Stopping second-hand sales will "upset" consumers - GameStop

GameStop's CEO, Dan DeMatteo, has warned against any move by the games industry to limit or ban the sale of second-hand titles in major retailers, saying it "creates contention" for the consumer.

Speaking to Gamasutra, DeMatteo explained that consumers were used to making use of "residual value" in titles, adding that games are often traded in for store credit which promotes new sales.

"I think it creates contention not only for us, yes, but also for the consumer," said DeMatteo. "Anything that limits the transferability of a game from consumer to a friend of theirs, to selling it on eBay, to exchanging it and trading it with one of their friends, or selling it back to GameStop - I think is a bone of contention with the consumer.

"The consumer has been trained that there is a residual value to their videogames," he explained.

"Also, we will give out approximately USD 800 million in credits this year - trade-in credits that will go toward the purchase of new videogames," commented DeMatteo.

"The consumer, oftentimes and especially now, needs that residual value from those games as a trade-in to be able to afford a new videogame."

DeMatteo concluded that preventing access to this value will "eventually get the consumer upset, as well as GameStop."

This news has followed recent calls by industry luminaries, such as David Braben and Michael Capps, for new solutions to replace the existing second-hand games market to be more favourable to developers and publishers.