Gamestop’s President ain’t even mad
In case you hadn’t noticed, folks on the internet are a bit upset about Microsoft’s vague and contradictory statements concerning used games on the Xbox One. One person you would assume would be particularly upset is the President of Gamestop. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Read on for the details.
Speaking to Forbes earlier today, Gamestop President Tony Bartel was asked how he felt the next generation of games will affect his business. His answer wasn’t what I, or the throngs of virtual rioters currently laying waste to comment sections everywhere, probably expected.
“Both Sony and Microsoft have said games can be resold and that’s exactly what we anticipated. It’s a recognized way to make these games more affordable. All three new platforms understand that.”
Bartel went on to say that new consoles are actually a good thing for the trade in market.
“As people upgraded to PS3 they traded in their old systems and libraries, which is why Sony made the move to not support backwards compatibility with later iterations of PS3. That’s why the ‘buy, sell, trade’ model works well. It enables people to purchase new games by trading in their old ones. We expect to see the same thing with this transition for PS4 and Xbox One. Trade-ins allow for a seamless transition.”
So…. crisis over, right? Well, maybe not. While Bartel’s statements are supportive of Microsoft’s plans, he doesn’t actually say what those plans are. Microsoft isn’t talking either, beyond promises to deliver more details in the near future. We know that there will be some sort of system in place to trade and resell games, but we have no idea what that system will be. One thing seems all but certain, though. You won’t be seeing anymore “THIS WILL DESTROY GAMESTOP” comments from the rioters.
