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More gamers turning to pawn shops due to recession
Most gamers who've possessed a longtime penchant for frugality know the pawn shop business model quite well thanks to a certain pre-owned retail juggernaut -- however, due to the aforementioned retailer, we've traditionally rarely taken our business to actual pawn shops. According to a recent Chicago Tribune article, this trend may be reversing -- the article points out that national pawn shop chains had a highly profitable year in 2008 (thanks to the ailing economy), and that most are seeing an increase in hocked electronics; namely, TVs and "expensive game systems."Sure, it may sound like a depressing trend for gamers to resign themselves to, but really, it's more disastrous news for GameStop. When gamers collectively realize that pawn shops not only offer video games, but also pre-owned Glocks and rings with which to "make that gal an honest woman," they're probably never going to cross the threshold of a GameStop ever again.[Via GamePolitics]
