Even as we look at the prospect of an all digital future for all of our media, including, yes, for video games, we need to come to terms with the restrictions that going digital imposes on us- for instance, in a very real sense, we no longer ‘own’ our digital media, because ‘ownership’ is traditionally defined as the ability to sell and resell property forwards, should we choose to.
However, that might be about to change soon. In what might be a dramatic step forward for digital ownership rights, Microsoft may be looking at introducing a form of digital games reselling. In a survey, Microsoft asked respondents if they would feel okay reselling digital game they own for 10% of the game’s price. While 10% does not sound like a whole lot (it would be only $6 for a full priced game), this is the first indication we have even gotten of the ability to sell our digital games onward.
How would this work, though? Who would we sell the games to? Would it just be us relinquishing our license for a small monetary benefit? Would we be able to sell our games to our friends, for example? How would this work with discounts?
A lot is unknown right now- but it’s good to see that someone is having a conversation about this all important topic.