Why does the games industry insist on making the consumer suffer?

Alongside fighting piracy, games companies are widening their targets to include the rental, and second-hand game markets.

In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Epic Games’ (makers of Gears of War)President Michael Caps complains that piracy has stopped them making PC games altogether, and the second hand market is pushing developers towards solutions that stop it. Recently, and organization representing the games industry in Belguim managed to change the law to make game rental there illegal.

I can totally understand companies being worried about piracy, although their response has often been to punish the consumer, but stopping rental and second hand purchases is ridiculous. I’m yet to hear the motor industry make similar complaints about second hand cars, and video rental has been the norm for years.

It is especially painful to hear this kind of mean spirited stuff from an industry that is in such good health - still growing quickly, and predicted to outsell video and music this year in Britain alone. With a generally young demographic, this is impressive. The idea that sales will improve if gamers can’t try out games, as people often do with rental, or sell their old games to buy new ones, is pretty bad.