It seems cash strapped American gamers are looking to trade in more of their used games.
Toys R Us is not alone in its hunger for a piece of the used game business.
A day after Joystiq confirmed this week that the toy store will try buying and selling used video games, Kotaku printed a rumour that Best Buy will sell used games as well. And today, Amazon officially revealed its own trade-in service.
Amazon's process is a lot like selling games back through Gamefly, the mail-order game rental service. After looking up a game and its trade-in value online, customers can print out a shipping label, send off the game and get online store credit in return.
Sadly, Amazon's trade-in rates are hardly better than those of Gamestop, and both are shamefully low. For example, Amazon is offering $24 for the Xbox 360 version of Afro Samurai, which sells used through third-party merchants for over $50. My local Gamestop will pay $22 and sell it back for $55. Add in the extra cost of shipping, plus the effort of standing in line at the post office, and there's just no discernable difference between the two services.
Still, some people may prefer Amazon because it sells practically anything, while people who trade in to Gamestop are pretty much stuck buying more video games. Personally, I'm going with Gamefly, which offered $28.75 for Afro Samurai as of earlier this week, towards the cost of a subscription. But of course, the trade-in program is for members only.
If Best Buy and Toys R Us do end up joining the used game fray, they ought to offer more competitive rates, if only as a way to distinguish themselves from the pack.
