Dice Summit: GameStop executive argues used games drive new game sales
Game developers have been sore about the sales of used games and how they eat into new sales without giving the developers or publishers any compensation. But GameStop’s No. 2 executive said today that the whole industry benefits from the used market because it brings new gamers into the market.
"This is the elephant in the room," said J. Paul Raines, chief operating officer of the biggest U.S. game retailer, at the Dice Summit. "Do used game sales hurt new game sales? No."
Raines said that only 4 percent of GameStop’s used game sales are for titles that debuted in the last 60 days. The retailer’s surveys of 2,000 gamers show that gamers view used games as a way to try out new kinds of games they wouldn’t have otherwise played. And gamers use 70 percent of the proceeds from selling selling their games toward new game purchases. About 14 percent of new game purchases are funded by trade-in credits.
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