Gamestop: Sign of the Times?

[Acid King]

For me, the tragedy is that they take their sweet time dropping prices on anything (at least sticker prices on the racks), and I guess stuff disappears before it ever gets a worthwhile price drop (lol $20 for games selling on the 'Bay for $5 plus some negligible S&H = still a $10 savings). I never can rationalize spending money there.

The last game I bought at a GameStop was a copy of Bioshock for the PC, which was a terrible decision on my part (paid something like $30 as I recall, long after release).

Yeah, that's true, but I think price drops are too slow all around in non-online stores.

[Ed Oscuro]

That's true. The local mall's FYE has a discount rack near their front window, but every time I look at it, it's either junk or something barely above eBay prices and which I don't want (some Atlus PS2 RPGs for example, IIRC). Never see anything that I want and can justify spending on. That's about the best thing going locally, price-wise.

I'm sure my last three trips to the local thrift were futile as well, but that's another story.

[BulletMagnet]

I thought you meant that government interference was the lesser of two evils compared to allowing people to be too lazy or ignorant to shop around for video games.

Heh, I wouldn't say I'd go QUITE that far...what I DO maintain is that, when businesses (again and again) refuse to promote the "free and fair" competition that they constantly crow about by actively working to keep customers ignorant about what they're really getting for their money it's time to immediately stop listening to their tired "just leave us alone and everything will magically work out perfectly for everyone" rhetoric, not concerning any particular product or service, but in general. My favorite example is how hard they bellyached and screamed and threatened everyone when they were finally forced to put (incomplete, even) nutrition labels and ingredient lists on food...by some miracle, though, the country's not Communist yet. I've gone on about this at length elsewhere on the forums though, so I'll stop here.

[professor ganson]

As people have said, Gamestop is to be avoided for trade in. I am really fortunate to have an alternative local shop where they know me well and I get good trade in value.

What Gamestop is good for mainly is buy 2 get 1 free on used games. In my area there is a pretty strong interest in JRPGs, so there are some nice things to be found. Sometimes their used games are in better shape than their unsealed "new" stuff, which often has real wear, even to the discs. But in general I'm trying to get less fussy about the condition. I'm a bit too anal about it, and the fact is with a lot of the RPGs I play, the resale value isn't there to begin with and in most cases I won't want to replay in the future. It's not like with shmups, which I can revisit indefinitely.

The other thing Gamestop can be good for is preorders, though I'm giving Amazon a try this time for Phantom Brave. You get the same price and I'm thinking that they will be even more reliable for pre-order goodies. We'll see. I've had problems with Amazon several times in the past.

So, undamned, how's the game anyhow? Have you had a chance to play it yet?

[Davey]

when businesses (again and again) refuse to promote the "free and fair" competition that they constantly crow about by actively working to keep customers ignorant about what they're really getting for their money it's time to immediately stop listening to their tired "just leave us alone and everything will magically work out perfectly for everyone" rhetoric, not concerning any particular product or service, but in general.

How is GameStop actively keeping their customers ignorant? You go to their store, look at the games, then buy the ones you want at the listed price. What more should they be doing? Giving you directions to their competitors' stores? Installing a ticker above the counter showing current eBay prices for used games?

My favorite example is how hard they bellyached and screamed and threatened everyone when they were finally forced to put (incomplete, even) nutrition labels and ingredient lists on food...by some miracle, though, the country's not Communist yet.

When was this? I don't remember any backlash about nutrition labels, although they've been on food as far as I can remember. The standardized Nutrition Facts labels came out when I was in elementary school, I think. Regardless, I don't see the connection between labeling stuff that goes in your body vs. gouging people on used video games. I don't think Adam Smith would have been opposed to a law that says "you have to be honest with people about what you're selling them."

[BulletMagnet]

How is GameStop actively keeping their customers ignorant?

In GS's case it's not so much promoting customer ignorance (though I do wish they'd put up a complete list of their trade-in rates someplace online, for starters), but standardizing business practices defined as "subpar" by most any reasonable classification (lousy trade-in rates, selling used/worn games as "new," failing to adequately inspect/refurbish used systems as described previously, etc.) simply because the market, despite the promises you constantly hear from its advocates, hasn't produced much in the way of an alternative. In otherwords, again despite the rhetoric you constantly hear from the pro-business set, it unduly takes advantage of its customers, as ANY business WILL do if given the opportunity, because it can. You are right that it's not a crowning example of the "ignorance promotion" I described, I should have gone further.

When was this? I don't remember any backlash about nutrition labels, although they've been on food as far as I can remember.

Restaurants are still fighting having to tell people what's in their food, tooth and nail, to this day, and as I mentioned even the current food labels (which have only been required, in their present form, since the mid-90s) are incomplete - to cite one particular example, the food lobby has been successful in not being required to list the daily value percentage for sugar, just the amount in grams (which means nothing to most people, again thanks to how little effort has gone into educating the populace regarding these matters). In any event, my overarching point is, if our business leaders really believe in an informed, empowered customer base (without which most, if not all, of the happy talk regarding unrestricted free markets is utterly null and void), why do they even need to be told to do this? Why aren't they putting this sort of information out there themselves, and moreover have to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing it whenever the issue finally comes up?

I don't think Adam Smith would have been opposed to a law that says "you have to be honest with people about what you're selling them."

I doubt he would have been either, but those who claim to carry his mantle at present, if they don't openly and vocally oppose such sentiment (let alone laws enforcing it...aka, according to them, "Socialism"), certainly do their damndest to water down exactly what "honesty" entails.

Again, though, you've already caught me with my pants down in terms of relating this particularly directly to Gamestop, heh heh.

[Acid King]

Great, another perfectly good thread turned into another one of BM's anti-market shitstorms. Why, Davey, why did you have to fall for it?

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

I wish I could cause a word-storm just by wishing it like BM does. College would've been so much easier .

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I wish I could cause a word-storm just by wishing it like BM does. College would've been so much easier .

Some fellow shmuppers have the gift of writing, you know how that is UFO. ^_~

I recall once of taking an English class in junior college where the English teacher required that all essays be typed out before being submitted for grading purposes. On the final essay assignment at the end of the semester, she decided to grade on the curve. There was just one "A" given out and the rest fell below that. When I finally got it back, I found out it was myself who got the lone "A" grade on my essay. I was a happy camper upon seeing that. I have to assume that she liked the way how I would give various examples of the cool and obscure products (and trivia in general) from the early 1980s era.

Back to undamned's Gamestop topic at hand.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BulletMagnet]

Great, another perfectly good thread turned into another one of BM's anti-market shitstorms.

Heh, sorry, I did get a bit carried away back there - I probably should have taken it to PM after a certain point. Will stop now.

[Davey]

Great, another perfectly good thread turned into another one of BM's anti-market shitstorms. Why, Davey, why did you have to fall for it?

I'll plead ignorance on this one. I generally stay out of politics threads (and non-politics threads that turn into politics threads). I'm pretty apathetic towards politics and I know I'm grossly undereducated and uninformed about a lot of things, so posting my opinion usually doesn't seem like a good idea. Therefore, despite posting here for years, I honestly don't know much about how these kind of threads unfold, except that most of the time they stay more civil than I'd have thought.

But when a rant about missing manuals went into another rant about socialism (or lack thereof) and how a used video game store is oppressing the masses (within the first half of the first page of the tread, pretty impressive), my head spun a little and I wanted to know more.

Sort of back on topic: There is a GameStop literally across the street from my apartment. I can see it from my window. Yet I've never had the least bit of desire to go there.

[Ed Oscuro]

Great, another perfectly good thread turned into another one of BM's anti-market shitstorms.

Heh, sorry, I did get a bit carried away back there - I probably should have taken it to PM after a certain point. Will stop now.

lolz

I always thought BM was just trying to be egalitarian with his posts, but I can see how it might be classified as that. I've joined in oftentimes too.

Teachable moment

[undamned]

...I'll stop here.

Will stop now.

Nothing outlasts the BulletMagnet. He keeps going and going...

There is a GameStop literally across the street from my apartment. I can see it from my window.

Water Balloon Launcher HOOOOOOOO!!
-ud

[Acid King]

There is a GameStop literally across the street from my apartment. I can see it from my window.

Water Balloon Launcher HOOOOOOOO!!
-ud

That would be perfect for the midnight launch of the new Madden.

[TLB]

I think we need to organize a SHMUPSFORUMFIELDTRIP

[Koa Zo]

I refuse to do any business with Gamestop.

I also hold a very low regard for people who do shop there.

Either you are part of the problem (supporting their shitty business practices), or you are part of the solution (intelligent enough to shop elsewhere).

[Jon]

^^^Guess I am part of the problem then because GS was the only place left in the frickin' state that still had copies of the Ltd. Edition Blaze Blue for the PS3.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Gamestop are still better than the downloadable bullcrap going on nowadays.

[Cthulhu]

Gamestop are still better than the downloadable bullcrap going on nowadays.

Hate to tell ya but that's the way of the future. I'm willing to bet that the next generation of consoles will still support discs, but after that (seeing as how lifecycles are 7+ years now) I'm guessing it'll be download-only.

[Acid King]

Hate to tell ya but that's the way of the future. I'm willing to bet that the next generation of consoles will still support discs, but after that (seeing as how lifecycles are 7+ years now) I'm guessing it'll be download-only.

My problem with this whole theory that discs will disappear is that games have become so large, downloading them just isn't feasible. Unless we see some amazing compression techniques, or some massive increase in download speeds, there will continue be disc based games for quite sometime.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Gamestop are still better than the downloadable bullcrap going on nowadays.

Hate to tell ya but that's the way of the future. I'm willing to bet that the next generation of consoles will still support discs, but after that (seeing as how lifecycles are 7+ years now) I'm guessing it'll be download-only.

The future can go fuck itself then. I haven't bought a single downloadable title yet and is not in my agenda. If anyone wants my gaming money, they have to give me a physical copy. I don't pay anyone mucho money to rent a game.

[Davey]

The future can go fuck itself then. I haven't bought a single downloadable title yet and is not in my agenda. If anyone wants my gaming money, they have to give me a physical copy. I don't pay anyone mucho money to rent a game.

I actually like XBLA. Downloadable games are cheap and convenient. I'd be much more likely to buy shmups I'm lukewarm about if they were $15 downloads instead of $70 import discs.

I'm not sure what the developer's cut is vs. a retail release, though, that's my main concern.

OTOH, I still prefer CDs for music, not sure why.

[Specineff]

Encryption on downloadable content can eventually be cracked (PSP games from the PSN network can have the DRM removed) or patched. It won't be long before you can move your downloaded content to a chipped system and play it with no questions asked.

Sony is relying on having the Blu-Ray spec close to its heart to protect itself. A combination of a physical means plus software means more security. Going download only is handing an invitation/challenge to hackers and software crackers to bankrupt them.

[Cthulhu]

My problem with this whole theory that discs will disappear is that games have become so large, downloading them just isn't feasible. Unless we see some amazing compression techniques, or some massive increase in download speeds, there will continue be disc based games for quite sometime.

I'm guessing you're in the US or Canada when you say that, as our connection speeds have fallen behind the rest of the world pretty dramatically - mainly due to the large land areas we have to install equipment over. In Europe and Asia the connection speeds are considerably faster for the same price or less. When I was in Japan 3 years ago (which is 3475892 years in internet time ) I had a connection more than twice as fast as my current cable modem (which is the fastest comcast offers here, joy) and it cost me less every month.

The other problem here is that discs are already disappearing. The new PSP (PSP Go iirc) is abandoning the disc drive entirely. I've got bones to pick with the system for other reasons than that, but we're already seeing the transition here.

I don't give a damn about PC gaming anymore but that's also gravitating towards download sales quite a bit from what I've read, largely due to shrinking PC game retail space and blase retail sales for many games.

My main personal issue with downloadable content is that it brings the "region coding" issue back big time. I hate having to deal with buying imported point cards at a premium to get stuff for my Japanese systems. It sucks and really shouldn't have to happen. Yes, I'd rather have discs in cases like this too...

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Companies should compile their downloadable titles in a disc so I will buy them. I really want to play MM9 and Bionic Command R, but I don't want to contribute to the problem.

[Acid King]

I'm guessing you're in the US or Canada when you say that, as our connection speeds have fallen behind the rest of the world pretty dramatically - mainly due to the large land areas we have to install equipment over. In Europe and Asia the connection speeds are considerably faster for the same price or less. When I was in Japan 3 years ago (which is 3475892 years in internet time ) I had a connection more than twice as fast as my current cable modem (which is the fastest comcast offers here, joy) and it cost me less every month.

The other problem here is that discs are already disappearing. The new PSP (PSP Go iirc) is abandoning the disc drive entirely. I've got bones to pick with the system for other reasons than that, but we're already seeing the transition here.

If the US download speeds have fallen behind, that's even more reason discs will stay around considering how important America is as a market. The PSP is a non issue. UMD discs only hold less than 2 gigs, a dual layer Blu Ray disc holds what, 50 gigs? It's going to be awhile before download speeds get to the point where downloading 50 gigs doesn't take forever, even if they doubled current standard broadband speeds, it would still take quite some time to download something like that.

[lgb]

Discs of some sort are most likely going to stick around for a long time.

The Nintendo DS still uses cartridges.

If you aren't the solution, you are the problem.

[Aru-san]

The Nintendo DS still uses cartridges.

LONG LIVE A CARTRIDGES. (translation: QFT)

[Ed Oscuro]

The Nintendo DS still uses cartridges.

They're actually called cards.

I admit this is a very technical and nerdy point, but I think it works this way:

For convenience, bullets were packaged along with powder in cartridges: the functional parts were stored away in a housing. It is the same way with ROM cartridges; you're perfectly able (with careful handling) to use bare PCBs and ROMs without that casing (as all of us know).

Cards, like the Hudson BeeCard, the PC-Engine cards, and Sega MyCards (and I have all of these yay! er) do not have a removable outer housing - the casing is molded firm against the ROM storage in one unit. I haven't any technical details, but I believe the outer casing of the card is also the casing of the memory package, whereas in a cartridge the ROMs have their own outer package (i.e. the DIP form).

Of course the reality is that it's just a marketing thing, since they (Hudson, Hudson, Sega, et al.) wanted to emphasize the similarity to a credit card's dimensions.

TRULY A FAST OF IT KIND IN THE WORLD!!

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

It's called anal .