GameStop reminds console makers that used games matter at market
Used games are an essential part of the video game marketplace, generating more than $700 million in trade credit toward new games each year, GameStop President Tony Bartel told Forbes. Bartel defended the importance of used games in next-gen systems, noting that "recent surveys" suggested 60 percent of game customers would be less likely to purchase a console that couldn't play used games.
Bartel wouldn't want to see the pre-owned business evaporate, since used game sales have been known to represent almost a quarter of GameStop's annual revenue. Bartel noted that regardless of next-gen capabilities, there were 100 million current-gen consoles in the US, so that market wouldn't disappear any time soon.
GameStop has been banging this drum for years, noting in 2009 that 75 percent of trade-in credit applied directly to the purchase of a new game. Bartel told Forbes that 70 percent of trade-ins went toward new games and hardware per year, of more than $1 billion total trade-in credit.
The PlayStation 4 will be able to play used games, Sony Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida confirmed.
