Despite the Xbox One requiring gamers to pay a fee to play a second-hand game, GameStop President, Tony Bartel, has told Forbes that the company will still sell pre-owned Xbox One and PlayStation 4 games. For Xbox One owners, it will mean that consumers will have to pay for the game twice – once at point of purchase and again on Xbox Live.
The PS4 will allow used games on the console, but it doesn’t mean publishers won’t charge twice like the existing Online Pass model. But hopefully, the cost to PS4 gamers will be lower compared to Xbox One owners. To counter this issue, second-hand Xbox One games may sell for less than PS4 titles.
“Both Sony and Microsoft have said games can be resold and that’s exactly what we anticipated,” said Bartel, “It’s a recognized way to make these games more affordable. All three new platforms understand that.”
“That’s why the ‘buy, sell, trade’ model works well. It enables people to purchase new games by trading in their old ones,” he continued. “We expect to see the same thing with this transition for PS4 and Xbox One. Trade-ins allow for a seamless transition.”