GameStop Stock Worth $5.13...But Only Worth 7cents In Store Credit

Cybsled

Avatar of War Slayer
16,456
12,102
Getting harassed to buy games I’m not interested in, sign up for reward programs, ‘brand new’ games having the disc not in the case, shit $ offers for used, etc turned me off of GameStop like 10+ years ago.

Sadly that is driven by corporate, enforced by GM and thus managers. I always hated that because you do better when you can organically make the offers vs. go through a fucking laundry list.
 

jooka

marco esquandolas
<Bronze Donator>
14,413
6,130
I am mostly digital these days, just to convenient. I do still get physical with certain companies games but even that is dying off. Can't remember the last collectors edition I bought, other than pre-ordering Death Stranding for that freaky baby thing last week.
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,295
42,332
Sadly that is driven by corporate, enforced by GM and thus managers. I always hated that because you do better when you can organically make the offers vs. go through a fucking laundry list.

I’m fine with corporate gaming stores dying. Allows for passionate people to compete with local game shops again, similar to board game shops. I went to a local game store in Boulder, CO a couple years ago and it was a blast, chatting to the guys about games, asking if they remembered certain ones you forgot the name of (They did), rare stuff, good prices, huge variety. I didn’t even realize I missed game stores like that until I went in, they’ve been dead for so long due to not being able to compete with the corporations.
 
  • 1Like
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 1 users

yimmien

Molten Core Raider
877
668
I buy physical for myself and will continue to do so until its no longer an option, but I buy digital for the kids because they bounce between games and discs are a hassle for them. Gamestop has done me a few solids when I want to get the kids a digital game for a present and I was able to go in and they would give me an empty case for the game (the real case usually, not the generic) so I could wrap it and actually give them something to open.

Plus they like to go in and just look at all the games on the shelf to see if something looks interesting. Buying stuff off a screen just doesnt feel the same as getting something you can hold in your hands and anticipate playing on the ride home. I feel like that will be something kids 10 years from now will not get to experience.
 

Brodhi

I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.
<Donor>
1,283
3,428
Buying individual games will soon be a thing of the past also as subscription services become as mature as video streaming is. You will continue to see game development as a service rise also to meet the growing need to keep customers hooked into a subscription model. So yea, Gamestop was doomed, even if their business practices were fantastic, the fate would have been the same.
 

Utnayan

I Love Utnayan he’s awesome
<Gold Donor>
16,291
12,054
BB here and I was lucky enough to renew by GC before they cancelled the program so I am grandfathered in until 2020. It's a no brainer. But also, their points system is a lot better with ease of use in issuing certs. They also give $10 off cert specials on new games. I walked out of BB with a new copy of Days gone for $31 after tax. Also gained a $10 cert for next game purchased. Can't go wrong.

With that said, will never go to a Gamestop because of their pushy sales policies. BB does it too to some extent but at least when you say no you aren't hammered on 5 other preorders you should do because "Its a popular game and you may not get a copy!".

Back when I was a kid, before it was Gamestop, I worked at Software Etc. Back then it was a nice low key job. Wasn't a lot of pressure. And I was amazed how many copies of Super Street Fighter 4 we sold at $74.99 for the SNES. We also took any copy of any game we wanted (PC, Cartridge) and could check it out on the check out program. Return it, reshrink wrap it, and sell it as new lol (Until they got sued)

Fond memories. I even worked with a Nintendo Apron on once where I was paid an extra $5.00 an hour to play Super Castlevania 4 at a game station in the store and just have people watch me play. I was literally one of the first streamers now that I think about it in a back in the day sort of way.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Kiroy

Marine Biologist
<Bronze Donator>
34,622
99,927
Nowadays, I just do Best Buy whenever I'm doing physical. They may have less of a selection than GameStop, but it's rare that they don't have what I'm looking for, and at least I don't have to go through The Ordeal whenever I step up to the register.

I go to best buy once every 5 years to upgrade my tv
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

Gator

Molten Core Raider
989
811
I buy mostly digital now but I do miss having a physical disc sometimes. Mainly it's just knowing you physically own something but the hassle of a disc is aggravating. The last CE was God of War because the statue of a dad and son decapitating monsters is badass. Haven't stepped foot into a Game Stop in years. Everything was Best Buy, Amazon or Digital.

I feel like that will be something kids 10 years from now will not get to experience.
I agree. I remember standing in line with WoW dying with anticipation just to get stuck in login queues! lol Also Diablo III Error 34....good times
 
  • 1Worf
Reactions: 1 user

Crone

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
9,709
3,211
I've never had issues with pushy people at Gamestop? Guess I'm the luckiest person on Earth. I remember the questions but I said no and they moved on. Wasn't a big deal.

My local Gamestop I like because I'm not aware of any other game stores and so it's at least one place you can go to talk games with someone. Bought a dozen Ps4 games there last Christmas and then about 6 Switch games as well and was good to get their feedback on shit.

Now granted, their trade in prices are absurd and reminds me of the used text book market. Fucking is stupid unless as spronk mentioned you catch a deal/bug.
 

Cybsled

Avatar of War Slayer
16,456
12,102
I’m fine with corporate gaming stores dying. Allows for passionate people to compete with local game shops again, similar to board game shops. I went to a local game store in Boulder, CO a couple years ago and it was a blast, chatting to the guys about games, asking if they remembered certain ones you forgot the name of (They did), rare stuff, good prices, huge variety. I didn’t even realize I missed game stores like that until I went in, they’ve been dead for so long due to not being able to compete with the corporations.

When I worked at EB like 20 years ago, it was a lot like that. Our staff was super knowledgeable and loved to talk games. We also didn’t bs...if a system or game was shit, we’d steer them clear (and usually direct them to buy something else)
 

Namon

Blackwing Lair Raider
1,976
2,565
Only reason I went to Gamestop/Babbages et al, was at the time (mainly during the PS1 and earlier gens) they were the only ones that had every game released. If you went to a big box store, they'd have only the highest profile of mainstream games. So, as an RPG fan that mostly meant I was shit out of luck. I'm still mostly physical, because in a household of 3 playstations, shit gets expensive when you have to buy 3 copies of games digitally. If they ever let you share game licenses across your family account, then I'll never need a disc drive again. However, getting a physical copy is easy enough to find from a multitude of sources now, and at least in my area, gamestops aren't the most conveniently located. Also as others have said they have largely become a used game seller over the last two decades and their stores have devolved into complete shit holes in that time too.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,295
42,332
When I worked at EB like 20 years ago, it was a lot like that. Our staff was super knowledgeable and loved to talk games. We also didn’t bs...if a system or game was shit, we’d steer them clear (and usually direct them to buy something else)

I remember 25 years ago at Babbages being that way. I wanted to work there so bad when I was a kid. As an adult for a while going to GameStop I was thinking “why the fuck did I think that would be a good job”. Going to that fun game store in boulder really reminded me of why I thought that way.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

ZyyzYzzy

RIP USA
<Banned>
25,295
48,789
I exclusively go to gamestop. I need physical disks since they spin at >9k rpm unlike my SSD in my PS4.

I don't remember the last time I bought a physical copy of a game.
 
  • 6Worf
Reactions: 5 users

Soygen

The Dirty Dozen For the Price of One
<Nazi Janitors>
28,325
43,163
BB here and I was lucky enough to renew by GC before they cancelled the program so I am grandfathered in until 2020. It's a no brainer. But also, their points system is a lot better with ease of use in issuing certs. They also give $10 off cert specials on new games. I walked out of BB with a new copy of Days gone for $31 after tax. Also gained a $10 cert for next game purchased. Can't go wrong.

With that said, will never go to a Gamestop because of their pushy sales policies. BB does it too to some extent but at least when you say no you aren't hammered on 5 other preorders you should do because "Its a popular game and you may not get a copy!".

Back when I was a kid, before it was Gamestop, I worked at Software Etc. Back then it was a nice low key job. Wasn't a lot of pressure. And I was amazed how many copies of Super Street Fighter 4 we sold at $74.99 for the SNES. We also took any copy of any game we wanted (PC, Cartridge) and could check it out on the check out program. Return it, reshrink wrap it, and sell it as new lol (Until they got sued)

Fond memories. I even worked with a Nintendo Apron on once where I was paid an extra $5.00 an hour to play Super Castlevania 4 at a game station in the store and just have people watch me play. I was literally one of the first streamers now that I think about it in a back in the day sort of way.
I worked at Babbage's all through high school(91-94) and it was such a fun job. Bunch of gamers just bullshitting all day. I wouldn't have lasted one week if I had to push some stupid rewards bullshit on people all day long.
 
  • 2Like
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 2 users

Kaige

ReRefugee
<WoW Guild Officer>
5,428
12,265
Whats crazy is that there are still like 24 gamestops in my town, like Starbucks many are within 1-3 blocks of each other too.

That was something wacky they definitely did. They would buy out all the competitors in the area, but then hang on to those stores. I remember at one time the mall near me had like 4 GameStops in it because they bought out the EB and Funcoland on top of the two they had already.
 

Adebisi

Clump of Cells
<Silver Donator>
27,674
32,715
I went into a Gamestop before Christmas and asked if they had a copy of Mario Odyssey. Nope. No copies.

Walked across the parking lot to the Walmart. They had plenty of copies.

Ooops!