Games Inbox: Is buying second-hand video games going to end?

The Thursday letters page enjoys the magic of Yoshi And The Mysterious Book, as one reader is surprised at the quality of Meccha Chameleon.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Sell by date
Kudos to the Disgaea guy for speaking up about the joys of owning things. To me a lot of the magic is lost when you only own (sorry, rent) a digital game, and I’ve always tried to avoid it as much as possible, outside of indie games.

Now we hear about the obvious knock-on effect for second-hand games and it’s obvious that’s doomed as well. Retro resellers will obviously continue but nobody’s going to be buying or selling anything at CeX after next year, unless it’s a Switch 2 game (assuming Nintendo doesn’t follow suit by then).

It’s not a question of whether shops or companies will or won’t do it anymore, there’s just not going to be anything to sell. If you buy a code in a box, that code gets used up and that’s it. Unless people are going to get so desperate for owning things they want to buy empty boxes.

Physical media had a good run but I’m afraid it’s all over now, as far as games go, and it’s not coming back.
Taylor Moon

Glorious convivence
I’m surprised the second-hand games business is still worth as much as it apparently is. I remember when almost every shop that sold games (which was a lot) also dealt in second-hand games and it’s true, all those shops are going to lose that business now. There’s only so long CeX can carry on reselling old PlayStation 4 and Switch 1 games and after that they’re in trouble.

I can’t argue with everyone saying that this is all the fault of choices ordinary gamers made last gen or earlier, but there’s definitely no going back. Sony has no intention of making discs any more, GTA 6 is going to normalise it this November, and Xbox only hasn’t said they’re doing the same thing because they’re enjoying watching Sony squirm.

But the fact is digital is more convenient and if there’s one truth of the modern world it’s that people value convivence over all things, including cost, quality, and issues of morality. If something requires even slightly less effort than the alternative then people will always go for it, no matter the drawbacks. At the same time, if something requires any kind of effort or sacrifice, such as boycotting a company, that ain’t happening.
Benson

No returns
I see Nintendo is trying to be a bit dodgy in the USA over increase in tax on Nintendo products that Nintendo are try to get back from the US government but won’t give the extra money back to them that bought the products at higher prices.

Sorry to say it but if Nintendo did increase the prices because of tax charges and they’re trying to get the money back they should refund that money to customers. Seems Nintendo is getting as bad as the others that love taking your money but when it comes to giving something they never should have had it’s oh no we can’t do that. Shame on you Nintendo.
David

GC: It’s not an increase in tax, it’s Trump’s tariffs. And no company is planning to reimburse anyone; it isn’t just Nintendo. That said, all any company is interested in is your money, including Nintendo.

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Tipping point
RE: Percentage of digital sales on Nintendo hardware is 67.2%. According to the fiscal report this number comes from that percentage includes sales of downloadable versions of packaged software, download-only software, add-on content and Nintendo Switch Online, etc.

In my letter I reference first party Nintendo games as selling mainly through physical. I’m always quite interested to know the exact split between digital and physical sales for a specific game as that, I often think, will be closer than a stat that includes all the other digital purchases.

In my case I’ve only ever bought one Nintendo first party game digitally on my Switch and Switch 2; all the other 10+ have been physical and will be in the future. I have spent money digitally on the store though, on digital-only games like UFO 50.

Given my buying habits on Switch, I’d genuinely be surprised if a new first party Nintendo game like Donkey Kong Bananza sold more digitally.

But I guess at the end of the day it might not matter, even if that were the case. Customers now spend more money digitally than physically on Nintendo hardware.

Nintendo do seem to be on the same trajectory as Sony, it’ll just take them a bit longer to get there.
Simundo

GC: Exactly, more than half of Nintendo’s software income now comes from digital sales and has done since at least 2025, as can be seen here.

Generous score
With the current Count Binface/Sega article on Metro, I’ve read a few comments about Shenmue 3 being a complete wasted opportunity… I think this deserves a second look!

Shenmue 3 is – without a doubt – a 7 out of 10 game. But 7 out of 10 games can be brilliant and beloved! Alpha Protocol, Mad Max, Days Gone. All 7s.

Did they squander the chance to move the story on meaningfully? Without a doubt! But what’s left is charming, engaging, and still has that Dreamcast era magic. When viewed through the lens of it being a cosy game, it rules!

Yet the negativity driven by some click-baiting content creators has hardened this view that it’s completely without merit. Not true! The reviews at the time were all in the 7/10 range, you yourselves gave it a 6!

To any cosy/Shen-curious gamer, I’d say give the Enhanced version a chance when it comes out on Switch 2 later this year, some of the enhancements might push it to an 8. And you can’t get higher than an 8, right?
Brown Bread

GC: That 6/10 now feels very generous but if anyone’s Shenmue curious, we’d advise starting with the original games.

Handheld discs
I kind of agree with a few recent readers over the physical games backlash, in that this is something that was set in motion a long time ago. You’d imagine Sony’s own games are the ones people would actually buy on disc and keep in a collection (I know I do) and even those sales are 80% digital. I remember seeing Capcom’s sales numbers some months ago and they were at 93% digital.

Obviously, it’s difficult to judge the size of a backlash based on social media, the disconnect between the hardcore gaming audience and the average player has been widening for some time, and it seems vast now. Us over-engaged lot pre-ordering Saros discs are so far away from what most people use their PlayStation’s to do it’s become kind of funny.

I mean the Roblox game Grow A Garden has had more player engagement than the celebrated Uncharted 4 over its lifespan. That’s kind of baffling if you just consume gaming culture via websites and message forums, GC never runs news of the latest Roblox trends after all (ever thought about doing that?).

Should Sony and other gaming companies share more of their data analysis and be more transparent? Then it would become apparent why certain decisions (live service being another one) are being taken and it may lead to the player-base being a bit more understanding. Though investors would likely flee to the hills once they see how little gamers actually play these high cost, dozens of hours single-player titles.

Anyway, I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the fact the PlayStation 6 will probably have a handheld counterpart, and that’s why they are ditching discs. They are worried about splitting the market as you won’t be putting Blu-rays into a portable system, will you? They hope it’ll ease the transition to multiple hardware configurations next gen, after all if you buy digital it’ll just work on everything.
Marc

Good bad games
I didn’t understand the term friendslop until I decided to give Meccha Chameleon a go, after hearing all the hype. What an ugly, badly made game. I can’t pretend I didn’t have some fun competing online but I can totally see why it gets that name, considering the game itself is really not very good. Or at least not well made.

I’m not sure that really matters, because it’s not hurting anyone, but there are definitely some good ideas here that are not reaching their full potential.
Dio

Mysterious gem
I decided to give the Yoshi And The Mysterious Book demo a go, which gives you a few of the early levels to sink your teeth into.

By the time I’d completed the demo I’d realised I wanted more. I wanted to know what other creatures were in there, so I went out and bought the game.

It’s a charming little game full of invention and ideas. I had to skip a couple of levels as I hadn’t worked out the main trait of the creature in question.

One large creature that inhales everything took me a while to puzzle out but when it all clicked it was a fantastic level.

I’m about halfway through the game, as I’m a bit pushed for time at the minute, but can’t wait to get back on it to see what’s next.

I say to anyone on the fence, give the demo a go and read GameCentral’s review on it. It’s a really fascination game unlike all the other Yoshi titles in the series.
Nick The Greek

GC: It’s almost certainly going to end up as the year’s most underappreciated, and poorly marketed, game.

Inbox also-rans
But the real question… Shen-mew or Shen-moo?!
big boy bent

I have to admit, I wish the games were still called FIFA. It’s such a better name than EA Sports FC 27, which is just really clunky and awkward. Plus, we would’ve had a proper World Cup mode too.
Danse

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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