Previously we reported on the fact that GameStop stores within the city of Philadelphia were fingerprinting customers who trade-in games. Most of our local fans were pretty upset at the measure, but it seemed to be a necessary evil – other cities and states have been doing it for years.

This was a measure to help fight crime and reselling of stolen merchandise – although it remained unclear whether it was a company elected policy, or one pushed by local law enforcement.

In our previous report, City Solicitor Shelley Smith made it clear that GameStop “doesn’t meet any of the elements” of the pawnbreaker ordinance, a statute that forces local fences to fingerprint customers to help track stolen goods.

Thankfully, we’ve learned via our friends at Philly Magazine that GameStop has ended the policy as of yesterday, August 4th. The company, based out of Texas, spilled the beans regarding their 27 Philadelphia-based stores to Philly Magazine:

“We thought it was something we should do,” said GameStop representative Joey Mooring, making a note that the original request for obtaining the fingerprints actually came from the Philadelphia Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit:

“We always like to cooperate with local authorities. But we are no longer doing the fingerprints. We have gone back to the normal policy, which requires a name and photo ID.”

“We realized that we really didn’t fall under those laws,” said Mooring in retrospect. Philadelphia Police spokesperson Christine O’Brien said that while pawnbrokers are required to receive fingerprints, Philadelphia Police sometimes make requests of other forms of business who may be an avenue for criminals to sell off stolen goods.

“GameStop proactively decided to get involved,” says O’Brien. “It would benefit the city, the police, and their customers. It’s a win-win. Now, I don’t know why they would decide to stop. If your home gets burglarized, wouldn’t you want police to have this tool?”

So relax fans of Niche Gamer that live in the Philadelphia metro area – you won’t have to feel like a criminal when trading in that old copy of Super Street Fighter IV. However, this won’t prevent you from getting really annoyed at their salesmanship when it comes to pre-orders, used copies over new copies, and so on.