Gamestop Loves Used Games, Unconcerned About Competition

In an interview with The Street, Gamestop CEO Paul Raines reiterated the retailer’s dedication to used game sales, while pointing out that other retailers have tried to enter the games market and floundered. Presumably he did all of this while laughing maniacally and stuffing money in his mouth.

“In tough economic times the consumer doesn’t want to spend $59 for a new game. That’s why our value proposition of buy, sell, trade gives consumers the most access,” Raines said. “They may not have $59, but they may have $40 and an old game under their bed that they can trade in for a new title.”

Raines must not have been to his own store in a while, because there’s no way in hell you’re getting $20 for an old game at Gamestop. He also confidently cites other retailer’s attempts to elbow in on Gamestop’s business.

“There is competition out there that likes to dabble in this segment, but I’d like to remind people that we have seen this many times before,” Raines said. “Both Wal-Mart and Best Buy have launched and cancelled programs.”

The reasoning for this is fairly simple – selling used games isn’t easy.

“There is a lot that goes into perfecting a used game business. Pricing buybacks and sales is complex. We have a refurbishment facility and last year recycled 100 million units. This system is difficult to replicate,” Raines said.

This is why all games should be sold digitally – first day access, more money to the developers, and no “do you have anything you want to reserve?” business.

[via MCV]