Companies complain about the fact the second hand games are killing the industry, because it stops people from buying new ones. They are however very delighted with the rise of online games as they usually are accompanied by one time activation cards.
I wonder if second hand bashing is completely justified.
First of with the whole hype around "ecology". Isn't it preferable for all those disk and boxes to find a second home, as opposed to having them end up on some dump.
Secondly, newer generations of gamers rise or fall with the grace of their parents wallets. Convincing a parent of buying a cheaper second hand game is easier than explaining them to pay full price for something their kid might not even like. That's at least the way I got into gaming. My mom had bought me a second hand Sega Master System. Now I waste part of my pay-check on monthly mmo subs and new releases. Publishers need to think a bit more long term.
Thirdly, when I walk into a game store and I look at second hand games. Most of them are for Xbox, PS1, Gamecube or PS2, mostly systems that have been officially abandoned or in PS2 its case on a healthy retirement plan. Don't see how companies will suffer big sale loses on these games.
And as a last note, the second hand market is keeping a lot of games from disappearing into oblivion, now thanks to stuff like GOG the companies can earn a bit as well while keeping them alive, but there are plenty of games that have disappeared.
HOWEVER:
When it comes to more recent titles and seeing that shops sell these second hand games just a bit cheaper on a 100% profit margin, I do understand that this leaves a bitter after taste with the publishers.
I just believe that stating: "second hand games are killing the industry" is a bit to negative.

>> Companies complain about the fact
Companies complain too much about anything, imho :-P
Second had market is an economic constant in any sector, in any industry, in any world (developed or not), and it's meant to answer to a several kinds of needs (poor wallets, collecting etc.). So let them complain about their uselessness, frankly I don't give them a damn....

As King says, second hand markets have been shown to actually contribute to the health of the market itself. These companies that are complaining about second hand sales are doing so solely because they want to find ways to squeeze more revenue out of the consumer. Limited activations, online authentication, and the inability to transfer on-line accounts are all attempts to kill the second hand market (for years they've used piracy as the scapegoat but it seems now they're finally telling the truth about it, as people are realizing it's not really about piracy anyway).
But the ability to sell a product used is something that's guaranteed to you by the first sale doctrine. That doesn't sit well with these guys and they're trying to find some way around it. However, if they'd just concentrate on putting out quality games that aren't full of bugs and/or aren't some poorly written crappy offering, and actually support their titles, they might see their sales increase.

I agree about the price. Last week I was going to buy games and there was a special. I could get 1 new for $50 or 3 used for $50 so I got them used and they were like new in condition.

They could also offer better deals like gog does offering content with the game. Not just with a pre-order. More like the free dlc with a new gears 2 copy for example.

Do movie companies complain about second hand sales?
Do music companies complain about second hand sales?
Do car companies complain about second hand sales?
The Video game industry is a huge industry, with billions in initial sales. Complaining that they're losing money with second hand sales is ridiculous (in the case of Halo 3 or other block buster titles).
I could see maybe people with smaller titles having issues, but lets face it, those aren't the people who are complaining.

I agree with Weclock in that I find it interesting that no other industry utters a complaint about not getting a piece of the action from used sales. Why are game companies expecting anything different?
Why are used sales so popular? They're actually at a reasonable price point. It's nothing short of ridiculous for a game like the new Call of Duty to come out costing nearly $70 Canadian...that's lunacy! There is no way a price that high can be justified!
Yet these companies want stores like Gamestop and EB to drop used sales...which probably means several of them go under with that profit line lost. But, hey, that's okay, we can all just buy this overpriced garbage straight from the company's own download service! Good grief.

Sssh! Please don't give "them" any clue on what to complain about, because "they" could listen to you :-P
Oh, and btw videogaming is currently the most gigantic industry in entertainment, more than music and more than movies. Just to say....

I've been thinking about this, and it occured to me that it's bad buisness for the publishers to completely stop second hand sales, because they generally keep big games stored in buisness and generate interest in the games. The game stores don't want publishers to get too tough on it either because it means far less profit for them.
So.. I was wondering, would it be a reasonable idea for publishers and game stores to find some alternative? Say, the games stores paying maybe 20% (as a random number) to publishers for a 'liscence' to resell games.
Just musings, really. Bad idea?

Very bad actually. They have no right at all to control the second hand market and get anything from it - it should stay that way. Publishers are already too arrogant and cocky. They don't want people to resell their games? Well, tough luck, they can kiss our as****, because it is our right to resell them.

Ha, I've got to admit that crossed my mind. Trust me to always be the diplomat though.
Thanks for throwing a little common sense my way.

Why not, though? Why is it better that, for example, Gamestop gets the all the cash from used copies sold rather than the developers?

The way I see it is like the other industries, do movie companies get any money out of the used movies being sold out there? Why should the game companies get money then?

Because they got money from the original purchase. They were paid for it: You don't see Ford wanting money for every used car that is sold in America. The Used Car dealerships get all the money for those; such is life.
I buy both new and used games; I don't feel bad about buying use games.
the Game companies need to think up other ways of getting revenue post game release: I think DLC is a great way to go.
I just bought a used copy of Burnout: Paradise, right? Awesome game. Love it, love going fast and hitting other cars in to railings, etc. Lots of free DLC with it, but they are releasing a Paid DLC package next year. You know what? I'm up for that. One reasons I bought the game is because i played the demo but didn't want to shell out 50 bucks for it (or sixty.) I'm poor, so i game on the cheap. If we didn't have used game sales, i doubt I'd of bought the game and they wouldn't have that DLC sell to me when it comes out. I've been buying games that have a long life and this is a way to keep me playing for longer then a person might.
Companies need to also think of it this way: A person that plays a used game from an unknown company and really really likes it it slikely to buy a new game from that same company next time around. It's been that way in the film industry for years: Someone sees a movie they like at home or at a friends house. Sequel comes out, they go to see it in the theater.
The game companies that are complaining need to get their head out of their buttocks and stop thinking they are better then other consumer related enterprises.
I mean seriously: I heard people at Bungie complaining about used game sales. Their games are *always* top sellers. It's like a guy that has 500 million dollars complaining because his neighbor has 600 million.
Anyway..that's my 3 cents.

I was asking why is it better that someone else is getting money off subsequent purchases. The way I see it, you and the developer both lose money, while the completely unnecessary middleman gets rich. So instead of buying a used copy of a recent game, might as well just pirate it, as the developers aren't seeing a cent from you either way.
Car-to-software comparisons won't really work here. You don't buy cars just to ride about in them for 20-40 hours or whatever duration that a single-player game lasts nowadays.