Have you gone to GameStop over the past few months and tried to buy a new game? Have they told you that it's not in stock? They may simply be lying to you, fuelled by a new program that discourages GameStop salespeople from selling unopened copies of video games.

Redditor Vernm51's parents couldn't find a copy of Pokemon HeartGold for the DS locally for Christmas, so they ordered it online from GameStop — and received a bootleg copy that didn't work.

GameStop is overhauling trade-ins and launching a new program that will wind up giving people more money for the games they sell, Kotaku has learnt. The new initiative, which will launch on August 18, will simplify GameStop's trade-in structure, reducing the complexity of what has become an unnecessarily obtuse service.

Herein lies the dread account of one man’s descent into the ancient ruins of Cash Converters and the unspeakable otherworldly terrors discovered within.

Every time I bring home a new video game I have this ritual: I take a fish boning knife and slide it under a fold in the shrinkwrap, then twist. Then I try to remove all of the cellophane in one piece, like it's the world's biggest peel-and-eat shrimp. If it's an Xbox 360 game, I slip it down under the obnoxious seal across the edge and lift that out. I have to do all of this because American retail packaging insists on treating every customer like a potential shoplifter.

The battle over our rights to play used games took centre stage last night during Jimmy Fallon's Video Game Week, a post-E3 celebration of all things ludic. Fallon had brought up Mark Cerny, lead designer of the PlayStation 4, to talk about Sony's next gaming console. And inevitably the conversation turned to DRM.

It's clear what Microsoft thinks of game ownership — the Xbox One's policies don't communicate much of a belief in it. Sony scored a lot of points on Monday, but to be fair, it was a defence of the status quo. Where does Nintendo come down on the subject?

The well-tanned Yakuza series developer, Toshihiro Nagoshi was walking among the crowds at E3 this year. Hopefully basking in the saturated spectacle of upcoming consoles and games.

In an interview with Game Trailers’ Geoff Keighley, Sony CEO Jack Tretton shed more light on how used games will work on the PlayStation 4. It seems that, while the system’s first-party games will be free to trade in or share without restriction, third-party publishers can choose to behave otherwise.

Nothing else need be said.

While the rent-by-mail service GameFly is keeping quiet on what Xbox One may mean to its future, the kiosk rental service Redbox has begun a modest lobbying campaign to remind gamers that game rentals, used games, even taking them to a friend's home are in serious jeopardy under the new console generation.

After much waffling, Microsoft finally delivers a concrete answer on the ability to trade-in or resell your used Xbox One games — it's not up to them.

Used games. Love'em or hate'em, you've probably got some opinion on the furore surrounding how we'll buy, sell and borrow video games in the future. Microsoft has already revealed plans to restrict used games in some way for Xbox One, and Sony has been murky about how the PS4 will handle them.

YouTube gaming commentator Total Biscuit does not like used games. He's no suit defending The Man. He's a hardcore PC gamer and man of the people.

The video game industry has declared war against used games, and one of the biggest casualties might be GameFly, the video game by-mail rental service. With news that Xbox One games will come with one-time-use activation codes that lock them to your Xbox Live account, it's become clear that Microsoft's next console will limit the way we borrow and swap games.

There's been a lot of chatter this week about used games, mostly spurred by the news that Xbox One games will come with one-time registration codes, meaning you can't just swap them with your friends or trade them at a GameStop.

It's a simple question: "Can the PlayStation 4 play used games?" After nearly a year of rumours, speculation and mysterious patents indicating that Sony could limit the play of pre-owned titles on its next-generation console we're finally getting answers — answers that leave us with more questions.

You buy a car. You buy a brand new car. It's expensive. Your friends call you an idiot, but who cares. You love cars. You love that new car smell.

But imagine if, when it came time to buy a new car, you weren't allowed to sell your old one. That car you bought brand new a few years back? You can't trade it in for a new model. Now take things a little further: imagine if, from the second you plunked your buttocks in the seat and gripped the steering wheel, only you could drive the car you just bought from the moment it left the showroom till the day it hit the scrap yard.

Insanity.

This last week I took my annual trip to the US to visit family. Like always, while I was there, I made sure to hit up the used game stores and buy games that have never come out in Japan — i.e. Dead Space, Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, etc. Despite having lived in Japan for so long (eight years now), it still surprises me how different it is buying used games elsewhere.