Gamers Hate Gamestop
I don’t understand any of this Gamestop/EB Games hate. Sure, they always ask you to preorder or trade in games, but it’s part of the business. Like having to tip a waiter. I recent Penny Arcade article mentioned the problem of a game store not having a particular title on its release day. Now, a few things here. The game is huge, it can sell out like crazy. But you may ask, why didn’t they order much more? Well, it’s simple really.
Funcoland was the place to go for used games. Used games and trading in games is a great source of profit. See: EBay, Garage/Yard Sales, Craig’s List. Now, a company purely selling new games won’t make any money. They sell the games for how much they bought them for. That’s why Blockbuster got into the used territory. They know there’s money to be made there. And Best Buy has been debating this structure, and if I’m not mistaken, some stores tested this. Gamestop soley relies on used game sales and preorders for their money. That’s why we can see, and they will make, many stores pop up around every corner.
Now, back to the PA article. They go in for CoD4 and are first asked if they preordered it. They say no, so they don’t get a copy. The scenario here is, by preordering the game, you get it early…that was the deal with CoD4. Now, since most stores already had it, they did go a head and sell it early, negating the benefit for the preorderers.
Now, if it was the day the game was supposed to be out everywhere…I’m talking about the actual date the publisher advised, and I was told I couldn’t pick up a copy….well, then they are wrong, because I will pick up a copy and leave the store. This is where I’m assuming most gamers decided to leave their scrotes at home.
I hear it all the time though, “GS/EB eployess are incompetent, wah, wah, wah…”. But honestly, they’re are like anyone else in retaill There are the good and the bad.
Why does this bother me so much? I hate going into forums of gaming sites and seeing all the douches cry over what reality is. Gamestop is no different than any other retail chain, and you are the customer, you are always right. If not, do what I do, and make the system work for you.
