Best Buy announced a new in-store used video game trade-in system will launch in its U.S. retail stores later this summer.
Some stores will have full-service desks for trade-ins, but the majority of Best Buy location will have the customer service desk handle game trade-ins. Best Buy also hopes to install touchscreen kiosks that gives customers the choice of testing game titles before pre-ordering.
Customers have the chance to bring in used games and exchange them for a Best Buy gift card. It can be spent on anything currently in stock at Best Buy stores.
The company said it "knows how important game trade-in" is for the overall gaming atmosphere that Best Buy hopes to create in its stores.
Best Buy also disclosed that Q1 game merchandise sales in stores open at least 14 months dropped, but a specific percentage wasn't revealed -- GameStop, Walmart, Target, and other discount stores have been competing fiercely with Best Buy in a changing market.
The new program is expected to begin in late summer, but Best Buy officials didn't announce a specific date.
Best Buy has online trade-ins for gaming titles, computers and mobile phones already, but this in-store program will help increase publicity and volume.
I think this is an interesting move by Best Buy, and I'll be curious to see how it works out. Once I'm done playing a PC or console game, it usually just ends up collecting dust on a shelf somewhere. It's good that Best Buy is providing yet another outlet for gamers to trade in used-up games for something new.
Wal-Mart started selling used video games last October, as there has been a new interest in the "previously played" market. Electronic Arts has instituted a system to make used game players pay for online access, and other game studios are expected to make similar announcements. "Extreme gamers," who log an average of 48 hours of gaming time, have helped drive the used games market.
