EB Games (Canadian Gamestop) now sells new and used games side by side

Powet.tv staff have confirmed that EB Games stores in Canada are selling new and used video games side by side, though the yellow labels remain on used games. This news report on Kotaku mentioned that EB Games stores, the Canadian version of Gamestop, would start a policy of eliminating used game sections and instead storing new and used games together, both with white labels. While many questioned the validity of this news and referred to reports by employees to speculate… why didn’t anyone get off their ass and go to the damned store?

I did just that. I visited one of the many EB Games stores in Ottawa, Ontario (1719 Merivale Road to be specific) and I can confirm that, as these photos indicate, new and used games are indeed located side by side. New and used games sections still exist, while some sections with both exist as well. An employee mentioned they were renovating, so the current state of the store was very likely temporary.

One important thing to note is the clear distinction between new and used games that still exists on the price tags. Changing all tags to white would surely have been an effort to hide the difference between new and used, but in this case the sorting may simply have been to help customers find games more easily, and see the used option at the same time as the new, rather than needing to trek around the store. It’s quite possible that a relabelling of the games is still to come, but at this time the distinction is still clear.

Whether or not Gamestop stores in the US will follow suit is also unknown, but if such a rumour does pop up, might I suggest some of you hermits get off your asses and out of your basement and go to the damned store to verity instead of bitching about it on the Internet?