The pre-owned video game market has become controversial in a number of different ways. GameStop, a pioneer in the used game market, doesn't apologize for such a lucrative business.
In speaking to Gamasutra , GameStop president Paul Raines revealed that 70% of all income taken from the sale of used games is spent immediately on new titles. And they're also proud of how they've brought pre-owned software to the US High Street. Said Raines:
"We are not ashamed of the pre-owned business and in fact we believe that it's good for the industry. We're really not cannibalizing new game sales. That's a common misconception. The knowledge of how this model helps drive sales really resides at the publisher level.
A lot of our consumers tell us that the pre-owned business has allowed them to learn more about video gaming. There's a disconnect between a lot of the blogosphere and what consumers tell us."
That's not really surprising. And the majority of complaints still center around the fact that developers are struggling, due in part to one big problem: They see no money from the sale of pre-owned games. But Raines still believes in the used game market, and says game makers just don't understand how much it really helps.
We have not been successful in communicating to developers how this business really helps. So my answer to developers is that we are driving growth in a category that needs to grow.
We think there's a real lack of awareness as far as how it's good for the industry. The transparency you're seeing from us is because we want people to know about it, helping people understand what we're trying to do for the industry."
There's a lot of truth there. …of course, we can't really forget that GameStop pulls in $1 billion/year from the sale of pre-owned products. That's worth noting.
