"We don't like being in the used business, it's very difficult to manage." Says the Gamestop Executive

Gamestop the retail video game giant, alleged slayer of publisher margins, and the store gamers love to hate (until they buckle to an insane trade-in offer).

The company doesn't exactly have a wave of goodwill washing over them at the moment, and a new comment from Gamestop Executive Niall Lawlor won't help that image.

Earlier today, at the Develop Conference in Brighton, Lawlor defended the company's position in the industry saying: "We like to think GameStop evangelizes the business." The comment was directed at Louis Castle, Instant Action's CEO, who likened the sale of used games alongside new copies to thievery.

Then, Lawlor said something he can't honestly expect anyone to believe:

"We don't like being in the used business, it's very difficult to manage."

The first obvious rebuttal here is that when your company makes $2.39 Billion in a single year hawking used games at an average 100% markup, it can't be too difficult to maintain. Did you know their used gross profit is 50 Cents on the Dollar.If Gamestop wanted to facilitate some goodwill towards gamers, it could lower their outrageously high used prices of newly released games. And to avoid people like Activision's Bobby Kotick breathing down their neck, a small revenue-sharing gesture to publishers - say, 3% on the sale of used titles - could go a long way.

Obviously we understand neither scenario will see the light of day, but surely Gamestop shouldn't be trolling for sympathy and expect publishers or consumers to feel sorry for them until they become more of a friend to the industry.