GameTrade Press Release - 22 Sept, 2003

Gametrade.com.au delivers the first online exchange portal for Australian video gamers.

Sydney, Monday September 22nd, Gametrade.com.au, Australia's first video game trading environment was launched today.

Gametrade.com.au is an online environment designed to restore value to the numerous video games that are piling up on the shelves of video game enthusiasts around Australia.
Typically new video games cost between $70 and $110 at time of release, and are used continuously for the first month or until the game has been played through to the end. The game is then retired to the "I've played it" pile and the next game is purchased. This can be an expensive process for both adult gamers and the parents of younger gamers who find it hard to justify regular $100 purchases.

Bryan Landsiedel, Managing Director of Gametrade.com.au felt that gamers would be interested in swapping played games for ones they hadn't played. He felt doubly certain that parents and students would appreciate getting some value back for their original investment in older games.

"Being an avid gamer myself, I was already swapping my games - when I'd played a new game all the way to the end I'd offer it around to my friends and swap for another game I hadn't played. It made sense to share the expense of buying new games. The variety of games in the game pool was limited so I struck upon the idea of extending our group of friends to cover Australia and Gametrade.com.au was born."

"Once you have finished a game, even though the game is physically as good as the day you bought it, there are not many options for recovering your investment. Some retailers provide a buy-back program but usually only pay you a tiny fraction of the original value of the game," said Bryan.

Gametrade.com.au provides an easy to use environment where video gamers can safely and easily list their games stock along with a wish list of games that they would like to trade. The first step is to register on the Gametrade.com.au website, entering the names of all of your games you have to trade and the ones you would like to get hold of. Each game is then given an "emotional attachment" ranging from "Make me an offer" to "From my cold dead hands". The Gametrade.com.au matching engine matches potential trades and alerts the two traders. It is then up to the individual parties to determine the exact games that are traded. Single and multiple games can be traded through the website and "2 for 1" trades are happily supported i.e. if you have two Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games and want Tom Clancy's Ghost recon - the matching engine allows you to offer this.

Once a trade is agreed upon by both parties and the trade commission (normally $6) and postage and handling fees are paid ($5.50), the games from either side of the trade are sent to Gametrade.com.au. On receipt of the game/s, Gametrade.com.au staff will then verify that all games are as promised in the trade and appear to be genuine original games. For an additional $3 Gametrade.com.au staff will do a "console check" by checking that each game will load on the appropriate console. Once verification is complete, the traded games are dispatched to their new homes and the Gametrade.com.au website is updated to reflect that the dispatch is complete.

Throughout the trading process both members receive email notifications at critical points to let them know if they need to do anything. For example, once the trade is agreed upon, they receive an email stating that they have 48 hours to make their fee payment. Then, once both have paid, they receive an email telling them it is time to mail in their games. Later, they get an email when their games are received and verified at GameTrade HQ. Finally, they get an email when their new game has been sent to them. The entire process, from the first offer of a trade to the moment they receive their new game is managed by email and traceable on the Gametrade.com.au website. As a launch special, Gametrade.com.au is waiving the trade commission on all trades until October 31st to encourage new members to join. So until the end of October, trades cost each member only $5.50(instead of $11.50).

Gametrade.com.au only trades in original games. Attempting to trade copies or pirated versions will result in cancellation of your account and immediate suspension from the system.

"We're very serious about illegal copies. They are simply not acceptable on Gametrade.com.au. A huge amount of investment goes into creating today's video games, and it's only fair that the manufacturers of the games are able to recoup that investment. In fact we see one of the benefits of Gametrade.com.au as being an inexpensive way for gamers to try new games.

The majority of new games today are extensions of an existing franchise. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 is the fourth game in this series. If you've never played the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games, Gametrade.com.au is a great way to try the game without spending $100 for a game you may not like. If it turns out you do really like the game, then it's a good bet you'll buy number 5 as soon as it hits the market. We think we have the potential to actually grow sales for the game developers and producers by drawing new gamers into their existing franchises," said Mr Landsiedel

Gametrade.com.au has been live and operating in beta mode since July 2003, and has several hundred members, trading successfully and securely.

A current member "winty75" said:

"Following a little hesitation in undertaking a game trade as there was no forum or feedback from other members to find out if all things runs smoothly, I would like to express my thanks to Gametrade.com.au for a fantastic website and a smooth trade. I highly recommend this website and will definitely use it again, especially for any Xbox users who have V8 Supercars. I want it... Trade with me now!!!"

Gametrade.com.au is owned and operated by Gametrade.com.au Pty Ltd and is launching today to Australian audiences. Trades cost as little as $5.50 until October 31st 2003, and Gametrade.com.au is accepting new registrations from the media and the public from today.

For more information or to arrange an interview with Bryan Landsiedel, Managing Director of Gametrade.com.au Pty Ltd, call Melissa Arbuthnot at CommunEcom on 02 99606000, 0400 332 662 or via email to melissa.arbuthnot@communecom.com.au

About Gametrade.com.au Pty Ltd

Gametrade is Australia's first online environment dedicated to the safe, secure trading of console video games. Gametrade.com.au was created to return value to the often substantial volume of used video games that exist in the home of most people who own a video game console. Gametrade.com.au is the brainchild of Bryan Landsiedel, a games enthusiast and Information Technology Professional with a long history of professional application development for large multinational corporations. Gametrade.com.au is headquartered in Sydney NSW.

About Bryan Landsiedel

Bryan Landsiedel is a veteran of the internet industry. He has been responsible for the development of profitable internet businesses for Australian and international companies over the last seven years, working for companies including EDS, Rare Medium and Aptrix. Before leaving to start Gametrade Pty Ltd, Bryan was the Manager of Global Consulting and Education for Aptrix, a leading provider of enterprise and web content management solutions. He has worked on internet projects in Australia for Westfield, Fuji Xerox, AMP, Johnson & Johnson, and the Sydney Festival. Gametrade.com.au is his brainchild and was developed as a unique concept to service the Australian video game community and restore value to their stock of video games. He lives on Sydney's northern beaches and enjoys four wheel driving and video gaming.