Topic: So nobody likes GameStop?

[Chozo Ghost]

Gamestop's motto is "Power to the Players!"

But what they don't tell you is that THEY are the players, and that YOU are the one getting played.

[UncleBob]

In this specific case, it would be no different than if Square Enix put in coupon for something like "$5 off a game at Target", of course GameStop would be right in removing it.

Disagree.  Let's look at something else - say, the Gears of War Triple Pack.  This pack features a downloadable voucher for stuff from XBox Live - another digital distribution service that directly completes with GameStop for gaming dollars.  Should GameStop go in and remove these codes from the GoW Triple Pack?

Look at the Pepsi/Rock Band promotion - they gave away free track downloads that directly competed with the Rock Band Track Packs.  Should a retailer be allowed to go in and remove all the caps from the Pepsi bottles?

[TJ Spyke]

Disagree, Microsoft is not GameStop's competition. GameStop sell's Microsoft games, consoles, Xbox Live cards, Microsoft Points cards, Xboc 360 DLC cards, etc. GameStop and Microsoft are partners. There is a difference between "partner" and "competition".

[UncleBob]

If you think GameStop doesn't view Microsoft and other digital delivery services as competition, you're sorely mistaken and as blind as the record stores and video rental stores.

GameStop knows their entire business model will be taken out of the market and replaced - entirely - by digital distribution.  That's why they've been slowly working their way into the market.

[BranDonk Kong]

This is vandalism, technically (and possibly theft...and likely fraud). GameStop could get in some big trouble for this.

[TJ Spyke]

It's not theft, or vandalism, or fraud. And I don't see how they would get in trouble. Technically they own the copies of the games they are selling you, so it's no different than you selling the game to a friend.

Microsoft and GameStop are no more competition than Amazon and Microsoft are.

[UncleBob]

Microsoft's Digital Delivery won't destroy Amazon's entire business model.

[TJ Spyke]

Nor would it destroy GameStop's. GameStop does big business selling DLC cards, so they are not hurting and I think both them and Microsoft are enjoying it.

[BranDonk Kong]

Of course it is, which is why they won't respond to anyone asking them about it. They aren't telling you that they've done so, and they're selling the games as "new" which means that it's the entire product, unless they're dealing with someone who loves to play the devil's advocate, who will defend every move GameStop makes for some reason. GameStop is physically removing part of the product that you are paying for...I'm not sure what else you would call that. Would it be okay for the manager of Best Buy to remove all of the free Netflix coupons, or even disable the WiFi on Blu Ray players since they are in the business of selling movies? They paid for the product that they are selling, so by your logic it would be perfectly acceptable.

[Ceric]

We are still 20-30 Years to the infrastructure here in the the United States to support full Digital Game Distribution.  I have the fastest connection I can get, 24mb, and I live about 45 minutes away from the closest game retailer.  If I start a game downloading with Steam, then run to the store, buy the same game, come back and then install it.  Steam will probably still be downloading the game.

Until I have speeds to shorter then the time to just the time to get to the store it wouldn't be the preferred way.  Not to mention the Parent Dependent population.  No sane parent would let them go at it with there CC.


In actuality Gamestop should have just not sold the game.

[TJ Spyke]

You are not paying for the code. It's a free bonus, and a pretty worthless bonus too since it just lets you play a streaming version of the game you already have. So this is not the same as the other examples you listed (both for the fact that you are not getting the exact same thing as what you are already buying, and that Best Buy is not competing with companies that sell Blu-ray Disc players or Netflix). GameStop removing the code may not be the best idea, but I don't see it being illegal.

GameStop's PC selection is so small anyways, I don't see this as a big deal anyways. Console games are where most of their money comes from (maybe because the used PC game market is almost non-existant).

[Chozo Ghost]

This is vandalism, technically (and possibly theft...and likely fraud). GameStop could get in some big trouble for this.

I hope they get sued bankrupt. Both consumers and Square-Enix have legitimate grounds to sue them over this.

[TJ Spyke]

The worst I could see happening (and I don't think even this will happen), is that the people who buy the PC version sue and get a voucher. And Square Enix doesn't have a reason to be mad, they are not losing any money or anything over this.

[BranDonk Kong]

Right because they won't make any money if people try out the free coupon for On Live, enjoy the service, use it, and pay for products that Square Enix puts on the service. That couldn't have anything to do with the reasoning behind the coupon at all. "Free bonus" packaged into part of the product that you are buying = part of the product. There's no point in trying to sway you, so I'm not going to try to. It's pretty ironic that you have a CM Punk logo for your avatar (AKA "The Voice of the Voiceless) since all you do is defend corporations and act like consumers (the voiceless) are wrong all the time. Then again, the whole "I only bought a PSP to pirate games" thing was ironic too...

[Mop it up]

When I was in a GameStop the other week, I noticed that not a single one of their used DS games had an original case, but instead had one of those generic GameStop cases. I've heard about GameStop's policy of tossing out the cases for used DS games, but what's the point of doing that if they are just going to put up a generic case? They're not saving any space obviously, and are actually spending more money by producing all those extra cases. It doesn't make a lick of sense.

[BranDonk Kong]

Don't worry, TJ will explain why they do it and why we're stupid for expecting them to keep the original box and things of that nature. I don't think we should even be talking about that...GameStop is so wise and great...I gotta go...

[TJ Spyke]

No, I don't stick up for a corporation just for the sake of it. I just don't buy into the belief of attacking a company just for being successful (and when people act like the who chain is bad just because they encountered a bad employee). I hate when I buy a used game and it has generic boxart (though with console games it's usually because of the consumer, one time I bought a used Xbox 360 game and it was in a Blockbuster Video case). I don't have as many griped because most of mine were positive.

[BranDonk Kong]

I don't think there's a single person in this thread attacking GameStop because they are successful. And I don't think it's just a "bad employee" who is removing part of the product from the packaging, throwing away the original boxes, charging $5 less for a used game than a brand new one (which requires a $10 online pass mainly because of GameStop to begin with), and so on.

[Oblivion]

Would it make you feel better if I didn't take those coupons out? I could be like a double agent for the resistance or something.

[TJ Spyke]

I have seen people in this thread acting like entire chain was bad because they had bad experiences with certain employees. And people seem to like attacking a company that becomes really successful. It's like when a sports team starts to become a dynasty, all of a sudden they get a ton of new haters.

GameStop rarely throws out the original packaging of console games unless the consumer thrashed the box too badly. I agree that it sucks when a new game is $45/$55 used, but you can not at all blame the Online Pass on GameStop. That blame lies squarely on publishers who have been looking for ways to nickel and dime consumers for years (like EA Sports charging you now for retro jerseys).

[Mop it up]

I actually started this thread with the intention that GameStop wasn't as bad as everyone says. It didn't work out.

[Oblivion]

I've seen three people (myself included) that actually halfway like Gamestop. Everyone else acts like Gamestop raped their mothers or something.

[Morari]

I actually started this thread with the intention that GameStop wasn't as bad as everyone says. It didn't work out.

Obviously because GameStop is as bad as everyone says?

[Oblivion]

Maybe I like working for a evil corporation.

[Chozo Ghost]

It's pretty ironic that you have a CM Punk logo for your avatar (AKA "The Voice of the Voiceless) since all you do is defend corporations and act like consumers (the voiceless) are wrong all the time. Then again, the whole "I only bought a PSP to pirate games" thing was ironic too...

If you go back earlier in this thread he did complain about Gamestop not giving him the Monster Hunter Tri demo and telling him he had to preorder the game first. So apparently he will complain about Gamestop sometimes... but only when it effects him personally.