Both rumors originated from Kotaku, which also claimed a Microsoft source told them the next-gen console would feature a Blu-Ray drive.
GameStop CEO Paul Raines spoke during an investor conference call, ”We think it’s unlikely that there would be that next-gen console because the model simply hasn’t been proven to work. Remember, used video games have a residual value. Remember GameStop generates $1.2 billion of trade credits around the world with our used game model. So, consider taking used games out of that, you’d have to find new ways to sell the games.”
”And, our partners are good partners. The console companies have great relationships with us,” he then emphasized.
Raines then pointed out one advantage to videogame trade-ins that many developers and publishers seem to forget: gamers use credit from trading in their games to purchase new games.
”This is the kind of news that gets out in the industry and gets people worked up and hyper-ventilating and excited,” Raines noted. ”The pre-owned business is not a cannibalistic business. If you follow the popular conventional wisdom, you would think pre-owned is replacing new. The truth is, pre-owned is an opening price-point category. The average price is $18. A lot of it is old generation. What is is is a category for the customer who’s maybe not ready to invest in a new game, but wants to get into the console business and console entertainment.
Raines called it a mutually beneficial cycle. “What we’ve done is create a way for that new leading edge consumer to dispose of their old games, and that’s what creates this great circle of life we talk about that so many try to imitate. That’s how we see it,” he finished.
