Andrew Cullen ’14 | Staff Writer

Beginning on March 26, Walmart will give customers the option to trade in their used video games for store credit that can be used to purchase other things, according to The New York Times.

Those who trade in the old, dusty games they don’t want anymore can use the in-store credit towards any item at Walmart, according to ABC News. So that means all you gamers out there can now give Walmart that copy of Skyrim you haven’t touched in a year in exchange for some digital currency. Oh boy!

I think this will benefit gamers worldwide. Every gamer has that stack of barely-used games that are just collecting dust on a shelf. Just think of the possibilities.That old copy of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” could easily be turned into a cooler, or a spatula, or patio furniture, or whatever it is that people buy at Walmart.

Personally, I’ve had my eye on that animatronic singing fish on a plaque. I can’t bring myself to spend real money on it, though. Now I can get rid of a few old games, and get the things I want. Talk about efficiency.

Walmart may run into some trouble in the used game industry, according to The New York Times. The used game market is a tough business to enter. Plus, Gamestop has a virtual monopoly on all games that have ever been used by anyone. There are also other competitors, like Amazon and Best Buy, that already have a decent hold in the market.

The selling of used games has also been a thorn in the side of many game developers, according to The New York Times. Used games usually go on sale for a lower price than their newer counterparts. Because of this, when a new title is released, people buy a used version of it for a cheaper price later on. Video game developers do not get any of the money from the sales of used games either. And there is not very much these developers can do about it for now.

Earlier this year, in fact, there was a lot of controversy over the digital rights management (DRM) technology used in the Xbox One. Microsoft was trying to stop gamers from playing used or borrowed games by adding in a technology that would verify whether the user actually owned the game or not. This got so much backlash from consumers that Microsoft eventually got rid of the DRM in its next-generation gaming console. People really want their used games.

It will be interesting to see how Walmart does in the used games market. Walmart actually tried doing this before, according to The New York Times. A few years ago, they used kiosks for people to trade in used games. It was eventually shut down, though.

Who knows, maybe Walmart will dethrone Gamestop. Or maybe it will be a gigantic failure. Meanwhile, gamers around the world can relish in the fact that they have one more place that’s willing to take their old copy of “Halo 3: ODST”.