It’s primarily a mechanism for the seller, yes. However, it’s not pointless entirely, as I assume there’s some reason Jason stopped by Gamespot first to pick up the game. I’m going to suppose it’s convenience. So by not pre-ordering he screwed with his convenience.
I just don’t get what the issue is here. If it’s not at EB or Gamestop, go somewhere else and get it if it’s in full supply. If you think that these stores give a fuck about losing out on the $2.50 they would have reaped in phat profit from selling you the game, I think you have a grossly over-inflated sense of self-worth. (That’s 10% profit on retail after subtracting for shipping. For new, hot games, that’s probably reasonably accurate. Maybe it’d be 15 or even 20%, so $7.50 profit. By comparison the game guide that nobody ever buys is probably $10-$12 profit, and Magazines are something like $5.00.)
Simply put, if you don’t buy GTA there, they’re losing out on less than they would if they spent the effort trying to figure out how many copies to ship everywhere to make sure any random schmoe who wandered in off the street could get a copy, paid the extra premium for shipping those copies, payed the extra percentage premium for stocking those copies, etc…
Now, if you never go back to these places again to buy stuff, they’re screwed. But given that, if you want anything other than the 30 or so games per system that Best Buy sells, you will be going to a specialty retailer for it, that’s just not likely. Similarly, if you’re going to be buying used games, you’re not doing so at Best Buy.
Store-fueled scarcity, however, is a foolish business practice. Running out of a surprise hit like Katamari Damacy is one thing. Running out of a sure hit like GTA is stupid planning.
It has nothing to do with any scarcity mechanism or trying to create some faux feeling of “OMG, I must preorder or I won’t get a copy.” It’s all about economics of scale. The money they lost on Jason today is far less than what they lose if they mis-estimate demand and over-ship. It really is just that simple. Keeping stock is expensive. Especially if you’re a specialty store where space is at a premium.