Gamestop Guarantees Trade In Credit For New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Left 4 Dead 2

If you beat games and never touch them again Gamestop has a promotion for you. The retailer promises to buy back all copies of New Super Mario Bros. Wii for $30 if you purchase it from them, online, and trade it in by December 20, 2009. They’re offering a similar promotion for Left 4 Dead 2 where you get $40 back if you trade it in by the same date.

In both cases, you’re spending $20 plus tax to “borrow” a game for a little over a month. It’s an interesting retail strategy and something Tsutaya, a mega media retailer in Japan, tried to do with Final Fantasy XIII. Ultimately, Tsutaya canned the promotion because the it blurred the line of a rental and game rentals are illegal in Japan. You can legally rent games here so Gamestop’s promotion might not be as enticing.