GameStop will be relying on core gamers to help it through this difficult Christmas period, as the economic recession causes the usual customer shift to be less predicatable than in previous years.

The retailer has cut its earnings targets for its fiscal fourth quarter – but the company’s chief executive Daniel Dematteo says that core gamers are not to blame for this, according to Associated Press.

Instead, Dematteo said the reduced outlook reflects GameStop’s uncertainty in the business during the seasonal period, given the nature of the customer base, which usually shifts to families looking for gifts at this time of year. The current economy makes this shift more unpredictable this year.

In a conference call with analysts, the GameStop exec pointed to the success of Call Of Duty: World At War, Gears Of War 2 and World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King over the last month, all of which are targeted at core gamers.

GameStop chairman R. Richard Fontaine said during the call: “If the core gamers and the avid gamers are with us through these very unpredictable times, that’s a very, very good sign for us.”