Jaffe: Publishers Would “Sell Mothers to Taliban” For Profit

David Jaffe has chimed in on the latest development in the used games debate, with colorful words as usual.

A recent appeals court ruling that held up a software maker’s right to prevent resales of software it “licensed” rather than “sold” has fired up the used games debate once again. Industry veteran David Jaffe, of God of War and Twisted Metal development fame, has given his thoughts on the possibilities for the industry now, pointing out that while most videogame publishers are only out to stay in business, others would do anything for a buck.

Jaffe’s take on the ruling is that the videogame industry should use it to force retailers to give them a cut of the used games market, creating a new relationship in the lucrative industry. He believes that any publisher against used games isn’t necessarily greedy, but just concerned about trying to stay in business. “Yes, publishers want to make money and lots of it,” he writes on his blog. “But that’s just business. That’s not greed.”

However, there are some publishers out there that Jaffe thinks are just as evil as everyone thinks they are. He says: “Some game makers are very greedy and would sell their mother to the Taliban if they could turn a profit (and we all know who I’m talking about here). But most are not.” I wonder which publishers he means?

He’s right though, there’s a huge difference between business and “sell your mother” greed. The used games market is an issue that publishers have to deal with because they have no definitive proof that it also provides a revenue stream to them through traded-in goods. As for publishers getting a cut of used games, that seems more complicated to me than GameStop flipping them a percentage because of various factors, such as GameStop taking all the risk. The ruling does raise questions of what could change in the next few years, should it have an effect.

Source: David Jaffe Blog