Time for GameStop to Go?

[HCK]

I dunno... something strikes me as unnerving about a game retailer that has its own platform...

And while I was in America, GameStop was the only national chain retailer I saw... are they it now? And if so, how is it that they haven't run afoul of anti-monopoly laws?


"The company also revealed today that it is set to launch its own brand of Android gaming tablet, which will be classed as a "GameStop certified gaming platform."

As reported by GI.biz [registration required], the scheme is due to hit stores next year, and will simply be an existing tablet with certain games preloaded onto it -- although the specific model has not yet been announced."

And it's early and I still haven't had coffee yet. Bleh.

[GodofHardcore]

Starbucks has it's own record label

Barnes and Noble has it's own E-Reader (and Barns and Noble is more or less the only national bookstore chain left since Borders went under)

SO really I don't see any issue with Gamestop selling their own gaming tablet.

[Taucias]

I dunno... something strikes me as unnerving about a game retailer that has its own platform...

And while I was in America, GameStop was the only national chain retailer I saw... are they it now? And if so, how is it that they haven't run afoul of anti-monopoly laws?



And it's early and I still haven't had coffee yet. Bleh.

They don't appear to have been hit with anti-competitive laws yet, but they surely should be.

[CrAzY]

I just don't like Gamestop, mainly because it has only been PS2 and above for years now, they sticker the fuck out of everything, and other bad experiences. I used to have so many cool independent stores nearby, even one 3 blocks from me called Gameworld that had everything, owner was a true gaming enthusiast too.

2 years ago I bought around 10 SNES games their for extremely cheap. Most fully boxed with all the inserts, and all for $3-5 each. Chrono Trigger boxed was a full $20, well worth it for me. Since I am pretty good friends with the owner, I tell him I will be back soon to clear out all of his SNES collection, and 2 weeks later I return to an empty building.

I ask him on Xbox Live what had happened and he tells me some story about all of the merchandise getting seized for matters I can't quite recall, but all in all a truly depressing time for me! All of the gems that store had, seized? Ludicrous.

I want Gamestop to fall and for independent game stores to just pop up all over the world! .... & then I step back into reality.:crying:

[kendrick]

Gamestop hasn't been relevant to my gaming purchases for nearly five years now. In all that time, the only purchase I've made there has been one to take advantage of a local pricing error. Other than that, I spend nearly $1,500 a year and it all goes to Target, Amazon, and local independent shops.

At the same time, I know that voting with my wallet won't have a noticeable effect. The majority of the market likes the convenience of a single chain with a unified inventory system, and doesn't care about corporate corruption or price gouging. Gamestop serves that need and doesn't have to work very hard to keep that business. As the economy gets worse, that may change.

[Yakumo]

independent shops rule IMO. I love looking around them but they do seem to be living in the land of crazy prices at times or at leat the ones in southern Japan are. Still, there's always the used game stores as well which do have deals and just as magial to look around.

For new stuff though it has got to be Amazon all the way. Cheap, very fast and free deivery and no problem with returns.

Yakumo

[GaijinPunch]

They don't appear to have been hit with anti-competitive laws yet, but they surely should be.

You'll likely never get hit w/ anti-compete by opening stores. Actively taking out/buying the competition is another story. Anyone can open up a store in the same neighborhood.

[GodofHardcore]

The trick is to open up in an area gamestop wouldn't even think about opening a store in.

Someone I went to school with has an online retro store and IT SUCKS

http://www.retrocadegames.ecrater.com/

They've been BEGGING ME to change the name of my show too.....
Jackasses

No joke after the first episode of my show was uploaded I got a call from one of the guys running the shop CRYING asking me what my problem was.

But there are some great indy retroshops here in paticular The Toy vault and the Time Capsule.

By the way there is another video game chain in the US called Play N Trade

[CrAzY]

Yeah, I noticed Play N Trade popup a couple years ago in my town. It's a decent place, but mine never had too many good classics, and I am sure it varies greatly depending on the store. I really only went there for the Halo tournaments, which were good times, always with free pizza and soda. (Especially fun since my team has won the last 3 times.)

Anyways, I know I have mentioned a place called "Game Dude" on here before, but anyone close enough to Hollywood should take a visit if you have a chance. Some of the prices are ridiculous, but you can find everything there.
http://www.gamedude.com/

+ It's pretty cool to just browse and take in the atmosphere!

[MottZilla]

In the US besides GameStop you can buy games at retailers Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and possibly others. GameStop sucks, there is not really anything else to say. They make alot of profit off people trading in games.

[HCK]

I used to work video game retail at a shop in the Minneapolis/ St. Paul area called Toyriffic. We carried everything from modern stuff (which at the time was N64) all the way back to whenever.

And if the boss came in and you weren't playing games he'd get on your ass. He use to say "How can you recommend a game if you don't know if it's good or not? I expect you to be an expert on all these games!"

THAT was a job.

[kendrick]

I find Play-N-Trade, as a chain, to be a lot like Gorilla Games. They have great retro items that no other store may carry, like Atari 2600 carts or original Gameboy peripherals. But you can't count on a store to be run professionally. Registers are unattended, displayed games frequently aren't in stock, and in one extreme case I found a store that didn't even stick to its posted hours. They haven't ripped me off or tried to sell me a magazine subscription, so I'm still willing to shop at Play-N-Trade. But they're not the first place I think of to buy from either.

[Keberasky]

You'll likely never get hit w/ anti-compete by opening stores. Actively taking out/buying the competition is another story. Anyone can open up a store in the same neighborhood.

Very true. Stuff like this below really does show you how gamestop is pushing the limit.
http://betanews.com/2011/08/24/gamestop-shows-just-how-terrified-it-is-of-downloadable-and-streaming-games/

[HEX1GON]

independent shops rule IMO.

Exactly right, I love them as well. I worked in one for a very short period of time (around 2 weeks). I nearly bought every system in the shop. Was great friends with the owner as well. Too bad he shut shop, too many parents would come in claim he'd rip their kids off. When actually he had the best prices that I could recall. Very depressing, miss that store.

Doesn't GameStop have exclusive promo items usually?

[A. Snow]

Pretty much all my purchases are from Amazon now. Great service and preorder deals and all without the constant pimping of products that Gamestop does. The only problem I've had with Amazon that was entirely their fault was when a game I ordered with free "get it on release date" shipping came a day later. I didn't even notice until I received an email apologizing and giving me a $5.00 credit. Gamestop on the other hand has more than once either lost or royally fucked up my preorders and has never once tried to fix the problem. Fuck'em.

The other thing that pisses me off to no end about Gamestop is how every other new game I try to buy is the last "display" copy. They always look at me like I just insulted their Wife, GF, or Sister when I refuse to buy their fondled over game for full price and then try to lecture me on how it is still "new". Maybe I'm wrong but I was always under the impression that an item is no longer new once you tear into it. Why the fuck they can't use a similar system like the one Toys "R" Us has is beyond me.

Funny how a company I have never done business with face to face and one far more logistically complex can consistently beat a chain store with a local presence so badly.

[Bramsworth]

I just hate these boring chains. No variety, just a bunch of newer systems. There used to be this great game store called Knights Video Games near where I live that had everything retro, including imports. If you were looking for an import, they could locate it for you. It used to feel good just to be in that place, and the people there weren't just boring employees, you could tell they actually play games, and that wasn't limited to just what's current either. They ended up disappearing though. I can only assume since they were pretty much the only independent game store in this entire area, the competition from bland old chains like Gamestop drove them out :(

[Cyantist]

The trick is to open up in an area gamestop wouldn't even think about opening a store in.

Someone I went to school with has an online retro store and IT SUCKS


They have some nice stuff but it seems overpriced as hell.

Gamestation was fantastic prior to being bought by GAME. Everything now is utter junk and the retro stuff is relegated to one shelf. Needless to say it can be months before you see new stuff being put out.

GAME and Gamestop can firmly fuck right off because I refuse to buy from GAME (little store nearby called Game Trading is soo much better) and I'd sure as shit refuse to buy from Gamestop.

[GodofHardcore]

Not to mention the stupid shit people get fired over at gamestops

[alecjahn]

I still enjoy going into GameStop and staring at shit for 30 minutes.

I'm sure the employees hate that behavior.

Oh, I miss Electronics Boutique.

[GodofHardcore]

It's nice and convient to get xbox live cards at drug stores

[Vosse]

It's too bad Gamestop brand junk is usually just that Junk except for when it's actually manufactured by someone who's not them but has their branding on it like the MadCatz made wired 360 controllers that just have gamestop branded on them instead of MadCatz.

But yeah, I'm sick of buying stuff from gamestop and it's either missing the case, or everything but the disc is in disrepair.

[Pikkon]

Gamestop keeps all of there new games in those paper sleeves but then they will argue with you on how the game is still brand new:lol:

[sayin999]

I hate gamestop. Stinks like fuck and has this nasty feel to it. I have been ripped off many times by them. Once someone I knew tried to force a pre-order on me when I got rid of some stuff and was putting it towards something else.

I keep telling him no he has this somewhat annoyed look on his face and hands me a thing with a demo code voucher. I repeat again I do not want a pre-order and he claims he is giving me the hook up.

Sure enough two weeks later I get a call that my pre-ordered copy of left 4 dead 2 is ready.I got so pissed cause I repeated I did not want to pre-order.

I go there explain the situation and they say they can't give me back my $5 unless I have the receipt even though they have all my info and I have my id to prove who I am.

Even the way the reciept was written I couldn't tell that I was charged for the pre-order so I thought nothing of it and threw it away.

I get new games from target, amazon, or best buy. Frys even carries more of the obscure stuff like arcade sticks and specialty controllers. Old stuff I go to luna games. I have been to game dude twice when visiting la.

I got say the place is insanely huge and they have almost any game you can think of. Every time I go to la I try and visit it. It's like going to a costco for games. Prices are a mixed bag there, but surprisingly they sell some of their imports cheaper then anybody else does.

[la-li-lu-le-lo]

I hate Gamestop as well, but there are some good things about it. They sometimes have decent deals on used games. I don't think I've ever seen them raise the price on something; they always lower it, or keep it the same (FOREVER).

That said, I would not shed a tear if they went out of business tomorrow. For every decent deal they have, they have about 400 terrible deals. Once I asked them what they would give me for Halo: Reach. I think he said "$15." I turn around and look at the shelf, and they have a pre-owned copy of Halo: Reach for $55. How greedy can they be? That means that (if someone bought it) they would make a profit of 2.6 times what they paid for it. They make $40 for taking the game, putting a little sticker on it, and giving it to someone else. That's nuts.

I miss the days of competing game chains, and even more the independent game stores. There are still a few sprinkled here and there, but they can't compete with the giant that is Gamestop. We need tougher anti-trust laws in this country.

[kendrick]

That the same parent company owns Gamestop and Barnes & Noble means that I also steer clear of that particular book store. I've always wondered if profit from one side of that business helps to subsidize the bad behavior of the other.

[Taucias]

You'll likely never get hit w/ anti-compete by opening stores. Actively taking out/buying the competition is another story. Anyone can open up a store in the same neighborhood.

They buy out other companies and local game stores though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameStop

They are the only major dedicated high street games retailer now in the USA.

[HCK]

So can gamers file an anti-monopoly suit against GameStop? Something that would force them to break up the monopoly, ala Ma Bell?

[la-li-lu-le-lo]

I wish, but probably not. It's tough to break up a monopoly in the US. Look at Wal-mart.

[A. Snow]

So can gamers file an anti-monopoly suit against GameStop? Something that would force them to break up the monopoly, ala Ma Bell?

Not the same thing. With Ma Bell it was pretty much using them or not having a phone. While GameStop is really the only major gaming retail chain there are still plenty of choices for buying games. GameStop would have to do some drastic and stupid things for the government to really crack down.

[HCK]

Not the same thing. With Ma Bell it was pretty much using them or not having a phone. While GameStop is really the only major gaming retail chain there are still plenty of choices for buying games. GameStop would have to do some drastic and stupid things for the government to really crack down.

Like selling used product as new? Or tampering with products to make them less competitive?

[A. Snow]

I'm assuming you are talking about selling the last opened game as new and the recent Deus Ex controversy.

In first case whether we disagree with them or not (I certainly do) it is a matter of opinion and precedent is on their side. For example dealerships sell cars as new that have obliviously been driven with miles on them. Stores do put opened merchandise back on their shelves at times to be sold as new.

The Deus Ex thing is more tricky. My guess is that they probably did break some type of regulation but since they quickly backed away and offered compensation it wasn't worth the time to go after them.

P.S. Damn you for forcing me to defend GameStop in any way.

[HCK]

Mwa ha ha ha ha

[Shadowlayer]

Buying a "gaming tablet" certified by gamestop is like buying heart pills certified by Mcdonalds...

Now there must be like 20 companies making those dumb suction controllers for tablets meaning theres a lot of people buying those, and these idiots from gamestop go ahead and release a tablet, not say an actual console with actual controls running android

And whos going to pay upwards of $300 to get this thing?

[GodofHardcore]

I wish, but probably not. It's tough to break up a monopoly in the US. Look at Wal-mart.

Wal-mart still has to Compete with Target