I completely agree. If they need to yank out the discs, they need to reseal/shrink-wrap the boxes they place on the shelf. I don’t want to pay new prices for something in a box that’s been pawed over on the shelf that has some hard to take off price sticker on it. When the game boxes were all paper, and I usually tossed them anyway, no big deal. But with the new PC boxes and the standard plastic video game boxes, I keep them, and I want them in good shape when I buy them.
That’s so funny. I actually remember reading that, and I missed that “not” in (Yes, I’m not talking about a PC game here.). I remember being relieved to hear that it was the PC version you were referring to. Ugh bad reading comprehension.
You know what. Gamestop doesn’t give a goddamn shit what you think. They’re profits were up over 500% this year from last. All they know is the more they treat their customers like trash, the more money they make.
Same reason as to why I don’t get why people love Puzzle quest.
Sure, its a good puzzle game, but do I really need to get my ass kicked over and over again by a fucking bat because he can suck my damned lifepoints outta me, and replenish his own?
Uh, what? Puzzle Quest is marketed as bejewled with RPG elements. Incubation was marketed as a turnbased tacitical squad-level strategy game, but turned out to be a puzzle game.
Not really the same thing at all.
Absolutely. The tactic of opening new boxes and reassembling them also serves to make their high-margin used games that much more attractive. If the shrink wrap is already broken and the game has to be put together behind the counter, the difference between new (Gamestop makes a dollar) and used (gamestop makes 20 dollars) gets even less. As Bioshock reminded me, there is a new game smell.
If it annoys you so much (and it certainly annoys me), I think you just have to suck it up and buy the game online. Then your daughter can look forward to getting something neat in the mail.
I’ve never understood the whole game gutting thing. I don’t know any store over here that would do such a thing, and I’m not even sure if it would be legal to sell such games as “new”.
Personally, I’d never buy an opened game as new. For me, new = shrink wrapped.
Shoplifting. What’s interesting is that statistically, the majority of that is supposed to be in-house. So the company is actually aiding this phenomenon by making it policy to crack open every product that comes through the door. And an employee can easily “borrow” a copy, bring it back after a few days, and toss it in the “Used” section. Or the “New” section. Whatever strikes their fancy. Who’s going to know the difference?
Just stop buying from Gamestop, please. This week Metropolismania 2 came out and I bought it from Amazon for $15. I already have my copy. Gamestop, meanwhile, wants $20 for it and claims they won’t have it in stock until Monday. That was changed from today, which was changed from Tuesday (the actual release date). I don’t know what the hell they’re doing over there, but it’s sure not counting my money.
It actually is illegal here, and Gamestop got slapped with a class action lawsuit for doing this exact thing. They lost the lawsuit, and were ordered to pay millions back to their customers.
What this came down to was you sending in a reciept to Gamestop corporate showing you used their store in the previous 3 years, and they would mail you a coupon for 5% off any purchase.
It was basically a promotion to get people to go back into the stores, benefitting Gamestop as opposed to punishing them. They just sucked it down and continued their practice of selling used (open) product as new. What’s the worst that can happen? Another class action that would force them to send out another 5% off promotion?
The company is absolutely dispicable.
Over here, video games, DVDs etc. are usually fitted with anti-theft devices that make an alarm sound off if you try to leave the store with them.
Right. Hasn’t there been at least one occasion even on this board where someone bought a “new” DS game and it had a save file left over from some employee who didn’t know how to erase it.
That was most likely me (I’m sure there were more posted before and since this particular GS/EB story).
I tried to buy Mario Kart DS from an EB close to my house (Mission Street EB, now Gamestop for those playing at home). I should have known something was wrong with the clerk when I purchased it. The guy looked half awake, and stumbled through his “diuud yuuu preuuorduuur” schtick when I asked for Mario Kart DS.
The clerk told me there was one more available. He then shuffled through the store for a bit, and eventually came back to the counter with an opened Mario Kart DS box. Then he started going through the shelves below the register. Eventually after many minutes he found the cartridge that was supposed to have been in the game case initially.
He then proceeded to put a small circular sticker on the box, and said “Aiight, that’s $43 somethin somethin.” At this point I’m blown away. I said “Uhhh… that’s not a new game, it was sitting on the shelf. I want a new copy.”.
To cut our conversation down from that point on, we argued over it for about 5-10 minutes. Eventually I said “fuck it, give me the game”.
So, hours later, I got home, and opened my “new” Mario Kart DS. Unfortunately, the dipshit at the counter forgot to actually put the cartridge in my “new” (opened and sitting on the shelf of the store for god knows how long) box. No Mario Kart for you, thanks EB!
The next day I brought the box and reciept to the store, and told them what happened. They didn’t believe me, and told me that in order to get a game exchanged, I could only bring back the original game and it’s packaging. I told them “Well, I have the packaging, but your idiot clerk didn’t put the game into it when I bought it!”.
The clerk at this point was arguing with me about how they can’t accept returns when there isn’t a game to return. I’m completely flabergasted at this point, and start yelling about how I won’t leave until I get the copy of Mario Kart that should have been in my “new” copy I bought the previous day.
Eventually they relent, and give me a copy of Mario Kart DS off the back shelf behind the counter. I take the new copy home, and put it into my DS. Low and behold, there is a savegame on my “new” copy of Mario Kart DS.
I hate gamestop.