Overly Positive

Over at Cheap Ass Gamer, there’s a curious little forum post from the resident dealhunters about the new initiative/test market that Best Buy is looking to leverage towards its customers. It looks like some games that would normally be priced new are going to be price-matched against used prices from Gamestop and Game Crazy. Seems like a shot over the bow to the pre-owned/used game market, and a supposedly ambitious move by Best Buy to grab a bit more revenue during these “tough economic times.

I do have to say, the true winners here are the gamers, and with good reason. Once EBGames and Funcoland went the way of the dodo or were assimilated, Gamestop and to a lesser extent Game Crazy have dominated the used games market. Not much competition means not much innovation, as well as an “our way or the highway” philosophy. If you don’t like what Gamestop and Game Crazy have to offer you with used game prices, your only other alternative is potentially less reliable methods like Ebay, Craigslist, and others. So if Best Buy is entering into a competitive pricing range with these games without having to deal with the logistical headche of establishing a used games system, it’ll make Gamestop and Game Crazy respond with even better deals for gamers looking to save a buck.

Of course, there is a certain kind of argument that developers and publishers get hurt by a Best Buy lowering of prices the most, as not selling games at new retail value consistently may inevitably lead to less profit. Honestly, though, the reason why people sell, trade, and purchased used games is because in essence they get the same game as if they purchased it new. Packaging for new games has the potential to improve if Best Buy’s system gets put into place nationwide. Extras and bonus material like Fallout 3‘s lunchbox collector’s edition may become more commonplace, an attempt at justification of a larger markup by publishers for initial price, and a way to entice players away from buying their game DVD’s and Blu-rays in a cheap little holder at used game outlets. Once again, we gamers win out.

Of course, Best Buy hasn’t been without some sketchy past transgressions it’s had to deal with when it came to their price matching policy. But the marketing, which has only really been seen in one Utah Best Buy so far, still has the potential for great things to happen for the price of games at retail.  Time will tell – but for now, your wallets and purses should be breathing a sigh of relief.

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• Best Buy testing price matching of used games (joystiq.com)
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• Best Buy matching new and used prices? (destructoid.com)