GameStop: Pre-owned will live on

As the number of publishers choosing to lock out content from players buying pre-owned games continues to swell, retailer GameStop has insisted that second hand games still have a bright future.

We support the creation of added downloadable content for popular franchises, as we see that as extending the life of titles and broadening the base of game players,” COO Paul Raines told investors, as reported by CVG.

We do not anticipate an impact to our used margins due to this program. The amount of used game buyers currently playing online is low, and as it grows, our proprietary models will manage trade and sale pricing to reach margin goals.”

Furthermore, Raines believes that retail can in fact play a key part in the sale of the codes necessary to access locked content in pre-owned titles.

We are pleased to participate in the launch of Electronic Arts’ Online Pass and sales of DLC on new titles,” he added.

We believe that the online pass process will allow publishers to better leverage their IP content through DLC sales to both used players and new game buyers.”