We can probably file this one under ridiculously obvious, but it appears that when the economy goes down like it has been in the U.S. people are much less likely to hold onto their games. Instead, and here is where it gets really crazy, they turn them in for money! I know this might shock you all to hear, so sit down as I reveal that GameStop’s buybacks have increased a large amount since last year.

“Because of the economic condition, we did not have to be as promotional on the buy side of games, because it just seems like we were naturally getting consumers trading [games in]. That’s why our margins are slightly better than they were in the second quarter last year,” COO Dan DeMatteo told Edge Online. He also informed them that GameStop isn’t too worried about getting rid of all those used games either as they believe the end of the year is going to be looking pretty good thanks to the fact that they’re already having a record sales year. So what about it? Are you turning in games because times are tight or are you a hoarder like I am?