We're now happy to present the second half of our Persons of the Year list. Please make sure to read Part 1 before you continue with this feature.

#5 Dick Fontaine and Dan DeMatteo, GameStop
We've said it before and we'll say it again. GameStop may very well be the top beneficiary of the video game boom. The retailer's growth has been phenomenal in 2008, and we'd like to recognize Chairman (former CEO) R. Richard Fontaine and CEO (former COO) Dan DeMatteo for the company's outstanding success. GameStop now operates well over 6,000 stores across 17 countries. Through November 1, GameStop has already posted sales of over $5.3 billion and net earnings of nearly $166 million, and those figures are likely to rise quite a bit after the company reveals its all-important holiday quarter results.

The continued momentum of the Wii and DS, along with blockbuster launches for hits like GTA IV, Madden NFL 09, Gears of War 2, Wii Fit, Fable II, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and many others, has fueled the GameStop engine.

Of course, one of the key's to GameStop's success is its lucrative used games business. Comments by DeMatteo in a GameDaily BIZ interview reignited a firestorm of discussion on the highly controversial resale market. Industry veteran David Perry quickly issued a rebuttal of his own, and Frontier Developments' David Braben went so far as to say used games are "defrauding the industry." As much as gamemakers may frown on the used market, however, it's going to continue to play a large role in the industry, so long as retail dominates.

Between the continued growth of the industry and its high-margin used business GameStop is sitting pretty. Fontaine recently admitted that it's "been the most unpredictable economic environment in my over 40 years in retail," but he then added that "the GameStop business model has proven to be very resilient."

As Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told the Dallas Morning News, "GameStop is about as recession-resistant as anyone in retail can be. ... They are well-positioned to do very well – to thrive – in a recession."

(Image credit: Thanks to Dallas Morning News for photo of Fontaine)

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