“PlayStation 5” is finally released!
This is the biggest concern for all gamers this year, and I think that joy is shared by many.
However, on the other hand, I have also come across opinions that are the exact opposite.
“I missed the pre-order lottery,” “The initial sales volume was too low!” “Not knowing when I’ll be able to buy it is too stressful,” etc. These are words that are often heard when a new hardware is released.
However, recently, in addition to that, I have begun to hear voices of resentment towards resellers, such as “The lottery multiplier has increased because of people who want to sell” and “They are being sold at crazy prices.” Ta.
On November 12th, the day the “PlayStation 5” went on sale, a headline I saw on internet news said, “Lottery multiplier is 100x.”
Resellers are a nuisance not only in games but in all situations.
“Reseller” has become a common term in the gaming world.
This method quickly proliferated with the development and spread of tools such as Mercari, Yahoo! Auctions, and Amazon that allow individuals to sell items and earn cash immediately.
However, resellers themselves have been operating behind the scenes in other genres for a long time, and a representative example of this is the people called “scalpers” who sell live tickets etc. at high prices.
Scalpers do exactly the same thing as resellers, and in the case of scalpers, the only products they sell are tickets to popular concerts and theaters. They use human tactics to purchase multiple copies and sell them at high prices to fans who couldn’t get their hands on them. Regarding this duffing behavior, the “Ticket Resale Control Law” was recently enacted, making it possible to legally punish violators.
In recent years, the resale of masks and alcohol disinfectants has become a problem due to the spread of the coronavirus, and it is still fresh in your memory that a law was quickly passed to prohibit the resale of these items.
Now, despite the act of reselling, there are currently no legal restrictions on game consoles, but why is that?
This is my personal opinion, but I think that the resale of game consoles may not develop into an urgent health or life-threatening problem like masks.
Unlike tickets that include projects involving the country, such as the Olympics, there may not be a problem with tickets that are strictly for personal hobbies and entertainment.
However, as I mentioned earlier, it is easy for individuals to buy and sell goods, so not only games but also popular manga and anime goods have become prey.
Right now, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” is attracting attention as a hot product, and some outrageous hoardings are making many fans cry, so I don’t think it’s an issue that should be taken too lightly. This is especially true if it’s something your child wants.
To be more precise, I don’t want the government to be too optimistic, as there are many questions such as “Aren’t they subject to the Secondhand Goods Dealer Act?” and “Isn’t it necessary to collect income tax depending on the income?” .
Measures to prevent resale from the perspective of live ticket sales
When it comes to game consoles, the Nintendo Switch has recently become the prey of resellers.
They have been in short supply since normal times, and they seem to be selling out one after another, even though they have been put on sale at extremely aggressive prices on Amazon and other sites.
Furthermore, this trend becomes even stronger when big titles and popular titles like “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” are released, and as a result, there are many people who still want the console but cannot get it at a reasonable price.
“Isn’t there a good way to overcome these resales?”
Anyone who has been harassed by a reseller will probably think this.
Actually, although it is a different genre, there is one successful example.
It’s the band’s live ticket sales.
One famous band, for whom duffing had always been considered a problem, took measures to prevent resale purchases by not allowing the band to enter the venue unless the name on the purchased ticket matched the ID at the time of admission.
In recent years, with the introduction of electronic tickets, countermeasures have become more reliable and easier, and it is thought that duffing will subside.
While this is a good method, it may currently only be effective for live tickets with a limited number of confirmations.
This is because when it comes to game consoles that are shipped in millions of units, the development and personnel costs associated with vetting them can be prohibitive. Moreover, as we can see from the example of Nintendo Switch, if reselling becomes rampant over a long period of time, countermeasures become even more difficult.
Also, although this may sound like a naive point of view, it is true that if you only focus on the manufacturer’s purpose of “selling”, “regardless of who buys how many units, the sales revenue will be the same.” What’s even more ironic is that no matter what process you go through, if the media reports on the breakout situation of “sold out” and “difficult to obtain”, you can get PR that is more effective and cheaper than advertising. Therefore, it can be said that there is little disadvantage for manufacturers.
Given the current situation as described above, we may not be able to exit the dark tunnel yet regarding game-related resale.
A new sales method that does not depend on hardware: “If the hardware disappears, there will be no resale!?”
So, let’s conclude on the question, “Will resale of game consoles ever disappear?”
It can be said that resale will stop when the game hardware itself is no longer needed.
It may seem quite extreme, but if the current situation where resellers are rampant like this is to be resolved, this seems to be the only option left.
Although it is a different movement from resale, it is also true that such a trend has emerged as a new trend in recent years.
The most famous of these is a service called Steam, which has opened up a new sales channel for online download sales of games.
Steam is a major game storage service operated by Valve Corporation in the United States, and has been in full-scale operation since 2004. Currently, most of the famous overseas consumer games can be played on PC through Steam.
The reason for this is that many overseas game manufacturers consider PCs to be part of the game market, and when releasing a home game, it is almost certain that the PC version will be released unless it is limited to hardware. will be released on.
It cannot be overlooked that this sales format has created a huge opportunity for small and weak developers. This means that package sales require huge production costs, but download sales do not require it. Also, with download sales, you don’t have to worry about returns.
There are many games that have become big hits after being released on Steam, including the blockbuster horror fighting game “Dead by Daylight.” It can be said that it is an element that occupies an important part.
Although Japan has been slow to enter the PC platform compared to overseas game makers, recently more domestically produced games are also being sold on Steam.
Big titles such as fighting games such as the “Street Fighter series” and “DOA6”, the “Monster Hunter series”, and the “Final Fantasy series” are distributed, and a unique example is the “Ryu ga Gotoku series” named “Yakuza”. An overseas version with the same content has been re-imported.
Furthermore, in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of game manufacturers such as Ubisoft and Epic Games, which own leading content, starting to develop their own platforms. Sales channels that do not rely on game consoles are steadily forming.
This kind of game business has become particularly prominent recently, and large companies that are not game manufacturers, such as “Amazon Free Online Game Store” and Google’s cloud gaming service “Stedia,” are also starting to participate one after another.
Another recent topic of interest was that Nintendo announced the end of sales of its only portable game console, the Nintendo 3DS.
This is also a clear example of recent hardware problems.
Mobile game consoles have been completely replaced by smartphones, which have become more sophisticated and more popular, and their role has come to an end. However, the Nintendo Switch also has the functionality of a portable game console, so it may be said that it has changed its form to suit the times rather than completely withdrawing from it.
However, there is no doubt that the rise of smartphones has attracted the attention of many game manufacturers as a new business opportunity. The focus that had been on handheld game consoles was shifted directly to smartphone games. However, Nintendo, which sells portable game consoles, is of course different. Even in the flip phone era, we did not distribute any games.
However, perhaps unable to go against the flow of the times, Nintendo’s first smartphone game, Miitomo (discontinued), was released in March 2016. Naturally, it attracted a lot of attention.
It is well known that since then, in addition to “Super Mario Run” and “Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp”, titles such as “Dr. Mario World” and “Mario Kart Tour” have been released jointly with other companies. .
As mentioned earlier, this trend in portable game consoles is naturally extending to home game consoles, but of course we don’t know what will happen in the end.
However, there is no doubt that this trend is gradually gaining strength.
Even if you end up receiving the same service, I want to value the fact that it has a certain form.
Games are becoming more and more online, but that doesn’t mean hardware will disappear any time soon, and it may continue to exist regardless of the situation.
I can’t say anything at the moment, but personally, I sincerely hope that it will never disappear, regardless of what’s going on in the world.
There’s only one reason for that. We must never forget the meaning and joy of owning something.
In today’s world, everything is becoming digital, and music, manga, and movies are no exception.
But is it really that good?
The significance of this can be deciphered from a behind-the-scenes story told by a musician.
“In order to sell music to young people today, downloading is essential, and it is also necessary to sell individual songs.The demand for only hit songs, tie-up songs, and songs that they want to sing at karaoke cannot be overlooked.However. A CD album is essentially a comprehensive work that includes the jacket photo, liner notes, song order, and the length of blank spaces between songs.
This story used to be commonplace, but even such a natural thing is now in jeopardy.
Album works can also be expressed as “concept albums,” which are composed of songs with a theme, or as a play on “hidden tracks,” which are not listed on the track list.
However, if you download each song as you like, you will not be able to create the works described above.
In the end, the above-mentioned musician concluded the story with a laugh, saying, “Above all, if people don’t buy each album, I won’t get a lot of royalties,” but that was partly a joke, and partly a result of the creator’s pride. I can imagine that this is a statement made by someone.
If the music is consumed individually, there is no need to put it all together into an album, and you won’t get the joy and effort you put into it, and above all, the reward you get for it. It would be very boring if the buyer, after consuming the product, gets tired of it and deletes it from the device.
Since games are made of data, they have a strong affinity for download sales, and it is no wonder that this trend is becoming stronger. I would like to get it.
First of all, if you have a shape, your feelings will deepen. Being a game collector is probably the best expression of that love.
Depending on the game, there are often bonuses such as figures, trading cards, badges, and setting materials, but the thrill of picking up and opening those items is something you can never experience with a downloaded version.
If it were a tangible thing, you could deepen your interactions with friends by lending and borrowing games, but if the game is completely downloaded, you won’t be able to do any of that.
Also, to be honest, I can’t help but feel a little sad that my children’s Christmas presents are intangible game download codes.
If the hardware disappears, the reseller problem will be solved, but at the same time there will be a lot to lose.
It’s a troubling and headache-inducing problem, but I would like to find a way to eliminate resale while preserving the hardware in its physical form.
■◆■
While I was writing this manuscript, I somehow decided to press the physical button on my game console. And soon the startup sound rang out, and it was very pleasant to my ears.
The unique form, which is a mixture of straight lines and curves, is a design unique to game consoles, and is probably the result of trial and error by commercial designers.
“Come to think of it, I think PlayStation was the first to realize a design that allowed you to choose between vertical and horizontal orientation of a game console.”
It is not clear whether PlayStation was the first hardware to use such an installation method, or whether it is something else. The only thing I can say is that the design was conceived with the assumption that it would fit in any space without getting in the way of the space where it is installed.
When I thought about this, I strongly thought, “After all, things that have a tangible form have meaning.”
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