It’s a well known fact that video game publishers have never been comfortable with the used game side of video game retail. In recent years, publishers have even gone so far as to create counter measures against used game sales like restricted downloadable content or codes to play online.
A new online retailer, EKGaming.com, wants to change all of that and create a “healthy circle of life” for video games. EKG plans to do business completely online instead of having brick and mortar locations so it can keep it’s overhead low, and pass those savings onto consumers in the form of higher trade-in value for games, and share 10% of used game sales with publishers.
Mike Kennedy, CEO of EKG, thinks putting more money into publisher’s pockets could generate more willingness to take risks on new and exciting IPs, “Publishers are spending record amounts of cash on new game development. This increase in dev costs is steering them in directions that don’t necessarily jive with gamers, causing them to take less risks on new and potentially exciting IP’s or game mechanics and sticking with tried and true properties that are more of a guarantee.”
EKG is in the beta stage, and hopes to partner with a local big box retailer to allow gamers to trade in games and have immediate access to new ones, while the used games are funneled through EKG’s online marketplace.
