To kick-off, can you let our readers know what GameCycle is and how it works?
Thanks, Britt, I'd love to.
Hi, my name is Martyn and I'm the creator of GameCycle the point-based video game trading platform.
GameCycle, at its heart, is a community space for like-minded gamers to safely trade physical console games. Our web and mobile applications let users list games they own, but are maybe no longer in love with, to trade with other community users.
Where GameCycle differs from many other pre-owned game stores/platforms is its point-based system, which is the mechanism that allows our users to trade games between each other without the need for physical currency.
The point-based system also fully supports our mission here at GameCycle "To make gaming accessible to all" by allowing points to be built up over time and games of differing value to be traded equally.
For example, if I wanted a new game, say 'Doom Eternal' but didn't have the spare cash to buy it outright, I could list and cycle a bunch of older games at a low point value over time to build up enough points to get it.
This would also work for AAA games too, where through using the points system you can get a like for like AAA title without having to pay commission to a high street trade-in store.
Is GameCycle an idea that has been kicking around for a while or was it a sort of ‘Eureka!’ Moment?
What a great question.
I think the idea has been in the back of my mind for around a year, and it kind of comes from a place of frustration... I can vividly recall standing in a local high street trade-in store trying to figure out how much more I'd have to add to the trade-in value of a game to get something half decent back!
Also, I'm also a father of young gamers who are always eager to get that latest title, yet have a huge pile of games, just sat there gathering dust that they will no longer entertain - The vision I had for creating GameCycle allowed me to remove both of these frustrations from my life.
Can you give us an overview of your personal gaming history, the first system you owned and favourite titles along the way?
My first console was an Atari 2600, there was a Grandstand in our house, but the Atari was mine!!
I don't have any solid memories of the games I had for the Atari but I subsequently owned an Amiga 500 playing games such as Road Rash, Lotus Challenge and Dizzy which I have very fond memories of.
More recently I've spent far too much time playing games like Call of Duty, usually online with friends and nowadays I'm mostly playing games such as Fortnite, Minecraft and Spider-Man with the kids.
The pre-sales appear to show that gamers very much continue to prefer physical media, obviously, this is great for GameCycle, when the digital-only consoles were revealed, was this a concern for you or do the older systems have more focus on the site?
It was a slight concern. I always thought the concept had a relatively short time span due to the emergence of platforms like Google's Stadia (or more recently Amazons Luna) but to hear the PS5 would be available without a physical drive for cheaper, felt at the time, like that timeline may have just shrunk quite substantially.
Since then, however, I've heard so much positivity around physical games new and retro and my hope for the GameCycle platform has shot up considerably.
Obviously, the site and application are in their relative infancy if someone is interested in helping out and volunteering, are there aspects of GameCycle that they could assist with?
Absolutely, we only launched in June 2020 and the first few months have been extraordinary, it’s an exciting time for us and we'd welcome anyone who'd be keen to get involved.
I think one of the areas that have taken up far more time than I'd anticipated is our social media presence, It's proved hugely important to our brand but requires lots of effort to keep ticking over.
Are you yourself a collector or someone that tends to move on from a game once it’s completed?
No, I'm not a collector; I've always had a keen interest in certain few games/game styles but don't usually hold on to physical copies.
It only takes a few clicks on either Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to see just how committed you'd need to be to collect physical games, some of the collections I've seen are absolutely outstanding and the effort that goes into finding/displaying them is incredible.
What goals do you have for GameCycle over the coming year? I’ve personally used the site and been really pleased with it, I fully intend to continue getting those points up, it would be great to see it continue to expand in scope.
It's fantastic to hear you have used and enjoyed the app, thank you.
Our goals at the moment are quite simple, we're keen to ensure that the app is as robust as possible for our users as we continue to grow, having said that, we currently only operate in the UK and I've had lots of interest from over in the States so I'd like very much to start shaping the application to support multiple countries.
Alongside this, we're always looking to improve the app based on user feedback so expect some great new features to pop out in the next year.
Thank you so much for your time! Please let our readers know where they can get involved and received news from GameCycle.
Thank you for having me.
The best place to start is our website www.gamecycle.co.uk where you'll find links to our web and mobile apps, if any of your readers would like to get in touch with us they can do so via our social channels
Twitter: @GameCycleUK
FaceBook: @GameCycleUK
Instagram: @gamecycle.insta
Or of course via email: help@gamecycle.co.uk
Finally - which system will you be gravitating towards in this upcoming generation?
Hmmm, I think I’m mostly drawn to the PS5, I had a PS2 & PS3 on launch day and think my allegiance still lies with Sony..!!
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