On my commute into work this morning, I listened to a little NPR, I got myself an everything bagel with cream cheese, and while munching and driving, I listened to the second episode of Wired's newly rebooted GAME|LIFE podcast. In that podcast, they talked about how the increasing prevalence of downloadable games is killing the used game market. This is, of course, game publishers' primary intent - they make no money from re-sales of their games. And while I can certainly see the argument that after you've purchased something it's yours to sell, it does seem inappropriate that the bulk of the resale profit goes to a place like GameStop. But regardless of the current reality, it seems fairly evident that the used game market is not long for this world. The next generation of consoles may likely be disc-less. As is, the Sony Vita will allow you to get games either via download or by purchasing a flash cart - I'm guessing that the game on that flash cart will be indelibly tied to the specific Vita unit on which it is to be played. The Wii U will use game DVDs, but my guess is that the Playstation 4 and the XBox 720 will have downloadable-only games, or some other format that will preclude any game aftermarket.
One very good point made on the podcast that I'd never before put much thought into is this: places like GameStop have paid out X millions of dollars over the past X number of years to trade-in patrons, and the vast majority of that money goes towards the purchase of new games. When people pay out $60 for a new game, they're doing so with the implicit understanding that they're buying something with resale value. If that is taken away, will people still be willing to shell out sixty dollars?
I believe it is Green Man Gaming that offers credit for trade-in on some digitally-distributed titles. I'm not sure how they work the licensing, and what I see them offering is generally a pittance, but it's a practice I wouldn't mind seeing Steam adopt. Oh, was that game you shelled out 5 or 10 or 30 (or more) bucks for a bit of a dud? Or maybe you've played it through and don't imagine playing it again? We'll give you some credit for it in our online store. Shouldn't be too tough, since they manage the DRM in-house (most of the time). Is there margin in it for the distributor? Well, there might be. Steam already gets a metric buttload of my money (my Steam library has 200+ titles in it right now); they might get even more of it if I could get a bit of credit toward new games by relinquishing the ability to play some older ones.