Nintendo: Avoid Secondhand Games

Speaking on behalf of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime has stated that the company believes used video game sales are not in the best interest of consumers, who prefer, according to his statement, brand new products. He also claimed that sales of secondhand products in other entertainment industries has been unsuccessful.

Speaking to Venture Beat, Fils-Aime said that “We have products that consumers want to hold onto. They want to play all of the levels of a Zelda game and unlock all of the levels. A game like Personal Trainer Cooking has a long life. Describe another form of entertainment that has a vibrant used goods market. Used books have never taken off. You don’t see businesses selling used music CDs or used DVDs. Why? The consumer likes having a brand-new experience and reliving it over and over again. If you create the right type of experience, that also happens in videogames.”

Hmm.

Fils-Aime continued on, insisting that “we just think it’s a bad idea. The one retailer that has a substantial business in this has figured out a way that is effective for the consumer. That’s tough for other retailers experimenting with this, in part because their employees don’t have the expertise in this market.”

Now, we’re not exactly sure to which retailer specifically he’s referring, but we’re pretty sure that a substantial amount of our video gaming pleasure has come to us in the form of used, traded, or otherwise secondhand games. We appreciate Mr. Fils-Aime’s concern for the integrity of his industry, but look here, Reggie: There ain’t nothing wrong with a hand-me-down.

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