Gamestop pulls Deus Ex

[Jagos]

Link (http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/gamestop-responds-to-deus-ex-controversy-removes-game-from-shelves.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss)

GameStop can be a little defensive about competing efforts to sell games online, much in the same way record shops have few nice things to say about the iTunes Store. Yesterday, the company was caught opening copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution on the PC in order to remove a coupon code that would have given customers a free copy of the game via the OnLive streaming service, and then selling the opened copies as new.

Good to know that Gamestop hates Onlive with a passion. I'm very shocked to see them pull coupons directly though. They probably should have just recalled the game until further notice.

[Kim]

OnLive's pretty rad if you've got the internet for it.

Gamestop management is full of fucks, but don't blame the workers themselves. They're just doing what they're told.

People eventually started pulling the PC version of the games completely from what I've heard.

[Aerozord]

this is just spite though, I mean these people are still buying the game from gamestop

course why you would support gamestop at all is beyond me >_>

[Flarecobra]

Gamestop's been pretty good to me in the past... Hell, the main store I go to actually donated games to the rec buildings in Iraq.

But that's just crazy though.

[Arcanum]

So GameStop is trying to make amends. (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/26/gamestop-deus-ex-apology/) Essentially giving a refund on the PC copy with a $50 gift card.

I don't know how many people were affected by this though. I mean, do people even buy PC games from GameStop anymore? 'Cause at my local EB Games (Canadian Gamestop) the PC section seems to shrink every year.

[Ramary]

Brick and mortar shops are fighting a losing battle basically with digital distribution. Although consoles are still a good market, since DD is not as big on there yet, on PC it is essentially unwinable for them, that is one of the reasons Gamestop bought Impulse.

I can pretty much guarantee that normal video game shops will die out once console DD becomes popular. I mean, online shops like Amazon alone are already hurting them, DD on consoles will just be the killing blow.

I think Gamestop knew it, and that is one of the reasons they pulled this.

[Marc v4.0]

Pulling it is one thing, but opening a product and taking out part of it to then turn around and sell it as a complete product is bullshit.


I had a Gamestop in a new town pull this bullshit with me on my copy of DA:O. Some employee had decided they wanted the New Copy Only bonuses and tried to sell me an opened product, without the codes, as new.

[Krylo]

Pulling it is one thing, but opening a product and taking out part of it to then turn around and sell it as a complete product is bullshit.
I'd say they're both bullshit given the reasons (there are good reasons to pull things, this was not one of them). It's more like pulling is just a plain ole steaming pile of bullshit, while opening a product, taking part of it out, and then turning around to sell it as a complete product is like a triple decker bullshit sandwich on whole fuck you bread with extra bullshit sauce on the side.

[Aerozord]

You know, this is actually a pretty big deal if people make a big enough stink about it. This isn't just a customer service issue, tampering with a product then selling it is a legal no-no.

What gamestop did is fraud, false advertising, and clearly illegal.

[Jagos]

People, they sell products as new like this all the time. Link (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_273/8145-Confessions-of-a-GameStop-Employee-Part-One)

I was assigned to "gutting duty." Gutting duty involved 1. Removing discs from their brand new cases/game boxes, 2. Putting said discs into cardboard sleeves, 3. Storing the discs in the alphabetized drawers behind the counter, and 4. Prepping the now shrink-wrap-free - and totally empty -cases/game boxes for display by labeling them with prices.

"Gutting" is done for both new and used games. This is the reason why, if you are the unfortunate person to get the very last copy of a brand new game, your case/game box has no shrink wrap on it, and has quite obviously already been opened (by me). Ever seen those old movies showing prisoners wearing striped uniforms and breaking rocks with sledge hammers and just looking completely miserable? That's what gutting duty feels like.

Gamers on message boards constantly say - and yes, they typically write the following in caps - "HOW CAN THEY SELL AN OPEN COPY OF A GAME AS NEW WTFFFFFFF GAMESTOP SUX BALLZ?" The answer from GameStop's corporate perspective is this: Gutting keeps shrink to a minimum. Definition of shrink: Customer theft. Irrefutable fact: If you put an empty box on the shelf, there is no incentive whatsoever for a thief to steal it.

Gutting also provides store employees with a very useful visual cue that tells us what's left in stock. Don't see a box of Gears of War 2 on the shelf? Then someone bought the last one. Meaning we're out of Gears of War 2. Period.

[Aerozord]

yes, and honestly I understand why, its not the opening, its the removing of content and not giving me it thats the issue

[Krylo]

People, they sell products as new like this all the time. Link (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_273/8145-Confessions-of-a-GameStop-Employee-Part-One)

Except that has literally nothing to do with what they did here.

It's not the opening it up and then putting things back in to sell it that is bothering people, because seriously who gives a fuck?

It is the fact that they actually took a thing out of the box, put everything else back in, threw that thing away, and then sold this, obviously incomplete, product as though it was the entire product.

Gutting is not the same as selling incomplete products (usually, sometimes things get lost when you gut a product).

[POS Industries]

People, they sell products as new like this all the time. Link (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_273/8145-Confessions-of-a-GameStop-Employee-Part-One)
And it's still bullshit. Walmart is better than Gamestop at cutting costs on every level (to the point of mustache-twirling villainy in as many cases as they can get away with), and they're still able to shell out the money to invest in locked glass doors for their game cases to prevent shrink. If a shithole like that is above selling an opened game to a customer, Gamestop has no excuse.

And, as noted by the above posts, it is not the issue at hand.

[Kim]

So, has anyone started dumpster diving at Gamestop for OnLive codes?

[Donomni]

this is just spite though, I mean these people are still buying the game from gamestop

course why you would support gamestop at all is beyond me >_>

When it comes to stores you actually leave your house for, you either have a choice of Gamestop or a big superstore chain like Walmart or Target or what-have-you.

Unless you buy a game new(so, you know, it won't matter where you go due to MSRP), gamers on a budget will buy from Gamestop. Not because they like the store, necessarily, but because it's the only one they can afford. Especially since ordering online normally has shipping costs that negate whatever savings you got online.

This is, obviously, in regards to actual, physical games. Unless someone gave you one of their giftcards, I'd never even consider Gamestop for anything digitally distributed.

[Jagos]

So no one goes to indie game stores anymore?

[Marc v4.0]

What indie game stores?

[phil_]

What indie game stores?They exist, I assure you. Also, you're going to make Nique cry.

[Marc v4.0]

I have seen plenty of indie comic shops and indie P&P game stores, but never have I ever seen an indie video game store.

[Jagos]

We have one where I am. It holds tournaments for SFIV or Tekken.

[Marc v4.0]

I'm not saying they don't exist. Just that, "Why would you support gamestop instead of an indie game store" seems a rather pointless question when one is not so graced as to actually HAVE an indie game store they can go to.

[Jagos]

Opportunity to start one?

[Kim]

Opportunity to start one?

*sigh*

[Loyal]

I don't recall opening a new gaming store ever being considered a "stable investment". That didn't change in the last couple years, did it?

[Specterbane]

We had an indie game store where I lived a while back, it went out of business because Gamestop could simply out price them. That and they probably did too many things to try making it a hang out that were driving them far and away from the black budget wise.

[Marc v4.0]

Opportunity to start one?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4549162/mutant_facepalm.jpg

[Aerozord]

We had an indie game store where I lived a while back, it went out of business because Gamestop could simply out price them. That and they probably did too many things to try making it a hang out that were driving them far and away from the black budget wise.

same, though my favorite place wasn't really indie. I liked them because they cared about the customer and the industry. I once saw a clerk try to talk a customer out of purchasing a crappy game. And no I dont mean suggesting another game, I mean straight up telling them they'd be better off just saving their money and not making a purchase.

Course, probably why they went out of business

[Solid Snake]

I'm not saying they don't exist. Just that, "Why would you support gamestop instead of an indie game store" seems a rather pointless question when one is not so graced as to actually HAVE an indie game store they can go to.

Well, you can (almost) always choose Amazon.com over Gamestop. You just have to be willing to wait a few extra days.

[Marc v4.0]

and pay extra on shipping. I've heard too many stories about extra late or undelivered shipments to bother with not walking into a store and leaving with a physical copy in my hand.

I'll be happy when consoles can feasibly switch over to a DD set-up

[phil_]

I have A: never paid for shipping on my games and B: never had a game go undelivered. Since it's my anecdote and not yours, my choice to buy every game since 2009 via Amazon is the correct choice.

Man, Gamestop's just ruining your life, man. Maaaaaaaaan.

[Jagos]

We had an indie game store where I lived a while back, it went out of business because Gamestop could simply out price them. That and they probably did too many things to try making it a hang out that were driving them far and away from the black budget wise.

Ours happens to be in a mall. Maybe that's a niche that others could fill but it still does pretty well for 3 employees and a steady supply of customers

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Amazon delivers pretty much everything free unless you want it super straight away and even if you do, it'lll be cheaper than in stores even with the shipping probably.
And I buy absolutely everything from Amazon and have never had a late or misplaced delivery- in fact 90% of the time the delivery is early. This is UK amazon but it probably applies to US as wel.

[Solid Snake]

As someone who's predominantly ordered games through Amazon (new and used, both from Amazon's warehouse and from affiliated merchandisers and from other Amazon.com users), I have to say I've only one had horror story in the past seven years or so.

I've had far worse luck with Gamestop and Best Buy in that span of time; more defective games, more used game purchases in crappy condition, more terrible tales of horrifying customer service by employees who could give a damn less, etc.

[Revising Ocelot]

I have to say I've only one had horror story in the past seven years or so.


I don't suppose that was my horror story yesterday? :ohdear:

[Kyanbu The Legend]

same, though my favorite place wasn't really indie. I liked them because they cared about the customer and the industry. I once saw a clerk try to talk a customer out of purchasing a crappy game. And no I dont mean suggesting another game, I mean straight up telling them they'd be better off just saving their money and not making a purchase.

Course, probably why they went out of business

Honestly I've always hated that. You know, being a Sonic Fan, Yugioh TCG player, Bakugan Fan, Beyblade fan, in the fact these games are/were usually bias-ly labeled crappy.

GameStops near me, almost never do it unless you ask. It's one of the things I love about the GS near me. That in the almost always excellent condition games I get from them and great customer service.


Amazon delivers pretty much everything free unless you want it super straight away and even if you do, it'lll be cheaper than in stores even with the shipping probably.
And I buy absolutely everything from Amazon and have never had a late or misplaced delivery- in fact 90% of the time the delivery is early. This is UK amazon but it probably applies to US as wel.

We get shipping fees on just about everything. So no this doesn't apply for the US. The rest is mostly the same though.

[Solid Snake]

I don't suppose that was my horror story yesterday? :ohdear:

Hmm? (I don't follow.)

[Marc v4.0]

Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

There is a certain amount of fuzz room I will give a physical store on its service, because every place is different and staffed by different people, but enough stories about an online service just turns me right away.

For what it is worth, I don't shop at a GS that doesn't hire the sorts of people that I trust handling my games.

[Revising Ocelot]

Hmm? (I don't follow.)

Guess not, then. It was in chat.

[Aerozord]

actually what turned me off gamestop was how often they had exclusive promotions where if you pre-order/buy from them you get extra stuff. Which I thought was unfair advantage over other stores.

[Krylo]

We get shipping fees on just about everything.

No we don't.

Super saver free shipping is available on nearly any item over 25 dollars from the proper amazon.com store. Affiliates and users and whatnot can set their own shipping prices, but many of them also have free options.

[Solid Snake]

Guess not, then. It was in chat.

Ah. I was referencing having only one Amazon.com horror story myself, maybe that's where the confusion was.

[Jagos]

actually what turned me off gamestop was how often they had exclusive promotions where if you pre-order/buy from them you get extra stuff. Which I thought was unfair advantage over other stores.

As compared to...?

Steam? Gog?

Walmart?

[Marc v4.0]

As compared to...?

Steam? Gog?

Walmart?

DD from the game site comes with pre-order stuff as well, so add me to the list not really following this complaint

[Aerozord]

you will recall I dont like steam either, or walmart

just to toss this out I am fine if everyone gets it. Good example is New Vegas, while it was advertised that certain stores got certain bonuses, all copies had them.

we were just talking about difficulty for independent stores to compete, this just makes it harder. Plus sometimes the content has tangible benefit and punishes people just because they take time to consider purchases

[Jagos]

ITT: Aerozord's nickname is Francis.

[Donomni]

No we don't.

Super saver free shipping is available on nearly any item over 25 dollars from the proper amazon.com store. Affiliates and users and whatnot can set their own shipping prices, but many of them also have free options.

See, that's the rub. Some budgets for buying a game are less than 25 dollars. Sometimes barely above 10 at times.

So it's either pay even more for a game from Amazon or whathaveyou, and go over budget, or go to Gamestop and actually be able to afford something.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Frankly, I wouldn't be shocked if Gamestop is the next Borders/Kaybee Toys. I mean, they share the same problems, in that there are way too many stores in a limited area. I've got three alone, right near me.

More, if I put any effort into it.

And for the longest time after they bought Electronics Boutique, they kept both stores open.


Doing this? Makes me wonder if things might be a bit more desperate behind the scenes.

[Nikose Tyris]

An attempt at appeasement. (http://consumerist.com/2011/08/gamestop-offers-50-gift-card-to-make-up-for-swiping-coupons-from-pc-version-of-deus-ex.html)

[Locke cole]

It's stuff like this that makes me wish I could find other game stores.

I've seen three alternative game shops (RETrade Games, Gamecrazy, and Arcadia Evolutions) close in as many years. If I want an alternative, I have to go to Best Buy and hope that their stock isn't outdated.

[Arcanum]

An attempt at appeasement. (http://consumerist.com/2011/08/gamestop-offers-50-gift-card-to-make-up-for-swiping-coupons-from-pc-version-of-deus-ex.html)

From the first page:
So GameStop is trying to make amends. (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/26/gamestop-deus-ex-apology/) Essentially giving a refund on the PC copy with a $50 gift card.

:raise:

[Marc v4.0]

Who said that?

[Ramary]

Oh Arc, don't be silly, no one reads what you post ever.

This time excluded of course.

[Spooniest]

I've never liked GameStop. They always seemed far too pricey compared to an actual used game store, if (as has been mentioned already) one is fortunate enough to have a used game store near them.

In Nashville we have a store called The Game Trader that has just about anything you could want console-wise. I'm not sure what their PC selection is like, but that's probably because I've never been big into PC games. Anyway, their prices are very good, and their staff is quite amenable. I wish more places had stores like this.

And they have another branch out in Murfreesboro (the local college town). Also a great shop. If I don't go to the store in Rivergate, I go there. But GameStop can commit seppuku for all I care.