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Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says his company should get a cut of any money Microsoft makes from used games on the Xbox One.
The report from Develop’s sister-site MCV is that the Xbox One will be able to play used games, but that Microsoft will get a cut of all sales.
It is unclear if this cut is the activation fee Microsoft says it requires for users to transfer a used game to their Xbox Live account.
According to Gamespot, the Take-Two boss told an audience Cowen Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference that if this is true, his company wants its fair share.
“There’s no question that if Microsoft has figured out a way to tax used games, then we should get paid, too. It’s hard to imagine why they should and we shouldn’t," Zelnick said.
Even with the chance to profit from the sale of used games – a practice controversial with some developers that worry it hurts their bottom line – the CEO was swift to distance himself from an anti-preowned stance that might land him in hot water with consumers.
"Our view about used games has been, as opposed to whining or figuring out ways to punish the consumer for buying used games, we’ve figured out we better delight the consumer," Zelnick said.
By delight the consumer, Zelnick evidently means give them a reason to not sell the game in the first place, evidently with free DLC.
"Let’s push up our quality, which you’ve seen in our Metacritic scores, and then let’s make sure to give people DLC, often free, three or four weeks out; which is the time you’re at risk for them trading in their game," he explained.
"If you can keep the game in consumer’s hands for 8 weeks, you almost don’t care anymore about used game sales because it’s the first 8 weeks that really nail you."
