Walmart joins the used game market

[xtop]

http://neocrisis.com/content/view/3918/39/

Does it sounds so strange? Not really when you think about it, this is Wal-Mart after all. Most people are unaware at the moment, but Wal-Mart is now accepting used games to trade for credit.

Just a few hours ago, I went to the one near my house and was quite surprised at what I saw. Apparently they had a installed a new vending machine less than a day ago which allows you to trade in your used PS2, PS3, X-Box, Xbox 360, and Wii games.

The machine looks extremely similiar to the Redbox DVD rental machines. When I went to use the machine, however, it still had more than a few bugs that need fixing. The first issue occurs right after you login. When logging in, you are asked to scan your games. However once you do so, there is a glitch that logs you out immidiately entering your information. After you log back in, the issue seems to repeats itself.

An additional issue is that it seems that the machine is unable to scan games. I took a few of my games to test it out. Final Fantasy 12, Godfather 2, Mirror's Edge, Ractchet and Clank, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando and Burnout 3: Takedown. However one game, Mirror's Edge, did indeed get scanned but i got a pop-up message which stated that game was not in its database.

In the end, all the bugs and glitches prevented me from trading in any of my games and customer service was closed at the time so I was out on my own. But still, if there is one business out there to give Gamespot some competition, it's the giant Wal-Mart. We'll be writing further on the issue about why we think Wal-Mart has the power to steal Gamestop's limelight in the used game market.

pictures of the kiosk in the link.

what do you guys think?

[dereksworl]

[Mr. J]

Originally Posted by dereksworl

[D1-2005]

Hw do they know if it's a scratched up game or even just a light scribed disc?

[Steve]

Originally Posted by D1-2005

Hw do they know if it's a scratched up game or even just a light scribed disc?

Or just an empty case? I'm not so sure about this. I don't have an issue with Wal-Mart getting in on the used game action, but I wouldn't feel too comfortable about buying a used game that no human eyes inspected when it was traded in. I know you can probably return it if there's an issue, but still. Why go through the hassle?

[ADRiiAN`]

I'm pretty sure they will inpect the games every night or something.

That's why you have to log in at the kisok, and you probably need to give them detailed information, so if you do scam them, they have all of your information.

[xtop]

i doubt you just toss in a case an expect that to be the end of it

and i'm sure it loads up the discs to make sure its not too scratched and if its legit.

[jono_0101]

you probably dont have to include a case, they will just use genenric ones for cases missing or damaged beyond use if they even ask for them to begin with, and the only requirement will be to insert the disc into a drive that will make sure it will still play, then give you credit for the trade in, i guess the drive will have to be able to read and determine what game it is for what platform to tell the kiosk how much credit to give, unless its a certain amount for a game in a certain platform, the only real thing is it would need to be able to determine a copy from an original, unless it gets a credit card # with your login, so it can charge that if you start trading in copies

but anything that takes away from gamestop is a step in the right direction if you ask me!

[D1-2005]

Originally Posted by jono_0101

you probably dont have to include a case, they will just use genenric ones for cases missing or damaged beyond use if they even ask for them to begin with, and the only requirement will be to insert the disc into a drive that will make sure it will still play, then give you credit for the trade in, i guess the drive will have to be able to read and determine what game it is for what platform to tell the kiosk how much credit to give, unless its a certain amount for a game in a certain platform, the only real thing is it would need to be able to determine a copy from an original, unless it gets a credit card # with your login, so it can charge that if you start trading in copies

but anything that takes away from gamestop is a step in the right direction if you ask me!

I'm sure they have thought of everything before hand, but to pop in the disc and have it check it would require every type of game reader would it not?

[jono_0101]

Originally Posted by D1-2005

I'm sure they have thought of everything before hand, but to pop in the disc and have it check it would require every type of game reader would it not?

thats the only thing i would think would be a problem, but the quote only mentions ps2, ps3, xbox and wii, so i would think that it would only need a blu ray drive right? i know im not the most tech savvy person, but ps2, xbox, and wii are all played from a DVD drive, and PS3 from a blu ray drive, the kiosk doesnt necessarily need all the components to actually run the game, just to read the contents of the disc, to confirm what game it is, right? i could definitely be wrong, but that seems like it kind of makes sense to me

[Xerios]

=/ i just hope it doesnt get to a gamestop level where i go to buy a new game, theyre fresh out, and pull a sleeve out and take the box off the shelf then id be mad

[saprano]

meh, i dont sell games.

Screw gamestop though

[jono_0101]

Originally Posted by saprano

meh, i dont sell games.

Screw gamestop though

i dont tend to sell used games either, but i can stand to get rid of sports games that are old, ex, i have NHL 2k8 and NHL 09, when the new hockey game comes out this year, i have no use for either of these, i wont get much for them, but if walmart offers a decent trade in, it would be better than holding on to them for nothing

[MOONPHASE]

Might take a peek at it but I doubt I would find anything of interest unless they have like Playstation 1 games which doesn't look like it

[Marine Mike]

Well you swipe your Credit Card, so if you put in something illegitament (like a burned game), they'll just take the money back out as they already got your CC info.

[KingBing]

How much are they giving for games? It can't get any worse than game stop

[Rike255]

Originally Posted by KingBing

How much are they giving for games? It can't get any worse than game stop

This is what I want to know too!