Gamestop is Getting Desperate..

Gamestop is getting pretty desperate these days. Hating on the industry for moving towards digital sales but doing nothing to actually counter this trend. The best ammo they got? "Remember physical games?" Which... Hey not a bad angle but the corporation has a lot of issues to address before we can use warm fuzzies to fight against the current that the river is flowing. Lets talk about it.

Edited by: @Bloops

Additional Art from: @OfficiallyTCK

Cited Sources!

#videogame #gamestop #gaming

Commenting corrections, constructive criticism, and even rude comments of the content is accepted. However posting incorrect corrections or generally promoting misinformation will be removed.

[pietincat]

“no one will remember online stores” as if the Wii Shop Channel music wasn’t such a bop that people STILL use it in their videos

[andtails]

Some suggestions for GameStop:

- Stock more games and less FunkoPops
- Offer reasonable trade in values
- Sell games cheaper than other stores to provide a financial incentive for consumers to shop there
- Stock more retro games, including a non-repro guarantee
- Allow online pre-orders to be shipped or picked up in store.
- Stop up selling and pushing services and warranties we don't want nor need.

[strain]

I also used to work at GameStop and I'm not sure if this was the case when you worked there, but for the store I was at, this is basically the explanation for the unwrapped new game.

So whenever we got new games in, we'd remove the wrapper from ONE copy. That disc/cartridge would go into one of those dumb yellow envelopes, and the empty case would be put on the shelf. The idea was that the only way someone would get the unwrapped one is if they're buying the LAST new copy we have in the store. Which...KINDA makes sense, but I also don't get why we couldn't just use dummy cases for the wall.

Though I actually have a bad story about that too. I had to work on Black Friday so there was a huge line. One couple was like "I wanna buy a new copy of Overwatch!" and the only new copy we had was the one in the envelope, so my boss told me to go grab the empty case off the wall for them. But here's the thing, the empty case wasn't ON the wall, because another customer who had been waiting in line to buy it had grabbed it. So I basically had to take the case from the customer who actually grabbed the "game" and was waiting to buy it and give it to a customer that hadn't, and I absolutely hated that. I hated having to do that. I still think the one who actually grabbed the case was 100% in the right and that my boss was a jerk for making me ask them for the case.

[ZardozXerxes]

If a game has the wrap removed its no longer new, its now a used game.

[ryan]

"Sorta like RedBox" which recently went bankrupt and removed access to everything people had "purchased" on their app.

[HatStackMike]

It really does kind of suck how GameStop runs as a company because the employees at my local GameStop are really cool and I legitimately enjoy coming in and talking to them, but then when they ask all the required upselling questions or try to sell me a game in an opened box with stickers on it as “new”, it always makes things a little awkward.

[wolvengir]

I completely agree with this. There are several reasons I stopped using gamestop. Some of the main reasons were among them almost selling me a visibly hard scratched disk, the bombardment of trying to sell me product I didn't come there for and lack of retro supplies like they used to have.

[Sir_Psych]

As a serious physical game collector, I have almost no reason to shop on Gamestop. I tend to wait for games to go on sale before I pick them up and Gamestop is not usually that place.

As a father however, I do frequent the store often with my two daughters as they love to go around and see all the cool merchandise. A very kind gentleman actually bought my daughter a hat this week when she said she wanted and I told her we couldn't afford it. She had the classic "maybe if I stand by the thing I want looking sad, someone will buy it for me" moment.

[strain]

Okay, sorry, one more GameStop horror story. This one is pretty recent and just irked me.

I pre-ordered Endless Ocean: Luminous, which came out on May 2nd. So on May 2nd, I went to pick it up, because as far as I'm concerned, the one advantage that pre-ordering at GameStop is SUPPOSED to offer is that you can get and play the game ON release date.

So, the clerk tells me that they don't have it. Which is frustrating, but perfectly fine. Like I kinda get it. May 2nd was a Thursday, which is a day games don't normally come out so maybe they didn't get the shipment yet, or maybe just a mail delay. I wasn't really mad.

BUT THEN the guy tells me "Yeah, they delayed it until Saturday to fix some issues with the Switch version." ...what? "We only got the PS5 versions in stock today." and for those of you that may not know, Endless Ocean is a Nintendo published IP and there is no PS5 version. It's a Switch exclusive game.

Knowing this, I asked him if I could see one of the PS5 versions because I knew he was just lying to me at this point. He told me "We haven't unpacked them yet, sorry." and then proceeded to just start helping the next person in line.

Like again, if he'd just told me "Sorry, we didn't get it in yet. Shipping delay" that would've been fine. I get it. I've worked enough retail jobs, including GameStop, to know that can happen. But to just feed me a lie so obvious it'd be in the tutorial case of an Ace Attorney game was just insulting.

[Foureyedfrogking]

I hate what they did to Game Informer. Basically ran it into the ground making them fire their staff until they had a skeleton crew them shuttered them. How about a story about GI, the longest running game magazine having to shut down and all the history/stories/interviews on games they've gathered just be lost now.

[jasonumberger]

GameStop has 3, 000 stores & new leadership that wants to make all better. This is a good move.

[TheRealBatabii]

Yes it's stupid that they open the games, for ANY reason, even though they're supposed to be new, but to be fair, if you're buying a game NOT to ever open it, why not just mail order from the company rather than go to gamestop?

[benmalsky]

I’ve never had a bad experience at GameStop. I LOVE going there.

[benmalsky]

They say that experience shapes perception, and thankfully I’ve had nothing but positive experiences going to GameStop.

[river]

I feel the same way as you do, but a bit different. The local gamestops where I grew up actually did all of these things when I was little. Had a kiosk that showcased new releases, selections of older consoles and games, proper trade-in values, regular card game tournaments, ect. As a kid I was excited to go to gamestop and would beg my parents to take me any chance I got, even if I knew I wouldn't get anything. It's the complete opposite now. I went to my first GameStop in several years 2 months ago just because one so happened to be in the mall. It was one of the few that still has games from the Wii and backwards. The location where I grew up said they no longer carry that generation since its retro now, and refuses trade-ins. The one at the mall had entire sections for the Wii, Ps3, 360, Nintendo Ds, GameCube, you name it. Felt like I walked into a mom and pop gaming store. Best part was no funko slop either from what I could see. The location where I grew up was a fairly large store. 3/5 of the store was funko slop by 2017 replacing the once large wall of Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox games, which was now condensed into a single wall and 2 round shelves in the floor. Absolutely saddening

[luxrayblast]

I never have a bad time in GameStop, although, my trips are usually short because I'm there to preorder something or pick up the preorder. Even if I don't find what I'm looking for, I usually ask about it. I do also buy games or plushies from there, when I find something I'm looking for or if I see something I want. I get not everyone has the same experience, but, I saw my local GameStop carrying N64 titles again. Also, I do sometimes chat for a bit while they look up something for me. I wouldn't say I'm an extrovert or introvert.

[jckistan]

As a retail worker, stores will be asking if you want to sign up to membership discounts and things. I make an effort to word the question in a way that offers customers the ability to just say "no" and that's the end of conversation. I also don't ask regulars who I know don't want one.

I don't work there, but in the UK, we have a GameStop-esque chain called CeX which does games and tech trade-in. The cases on the shelves are often empty, and the games are behind the counter. There's a huge shoplifting issue across the UK and empty cases are clearly the preventative measure; I've actually been in a CeX before when some guy ran off with a whole GTX/RTX graphics card, the staff were just trying to be helpful and let him measure the dimensions to see if it would "fit in his case".

I suppose a fix would be to have sealed copies in the back which people could opt for, but I don't know how feasible that is. CeX is mostly second-hand, but I could see this working in GameStop.

[TurkeyFaceX]

I had over $200 of in store credit vanish. That was the day I stopped being one of their customers.

[strain]

I'd like to share the horrendous experience that I had with GameStop regarding the game Persona 5 Tactica, and how much of an absolute nightmare that ended up being. Warning in advance...this is kind of a long one.

Okay, so I ordered Persona 5 Tactica on the PS4 on GameStop's website. The reason I ordered from GameStop instead of Amazon, VGP, Best Buy, or any other retailer was because GameStop was the only one that promised some extra swag in the form of two Persona 5 Tactica coasters. Nothing too fancy, but hey, free stuff for the same price, right? GameStop's website specifically said that the launch edition of Persona 5 Tactica would come with these coasters.

The game came out on November 17th, 2023. GameStop promised "release date shipping" which I acknowledge is not the same as "release date delivery" so I was fine with waiting an extra few days to play it. No biggie. But then...they just kept...not shipping it. Several days passed and the game hadn't even shipped at all. Eventually I said screw it and ordered a copy from Amazon. The Amazon copy shipped out and arrived at my house before the GameStop one shipped at all.

ALSO it turns out that those coasters, yeah, they're not included with orders placed through GameStop's website. Yeah, after reaching out for some answers from their support page on Twitter, they informed me that since they're not officially a pre-order bonus, you can only get them in-store and only if your store had some available. They recommended that I call nearby GameStops to ask if they have any (so I called every GameStop within 20 miles and of course none of them did)

So basically, GameStop promised me release date shipping, and failed to deliver, their website promised coasters that you DON'T get through online orders (I checked very thoroughly, NOTHING on the page for the game said anything to indicate online orders wouldn't get them) and on top of all of that, I ended up getting a copy from Amazon that I ordered nearly a week later before GameStop even shipped out my game.

BUT IT DOESN'T END HERE, FOLKS!

When I finally did get my copy in the mail from GameStop, Persona 5 Tactica for the PS4...THEY SENT ME THE SWITCH VERSION! The paper in the package even specified that I'd ordered the PS4 version, but they still sent a Switch copy. So I called my local GameStop, explained the situation, and asked if I could come in and return it. They said Yes, so I drove up there and tried to return it...TRIED.

See, apparently GameStop recently implemented a new policy that's supposed to be better for their employees, which frankly, they deserve. I worked at GameStop, and it can suck. Basically, because returns hurt store numbers, they can no longer accept returns for online orders in stores. The GameStop clerk printed me out a shipping label for the return and instructed me that I'd have to go to my local FedEx store and return it through them by shipping the game back to the GameStop warehouse where THEY would handle my return. Fortunately the closest FedEx was only like a 2 minute drive down the road, but that still sucks. But I did it and another week or so later, finally got my refund.

TL;DR version: GameStop shipped the game so late that I'd already gotten a copy from Amazon instead. They didn't give me the coasters their website promised, which was the only reason I'd ordered from them in the first place. When the game finally DID arrive, they'd sent me a version for the wrong console. And when I tried to return it they sent me on an unnecessary errand to FedEx to be able to return it.

First and last time I will EVER place an order through GameStop's website. Absolutely crapshow from start to finish.

[caitlinguz]

I've had my share of normal experiences at GameStop, but I've also had a LOT of experiences of sexist behavior from their staff. More than any other store. From staff ignoring me and only addressing male customers, to staff outright laughing at me for asking questions about a game's additional content, to the fact that I almost never see women represented in the GameStop work force, sexism very much seems to be integrated into their system.