In short, those that can dedicate $100 to $200 just to watch a movie will get to. The rest of us will end up watching them at home, probably as first runs that couldn't bring in blockbuster money.
The same is somewhat true with video gaming. Microsoft is in an absolute tail spin over the fact that its system, which will cost $500, is going to limit the ability to play used games.
I understand the hatred of the used game market by Microsoft (Sony and Nintendo hate it, too, by the way, they're just not quite as clueless). A game sells new for just three or four months after release. After that, every copy sold is used unless it's the sort of thing that people will just mindlessly pick up at Walmart or Target.
Fun fact, I spent an entire $50 Target gift card on Metroid: Other M. When I traded it back to Gamestop for credit a month later? $1.99.
That's all the time a game studio has to make back its investment, and those investments rival Hollywood. We don't know how much it cost to make BioShock Infinite exactly, but it was at least a nine figure number. That's a lot, and unlike movies, games don't get a second wave of DVD sales or a lot of tie-in merchandise. Not on the level of something like Man of Steel does.
Plus the Xbox One is requiring kinect, which means you basically have a room dedicated to gaming since it needs ten feet of uninterrupted space. Then there's the fact that some games will require a 1.5 Mbps internet connection to function... in single player. Of course, the Xbox One won't work without a high speed internet connection, which, guess what, almost a third of Americans can't afford.
Microsoft is assuming "Xbox player equals well-off" and that's the problem. Gaming is not a high end luxury. It really isn't, and that is because of the used market. I rarely buy new games because I'm the only person working in the household right now. My Father's Day presents from my wife were all old PS2 games that she picked up for less than $30 total.
One day she'll be out of school, and I will be able to not only afford more than two pairs of pants, I'll be able to buy new games and systems when they're released. Who do you think I'm going to go with? The system that said, "Sorry, dude, we want Abercrombie and Fitch people, not you scum," or the company that bit the bullet on not getting any of the used game market dollar in the name of building a loyal customer base?
Movie studios and the video game industry are on a very dangerous cusp right now. Do you really want to sequester away the wealthy watching big budget action fests while the poor are forced to be satisfied with more thought-provoking and deeper films? Do you want to build a class wall around Halo while thousands of indie developers rush to sell personal projects of daring vision on the PC, Wii U, PS4, and Ouya?
Because I'm pretty sure that's the early stages of a revolution.
Jef With One F is a recovering rock star taking it one day at a time. You can read about his adventures in The Bible Spelled Backwards or connect with him on Facebook.
