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At GameStop, Freedom Has a Price

by Jon Lindemann - March 16, 2010, 7:38 pm EDT
Total comments: 64

Jon visits GameStop in search of a free disc and gets more than he bargained for.

Late last week I stopped in at a GameStop at a local mall to pick up Capcom's free Monster Hunter Tri demo disc. I stopped in on my lunch break, and thanks to several nearby schools the place was, predictably, a zoo. A large crowd is something I can handle, but what I have a harder time stomaching is the chain's borderline dishonest customer service.

Full disclosure: GameStop and I have a history. I've never made a secret of my less-than-stellar customer service experiences at several of its stores, and while I wouldn't say I have an axe to grind, I'll readily admit that I'm not a GameStop fan and generally avoid their stores like the plague. I pre-order from them only when they have exclusive swag, and enter their stores only when absolutely necessary. The brief anecdote I'm about to relate did nothing to alleviate my disdain.

Upon entering the store, I figured that I might be able to find the discs somewhere in a floor display, thereby skipping the lengthy cash register line entirely. I had no such luck, so I took my spot in line to wait to ask if they had them behind the desk. Aside from the clerk manning the cash register, there was another clerk standing around on the "public" side of the counter doing nothing. Was he on his lunch break? I have no idea. However, he seemed perfectly content to stand there and watch customers wait in line while he assumedly "worked the floor". To his credit he did eventually open up a second register (maybe after he was off of break?), but this was only after the line became ten customers deep and we'd all been waiting there for at least fifteen minutes.

I had a couple of friends with me, so I stepped out of line to walk over and ask him about the demo's availability. He told me that I had to place a pre-order to get it. This was noteworthy on two fronts: First, it was flat-out wrong. The demo has been a known freebie since it was announced, and was always intended to be that way. Second, I can only deduce that he was deliberately trying to mislead me in the hopes that I would mistakenly place $5 down on the game in order to get the demo disc. When I challenged him on the pre-order caveat, he played dumb and asked the other clerk for confirmation. Without looking up from her checkout duties she replied, "Yeah, it's free," in a dull monotone. I walked up to the front of the line, grabbed my disc from the cardboard holder on the counter, and left.

All of this could be excused if it were an isolated incident. Maybe a clerk in a store here and there didn't listen or didn't care, so when asked about the disc they didn't really know and erred on the side of their commission. I could understand that. However, according to an informal poll taken by NintendoGal, this "mistake" is happening at Gamestops all over the country. In the Seattle area alone, over a dozen stores apparently denied customers the free demo altogether without a pre-order, and based on my own experiences here in Atlanta, I can believe it.

The only explanation I can come up with for this sad state of affairs is that store-level managers are tacitly endorsing this behavior, or at the very least looking the other way. I can't see GameStop corporate encouraging the willful misleading of their customers, but the cynic in me can't see them discouraging it either. After all, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, right? And certainly all Gamestop head office cares about at the end of the day are the pre-order numbers coming in from each store, so if a manager decides to "misinterpret" the price tag on a demo disc, the ill-gotten pre-order money will certainly make it all better.

However, the long-term damage on the customer end is an aversion to the company and an expectation of shady behavior by its staff. I typically expect GameStop employees to be fountains of misinformation, pushers of overpriced used games in poor condition, and hustlers that seem like they're going to get beaten by their pimp at the end of their shift if they don't secure a pre-order. No, I don't want a strategy guide. I don't want "protection" for my game. I don't want to have to pay $5 for something that we both know is free. I will, however, take a one-way ticket out of your store as quickly as possible.

GameStop needs to start treating its customers with respect instead of trying to squeeze them for every dime. They need promotional instructions clearly articulated across their organization to prevent individual store staff from becoming an obstacle to the game-purchasing process. With online shopping becoming easier and easier and digital distribution looming just over the horizon, poor retail service like this will ultimately result in GameStop's retail outlets becoming a thing of the past. I, for one, wouldn't miss them.

Talkback

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusMarch 16, 2010

Down here in Tampa, I had a similar situation. The clerk refused to give me the disc and after I argued with him a bit, he eventually just caved and gave it to me as if it were a bag of illicit drugs.

I'd have to imagine that GameStop at a corporate level is pushing this behavior and maybe a handful of honest clerks who know better are doing the right thing and giving out the free disc ... for free.

BlackNMild2k1March 16, 2010

They tried to charge me $5, I refused to pay and cited the Press Release and how it was specifically said at the time of announcement that "no pre-order was necessary". The clerk said they wanted them to get pre-orders in exchange for the disc, pointed to the $5 pre-order today and get 500 MH points thing on the display box. I told him how even that doesn't say I need to pre-order the disc, he turned to his co-worker who shrugged, so he said that he didn't really care and just handed me the disc.

I still haven't played the demo, but atleast I didn't pay for it.

greybrickNathan Mustafa, Staff AlumnusMarch 16, 2010

I had, quite literally, the same experience. I was pressuring the clerk to give me the disc without having to pre-order the game, noting that Nintendo wouldn't have said it was free at their media summit had it not actually been free. He disagreed and in an extremely patronizing tone he asked the manager if it was free or not. The woman, without looking up, noted, "Yeah, its free". The guy was a jerk about it, but he graciously gave me permission to pick up the free demo disc. This was, of course, after I bought a full $60 dollar game off of them, and paid completely for SMT Strange Journey that I had decided to preorder that day. (I normally don't give them my preorder business, but the Atlus scarcity scam sometimes forces me to).

I must have a great GameStop, because I don't remember anyone there ever asking more than once if I wanted to preorder something or if I wanted a strategy guide, or being less than polite in asking it the first time. As I said in the Monster Hunter thread, the guy behind the counter not only didn't insist that I preorder to get the demo, he didn't even ask if I wanted to preorder it. I know he saw me take it, and I was standing there buying something else so he had the opportunity. The people at that GameStop are great; it's other corporate policies that keep me from shopping there regularly.

Also, and don't take this the wrong way, is there a specific criteria on NWR as to what is a blog post and what is an editorial?

Capcom was giving these discs away at GDC, so I thankfully didn't need to get the Gamestop experience this time.  They are obviously meant to be free.  Heck, at GDC, I asked for one, and the rep handed me three.

Regarding Gamestop... I take Zogby online polls that are occasionally e-mailed to me.  Usually, the questions involve political opinions, but the last one I took had some interesting questions relating to gaming.  They were asking which specific retailers I use, online and offline, to purchase games, new and used, and reasons why.  But what I found most interesting was the inclusion of a free response section where I could give my opinion of Gamestop (they alone were singled out for this).  I wonder what they were looking for (could it be related to all of the negative experiences such as this that pervade the internet?).  Anyway, be on the lookout for the results from Zogby.  If you're interested in getting these kinds of polls, you can sign up here: http://interactive.zogby.com/pollregistration/registration/index.cfm?refsite=tell

Quote from: insanolord

Also, and don't take this the wrong way, is there a specific criteria on NWR as to what is a blog post and what is an editorial?

We're going to be merging and reorganizing these two sections soon.  The Editorial label will mean they've been fully edited and are meant to provoke deeper discussion.

You know, if I were Capcom, I'd be pretty pissed at this state of affairs. They clearly wanted to distribute a free demo disc that the casual GameStop patron could pick up on a whim, bring it home, and try it out. The idea is to "hook" gamers with the demo so that they WANT to pre-order it. And from GameStop's perspective, this demo entices people to swing by GameStop who might not otherwise, during which time they are likely to make an impulse purchase while they're there. There's no need for this pre-order shit. It's ass-backwards.

NemoMarch 17, 2010

On my way to pick up the demo disc, I wondered if they would "pull a GameStop" on me and try to get me to pre-order... but they didn't. The clerk gave me the disc and then (noticing a sign near the demo disc box) said "oh, if you wind up pre-ordering, you'll get $5 off and 500 Wii points." So, I asked "$5 off what? What is the price?" and he didn't know, but he looked it up- $50 for game, $60 for game and controller.

Still, Whenever I enter a GameStop, I feel on edge.

broodwarsMarch 17, 2010

My Gamestop must also be one of those rare "good" stores, because I was in it a couple days before the "official" release date for the demo picking up a strategy guide for an RPG I was playing.  I just walked up to the counter, bought my guide, and took one of the demo discs with me without a single word out of the cashier.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMarch 17, 2010

Quote from: broodwars

My Gamestop must also be one of those rare "good" stores, because I was in it a couple days before the "official" release date for the demo picking up a strategy guide for an RPG I was playing.  I just walked up to the counter, bought my guide, and took one of the demo discs with me without a single word out of the cashier.

Apparently, "good" GameStops aren't hard to find. Out of the three GameStops I attend to out of town none of them have given me any trouble. Sure they ask if I want to pre-order stuff, warranty etc. but they were always courteous to me and have yet to see any incompetence from the employees.

If you don't mind my blunt opinion, while I do agree that the whole chain is guilty of some dubious practices it seems that most horror stories are caused by the employees and not the store itself. And like I said before even the best companies hire the worst employees.

At my local store, the demo discs were just stacked up on the Wii kiosk, which is close to the door. I'm generally with Jon on the store chain -- a necessary evil or mere convenience in some cases, but I spend as little time as possible in that store. If I walk into a GameStop, I know exactly what I'm going to buy or trade in ahead of time.

pyrokamileonMarch 17, 2010

I actually forgot about this demo disc until I was listening to a podcast and they were talking about having trouble getting the disc.  next chance I got I went to a gamestop and was expecting to have some trouble but luckily it went pretty smooth.  I saw the discs on the counter, asked it I could take one, they said sure.  however when I asked if I could take a second for my girlfriend's family (they're really into guild wars and they usually buy the current Nintendo system) they said only one disc per person, oh well I had to try...

greybrickNathan Mustafa, Staff AlumnusMarch 17, 2010

Quote from: NWR_pap64

Quote from: broodwars

My Gamestop must also be one of those rare "good" stores, because I was in it a couple days before the "official" release date for the demo picking up a strategy guide for an RPG I was playing.  I just walked up to the counter, bought my guide, and took one of the demo discs with me without a single word out of the cashier.

Apparently, "good" GameStops aren't hard to find. Out of the three GameStops I attend to out of town none of them have given me any trouble. Sure they ask if I want to pre-order stuff, warranty etc. but they were always courteous to me and have yet to see any incompetence from the employees.

If you don't mind my blunt opinion, while I do agree that the whole chain is guilty of some dubious practices it seems that most horror stories are caused by the employees and not the store itself. And like I said before even the best companies hire the worst employees.

Once I went into a Gamestop and the person behind the counter asked if I wanted to preorder a game. Being courteous (it's part of the scout law, man) I replied, "No thanks, I would rather decide if I want a game after it comes out and get it then." The man told me that, "Dude that is the stupidest thing I've heard, how the hell are you going to get a copy of Halo 3 when it comes out." I responded, a bit more tersely, "I am sure that you will have plenty of copies, I think it would be dumb to not order enough of the biggest game coming out this year." His idea of a witty response was to imitate a crying baby, smashing his fists into the counter and screaming (really, yelling), "Whaaaahhh I am such a baby! I am too scared to pre order a game and I cry when I can't find it when it comes out!" As people turned their heads, he continued his show. I walked out, disgusted.

Then there are multiple instances of them selling me demo discs/cartridges in stead of the real game.

Yet another time, I purchased a brand new copy of the PC game Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. Not having seen one in stores for a while, I bought it. Turns out, when I went to buy some deodorant (or something) at the Target that shared a parking lot I found a copy of the game a full twenty dollars cheaper. Needless to say, I bought that version and went to return the more expensive copy I had bought at Gamestop. The person working there refused my return, saying they had the right to do so. I don't look like a criminal, at least I hope not, and there was no way in hell that I had copied the game within fifteen minutes and managed to do so without even breaking the seal on the game. So I was stuck with that copy and had to drive to two cities away to return it, because the guy had called his friend at the closer gamestop to warn him of the "thief".

So that is two gamestops marked off my list of available shopping locations. The very last bastion of hope is the one at which they attempted to refuse me the Monster Hunter disc. I will have to forgive them out of necessity.

ShyGuyMarch 17, 2010

I just walked in and got my copy. Nobody said a thing. They know better than to be steppin'.

The Gamestops around here have generally been good -- except for their policy of "resealing" games with a sticker and selling them as new.  When they tried to pull that on me, I demanded the used rate.  They said it was corporate policy and they couldn't do anything about it, so I made them refund it, and they did so without protest.  Too bad it was the only copy in the store.  It's because of that and their general used games rip-off racket that I usually avoid the chain completely.

ControlerFleXMarch 17, 2010

Well I've been doing used games back when a chain called "Funcoland" existed. With that said I enjoy the used games market. I grew up in Detroit, Michigan, was stationed in Oceanside, California, Yuma, Arizona and Jacksonville, North Carolina. All of which I frequent there stores. Each of them had 4 different stores that I shopped at. 70% of the time it was a " less than favorable" experience. Yes good companies can have bad employees but there is too much of a trend.

There are too many bad experiences shared amongst gamers, but that's it.....GAMERS. We know better, we expect better. You can't convince a vehicle mechanic he needs to by synthetic oil for his 87 Chevy or it wont "run right", but Sally Nonobetta takes it hook line and sinker. Until mothers of America feel like there not getting good service, they wont change........

But what else do you all think is happening but not discussing..........
If Nintendos "DEMO" service was worth any thing or at least somewhat mirrored PS3/XBOX 360's service, would Lindy ever had to go into Gamestop????? We can only wonder........

StratosMarch 17, 2010

Funcoland is what turned into Gamestop. I remember those days.

I was at my friend's place tonight and he has a 360 and we went online and d/l'd some demos to play.. I was curious about Darksiders so we d/l'd that and chose some other demos to try and while we played Darksiders the other games d/l'd in the background. Pretty slick. It sold me on getting Darksiders once I get an HD system.

What I wonder is why Nintendo hasn't added new demos. It's been months since they new ones added.

I'm getting tired of waiting for the Monster Hunters demo so I may just brave the local gamestops to try and get it. I'll report back my findings.

shammackMarch 17, 2010

This happened to me too in Tallahassee, FL.  I didn't want to get into an argument with the guy so I gave up and left.

Quote from: insanolord

Also, and don't take this the wrong way, is there a specific criteria on NWR as to what is a blog post and what is an editorial?

Editorials are generally opinion pieces.  Blogs are more general-interest stuff, or funny stuff, or pictorials.  We edit them both when it comes right down to it, but the structure of Editorials is much more fixed than our blogs.  If anything, we've probably had some past blogs that could have been editorials.  We just don't do editorials very much around here, and I'd like to change that because I enjoy writing them and seeing how people respond.

Quote from: NWR_pap64

If you don't mind my blunt opinion, while I do agree that the whole chain is guilty of some dubious practices it seems that most horror stories are caused by the employees and not the store itself.

I don't think this is an employee issue.  If GameStop instructed every single manager to be brutally clear that the demo disc was free, and it was made clear from the top-down that B.S. like this wasn't tolerated, nobody would have a problem.  It's pretty obvious from the preponderance of people being denied a FREE ITEM that Gamestop, as a company, promotes - whether directly or indirectly - an atmosphere of tolerance for this behavior, and a "get money by all means necessary" mentality in its employees.

There are certainly "good" Gamestops out there, but the very fact that there are "good" and "bad" stores is a problem in itself!  I never hear people creating blogs that track "good" and "bad" Best Buy stores.  It's unheard of.  If Best Buy was offering this demo disc, they'd have people handing it to you at the door with a smile!  Why?  Because if they didn't, their manager would chew them out.

Yeah, where are the demos Nintendo?  Don't make us go to Gamestop!

SundoulosMarch 17, 2010

Quote from: NWR_Lindy

I don't think this is an employee issue.  If GameStop instructed everysingle manager to be brutally clear that the demo disc was free, and itwas made clear from the top-down that B.S. like this wasn't tolerated,nobody would have a problem.  It's pretty obvious from thepreponderance of people being denied a FREE ITEM that Gamestop, as acompany, promotes - whether directly or indirectly - an atmosphere oftolerance for this behavior, and a "get money by all means necessary"mentality in its employees.

I have a cousin who happens to work at a Gamestop in Houston.  After I tried to obtain a copy of the demo from the store here in Huntsville, AL, I complained about it to her.    Her response was: "As an employee of Gamestop I know the reason. The demo comes with Wii points. I'm not saying it's right, just what I'm told. :-)"

Yes, it's completely anecdotal evidence, but her wording implies to me that she was directed to charge for the demo.  The problem is well beyond the employee level.  I can't imagine employees care enough about Gamestop to simply stiffarm people for the heck of it; I think they've probably received direction either at the regional or the corporate level. 

I would say that Gamestop has lost my business because of this, but the truth is that I stopped buying games there a long time ago.  They just can't compete with the other online options for obtaining games now. 

Quote from: NWR_Lindy

There are certainly "good" Gamestops out there, but the very fact that there are "good" and "bad" stores is a problem in itself!  I never hear people creating blogs that track "good" and "bad" Best Buy stores.  It's unheard of.  If Best Buy was offering this demo disc, they'd have people handing it to you at the door with a smile!  Why?  Because if they didn't, their manager would chew them out.

In my experience, Best Buys can be shifty as well.  Granted, this is a long time ago, but back in the Gamecube days, I tried to pick up one of the Gamecube demo discs that had a preview of Wind Waker (or the Viewtiful Joe demo?  I can't remember) on it.  Best Buy tried to charge me full price ($45 or so) for a demo disk;  when I challenged that, the girl at the register tried to tell me that the price was that it had 4 games on it, which, of course, really meant that there were four different game demos.  For the most part, I'm sure she was either just repeating what she had been instructed to say or that she was really just speaking out of ignorance.  Either way, apparently, it was the policy the store manager had set up for the demo, even though it was advertised elsewhere that the demos should be free.   

Also, Lindy, I'm curious...as the Monster Hunter Club Chairman :D, do you have any impressions of the demo vs. your experiences with the previous games on PSP.  As I haven't been able to play the demo, I'm still on the fence about getting it.  I noticed that other people on the forums seem to have a negative opinion about the game after playing the demo.

Fatty The HuttMarch 17, 2010

I'm curious where everyone is? Are you all in the U.S.? I'm in Canada. We have about 10 Gamestop/EB Games around my vicinity, I've been to about 8 of them and I regularly frequent three of them. I've had nothing but excellent service from all of them. Really helpful, nice folks. Yes, they always ask if I want the game protection or they point out that the strategy guide is also on sale, but I respect that's their job and they always ask with a smile. Across the board, the employees are enthusiastic about games and there are hardly any I would call "kids". There are many times that the employee is not quite as knowledgeable about a particular game or release date as I am (I do extensive homework) but when they're not, they want to know what I know and thank me for the information. The line-ups can get a little long (they really have a slow system at the register that could be improved) but I often see them making efforts to handle big lines. Like, one employee will come out to the line, collect the empty boxes from people in line so he can go fetch the associated game discs. That way, the game is ready for purchase when you get to the register. Doesn't always happen but when there's a big line-up, they're usually pretty good about it.
Anyway, without exception, the store staff around here are reasonably knowledgeable, very friendly and really enjoy games and like to talk about them. I am shocked that people have such a lousy experience at other stores. Maybe its a Canada vs. U.S. thing?
Speaking of that, I wonder if the Monster Hunter Demo Disc is even available in Canada? Anyone know? I'll go to my local store at lunch and check but I'm wondering if anyone in Canada already knows?

that Baby guyMarch 17, 2010

I thought the preorder came with free Wii points, and the demo was just the demo, Sundulous.  Can anyone who picked it up actually say if it came with anything aside from the disc, the packing, and whatever control scheme stuff they needed?

BlackNMild2k1March 17, 2010

"Pre-Order to day and get 500 MH Points" is what the display says.

GameStop employees are reading it wrong or are using that to mislead people (who don't bother to read it) into pre-ordering.

Quote from: Stratos

Funcoland is what turned into Gamestop. I remember those days.

Actually, GameStop ate all of the other game retailers: Funcoland, Babbage's, Software Etc., EB Games, Rhino Video Games (and several other international retailers).  Those other stores used to be a lot more interesting before GameStop took over the entire market.

greybrickNathan Mustafa, Staff AlumnusMarch 17, 2010

My Babbage's used to sell awesome action figures... they're not dolls!

Kytim89March 17, 2010

A few years back I went into a gamestop and bought a used copy of StarFox Command. There was a seven day return policy on the game and I ended up bringing it back after two days. I went into the store and returned the game and the cashier claimed that I bought the game new and that I could not return the game. He then went on to give me a lecture about how when you buy a new game, take it out of the package and play it becomes used. I told him that I bought the game used and the reciept said so. He ended up giving me my money back in store credit because I was a minor at the time. I bought a new copy of New Super Mario Brothers DS and since that time, I have never went back to that gamestop.

I actually drive about six miles to a gamestop store where I am treated with respect. Although this particular store does not give out pre-order bonises when they are available, the service is pretty good. I actually pre-ordered MH3 with the controller bundle. If I do not recieve my 500 Nintendo points, I am going to raise hell with the manager.

ShyGuyMarch 17, 2010

Lindy should have knocked over a magazine rack. Remember when Amazon tried to stiff him? Good times.

StratosMarch 17, 2010

Best Buy was a not a good example to use there, Lindy. Go to any consumer warning type site like Consumerist and everyone bashes Best Buy worse than we all bash Gamestop.

Indeed.  The only place I avoid more than GameStop is Best Buy.  I have my own set of horror stories regarding that place.

that Baby guyMarch 17, 2010

Quote from: Stratos

Best Buy was a not a good example to use there, Lindy. Go to any consumer warning type site like Consumerist and everyone bashes Best Buy worse than we all bash Gamestop.

Quote from: MegaByte

Indeed.  The only place I avoid more than GameStop is Best Buy.  I have my own set of horror stories regarding that place.

The sad thing?  At least with Best Buy, you can walk in, grab the game you want, say "No Thank You" to the warranty plan they offer, pay for the game, and leave.  Best Buy actually orders large volumes of their games, and a few copies of obscure games, so there's no "We only have enough for the people who preordered it." stuff going on with things like Halo 3 or Brawl.  So yeah, even though everyone hates Best Buy, I've found they're leagues ahead of my personal experiences with nearly every GameStop I've been to.

If I need a large-volume game immediately, I'll just go to Target where I don't have to put up with any of that crap.  Or, I know it's not an option for most people, but I can go to Fry's and get the game at a discount, even new.  If I need an obscure game, I'll use Amazon or eBay (I've never been able to find any obscure games at Best Buy).

One example regarding Best Buy: My roommate tried to get a laptop during a Black Friday sale.  After waiting for hours in line, they try to give him a laptop with a bunch of extra software he didn't want preloaded.  And he would have to pay for all of it.  The alternative was to wait for several more hours for them to uninstall it.  On top of that, the return policy wasn't standard because they had opened the computer to install the software.  Bait-and-switch bullshit.

I've had problems with Best Buy too, mostly in regards to sales and getting games in on time. I actually don't like Target at all. They have an extremely limited selection (at least, mine does), worse than Wal-Mart, and the stuff I actually go there in search of is never, and I mean NEVER on sale for more than like $5 off.

BboyMarch 17, 2010

All three Gamestops in my area tried to gave me this crap, but I happened to be going to trade in some games anyway, and just took a demo while the guy wasn't looking, so problem solved. I've never had any personal problems with Gamestop before this, but I've found a lot of it depends on the employee you get, sometimes you get someone that seems like they probably troll IGN in their free time, sometimes you get genuinely nice people, it just depends.

StratosMarch 17, 2010

Quote from: MegaByte

If I need a large-volume game immediately, I'll just go to Target where I don't have to put up with any of that crap.  Or, I know it's not an option for most people, but I can go to Fry's and get the game at a discount, even new.  If I need an obscure game, I'll use Amazon or eBay (I've never been able to find any obscure games at Best Buy).

One example regarding Best Buy: My roommate tried to get a laptop during a Black Friday sale.  After waiting for hours in line, they try to give him a laptop with a bunch of extra software he didn't want preloaded.  And he would have to pay for all of it.  The alternative was to wait for several more hours for them to uninstall it.  On top of that, the return policy wasn't standard because they had opened the computer to install the software.  Bait-and-switch bullshit.

That's a fairly common occurrence, Megabyte. I've read a number of articles regarding those 'optimized' units. The open a large number of them and 'optimize' them and so you can only buy the opened ones at the higher price. It's quite sad really. They charge you $40 to install anti-virus software, delete the icons for pre-installed stuff (they don't uninstall the trial-ware either), run windows update and a few other things. It's not even consistent what they do to the systems. Some have reportedly been turned on and discovered to have been shut off part way through the windows update process. The kicker? Independent performance tests show that a majority of these 'optimized' computers, who are marketed at increasing performance and speed by 200%, run at the same speed or in some cases slower than the factory sealed models! It's a sham.

Quote from: Halbred

I've had problems with Best Buy too, mostly in regards to sales and getting games in on time. I actually don't like Target at all. They have an extremely limited selection (at least, mine does), worse than Wal-Mart, and the stuff I actually go there in search of is never, and I mean NEVER on sale for more than like $5 off.

Yeah, I'm a CAG, so I very rarely actually go to Target, I was just saying if you're going to pay full price, it's an option where they don't treat you like shit.  I buy the large majority of my games online, where better deals are usually found.

The demo disc is free, period.  If you pre-order you get 500 free Wii points.

I'm going to be writing up my impressions of the demo over the next day or so.

Ian SaneMarch 17, 2010

Quote:

If Nintendos "DEMO" service was worth any thing or at least somewhat mirrored PS3/XBOX 360's service, would Lindy ever had to go into Gamestop?http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/Smileys/default/huh.gif? We can only wonder


Good point.  I actually didn't know about the free demo until now and at first thought "why are they giving a disc away?"  There really is no good reason why we can't download this.  I wasn't interested in this but with a demo I'm thinking of trying it out.  But I don't want to go to Gamestop just for that.  So, yeah, see the problem here, Nintendo?  If I could download it I could just get the demo on a whim, but here you're asking me to jump through hoops to try a demo I'm not that interested in.  I think having something in the store is a good idea since it'll get in the hands of people just walking by.  But it shouldn't be the only option.

Gamestop does occasionally press me for strategy guides and pre-ordering and shit.  I don't mind them asking once.  It's when I say "naw, that's fine.  I'll just check out Gamefaqs if I need help." and then they go all "well who has their PC near their TV" as if walking to the PC and back is worth $20 for a guide.  My response is that I DO have my PC near my TV.  Same with pre-ordering.  "If you guys don't have it I'll just go to Best Buy where they'll have a million copies or Willow Video (local chain, kills Gamestop in every category, they HATE when I mention them)".  Stating the little bullshit is company policy so I get it.  It's the hounding after I tell them "no" that drives me nuts.  When the McDonald's cashier asks me if I want to supersize and I say "no thanks" they don't say "are you sure?  Because you get SO much more fries and pop if you do."  They just complete the order.  I understand that they have to push this company BS and they understand I can say "fuck no" and that's the end of it.

What really blows my mind is that Gamestop gets away at all with this crap.  I understand the used sales since there isn't much variety.  But new games are sold EVERYWHERE and you don't get this pre-order hounding stuff.  Why do dumb jackasses put up with this shit if Wal-Mart or Best Buy is right there and will have the game?  I get it for like an Atlus game but like Mario?  Why?  For those customers it's like the bit on the Simpsons where Apu thinks to himself "If he discovers the discount supermarket next door, all is lost."

I agree with whoever said that there shouldn't be good and bad Gamestops because with most big chains the bad stores are rare.  With chain stores it's like I encounter hardly any bad stores ever or I frequently encounter them and the whole chain has this negative stigma like Gamestop has.  If I was the head of Gamestop and I knew that my store has the image it has I would FREAK... unless the bad stores are doing what I want them to do.

I bet Capcom could have put out a demo as a Free item in the Wii Shop.  But it would have been way too big for the Wii's memory.

Olimar77March 17, 2010

I had the same issue at my local Gamestop (Moreland Ave. in Atlanta). They insisted that I had to pre-order so I left the $90 worth of merchandise I had on the counter, left the store, and walked over to Best Buy. I was tempted to go in yesterday to pick up The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, but decided to order from Amazon. As far as buying and selling used games, my experience with Glyde has been positive. In any case, I look forward to hearing your impressions of the demo, Jon--I want to get hyped for this game again.

You know, I hear people say nice things about Goozex, but I don't know what it is.

greybrickNathan Mustafa, Staff AlumnusMarch 18, 2010

Goozex is a points based trading system, and games are valued in points based mostly on supply and demand with 1000 points being the maximum points a game can cost. If you send someone a game, your account is credited with these points and you can use them to request games from others. So, right now Twilight Princess is worth 600 points. Keeping in mind this is a game I bought quite some time ago and have played twice through already, I may want to trade it in. This 600 points will probably be used to get myself Brutal Legend for the 360 and Daxter for my PSP. I am also tempted to get MadWorld, New Play Control Pikmin, and Daxter...

Overall Goozex is great, because games are valued based off of how much demand their is, so your old games don't always lose value as quickly as you might think.

Kytim89March 18, 2010

Quote from: MegaByte

Quote from: Stratos

Funcoland is what turned into Gamestop. I remember those days.

Actually, GameStop ate all of the other game retailers: Funcoland, Babbage's, Software Etc., EB Games, Rhino Video Games (and several other international retailers).  Those other stores used to be a lot more interesting before GameStop took over the entire market.


It would seem that this would violate anti-trust laws because Gamestop has a monopoly on selling games. Or would Wal-mart and Target be competitors to gamestop.

StratosMarch 18, 2010

Quote from: Kytim89

Quote from: MegaByte

Quote from: Stratos

Funcoland is what turned into Gamestop. I remember those days.

Actually, GameStop ate all of the other game retailers: Funcoland, Babbage's, Software Etc., EB Games, Rhino Video Games (and several other international retailers).  Those other stores used to be a lot more interesting before GameStop took over the entire market.


It would seem that this would violate anti-trust laws because Gamestop has a monopoly on selling games. Or would Wal-mart and Target be competitors to gamestop.

Don't forget Game Crazy. Game Crazy is the closest thing in the States to a direct competitor for Game Stop. Unfortunately they are starting to follow similar practices to GS from what I hear.

Kytim89March 18, 2010

Here in Louisville, KY we have a second hand game store called Bokk and Music Exchange.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorMarch 18, 2010

Quote from: Kytim89

Quote from: MegaByte

Quote from: Stratos

Funcoland is what turned into Gamestop. I remember those days.

Actually, GameStop ate all of the other game retailers: Funcoland, Babbage's, Software Etc., EB Games, Rhino Video Games (and several other international retailers).  Those other stores used to be a lot more interesting before GameStop took over the entire market.


It would seem that this would violate anti-trust laws because Gamestop has a monopoly on selling games. Or would Wal-mart and Target be competitors to gamestop.

I think, all things considered, Walmart has like 35% of all new game/hardware sales.  I seem to remember reading that a few years ago when GameStop was buying EBGames.

Quote from: Kytim89

Here in Louisville, KY we have a second hand game store called Bokk and Music Exchange.

I don't know about Bokk and Music Exchange, but there's two Book and Music Exchange stores in Evansville, IN.  Great places, but they tend to overprice their crap.  Love their tent sales though.

Kytim89March 18, 2010

Quote from: UncleBob

Quote from: Kytim89

Quote from: MegaByte

Quote from: Stratos

Funcoland is what turned into Gamestop. I remember those days.

Actually, GameStop ate all of the other game retailers: Funcoland, Babbage's, Software Etc., EB Games, Rhino Video Games (and several other international retailers).  Those other stores used to be a lot more interesting before GameStop took over the entire market.


It would seem that this would violate anti-trust laws because Gamestop has a monopoly on selling games. Or would Wal-mart and Target be competitors to gamestop.

I think, all things considered, Walmart has like 35% of all new game/hardware sales.  I seem to remember reading that a few years ago when GameStop was buying EBGames.

Quote from: Kytim89

Here in Louisville, KY we have a second hand game store called Bokk and Music Exchange.

I don't know about Bokk and Music Exchange, but there's two Book and Music Exchange stores in Evansville, IN.  Great places, but they tend to overprice their crap.  Love their tent sales though.


That was a typo. I meant to say book but I messed up. There are three in Louisville, one in New Albany, Indiana and the two in Evansville, IN. I have only been to the ones in Louisville and yes they are over priced and possibly worse than gamestop.

BeautifulShyMarch 18, 2010

Well I haven't picked up the demo yet so I can't comment on this situation from first hand experiance but if you got the demo without any hassles or if you did have some problems check out this link.

Http://nintendogal.com/2010/03/16/dubious-gamestop-practices-or-monster-hunter-mix-up/

In the comments section post the store and address of it and the phone number of the store and if you had a problem or not with that piticular store.

BlackNMild2k1March 18, 2010

Quote from: Maxi

Well I haven't picked up the demo yet so I can't comment on this situation from first hand experiance but if you got the demo without any hassles or if you did have some problems check out this link.

Http://nintendogal.com/2010/03/16/dubious-gamestop-practices-or-monster-hunter-mix-up/

In the comments section post the store and address of it and the phone number of the store and if you had a problem or not with that piticular store.

already linked in the OP

Quote from: NWR_Lindy

  However, according to an informal poll taken by NintendoGal, this "mistake" is happening at Gamestops all over the country.

StratosMarch 18, 2010

Figures the GS I used to frequent is on the list of DENIED. They've lied to me before about stuff. And been snarky about pre-ordering. I'll try the one in Edgewood tomorrow since they are giving it out for free.

Quote from: Stratos

Don't forget Game Crazy. Game Crazy is the closest thing in the States to a direct competitor for Game Stop. Unfortunately they are starting to follow similar practices to GS from what I hear.

I forget Game Crazy because I have never even SEEN a Game Crazy.

StratosMarch 18, 2010

Half of them are adjoined to Hollywood videos so since many Hollywood videos are closing down they are harder too find as well. I think it's great that the one where I used to live didn't bother to order ANY copies of Conduit and I was one of several people combing the city for a copy the 'release day'. Someone who runs one of those places should be aware of all major releases and ordering accordingly. It's just like a Pizza Hut manager is expected to know when big games are and staff the restaurant accordingly or you end up with crappy service on Sundays because everyone is watching the big game.

SundoulosMarch 18, 2010

Quote from: thatguy

I thought the preorder came with free Wii points, and the demo was just the demo, Sundulous.  Can anyone who picked it up actually say if it came with anything aside from the disc, the packing, and whatever control scheme stuff they needed?

Others have answered this, but I think that she meant that they're using the Wii points to justify requiring a pre-order in order to obtain the demo. 

OkivaMarch 18, 2010

Yes, i agree with this sentiment about Game Stop. I favor Play-N-Trade. I f-ing hate that there's always the chance that going into Game Stop that I'm going to run into this clique of arrogant insensitive assholes who arent interested in helping me, answering questions, nor have any patience for anyone "not at their level".

Has anyone filled out those customer serveys?

Armak88March 18, 2010

One thing I've learned over the years is that freedom isn't free, it costs folks like you and me, and if you don't throw in your buck o' five who will?

Ian SaneMarch 18, 2010

Quote:

It would seem that this would violate anti-trust laws because Gamestop has a monopoly on selling games. Or would Wal-mart and Target be competitors to gamestop.


Any place that sells games would be a Gamestop competitor.  And I think for anti-trust laws to take effect Gamestop has to not only have no competition but be in a position where they actively block others from attempting to compete.  You're not an illegal monopoly if you just happen to be the only company in your field because nothing stops someone from creating a competing business if they want to.

I mentioned a local chain I go to named Willow Video.  The sheer fact that that even exists shows the Gamestop has no monopoly.  Hell with eBay how could anyone truly claim that Gamestop has a monopoly on used games?  There would always still be an alternate way for Americans to purchase them.

PlugabugzMarch 18, 2010

Quote from: Ian

Quote:

It would seem that this would violate anti-trust laws because Gamestop has a monopoly on selling games. Or would Wal-mart and Target be competitors to gamestop.


Any place that sells games would be a Gamestop competitor.  And I think for anti-trust laws to take effect Gamestop has to not only have no competition but be in a position where they actively block others from attempting to compete.  You're not an illegal monopoly if you just happen to be the only company in your field because nothing stops someone from creating a competing business if they want to.

I mentioned a local chain I go to named Willow Video.  The sheer fact that that even exists shows the Gamestop has no monopoly.  Hell with eBay how could anyone truly claim that Gamestop has a monopoly on used games?  There would always still be an alternate way for Americans to purchase them.

That's the exact same reasoning that allowed GAME to buy up all its direct competitors here (EB Games and Gamestation). It was also the same time i stopped going there because prices just all went up.

Quote from: Armak88

One thing I've learned over the years is that freedom isn't free, it costs folks like you and me, and if you don't throw in your buck o' five who will?

WINNER

EasyCureMarch 21, 2010

Quote from: greybrick

Once I went into a Gamestop and the person behind the counter asked if I wanted to preorder a game. Being courteous (it's part of the scout law, man) I replied, "No thanks, I would rather decide if I want a game after it comes out and get it then." The man told me that, "Dude that is the stupidest thing I've heard, how the hell are you going to get a copy of Halo 3 when it comes out." I responded, a bit more tersely, "I am sure that you will have plenty of copies, I think it would be dumb to not order enough of the biggest game coming out this year." His idea of a witty response was to imitate a crying baby, smashing his fists into the counter and screaming (really, yelling), "Whaaaahhh I am such a baby! I am too scared to pre order a game and I cry when I can't find it when it comes out!" As people turned their heads, he continued his show. I walked out, disgusted.

...

Yet another time, I purchased a brand new copy of the PC game Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. Not having seen one in stores for a while, I bought it. Turns out, when I went to buy some deodorant (or something) at the Target that shared a parking lot I found a copy of the game a full twenty dollars cheaper. Needless to say, I bought that version and went to return the more expensive copy I had bought at Gamestop. The person working there refused my return, saying they had the right to do so. I don't look like a criminal, at least I hope not, and there was no way in hell that I had copied the game within fifteen minutes and managed to do so without even breaking the seal on the game. So I was stuck with that copy and had to drive to two cities away to return it, because the guy had called his friend at the closer gamestop to warn him of the "thief".

Wow thats the saddest thing I've ever heard and I'm sorry you had to go through that. Just.. wow.

Quote from: Okiva

Yes, i agree with this sentiment about Game Stop. I favor Play-N-Trade. I f-ing hate that there's always the chance that going into Game Stop that I'm going to run into this clique of arrogant insensitive assholes who arent interested in helping me, answering questions, nor have any patience for anyone "not at their level".

Has anyone filled out those customer serveys?

I forgot there's a Play-n-trade in my town, but i haven't been to it yet. It's in a really crappy location with no parking.

As for the survey, I actually completed TWO yesterday; one for each receipt I had from pre-ordering Fragile Dreams and from picking it up. I've already written about that experience in the Gamestop thread in another part of the forums, so I won't go in to detail, but basically I gave them my brutally honest opinion ever chance I could. At first I thought I'd only do the one survey, but when i remembered I had two seperate receipts with two seperate validation codes, I figured I might as well comment on my experience trying to obtain the MHT demo.

Like the lot of you, I too had trouble obtaining the demo and haven't bothered trying to get a copy since, and probably won't even be buying the game now* (Sorry Capcom, blame GS). The kicker for my story? The clerk who tried getting me to pre-order the game in order to receive the demo was someone I've known since 2nd grade. He's a pretty informed gamer, as I am, and probably plays more video games than I too because he has more free time (Me having a full time job and steady girlfriend, him being part-time employed by GS and combing the local highschool for girls dumb enough to find him impressive), so I just KNOW this bullshit is happening from a corporate level, and this is something Capcom should be investigating. Sad.

Quote from: Armak88

One thing I've learned over the years is that freedom isn't free, it costs folks like you and me, and if you don't throw in your buck o' five who will?

*slow-building-clap*

Fatty The HuttMarch 31, 2010

Demo disc - not available in Canada (it seems)
So y'all can quitcher bitchin'!
:D

greybrickNathan Mustafa, Staff AlumnusApril 03, 2010

Quote from: Fatty_The_Hutt

Demo disc - not available in Canada (it seems)
So y'all can quitcher bitchin'!
:D

And whose fault is it that you live in Canada? Get a better country, eh?  ;D

EasyCureApril 05, 2010

Quote from: greybrick

Quote from: Fatty_The_Hutt

Demo disc - not available in Canada (it seems)
So y'all can quitcher bitchin'!
:D

And whose fault is it that you live in Canada? Get a better country, eh?  ;D

qft :P

Kytim89April 05, 2010

I just applied for managment position at a local gamestop. If I get the job everytime I come onto this forum I will ask everyone if they want to pre-order anything, stand behind a counter on the phone and do all the other pain in the ass stuff gamestop employeees do to piss of the customers.

EasyCureApril 05, 2010

good luck! never come back! :P

Kytim89April 13, 2010

I just went and bought a copy of Spider-man Web of Shadows for the wii yesterday and played it and found that the game was awful so I tried to return the game today. I purchased the game fr $15 from gamestop's bargain sail and it had a new sticker on it, but no packaging. When I tried to return the game the manager of the store said that since the game technically new that I could not get a refund or exchange.

I ended up arguing with him about how the game was lousy and that since it had no wrapping on it that it was a used game and therefore subject to their return policy. He then proceeded to check the disc and discovered that it was vertually untouched and decided that since It was in good condition and I bought the day before so he would go through with the transaction.

This way the same store and manager that I described before about the star fox command deal. I told him that I drive five extra miles to go to a better gamestop to avoid the one I was deling with.

I told him that once you take a new game in a wrapper out of the case it is used because of the oils on you fingers contaminating the disc. I then told him that Gamestop was a deceptive buisness for selling a used game as new.

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