UK retailer Game has combined two cornerstones of its business strategy by enabling customers to pre-order pre-owned games.
MCV reports that the UK’s largest specialist retailer is trialling the service, whereby consumers can order in advance a second-hand copy of the game one week after release, for £33.99, a £16 saving on SRP and a £6 saving on Game’s typical retail price for new games.
Thirteen games are included in the promotion, including upcoming releases like Crysis 2, Homefront, Dragon Age II and Shift 2: Unleashed.
While a surprising move from Game, it is also a logical one. The retailer retains the entire sales proceeds of a second-hand game, something which is the cause of much concern in the creative side of the industry as it deprives developers and publishers of revenue.
We reported last week on the firm’s new Play Now/Trade Later scheme, which guaranteed a fixed trade-in value of £35 for new releases Bulletstorm and Killzone 3, provided they were traded in within two weeks of launch. As we observed, the retailer was essentially converting new stock into pre-owned rapidly after its release, and its reasons are now a little clearer.
Game’s new strategy, announced last month, sees the retailer pledge to “Make games more affordable by creating different ways to buy and own them.”
Source: MCV