14 DAY TRIAL // Has anyone noticed how much we have been talking about used games lately? Our favorite story related to the subject is the news that there's a fresh charity, named quite simply Donate Games, which aims to get used games from players and sell them in order to get the money needed to support patients suffering from so called “orphan” diseases, those that affect a very low number of patients all over the world.
On the other side of the morality aisle is GameStop, the retailer chain that is arguably the biggest entity selling and buying used games. There's no motivation behind its practices besides profit and the chain has reported some pretty interesting financial figures in the recent years. Now, it seems that the model has attracted the attention of another retail giant, Toys R Us, which aims to enter the used games market.
The add attached to the article was spotted by several gamers in a store in New York and the company is continuing to implement the new offers “in a couple of New York stores,” as told to Joystiq. At the moment, those who bring in used games do not get any cash, but rather credit that can be spent in the participating store. Toys R Us has refused to say the date when used game sales would be introduced in all its stores or whether cash would be offered for them at any point.
It's likely that the economic recession that is now in full swing will lead to an increase in the used games market. After all, most gamers will have less money to spend on new releases and they might see selling part of their collection as a viable option to getting some cash. If Toys R Us moves fast, it could get a piece of this growing market.