuts), you would sell your entitlement to a game to another gamer. Job done.
Im not a collector. I regularly trade in, sell, or give my old game and consoles away. I would like to go all digital, which saves money for the publishers, and this could be a great program to make me go all in.
Not stupid enough to buy full releases digitally.
^^ well what some people see as stupid others see as convenient, practical, quieter, easier.
Back then during the PS3, weren't digital games usually cheaper than the physical versions? Nowadays, they cost the same.
I had it all planned out what I was going to say but then I read what @Neolit had to say and I can only concur. This is what should happen and it seems a much better solution than the one speculated and solves every potential problem I can think of
All of my digital ps3 games and some of my mistakes on PS4. Yes if it was for 15% of the original value, I could live with it.
I also agree with Neolit's idea, it really is a good idea. If they wanted some return on it, they could put a low nominal tax on those who sell.
Yeah I would do this digital trade in. I have a couple games I have no intention on playing again. I agree with @get2sammyb, 10% is better than it sitting in my library in a meaningless way.
Make it work with dlc and I'll take 10% if not I'd need 25%, I wonder if it's based on purchase or current list price...
Raise it to 20% of the price of the digital game and I'll heavily consider using it.
@get2sammyb
If we could gift games we no longer want to our PSN friends, it would be excellent. Plus deleting old crap from our library would be great. Don't see an upside for Sony though with all this....
This would be great, no resale value is the reason I don't buy digital games unless it's a great sale price.
so you buy a game for $60, the return would be $6, screw that. It's enough that the Digital games don't go down in price like the physical games, it's basically a screw you, this would kind of be another one. 10% hell no, I would still be going for the physical copies considering a gamestop trade in you actually get more than 10%
After reading this I went and had a google about Steam and found out you're allowed trade and gift everything in your inventory, why hasn't Sony or MS got this? I'd much prefer to trade a digital game with someone then take 10% of its worth.
I bought a ton of games for PS3, and I also no longer own a PSP or VITA (which I also bought many on), so yeah, it would be nice to be able to get back something for them, just to delete them off of my account history too. It would also be nice, if this could work for DLC, movies and TV Episodes, and could also help Sony to offer players to go out and spend more on their store! I'd do it, and wouldn't care what I got for it!!!
@ShogunRok This is what I'm looking for.. I can't think of they can actually resell those digital rights... It's more like a discount for me...
As someone who has gone full digital this gem got to say I am not sure and it would depend on price or maybe if they said each game we sold back got us 10% of another game on psn
But really I can see why some would I mean I have games sat there that I have the platinum and there is zero reason to go back in to play so this would help there
Buying this on the store, so why not the full refund? There's no condition for the game whatever the gam is sold t you should be fully entitled the exact amount, they sell a game for 49.99 for 2-3 months and you decide to sell it back if it was to go ahead, then full entitlement I say.
Its the fact that the digital copies should not be the same price as a physical copy to start with, if the price of a digital copy was lower then anything above 25% would be adequate for a trade for PSN credit.
Well, I'm not usually one to necro an old thread but this is always a relevant discussion.
I'm not sure why people have this idea of "the company wouldn't get anything" and use a retailer as the example, because that's not how it works in retail.
For example, GAME here in the UK buy the games from the publisher at the wholesale rate plus tax, buy in pre ordered titles AS ORDERED, and then sell them at a markup.
Either before sale, or quarterly as each full new sale is made.
If you trade one in to GAME, they make the full value of a pre-owned sale when it resells because the game has already been purchased from the publisher.
It would work the same way online, only smoother, easier and lower cost.
Tap here to load 65 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...