 |
| It took me way too long to Photoshop the damn gun out of the guy's hand. |
If you follow gaming news even in the slightest, it seems the biggest headline this week was NOT the aftermath of Gamescon or the impending Penny Arcade Expo, but the handling of a simple coupon in the PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. For the uninitiated, in short, the PC DXHR included a coupon to redeem a copy of the game on OnLive. Gamestop, citing it as Square Enix promoting a competitor, opened the sealed games and discarded the coupons. Once this fact hit the internet and following gamer rage, Gamestop pulled the game from store shelves and later issued a $50 giftcard as an "apology." So, in the wake of Gamestop's shady tactics, will you continue to buy games from Gamestop? And if you are, WHY?
My relationship with Gamestop/Electronics Boutique was much better in my mid-teen years. It was always my first stop in trips to the mall. Seeing the walls lined with games made my eyes look like an anime character, sparkles and all. My birthday and Christmas money went directly to them. Finding a rare game on the store shelves seemed like treasure hunting. I distinctly remember the days when I finally found copies of Einhänder and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for a reasonable price, as those two games NEVER seemed to be in stock. I never traded in my games, though I was well aware it was something that many people did. For many years I was a horse with blinders on, ignoring everything I now find wrong with the place.
I remember the first time I actually paid attention to someone bringing in a box of games to trade. You could see the kid's face, thinking that he was going to get a lot of money for his games in hopes of finally getting that new console. That was, until the employees got a look inside his box and promptly started laughing. "A lot of these are worthless," I remember one of them saying. They began scanning the games through their system, saying aloud and trying to hold back laughter, "Ten cents, ten cents, a quarter, ten cents." In all, I don't even think it amounted to enough to buy a new release game.
I guess when I was finally considered an "adult" I began to get annoyed at Gamestop. I hated getting hit into by children running around the store while I was trying to look at the bottom shelf. I hated that when I finally did find a game to buy the cashier would give me a ten minute speech asking if I had games to trade in today (look, I'm carrying NOTHING), if I wanted to buy a magazine subscription that got me a small percentage off used games (NO!), if I was sure about that since it would save me $0.17 off my current purchase (again, NO!), and if I wanted to preorder Madden (come on, now). When it finally got to the point where it came time to find the game, they would shuffle through their drawer of discs, if the game was a new release I'd point to the sealed copies behind the counter and I'd hear them grumble because I actually want my new game NEW, and on one occasion they "couldn't find the disc." Hmm... was that because one of your employees took it home to play?
Apparently one of the "benefits" to being a Gamestop employee is the ability to take new games home to play to later return it to the store and sell as "new." While I was never a victim (I think) of a game being obviously played (scratches, fingerprints on discs), I've heard reports of "new" GBA or DS games containing save data. So why are they charging at least $5 more for this "new" game when you could can get a used game for cheaper? Oh, there are conveniently no used copies available. Does anyone else find it odd that the only used GBA games I could find for the longest time at Gamestop NEVER had boxes or instructions, with all of them being cart-only? It makes me wonder how many new games were in fact used.
The last time I stepped foot into a Gamestop was this past Christmas Eve (stupid, stupid, STUPID) trying to find a last-minute gift for my grandparents' DS. For the recent event Pokemon I didn't even walk inside, I just sat in my car and thankfully was able to get their wireless signal. (I even heard reports of some Gamestops requiring people to preorder Pokemon Black or White before they would turn on their signal for a supposedly free download.) If it weren't for a Gamestop giftcard sitting in my house and the (possibly temporary) exclusives for the Gamestop-only "Signature Edition" of Assassin's Creed Revelations, I probably wouldn't walk in there again. Earlier this summer I almost made a purchase during their PC download sale, but backed out when I saw they automatically added "Download Insurance" that allowed me to download the game again within an 18-month window. You know what's better? STEAM! At least there I don't need to pay additional insurance just to download a game again in case my computer exploded. (This doesn't appear to be the case now, though the damage is already done.)
OK, enough with my rant against Gamestop. So what's your opinion on the drama between them and Square Enix, or just on Gamestop in general?
I can understand where GameStop is coming from if they really didn't know about the coupon, but that doesn't make it right. When I heard about this, I couldn't help but think of the gamers who don't read online gaming sites/blogs. They'll most likely never know they were essentially cheated out of a code. GameStop did nothing to say that people who bought it there were getting a lesser value. The only reason they didn't just pull the game off the shelves from the start was because they wanted money on day 1. They're one of the greediest companies I've ever dealt with. A company that offers used games for $5 off the MSRP, guts copies of new games, and forces their additional content down your throat. Obviously I don't blame the employees-- from what I understand they're required to, but asking if I want to preorder a game and/or sign up for Power Up Rewards EVERY time I go there is annoying.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I went to GameStop was during the launch for GTA: Chinatown Wars. They had an event for the release and I got a bunch of free stickers out of the deal, but I don't ever plan on going back. Since that was two years ago, I finally realized that Amazon and other retailers (mainly Best Buy) are the way to go. GameStop generally has pretty insulting "sales."
To play devil's advocate for a moment- Sq-En put Gamestop in an impossible position. They could either A) Gut the boxes to comply with the reasonable desire to not promote competition within their own business or B) Fail to stock one of the highest profile releases of the year on launch day.
ReplyDeleteProbably should have gone with C) Sell copies until replacement (sans coupon) could be delivered by Sq-En and subsequently sue Sq-En for damages.
This is all predicated on the assumption that Gamestop had an agreement about this matter with Sq-En already in place. If not, well then they are pretty much indefensible.
Even if they are defendable in this situation though, I would love to see p2p game selling sites (like half.com) continue to take a bite out of gamestop's business.
I'll still shop at Gamestop. I rarely go to Gamestop though. I'll treat Gamestop like I treat every other store: avoid it until I find a good enough deal to warrant going in there. I went there for the PS2 B2G2 sale. I bought 4 games, and the only thing the cashier talked to me about was the games, asking if I thought they were good. Then we talked about Fullmetal Alchemist the anime because I bought the game. It was a pleasant experience. You can't judge a whole company by personal experience, because everywhere is different. I think the $50 gift card and B2G1 coupon more than makes up for the trouble. I best most people complaining don't even use OnLive, they just complain to complain.
ReplyDeleteGamestop is one of the most complained about companies, I think. Not a week goes by that I don't see/hear someone going on a rant about how terrible they are when it comes to used game prices, trade-ins, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut the thing is, they're a business, of course they're going to try to buy low and sell high. It's up to consumers to explore other options and NOT use Gamestop if they're that dissatisfied with them. Yet people still do!
Companies aren't going to change unless consumers stand up and do something about it, even if that something is not going to them for business anymore.
I haven't gone to GS in a long time, and doubt I will. They are a company that sells opened games as new, has crazy used prices, etc., and just really don't deserve my business. I can do better on game trading sites, so that's what I do.
I used to hate Gamestop, then I found what is possibly the best Gamestop I've ever been to or heard of. The employees aren't pushy, and one in particular goes out of his way to help me out. When I wanted to buy Dirt 3 used he told me the only store that had it was across town, but he lived over that way and would have it at this store by the time I got out of work the next day! That's going above and beyond, especially considering the other store was not only across town, but inside a mall which meant he had to park and walk a considerable distance into the mall to get it.
ReplyDeleteHe also knows what kind of games I'm into so he never suggests anything he knows I really don't care about. I like racing games and rarely pre-order or buy FPS games, so when I'm there we talk about Forza 4. It will likely be the only Gamestop anywhere near here doing a midnight launch of Forza thanks to me convincing everyone I know to go pre-order there so they could get the pre-requisite number of people pre-ordered to do a midnight release. He also knows I'll never trade-in there, not only does my gaming budget not really require it, but I told him a while back that if I were going to sell a game it would be on half.com or similar. I know gamestop's standard operating procedure for being pushy sales people may be followed too closely by some employees but others really do understand what it means to get a loyal customer and I respect that. Even if the game isn't a deal I go and purchase it at that store... that means a LOT.
Stealth,
ReplyDeleteThere is a difference between employees and corporate culture.
Seriously I have very little animosity for the actual employees, but the brass at gamestop is what needs to go.
I guess I should make one thing clear: I have nothing against the employees of Gamestop (aside from ones who ARE rude, but I imagine they're like that outside of the store as well). I understand it's their job and that they'd get in trouble if they didn't get the cash register speech.
ReplyDelete@stealth1290 Your Gamestop (and the one employee in particular) sound awesome! I used to regularly talk to one employee a lot and he would recommend me some games and I wouldn't get the speech either. But, he got a job somewhere else and got replaced by a guy who almost seemed to resent the fact that he was there. So as far as employees go, it really depends on the store. Some are awesome, others not so much.
@ Jonathan S. I don't use OnLive, but I still don't like the fact that Gamestop opened the sealed games and removed contents. I don't see how the OnLive voucher included in DXHR was any different than what Valve did by including a Steam voucher for Portal 2 in the PS3 version. Do they somehow not see Steam as competition?