Pre-owned market had “big” effect on Halo, says Bungie man

By Patrick Garratt

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Bungie audio director Marty O’Donnell reckons second hand games sales have given the Halo-maker a beating, saying that creators should get extra revenue from further sales of their products.

“It’s hard to gauge the effect of used game sales on Halo, but I’m sure it’s big,” O’Donnell said.

“Complaining about sales when you have a multi-million seller is somewhat difficult to justify, but it seems to me that the folks who create and publish a game shouldn’t stop receiving income from further sales.”

O’Donnell added that the issue would impact the ability for lesser games to survive, but that digital distribution may resolve the issue.

“It will be harder for smaller titles to be successful in the future if they can’t fully realise a return on investment,” he said.

“Eventually, digital distribution is probably going to be the way most people purchase content and hopefully developers, publishers, and retailers will figure out a system that is good and fair for both the consumer and the creators of that content.

“I don’t worry that much about the middle man: he always makes out just fine.”

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