Jump to content

Gamestop and the future of gaming


Stargazer2600

Recommended Posts

Love them or hate them, most gamers have visited a GameStop at least once. We all know Gamestop offers pennies for trade-ins and turns around and sells them for a major profit. One only has to look around on the internet to hear about GameStop horror stories and how employees hate working for them. That being said, however, Gamestop was the place to go to for physical games. That may be changing. 

 

Gamestop is not doing well. Stocks have started to fall and Gamestop is on its third CEO in a very short time. Investors are scared and yes Gamestop is up for sale. Now whether you wanna see GameStop close or not is not the topic here, GameStop is pretty much the main reason why the big 3 consoles have not gone to digital only. When people buy consoles, they mostly buy them at GameStop and if Gamestop can't make money off the games, they wouldn't sell the console.

If Gamestop goes out of business, I see no reason for Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo to stay in the physical business. Gamestop isn't quite at the point where they need to go the way of Toys r us but they appear to be getting there.

 

I personally do not want digital only, I prefer my physical copies and if Gamestop closes, that makes them harder to acquire and as said above, without Gamestop, there's really no incentive to make them. So that being said, it appears the future of gaming is about to change. either we lose GameStop and gaming changes forever or GameStop somehow saves themselves and then they pretty much show the gaming industry how much power they really hold :/ kinda sounds like a lose lose but what really isnt these days.

I just thought id make a topic on this. feel free to share your thoughts

Edited by Stargazer2600
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mostly buy my games from other retailers as GameStop here typically charges about 10 € extra for games compared to other stores. If GameStop's pricing was in line with other retailers I would probably buy more stuff from them.

I liked GameStop's line of console accessories though. I've had a soft 3DS case for 5+ years and it's been a very good product and they sold it at an affordable price.

 

If GameStop goes out of business there are still other stores that would likely scoop the physical game market so hopefully physical games won't be going extinct in a while.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

tbh i think most people get their physical copies on Amazon now. Its just as fast and you dont gotta support shit Gamestop lmao

if they went out of business i'd be fucking grateful.

 

Their corporation, management, and everything is so out of wack that it's not even funny. If Gamestop were to be bought MAYBE they could turn shit around but at this rate I dont see it happening.

 

I definitely dont think Gamestop closing would stop the production of physical games.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GameStop is at least 10 years behind the times. 

 

I bought a few games from them and I’ve had the wrong discs, I’ve had the disks heavily scratched, the wrong manual was put in the cover, etc etc. 

 

Gamestop is only furthering it’s decline towards bankruptcy. 

 

Because sadly, just like with Sears, K-Mart, Toys-R-Us, the Internet is completely killing off the retail stores. 

 

In the future grocery stores will probably also suffer from the same fate.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Probably best for everyone when GameStop disappears. There are more then enough retailers out there and they actually have very good deals, which is something gamestop doesn't. Even when they sell a new game at a discount it is usually higher then other retailers. But they have to of course, because they make their money with used games. And they rip off customers this way. Just sell your games directly via ebay or something like this and you know what I mean.

 

And it wouldn't change a damn thing in terms of physical copies. This is something that won't disappear, just like CDs or DVDs/BluRays. There will always be people who prefer a physical copy and any publisher worth a damn knows this.

Edited by Durandal
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amazon would just take its place and other online retailers. I think physical games aren't going to be phased out anytime soon. I do feel eventually it would be all digital. Costs wise, it makes sense. No printing, no shipping, people re-selling, distributor costs, and so-on.

 

2 hours ago, KingGuy420 said:

Most brick & mortar stores are struggling, or on the edge of struggling. This isn't really unique to video games.

 

I agree! The internet is the future of shopping.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Generally agree with everyone else that Gamestop dying off doesn't spell the end of physical games.  There's no reason to believe online retailers like Amazon can't/wouldn't take over as a primary means of selling and distributing physical games... if they aren't already.

 

That being said, I personally don't mind Gamestop.  I can't speak to the working conditions (and frankly I don't particularly care), but as far as trade value goes... no one is forcing you to bring your games there.  Of course they're going to buy low and sell higher.  They take all of the risk since there's no guarantee they'll ever sell those copies and get that money back.  If I sell any games, 99% of the time I sell them on eBay since I can make a few extra bucks... but after lowering the price enough to get people looking at my listing, PayPal taking their cut, eBay taking their cut, the value there isn't always that much better than just trading the games in (especially if you find ideal times to do so and take advantage of trade value boosting deals).  And Gamestop makes it a hell of a lot easier to trade in bulk instead of having to put together a dozen listings, take dozens of photos, ship a dozen items out, handle questions/concerns from actual/prospective buyers, etc just to make an extra $15 bucks on a bunch of several year old games.

 

Plus I love my Game Informer subscription that comes with the Pro Rewards membership (which also boosts trade value; and I practically get the membership for free after a year of accumulating points just casually buying games and going about my business)... great toilet reading material. ??

Edited by Dreakon13
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been using GameStop since the early 2000s along with EB Games (before they left the United States) and through the past 15 years, it's changed a lot. I still go there to pick up cheap PS3, Xbox 360, DS and the occasional Wii title but usually only when they have their 4 for $10 or $20 sales and B2G1 free. I preferred it more when it was 2004-2005 when it felt more like an actual game store. Now, I see too many pointless collectibles and cheap merchandise and less space for actual games. What irks me the most is that their are a few stores in my area that don't even display Vita games anymore. I have to ask which games they have in stock and they have to pull them out for me to see if they have their original cases. I don't blame the employees because they told me they didn't like having to do it but their "higher-ups" demanded it. Less and less games as the years so which does worry me because I buy games used often since I get 20% off of them. Well, not anymore since they axed their Elite Pro Membership but I have till December to use it up. 

 

I use Amazon for most of my new game purchases except for collectors/special editions. I used to use Best Buy but since that went away, I just pre-ordered them at GameStop because I've had shipping form Amazon damage them. GameStop should at least try to do something to give incentive for gamers to come visit their stores now since most of the competition has died off. I hop GameStop survives because I enjoy getting games at a game store and owning physical copies. Will they? I don't know. It's very uncertain based on their current standings. Either they change their business models to suit the changing market or they are likely to be eliminated in the next 5 years. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've only been to a gamestop once in my life when I was traveling. There isn't a shop in at least 200 km radius me thinks. I've used online services of other domestic shops that also deal with imports and such, though it would be nice to have an easy place to trade in used games. I've seen some smaller shops close down, which is a bit sad, but those often had a pretty bad selection that did not really have good deals for mainstream gamers or on-demand items for collectors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GameStop doesn't exist here in the UK (we have a shop called GAME instead), but I have visited GameStop a few times abroad and when I visited my brother in Ireland to buy him Yakuza 0 for his Birthday (which that fool ended up trading in without even playing.... but anyway). I found them to be really expensive, with their used game prices being so close the new price that it defeated the point of even buying a used copy from their store. Also, they were full of merchandise related to Pokemon, Harry potter and other comics.. they don't seem near as good as GAME over here, but their prices were certainly rip off compared to online. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have Gamestop here, but actually don't have much options to buy physical games either. There are few themed stores, but they all scattered around city and most of the time have only first line of AAA games and nothing else, like exclusives or dated, used console games. Generally speaking all electronics stores that happen to appear selling physical games have very poor line up and games disappear from there pretty quick. I guess holders just buy small amount and milk from it only while it hot.

See it only in one future way, that probably only physical copies that survive digital era - collectors editions. They are limited and usually all have their buyer, unlike ordinary sets that if game managed to be suck will stay forever on shelves.

Edited by Bloodytears1666
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Stargazer2600 said:

but do you get to play that game now? theres waiting for shipping and such, unless you have prime but then thats extra for the subscription

So you meant in-person purchase vs shipping? Now that is different. We have Target, Walmart, Bestbuy and other stores thag supply physical in-store releases with and without discounts. Sooo I still do not understand why your saying Gamestop is the only one like it. Besides you have other stores that has physical releases as well. The list goes on and on

 

Point is, Gamestop *isn't* the only physical in-store purchase.

 

If your counting on *pre-owned*? There are stores that still do that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Used game prices at a GameStop are not that big of a savings. You're lucky if you find a used game for $5 less than its new price.  God of War is $60 new or $57 pre-owned. I'd buy new, because that $3 is nothing.  Some of their used games are $5 less than new.  Whatever!  That's not good enough- it'd have to be $10 or better before I bought used.  I think they should give you more cash or trade on games you sell them (especially when a pre-owned game costs so damn much!) or sell pre-owned games at a larger discount.

 

It's not all about GameStop. If they end up gone, there will be other places like Best Buy & Micro Center.  There may even be an independent game store near you.  I haven't used GameStop for awhile.  It's been mostly PSN with the occasional physical purchase from Amazon.  Still, physical copies need to stick around. Digital copy prices need to come down faster.  It's ridiculous that some older titles are selling for $40 on PSN when you can get a disc for $20.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 I'm more likely to impulsively buy physical media off of Amazon or digital off of psn (especially during a flashsale), so I'm part of the problem, for sure. There isn't a GameStop in the city where I live... or any game, movie, comic, table-top game, or book store for that matter. There's no place for people of certain hobbies to run into each other out in the wild, but when we'd find ourselves in Little Rock or North Little Rock, we usually at least walked through places like that, because while community would be too strong a word for it, there is a sense of being among peers. I'm sad to see GameStop go, just like I was when the movie rental places went, and when every book store in the area (except Barnes & Noble) shuttered. I'm not a comic guy but I honestly can't imagine comic book stores are doing much better, despite Marvel's current incredible popularity.

 

 It's not that there's nothing around without GameStop, there's just noticeably less. Their corporate structure (or clumsiness, I don't know which) allowed them to open doors in places that aren't bursting with new businesses or disposable incomes.  Physical media will survive just fine, but whatever their price policies and failed retro rollout meant to you, I'm sad to see yet another edifice of nerd culture fade away. That said, my life will be no different without them. I will miss them more in the abstract.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never heard of GameStop. As @Lava_Yuki mentioned, here in the UK we have GAME. From what I've just read above they sound a lot like GameStop.

 

I use Amazon, Game Collection, Base.com and even Argos occasionally and most recently Limited Run games. Used games I've used CEX and Music Magpie. The best deals on new games are found in supermarkets when a game can be reduced to a ridiculous price, that's hit or miss though.

 

I used GAME online once to purchase Slain. It was supposed to be new, when it arrived it wasn't sealed and there were stickers directly on the cover (ex-display), sent it back, got a refund and brought it elsewhere. I'll never use them again.

 

The fate of Gamestop / GAME certainly wouldn't spell the end of physical sales. GAME need to step it up, it's not the 90's anymore where the only choice you had was the high street and their over inflated prices.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/5/2018 at 11:15 AM, Stargazer2600 said:

but do you get to play that game now? theres waiting for shipping and such, unless you have prime but then thats extra for the subscription

As someone who does the bulk of their game shopping online, I can say the wait never really bothers me and Prime is a bargain for what you get. I've had it for a year now and I use it more for the streaming and discounts than I do for the two days  shipping. I usually end up using no rush anyway. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GameStop does have excellent replacement warranties on used consoles (I had a 2yr warranty as I got a special deal-- typical is 1yr), and it's pretty much "no questions asked" when trying to use that warranty.

Most mom-and-pop stores have, at best, a 30-day warranty and you have to jump through a lot of hoops to use it.

 

I'd never buy used games from GameStop unless they were on sale. They have "4 for $20" sales infrequently and you can pick up great titles for cheap. I actually saw all PS3 Tales Of games in a "3 for $10" sale rack recently.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 07/08/2018 at 1:41 PM, FawltyPowers said:

Never heard of GameStop. As @Lava_Yuki mentioned, here in the UK we have GAME. From what I've just read above they sound a lot like GameStop.

 

I use Amazon, Game Collection, Base.com and even Argos occasionally and most recently Limited Run games. Used games I've used CEX and Music Magpie. The best deals on new games are found in supermarkets when a game can be reduced to a ridiculous price, that's hit or miss though.

 

I used GAME online once to purchase Slain. It was supposed to be new, when it arrived it wasn't sealed and there were stickers directly on the cover (ex-display), sent it back, got a refund and brought it elsewhere. I'll never use them again.

GAME seem to sell new copies unsealed, they basically just put the disc into an empty box which really annoyed me once when I was buying a gift as it just made it look like I was gifting a used game. Also you then can't return it as it has no seal in the first place...

 

I never use them now either, they're quite the rip off and their trade in values are so low, esp. compared to CEX and Music Magpie which I find the best. I've gotten the best trade in values from Music Magpie so far, and for used games Amazon usually win when I end up comparing sites. 

 

30 minutes ago, eigen-space said:

I'd never buy used games from GameStop unless they were on sale. They have "4 for $20" sales infrequently and you can pick up great titles for cheap. I actually saw all PS3 Tales Of games in a "3 for $10" sale rack recently.

I saw a similar deal in Ireland in GameStop, it was the limited first day edition of Tales of Graces in the sale rack for €15, and it came with the art book and OST. But then again I suspect in a small country like Ireland the Tales games mustn't be well known. But the PS4 games, even used are still on the higher end of the price scale.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...