Episode 11 - Used and Sometimes Abused

From trade-ins and promo cards to midnight launches and penny-out merch, this week we dive headfirst into the used-game economy and the GameStop culture that shaped a generation. Nostalgia, chaos, and a little emotional damage included.

In Episode 11 of The Midnight Release, Chase and Austin go full GameStop nostalgia mode with “Used and Sometimes Abused.”

This week’s Story Mode focuses on the wild, wonderful, and sometimes unhinged world of used games and trade-ins — from questionable customer trades and brutal trade values to Edge cards, PowerUp Rewards, midnight launches, and why GameStop (and its competitors) felt like more than just a store.

Along the way, we reminisce about:

• The weirdest things people tried to trade in
• Trade values then vs. now
• Game Informer, promo deals, and conference perks
• Store remodels, TVs, penny-out merch, and early access experiences
• Why midnight launches hit different — and why we miss them so much

For Side Quests, we jump into:

• Disc of the Day, spotlighting Pokémon across generations — past, present, and future
• Rewind Select, where we rewind even further to music stores, CD listening stations, anti-skip lies, MP3 players, iPods, and the wild west of Limewire

To close things out, we reflect on whether it’s nostalgia, aging, or something deeper that keeps pulling us back — and tease next week’s gaming-focused episode, “Retro Resurrection.”

As always, some memories are worth lining up for.