It looks like Toys R Us is entering the used game business, but not in the way you might expect. Originally it looked as if they would be accepting used games and reselling them, just like your average GameStop, Blockbuster, or Hollywood Video does. As it turns out, though, they’re just buying the game, but they’re even buying the old stuff. As far back as Intellivision old stuff. Yeah, that’s old.
The company is taking the games it purchases back and giving them to a third-party company who refurbs the games for resale. I’m not sure just what that entails, and Toys R Us has yet to be forthcoming with details. As several commenters on Joystiq pointed out, it seems and odd program to establish, particularly because those old games can fetch hundreds of dollars on eBay. For newer games it seems to make some sense. Gamers get store credit for every game they turn in, which in turn means more business for the toy store. But aren’t other companies already doing this? And aren’t they doing it really well?
