GameStop: 60% of gamers could reject next-gen consoles

As the impending twin announcements around the next Xbox and PlayStation 4 are speculated to take place soon, GameStop says any move by the two console makers to block second-hand sales will see over half their customers flee.

Rumours suggest that both Microsoft and Sony could include security blocks in their next generation of consoles designed to quash piracy and second-hand gaming, but this could backfire warns the retailing giant.

During a presentation at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, CFO Rob Lloyd shrugged off suggestions that the new consoles could impact on the company's lucrative second-hand sales market, revealing the research.

“Consumers want the ability to play pre-owned games, they want portability in their games; they want to play physical games. And to not have those things would be a substantial reason for them not to purchase a new console,” he said.

“I think it was 60% of customers who said they wouldn’t buy a new console [if it blocks used games].”

He also commented that Sony has said it has no intention of blocking used games, while Microsoft has refused to comment on all the rumours surrounding the next Xbox, codenamed Durango.

(via VG247)

image: © Kenny Louie

James Lee

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James Lee is a freelance writer and analyst with extensive experience in the technology, media and games sectors. For the past few years he has provided content for internationally published industry reports, SEO companies and a variety of news-focused websites. Prior to this, James was responsible for covering news and producing in-depth features for GamesIndustry.biz while occasionally contributing to its sister-site. Eurogamer.net. In addition to this he has contributed to other notable sites such as CVG.co.uk, Edge-Online and DigitalSpy.