Leading global games retail force GameStop has posted record financial results for the quarter ending November 3rd, with net earnings reaching $52 million – up a massive 283 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Sales increased by 59.3 per cent to hit $1.6 billion, up from $1.0 million last year. Like-for-like sales increased by 46.3 per cent, above the previously issued guidance of 30-32 per cent.

Sales of new games jumped by 59 per cent, with hardware sales climbing by a massive 149 per cent. Top performers included Microsoft’s Halo 3, EA’s Madden NFL ’08, Activision’s Guitar Hero III, 2K Games’ Bioshock and Nintendo’s Wii Play.

GameStop’s chief executive officer R. Richard Fontaine stated: "Our third quarter sales and earnings are a reflection of not only the real momentum in the video game business as a whole, but a particularly strong statement that GameStop's model continues to run ahead of the growth curve. We had an outstanding quarter both domestically and internationally.

"We continue to do an excellent job of controlling our business in the face of rapid expansion in most of the 16 countries where GameStop does business. During the quarter we opened 181 stores worldwide; surpassing the 5,000 store milestone, and believe that there are many more opportunities for additional store growth.”