A GameStop on Every Corner

edited June 2010 in General Chat
Is it me or does it seem like video game stores abound these days? I just turned 32yo, and I can remember back in the day when one would have had at most 3 nearby places (at least in a city the size of Tulsa) to go to buy video games from.

Today, I can locate 6 GameStops alone that are within 6 miles from me, as the crow flies. (A is me; and there are 2 Gamestops, one is in a mall, near 3)
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This doesn't even include Best Buy, Toys 'R Us, Game Xchange or Vintage Stock (the last 2 also trade games from old consoles.)


Why is this? It would seem that, in such circumstances, there would now be a glut of video game stores and as such several would go out of business, or at least that GameStop corporate wouldn't have so many stores so close together. However, they've all stayed open for several years. I know that the video game industry is growing, but seriously....

Have you all also noticed tons of gaming stores popping up everywhere?
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Comments

  • [TTG] Yare[TTG] Yare Telltale Alumni
    edited May 2010
    GameStop does well for itself. Their yearly profits are more than 50% of the profits for the entire rest of the game industry (publishers/developers) combined. They have quite the racket going.
  • edited May 2010
    Here's the map I got:

    gamestop.png

    I always go to 1 when I have a reason to go to GameStop, and sometimes I'll end up at 2 with my friends. I've never seen 3 or 7, and I've only ever seen 5 because that's where the nearest Toys-R-Us is. I don't know what 6 is doing on there, and 4 isn't even open yet. And there's one at the mall a little bit up the highway from 7.

    All that said, I don't go in GameStop without a good reason. Either looking for a specific used game or something I just can't find anywhere else. I mainly buy my games at Target or every once in a while Best Buy.
  • edited May 2010
    I kinda wish there were more locally owned game shops, but I understand why there aren't. :\
  • edited May 2010
    At first I was like "what's gamestop?". So I googled it.
    Turns out it's EB Games in Canada and Micromania in France. Yeah. They're everywhere.
    Although Score Games is pretty big too in France. But when I was a kid there was just one in my area that was pretty far. When I left France they were everywhere.

    It's a good thing, though, isn't it? Maybe one of them will actually make it around my current area someday. And I'll be able to buy games from a store.
    Although to be fair I'm a bit surprised, with the Internet being big and all, I wouldn't have expected game store to multiply quite as much as they did.
  • edited May 2010
    Yeah, Gamestop thrives on used games, which make them a ton of money and everyone else nothing at all. Which is why I want to say that, if you buy a used game from Gamestop (or any other large store), especially a recent game that developers and publishers are relying on, Kroms kills a kitten.
  • edited May 2010
    Well, I won't have any kitten killing on my conscience. I have a thing about buying my games brand new in the plastic, unless they're unobtainable in such a state.
  • edited May 2010
    You guys are lucky then. I know of one small game store in the nearest city, and one two cities over.
    Toy stores carry games here too, but they're obviously not as specialised as game stores.
  • edited May 2010
    I'm glad we don't have Gamestop in the UK. We do have Gamestation, which has a lot of preowned games and 'Game' also stocks a fair few though.

    What does everyone think about the $10 fee EA (and other companies) are going to charge people who buy second hand to play online?
  • edited May 2010
    We actually don't have a dedicated games shop in my town at all, the best we have since Woolworths went is the small section that Sainsbury's have and Xtra-Vision (which is just Blockbuster)

    How's that for the other side of the penny?
  • edited May 2010
    I have two Gamestops. This is sad because they got rid of the far superior Rhino Games and Game Crazy stores that were here first. They bought Rhino, and I don't know what happened to Game Crazy.
  • edited May 2010
    Well, there certainly is an increase in gamestores here in the Netherlands, but it's nowhere near that explosive.
  • [TTG] Yare[TTG] Yare Telltale Alumni
    edited May 2010
    Kroms wrote: »
    Yeah, Gamestop thrives on used games, which make them a ton of money and everyone else nothing at all. Which is why I want to say that, if you buy a used game from Gamestop (or any other large store), especially a recent game that developers and publishers are relying on, Kroms kills a kitten.

    I also find the term "used game" misleading. When you buy a game, you're purchasing a license to use the data stored on the disc. The disc can certainly become used, but data doesn't age.

    GameStop's profit margin on MW2 is higher than Infinity Ward's...

    Everything about the organized used game trade is shady.
  • edited May 2010
    [TTG] Yare wrote: »
    I also find the term "used game" misleading. When you buy a game, you're purchasing a license to use the data stored on the disc. The disc can certainly become used, but data doesn't age.
    Okay, fixed it for ya.
    Kroms wrote:
    Yeah, Gamestop thrives on [preowned game discs that may or may not be scratched up to the point of being unplayable], which make them a ton of money and everyone else nothing at all.
  • edited May 2010
    Timely, this hit the wires today:

    GameStop profit up with strong sale of new games
    Retailer GameStop Corp (GME.N) on Thursday posted stronger quarterly revenue and profit, helped by sales of new video games including "God of War III" and "Battlefield Bad Company 2."

    The company said its first-quarter profit rose nearly 7 percent to $75.2 million, or 48 cents a share, from $70.4 million, or 42 cents a share in the same period a year ago. Analysts had expected earnings of 47 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

    GameStop's revenue also edged past expectations, rising 5.1 percent to $2.08 billion. Analysts on average had been looking for quarterly revenue of $2.03 billion.

    GameStop maintained its full-year outlook for 2010, saying earnings could improve 14 percent to 18 percent, marking a rebound from a disappointing 2009 for the video-game industry.

    Shares of GameStop, the world's largest stand-alone retailer of video-game software, consoles and accessories, rose 2.4 percent to $21.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.
  • edited May 2010
    gamestop annoyed me for the last time when I bought my copy of super smash bros brawl.

    apparently to them "Play test" Means pop the disc in and see if it knows it's there. My wii knew it was there, but it wouldnt play it for more that one match.

    that's when I switched to game crazy, which is closed now. >:(
  • edited May 2010
    Well, I won't have any kitten killing on my conscience. I have a thing about buying my games brand new in the plastic, unless they're unobtainable in such a state.

    Same. I like to have all the pieces and have them in new condition when I get them. Also, I like to support the company that actually created the game, rather than someone who just happened to buy it back from someone else. And they are usually not that much cheaper anyway.
  • edited May 2010
    Remolay wrote: »
    gamestop annoyed me for the last time when I bought my copy of super smash bros brawl.

    apparently to them "Play test" Means pop the disc in and see if it knows it's there. My wii knew it was there, but it wouldnt play it for more that one match.

    that's when I switched to game crazy, which is closed now. >:(
    I miss Game Crazy :(

    They had that great disc buffer that made ruined discs playable again, and they actually had some really good deals on used games.
  • edited May 2010
    [TTG] Yare wrote: »
    GameStop does well for itself. Their yearly profits are more than 50% of the profits for the entire rest of the game industry (publishers/developers) combined. They have quite the racket going.

    From what I have heard from several friends and acquaintances they suck at getting in slightly obscure games, which often leads to the phrase "did you pre-order it?". Video games seem to have a standard price which is fixed more than over here.

    Over the pond we have Game being the main brick and mortar retailer, though plenty of other shops carry games. Game in particular tend to stock about 50% new games and 50% pre-owned, which is different to the situation in Gamestop (from word of mouth). Of course the advantages of living on a small landmass could affect this.

    I don't know where I'm going with this. Probably that a larger shop would be a better set-up for the gamer: larger variety of stock, easier overall stock take, etc.
  • edited May 2010
    I love how Gamestop charges you the full "new" price if you want to buy the last new copy that's been gutted for display purposes.

    I love how the clerks try to convince me that their shrinkwrap machine will magically make the game brand-new again.

    A Gamestop near me (actually it's a Planet X) has one copy of A Vampyre Story for $10 new, but of course it's a gutted box. I'm tempted to pick it up but haven't followed through on that temptation yet. I really hate encouraging the practice by actually buying their open-box products.
  • edited May 2010
    On the subject of game crazy, I have one simpsons quote:

    Bart: To close this place would be twisted
    Bullys: We only heard this place existed.

    seriously. with my copy of brawl they buffed it and made it so it would always crash in that spot instead of sometimes crash at that spot or before. Then when gamestop obviously lied and said they had NO Wii games at all they replaced it for free even though I didn't buy it there
  • edited May 2010
    I really couldn't care less about open boxes. If I buy a game, I'm going to play it. Not just look at it. If I buy a game that's defective (which I have before,) then I just bring the game back and they give me a different copy. If I were ever to get a defective game that they didn't have another one of (which hasn't happened yet) then there are several other GameStops nearby I can take it to, or I can go to Vintage Stock and maybe have it resurfaced for a dollar. Whoopty-fricken-do.

    It doesn't bother me at all.
  • edited May 2010
    I've wandered into GameStops occasionally, but I've never bought a game there, used or otherwise. I generally buy new games at BestBuy and used games online or at, strangely enough, second-hand bookstores. Actually, some of the best deals I've ever gotten on games were from a second-hand bookstore.
  • edited May 2010
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    I really couldn't care less about open boxes. If I buy a game, I'm going to play it. Not just look at it. If I buy a game that's defective (which I have before,) then I just bring the game back and they give me a different copy. If I were ever to get a defective game that they didn't have another one of (which hasn't happened yet) then there are several other GameStops nearby I can take it to, or I can go to Vintage Stock and maybe have it resurfaced for a dollar. Whoopty-fricken-do.

    It doesn't bother me at all.

    I can see your point, but I like to have a pristine case and manual with mine (because I do look at them, and [URL="[IMG]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/GuruGuru214/DSC02924.jpg[/IMG]"]I take pride in my collection[/URL]), and if there's a registration code (in the case of 1st party Nintendo games or for things like Rock Band song imports), I want it to be unused.
  • edited May 2010
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    It doesn't bother me at all.
    It wouldn't bother me if the display-box games were priced the same as a used game. Slapping a new-game price on an opened box is wrong, especially since Gamestop employees are allowed to take those games home and play them.
  • edited May 2010
    My nearest game shop is a train ride away in my capital, and even in that big town there is only about 3 places. And most of the time they don't have what I am looking for.
    That is why I choose to buy my games online mostly, I am just lazy :p
  • puzzleboxpuzzlebox Telltale Alumni
    edited May 2010
    All my games are free-range, organic and (where possible) direct from the producer.
  • edited May 2010
    I can see your point, but I like to have a pristine case and manual with mine (because I do look at them, and [URL="http://[IMG]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/GuruGuru214/DSC02924.jpg[/IMG]"]I take pride in my collection[/URL])


    True that a pristine case is important. I've passed up games I wanted more than once because the case was crap. As far as the manual goes, I prefer having one but it's not a deal breaker.


    I have seen vids of ppl on Youtube that say they only get games that have the original label design, which is to say they refuse to get "player's choice" or "classic series" or w/e, where it has such on the label, possibly even the spine has a different color in places (eg. GCN games have black "GameCube" text on yellow background, PS2 games have white on red, instead of white on black for both as usual.) I've never been so picky about that... I'd actually prefer such a box with a manual to a normal box without one.


    puzzlebox wrote: »
    All my games are free-range, organic

    This makes me think of Animal Crossing.
  • edited May 2010
    Oh, absolutely. Also, I've picked up some games with beat to hell cases before and bought extra cases from Nintendo. They're pretty cheap and well worth it for sprucing up my collection. Plus I haven't had to do it to too many.
  • edited May 2010
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    have seen vids of ppl on Youtube that say they only get games that have the original label design, which is to say they refuse to get "player's choice" or "classic series" or w/e, where it has such on the label, possibly even the spine has a different color in places (eg. GCN games have black "GameCube" text on yellow background, PS2 games have white on red, instead of white on black for both as usual.) I've never been so picky about that... I'd actually prefer such a box with a manual to a normal box without one.

    i only have the japanese equivalent of player's choice for mother 1+2 and im jealous of those who have the pure red box because it doesn't match the rest of my collection.
  • edited May 2010
    I get annoyed that my French DS cases are much thicker than the North American ones, and don't have any art on the spine.
    I used to favour the French version of games because it included more languages, but now more and more North American version have several languages as well, so I get these (for instance Spirit Tracks has Québécois French, which is really nice if a bit weird at times because I picture all the characters having a Québécois accent and, well, that feels weird).
  • edited May 2010
    you guys are so lucky, there is only 1 gamestop near me and it is in a completly diiferent town unlike you people.
  • edited May 2010
    I find that an obscure new video game is far more likely to be on the shelves of Wal-Mart or Target than at the local GameStop. Especially if it's a PC game, which the GAMING-SPECIFIC RETAILER doesn't consider important enough to stock.
  • TorTor
    edited May 2010
    A couple of years ago GameStop acquired the second largest Norwegian record store chain and all of its retail locations. So... some stores that I rarely visited were replaced by some new ones that I never visit. Ah well.
  • edited May 2010
    [TTG] Yare wrote: »
    I also find the term "used game" misleading. When you buy a game, you're purchasing a license to use the data stored on the disc. The disc can certainly become used, but data doesn't age.

    GameStop's profit margin on MW2 is higher than Infinity Ward's...

    Everything about the organized used game trade is shady.

    I hate the fact that when you buy a game your really just buying a license. It just gives company's like Ubisoft the right to put really crappy DRM on their games. I bought a copy of Settlers 7 but really all I payed for is the right to use their online server and I cant play the game with out the Internet. That's okay when I'm at home but If I try to play it on my laptop on a train, I cant with out wifi.
    If you pay for a game you should have the right to sell it if you want. That's the big down side of direct to drive games for me. Though I did see some one try to sell his Steam account on Ebay a while back. Not sure how that went
  • edited May 2010
    One thing I never understood was why people complain that GameStop buys back games for pennies on the dollar and yet they still trade games in.

    Why do people sell games back to GameStop at all if they know they're getting a bum deal? I only ever tried to trade in a couple of my games, and that was because I knew I'd never play them through ever again. In the end, I didn't even trade in one of those (Star Fox Adventures) but instead gave it to my nephews after their family got a Wii.

    It makes no sense why people would complain about the value and still trade in games instead of keeping them or trading them in elsewhere.
  • edited May 2010
    Especially if it's a PC game, which the GAMING-SPECIFIC RETAILER doesn't consider important enough to stock.

    Gamestop don't stock PC games? That blows my mind, even our video rental place has a selection of PC games to buy (3 for £10 Sold-Out range, but still)
  • edited May 2010
    I'm glad we don't have Gamestop in the UK. We do have Gamestation, which has a lot of preowned games and 'Game' also stocks a fair few though.

    What does everyone think about the $10 fee EA (and other companies) are going to charge people who buy second hand to play online?

    Its odd that there is no GameStop in the UK when there in almost ever big town in Ireland
  • edited May 2010
    JedExodus wrote: »
    Gamestop don't stock PC games? That blows my mind, even our video rental place has a selection of PC games to buy (3 for £10 Sold-Out range, but still)
    Generally they don't. There is ONE Gamestop in my area that is particularly large and it has one endcap-sized standee with some PC games. Only major titles, like the big MMOs, though, and a few PC gamepads(no wired 360 controllers, though, had to get that online). To put it into perspective, prepad cards for things like Zynga games and Gaia Online take up as much space as their PC game section, while each console gets an entire wall(the Wii's wall has some space dedicated to the DS, the PS3 wall has less space dedicated to the PSP, and the 360 wall is a bit shorter than the other two).
  • edited May 2010
    I once found a brand new copy of Sam and Max Season 2 in a GameStop. I didn't buy it because I already owned it, but they do occasionally have new PC games...just not many.
  • edited May 2010
    I hate GameStop. Liked it better when it was Electronics Boutique before GameStop bought it out and changed it to EB Games. Can't stand the place. I don't like the way they do business at all.
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