GameStop to add 150 temporary "gaming adviser" jobs at its metro Atlanta stores for the holidays.

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Work at GameStop. Try out new games.

But, you'd better be 16 years or older, have worked in retail and know a little bit about gaming if you want to be competitive for one of these part-time holiday jobs, the company said.

Gaming and entertainment software giant GameStop said Wednesday it would add 150 part-time seasonal jobs at its stores in metro Atlanta.

The jobs are part of a 15,000 seasonal hiring boost to the Texas-based company's 4,300 stores nationwide, officials said.

The company has more than 50 GameStop and Babbages stores in metro Atlanta.

GameStop is the second corporation in a week to announce it is adding temporary jobs in metro Atlanta.

Ryla, one of Georgia's biggest call centers, is hiring for 1,500 temporary customer service positions at its Kennesaw office, the company said. But, the eight-week jobs would start immediately and are tied to a project and not to the holiday season.

GameStop wants so-called "game advisers" to help customers buy video games and entertainment software during the holiday retail surge. While employees will be trained, the company said it's best to have retail experience and also have some knowledge about video games and gaming equipment.

The number of workers will temporarily beef up GameStop's employees by 46 percent, the company said. It will boost the number of gaming advisers by 78 percent, officials said.

“The end of the year historically represents a large part of our company’s annual sales, and 2009 is not expected to be any different,” said Marissa Andrada, GameStop’s senior vice president of human resources.

New games expected to be high on gift lists are Call of Duty/Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed II, Andrada said.  Also PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii gaming consoles have dropped in price, she said.

Game sales surpassed $9.5 billion last year. The industry's annual growth rate from 2003 to 2006 was 17 percent nationwide, about four times that of the U.S. economy as a whole, according to the Entertainment Software Association.

Georgia is one of several states trying to lure game developers with income tax credits, sales tax exemptions and other incentives in efforts to market market metro Atlanta as a hub for the video game industry.

The 2008 Entertainment Industry Investment Act created a flat income tax credit for 20 percent of in-state spending. If the final product includes a Georgia peach logo, the state will add an additional 10 percent tax credit.

The incentives are available to all types of productions -- including video games, movies, commercials, music videos and TV shows -- as long as the company spends at least $500,000 a year in the state on expenses such as salaries and materials.