Idea: gift games from your library, and pay half of game's price

[Polnoch]

I suggest to permits transferring games between steam users, but with restrictions: person, who wants to transfer his game, must pay half of the actual price of games.
In this case Steam and authors of the games don't lose too much money, and Steam users can clean their library from old games (yes, now you can remove games from your library, but your greed can't permits you this).

Player's level of happy have to increase, and income of Steam and authors of games must be similar.

[Wolfpig]

Why would anyone who wants to get rid of a game pay for that again just to don't have it anymore?

[Polnoch]

Permanently remove doesn't permit greed, in this case(if Steam permits game transfer, but not free transfer), greed doesn't affect :)
And, some times we make gifts for somebody. Take a gift as used game, I think, is a good idea.

And Steam + authors of game get additional money.

[Darren]

There are three reasons why gifting games from your library will never work.

1. I hijack your account and gift all your games to me.
2. You "gift" your games to someone else for money outside Steam and either they do not pay or you want to steal the games back anyway.
3. There is not enough in it for Steam and the publishers (why move a game when they can potentially sell a second copy).

Every idea falls down on one or more of those. Number 2 is the biggy that nobody can ever pass (and yours fails as well) because Valve will now have to arbitrate game transfers which they lack the information to make the right decisions on and would cost them time and money to do anyway.

[76561198218426745]

Originalmente postado por Darren:

Number 2 is the biggy that nobody can ever pass (and yours fails as well) because Valve will now have to arbitrate game transfers which they lack the information to make the right decisions on and would cost them time and money to do anyway.

Not that I agree with the original idea, but the above isn't quite true. At this moment, there is nothing stopping someone from gifting away Steam items in exchange for the promise of real world money. This does not obligate Steam to arbitrate, they will simply tell you that the trade you made was unsupported by Steam and they will not assist you. Happens all the time.

The real reason this idea won't work, in my opinion anyways, is this:

why move a game when they can potentially sell a second copy

Game devs have no incentive to let one copy of a game get passed around at half price, rather than selling the game to the user at full price (or any discount equal or lower to 50%.)

[Dark|»♦«|Knight]

They have no reason to allow this and will cause more issues than good. People were already annoyed at restrictions given through trading and selling etc, it will be worse if gifting games from your account was allowed.

[Narcoleptic Marshmallow]

"Half of the game's price" in what currency? The buyers currency, I'm going to assume. So if I'm in the US and want to send a $20 game to a friend in Russia, I'm going to have to pay $10 for it. The same $20 game is sold in Russia's Steam for 419 RUB, which is about 6 dollars. And that's before any discount.

Because people using proxies or simply finding someone willing enough to buy games for Russian prices and re-sell them for a profit elsewhere is not already a problem, you want Valve to make it legal, guarantee profit for the seller, and ensure the buyer have a right to keep the likely illegally obtained game.

[BossGalaga]

Originalmente postado por Polnoch:

Idea: gift games from your library, and pay half of game's price
I suggest to permits transferring games between steam users, but with restrictions: person, who wants to transfer his game, must pay half of the actual price of games.
In this case Steam and authors of the games don't lose too much money, and Steam users can clean their library from old games (yes, now you can remove games from your library, but your greed can't permits you this).

Player's level of happy have to increase, and income of Steam and authors of games must be similar.

Idea: Steam already has family sharing. When you purchase a game, even a physical game, what you're actually purchasing is a "license" to play that game. By purchasing the game, you've essentially opened it. In the case of games that are purely digital, the license is non-transferable. Even in the case of many physical games, the license agreements stated that the licenses were non-transferable, even though you could technically sell the disc and/or serial key.

Many console publishers have begun requiring non-reusable serial keys as well for their games.

Try returning your used PC game to Walmart or Gamestop. You can't.

[Polnoch]

Try returning your used PC game to Walmart or Gamestop. You can't.

But I can sell this games (DVD-disks) in ebay. And it doesn't require to pay something to Walmart.

Valve doesn't allow to sell used keys, because it reduces Valve's income. But using my idea Valve's and Games's authors income increased:

1) the amount of licence copies stay same. Load to the technical support, to the game servers same
2) Somebody can transfer licensed key again. May be 2, 3, 5, 10 times. And always authors of the game and Steam have additional income - it's perpertuum mobile. No new keys, but it is additional income!
3) in this case, Valve can allow and decriminalize sale keys.

It can be interesting to all - for Valve, for authors of games, and for Steam users too.

[Polnoch]

Because people using proxies or simply finding someone willing enough to buy games for Russian prices and re-sell them for a profit elsewhere is not already a problem, you want Valve to make it legal, guarantee profit for the seller, and ensure the buyer have a right to keep the likely illegally obtained game.

Some of games, if you living in Russia, and if you immigrate in U.S/Canada, then you can't to run in your new home.

I think, Valve may can give discount with half of payed moneys. For example, if you live in Russia, and you want to transfer game to your friend in U.S., and if you buy game with $10, and if in U.S. game has price $50, you can de-facto give discount to your friend in US - $5 ($10/2=$5)

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originalmente postado por Polnoch:

But I can sell this games (DVD-disks) in ebay. And it doesn't require to pay something to Walmart.

Buy PC game and you can't, even a non-steam one.

Originalmente postado por Polnoch:

Valve doesn't allow to sell used keys, because it reduces Valve's income. But using my idea Valve's and Games's authors income increased:

1) the amount of licence copies stay same. Load to the technical support, to the game servers same
2) Somebody can transfer licensed key again. May be 2, 3, 5, 10 times. And always authors of the game and Steam have additional income - it's perpertuum mobile. No new keys, but it is additional income!
3) in this case, Valve can allow and decriminalize sale keys.

It can be interesting to all - for Valve, for authors of games, and for Steam users too.

Developers do not see that and their numbers don't support it.

Remember, Valve has two sets of customers, the users and the developers. Valve has to balance the two. If Valve allowed such a system, then developers would leave and make their own stores, such as Origin has and Ubisoft has always tried to play the best of both.

With digital sales, there are no such thing as used copies as every copy has to be a new one. That game you just sold? The key is forever attached to your account. The person you sold it to would get a new key and so a new license. Key are never removed from an account.

Used sales cut into developers profilts as well. If they don't make as much as they feel they should, then they stop making games, make fewer game and/or make less quality games. In the end, it is a lose/lose situation.

Originalmente postado por Polnoch:

Some of games, if you living in Russia, and if you immigrate in U.S/Canada, then you can't to run in your new home.

I think, Valve may can give discount with half of payed moneys. For example, if you live in Russia, and you want to transfer game to your friend in U.S., and if you buy game with $10, and if in U.S. game has price $50, you can de-facto give discount to your friend in US - $5 ($10/2=$5)

Then the developer would not have made nearly as much. Games has a price of $50, then you sell it for $10, that is $40 less then they wold have made or $15 less then if it was a US to US sale.

If such a system ever did come about, it would be limited by the same regional restrictions as games currently have.

[BossGalaga]

Originalmente postado por Polnoch:

Try returning your used PC game to Walmart or Gamestop. You can't.

But I can sell this games (DVD-disks) in ebay. And it doesn't require to pay something to Walmart.

Valve doesn't allow to sell used keys, because it reduces Valve's income. But using my idea Valve's and Games's authors income increased:

1) the amount of licence copies stay same. Load to the technical support, to the game servers same
2) Somebody can transfer licensed key again. May be 2, 3, 5, 10 times. And always authors of the game and Steam have additional income - it's perpertuum mobile. No new keys, but it is additional income!
3) in this case, Valve can allow and decriminalize sale keys.

It can be interesting to all - for Valve, for authors of games, and for Steam users too.

1 & 2:
Valve isn't losing money. Out of all the developers and publishers on Steam, Valve is actually making the most profit for the least amount of work.

License agreements, restrictions and prices are set and/or negotiated by the developers and publishers. Valve can't just tell them to let users to sell their games for half off.

YOU want to buy games at half price. The publishers and developers are selling their games at the prices they want to sell them for.

3: So...your argument is that publishers should let everyone sell their games second-hand infinitely for half off or otherwise people will pirate their games?

That's a weak argument. People who are going to pirate games are going to pirate them regardless.

[Start_Running]

Not gonna happen. Since it would encourage the publishers to jack the prices of the games up. You are never gouing to be able to transfer your games like that. So get used to it. or get a console.