Posted June 15, 2012
We'll see about that. I've heard that for quite some time now.
Right now most movies are sold an physical data carriers. Sure, bandwidth increases but so does file size. Streaming a blue ray disc probably isn't fun.
Fomalhaut30: And yes, the products depreciate in value, much like anything else. A dvd can release at $20, but in a few months, it can be found in the bargain bin for $5. That initial $20 you spent will not be recouped. The flip side of that is that some of them go up in value, particularly some items that go out of print or are truly limited in production, like say the official Sailor Moon boxsets or some PC games like I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream. 
StingingVelvet: I didn't say "in value." The point was 20 people can play the same copy of Bioshock and get the same EXACT experience but only the first one contributed to development. Getting the game for cheaper by waiting months or years to play it is common sense, but 20 people playing a game for every 1 that pays the developers to make it is crazy.
With a car or other physical products the person getting it used is getting a worse product than the person who got it new, adding incentive to buy new. No such thing exists with media. Whether buyer of a car gets an inferior product depends on the circumstances. If everybody sells the car after a week or so, it won't be much worse. Ten years later it won't be up to snuff anymore even if it was being kept in good care. But then again a 10 year old video game won't be up to par with the current generation games either.
And then again we don't quite know yet how long photo-optical storage will last, but it probably won't last forever.
But the point you're actually missing here is exclusiveness in consumption. As long as those 20 people are not playing Bioshock at the same time the developer is no more entitled to their money than the car manufacturer is in you example. They sold one copy of the game and one person is playing it. That's the end of the deal for the developer.
Right now most movies are sold an physical data carriers. Sure, bandwidth increases but so does file size. Streaming a blue ray disc probably isn't fun.
With a car or other physical products the person getting it used is getting a worse product than the person who got it new, adding incentive to buy new. No such thing exists with media.
And then again we don't quite know yet how long photo-optical storage will last, but it probably won't last forever.
But the point you're actually missing here is exclusiveness in consumption. As long as those 20 people are not playing Bioshock at the same time the developer is no more entitled to their money than the car manufacturer is in you example. They sold one copy of the game and one person is playing it. That's the end of the deal for the developer.
Post edited June 16, 2012 by xy2345
