The spot that rocks!

So there's a presidential election going on, at least so we've heard.  A big topic of interest for most folks out there seems to be the economy, but if you're a big-time videogame fan you probably haven't noticed.  Of course it doesn't hurt that the average 'core' gamer probably doesn't own a home, invest in a 401K or bother participating in any of that other big kid stuff.  The economy is A-OK...just as long as the princess gets saved and we keep fragging all night long.  Yeah, baby!

At the retail head of all this goodness apparently is giant retailer (and growing) GameStop, and judging by the impressive numbers the company recently posted it doesn't seem that a fluctuating dollar or devalued mortgages are affecting their bottom-line.  With top-selling titles including Grand Theft Auto IV, Metal Gear Solid IV, NCAA Football 09, Wii Fit, and Battlefield: Bad Company it seems that the financial love is pretty evenly spread across all the top industry players.  With net earnings up an impressive 34.8% over last year and with new videogame software sales up 43%, its raining money over in the land of second-hand software and eerily non-helpful sales associates.

Full press-blurb just below, filled with more authentic numbers than you could ever need.

 GRAPEVINE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 2008--GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer, today reported sales and earnings for the second quarter ended August 2, 2008.

Net earnings were $57.2 million for the second quarter of 2008, compared to net earnings of $21.8 million for the second quarter of 2007, an increase of 162.1%. Diluted earnings per share were $0.34, compared to $0.13 in the prior year quarter, exceeding the high-end of previously released guidance by $0.06 per share.

GameStop sales increased 34.8% to $1,804.4 million in the second quarter, compared to $1,338.2 million in the prior year quarter. Comparable store sales increased 20.0% during the second quarter as new video game software sales grew 43%. The top five selling games during the quarter were Take Two's Grand Theft Auto IV, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots from Konami, NCAA Football 09 by Electronic Arts, Nintendo's Wii Fit and Battlefield: Bad Company from Electronic Arts.

R. Richard Fontaine, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "In the second quarter, we produced record revenues in each of the geographical regions where we operate. By prioritizing our investments and focusing our resources, GameStop continues to significantly outperform the specialty retail segment as a whole, when comparing top-line growth, comparable store sales, and net earnings growth."

Fontaine continued, "We are raising our full year 2008 EPS guidance based on growth of the worldwide installed base and our expectations of a strong second half of the year. We have consistently delivered superior returns to our shareholders by driving value through our new and used business model, generating exceptional returns from our new store expansion and we fully expect this performance to continue."

Daniel DeMatteo, GameStop's Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, indicated, "GameStop customers not only have the benefit of our convenient locations, associates with unmatched product knowledge, and an attractive buy-sell-trade model, but an exceptional spectrum of games for all players. In fact, the National Retail Federation recently named GameStop as the top 'Power Player' Entertainment Retailer in the US.

"Expected releases in the second half of the year include great sequels like Guitar Hero: World Tour and Call of Duty: World at War, new IP such as LEGO Batman, Little Big Planet and Spore, as well as second generation hits like Fable 2, Rock Band 2 and Gears of War 2," said DeMatteo.