I stumbled onto this website a few weeks ago, and it is a great site, but small. It needs members. Anybody reading this blog is obviously interested in games, so please join the site and help make it what it could be. I am a regular contributor to that site, and I invite everyone to become a part of it. The site is http://www.gametraderworld.com/ and following is their official press release:
NEXT GENERATION TRADING FOR NEXT
GENERATION GAMES
Game Trader World Promises a New Community with a Fair Deal for Your Old Video Games. With the release of the Xbox 360 last year and the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii to be released next month, the next generation of video games is upon us. Every few years, new video game systems come out to take advantage of the latest technology, but one thing that hasn't really changed for the 30+ years that video games have been around is what you can do with the games once you finish them.
Most people will just return to the store, which usually offers to buy it back for a small fraction of the purchase price and sell it used for slightly less than a new copy. If you happen to have a friend who wants your game and he has one that you want, you can just swap them, but how likely is that?
Now with the advent of GameTraderWorld.com, you can have access to a trading community that spans the nation. Created and developed over 9 months by recent George Washington University graduate Mike Festa from Melrose, MA, GameTraderWorld.com is the 'Ultimate Game Trading Community'. "The idea is simple", Festa says, "we want to allow gamers from all over the country, many of whom already know each other from other online communities, to be able to safely exchange games with each other as if they lived down the street." With the next generation consoles built to be played online, gamers across the country are already playing together and forming friendships while sharing a common passion. For example, Xbox Live, Microsoft's online service for Xbox and Xbox 360, has over 4 million members, including over 60% of Xbox 360 owners. Nintendo and Sony will be offering similar services.
GameTraderWorld.com invites gamers to create a free account and to build their reputation by interacting with the community. The website offers a wide variety of features, including forums to chat about games, game reviews, a games collection and wishlist, a friends list, and user ranks and awards. Users create listings of games they want to trade and indicate a price and/or games that they would be interested in exchange. When a user finds a game listed that they want, they make an offer and choose to pay or to give one of the games that was requested. The user who made the listing can choose to accept the offer based on how much they trust the person requesting the trade. Game Trader World charges a modest 99 cent transaction fee and each user pays the shipping. Being an avid gamer, Festa knows all too well the pitfalls of the current game trading status quo. "As a kid I remember having 10 Super Nintendo games that I had finished and were just sitting on my shelf. I brought them to a local game store and was frustrated by the paltry value that they assessed; nevertheless, I went home with 4 used games in exchange. About a month later, I brought those same games back and returned home with just one game. After finishing that game and feeling nostalgic, I traded it with my friend for one of the original 10 games that I had. After that day, I swore that I'd never trade another game. But now, with GameTraderWorld.com, I can break that promise with satisfaction."
Game Trader World allows users to trade their video games online in a community built around creating trust. The 'Ultimate Game Trading Community' can be found on the web at www.GameTraderWorld.com and is officially launching on Friday, November 3rd.