Former Multiplayer reporter Patrick Klepek has an excellent feature on What They Play comparing Amazon.com's new trade-in program with Gamestop's. He found that Amazon gives you a bit more and you can use your credit on non-gaming items, but that means you'll lose out on some of the deals Gamestop has. Are you going to give Amazon a chance?

Above is a photo of 46 copies of "Grand Theft Auto IV" for the Xbox 360 taken yesterday at a Brooklyn GameStop near my apartment.

Just last week, Rockstar Games announced that the first exclusive "GTA IV" DLC for the Xbox 360 is due out on February 17. And yes, you'll need the original game to play the additional content.

Do these 46 gamers just not care about the upcoming DLC? Or did they not know about it? (The back of the box and the manual mention content downloads but nothing specific.)

Do you see a bunch of copies of "GTA IV" piled up at your local game store?

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I can't remember what prompted it, but two days ago I had an idea that I think would help video game companies discourage gamers from buying used copies of games instead of new ones. They do hate the process, you know.

My idea is that if a game company wants to convince the average GameStop consumer to buy a new copy of "Gears of War 2" or "Resistance 2," they should build an an Achievement or Trophy into the game called "Bought The Game New."

Simple as that.

Here's how it would work: the game company packages their game with a single-use card that contains a password that can be inputted and verified by Xbox Live or PlayStation Network. Inputting the password earns the player an Achievement/Trophy that acknowledges that the player bought the game.

With that simple maneuver, the many gamers who love racking up Gamerscore points or Trophies would find themselves more inclined to buy their games new, rather than buy old ones or rent. This technique would be cheaper -- though possibly less alluring -- than companies like EA charging purchasers of used games extra to unlock all of a game's features or Microsoft issuing exclusive maps for people who buy new copies of "Gears."

So who's up for a "Bought The Game New" Achievement? Or would that be terrible for gamers?