Gamestop and gutted games
 

I hate shopping at Gamestop.

I went to purchase Guilty Gear XX today, and I saw that they had 2 gutted display copies of the games. I asked the cashier if they had any unopened copies of the game and then he just started to lecturing me about how display copies are the same as "brand new." I've been through this discussion with this store so many times that I don't want to waste my time, but since I was purchasing another game I couldn't leave. Well, I shouldn't leave, I mean why should I leave? He kept pestering me about how displayed displayed copies are new and wanted to show me the disc, but I told him to don't bother and that opened games aren't new. Afterwards I kept repeating "I just want that game" for like 10 times. Then he goes on trying to make me feel bad by talking about how I'm going to waste gas going to another store, and having the other employees support him in the fact that I won't be able to find a sealed copy and sarcastically saying "good luck finding it." He pestered me for about 15 minutes before ringing me up.

I mean what the heck is that?! Why did they have to gut 2 copies? Anyways, I hate shopping at Gamestop, but they're one of the easiest places to get niche games, so I can't do much about it. We'll, besides ordering online, but I shouldn't have to avoid buying it at the store.

What are your thoughts about how Gamestop works? Angry? Satisfied? Don't care?

Well, as a worker, I can attest. I certainly can't explain the worker lecturing, though I feel this may be a bit of a stretch. Depending on the game, a couple copies need to be gutted to get proper public exposure. At some point, the game's less new, and we take one off, keeping the guts back in the game, and putting it back in display.

Either that or they gutted 2 games just to piss you off :)

I mean, I could understand if it's the last copy. Sure it's gutted, but you need ONE copy out there. I don't mind paying full price, just as long as the CD isn't messed up or anything.

As long as it looks new, it's fine with me.

Gamestop is the best place for PS2, 3, Wii, GC, DS, GBA, GBC, Xbox, 360, PC.

It's the best place for when a new game comes out too.

I have a gamestop related story that just happened today. So they close at 6pm on Sundays and I wanted to pull over to grab one of the Tribes games for PC. I was on the way elsewhere and had the idea at the last second to goto gamestop. At 5:58 I arrive at the parking lot and the only two parking spaces in the packed area where handicapped ones. I decide to ignore those and drive elsewhere to find something. When that idea fails I decide to just park at the handicap spot right in front of the gamestop door, anyway. While I'm busy parking on it, an employee locks the door! If I would have just parked there in the first place (which would be no big deal because there are no cops around there) I would have had the game in my hands! So now I have to wait for tomorrow...

That's odd they would gut both copies of the new Guilty Gear. Far as I can tell, no stores got more than 3, 4 copies, save for the larger volume stores. Even still, that's not a game we'd typically gut two copies of.

Why do we (GameStop) gut two copies (or more) of a game? Well for one, you should notice that each "new" section has a column dedicated to "New Releases", where a single title is gutted twice. That strategy is used as a selling tool -- the theory is it won't catch your eye if you only see it once, but seeing it twice will make you remember it and persuade you to buy it. It's a subconscious thing.

The other reasoning behind gutting more than one game goes back to our planagrams. We have to have a certain amount of space dedicated to specific sections, i.e. new PS2 games, used Xbox, etc. Sometimes we have to gut more than one copy of a single game in order to fill that space. Most stores don't have that problem, but new stores and stores with an unusually small amount of product variety will have that problem. My store was one of those, but I got it fixed.

Really though, an opened copy of a game shouldn't bother you. Unless you've got a fetish for peeling off that annoying plastic, just buy it. No one else's played it, and it sits peacefully with the instruction manual in a safe place. No biggie.

If the game's never been sold, its new. It'll still have the new plastic smell and the disk will still be in almost absolute perfect condition. If you're really that upset, wait for them to get more in stock and suffer because the new game wasn't new enough.

I don't mind it. On one hand, I like peeling the shrinkwrap off a new copy, but getting the gutted copy is a good feeling because I'm making the store order more copies of said game (and most of the time when I'm buying a game, I hope it racks up good sales numbers anyway). So my one purchase means another 3-4 copies sold for the publisher because I'm forcing the store to get more. At least, that's how I see it.

If it's a special edition of a game I really want, I'd care. But that won't happen since the games I really want are all pre-ordered and untouched. Therefore: NO WORRIES, HOMIE.

For anything else that might be an after-thought, I don't really care. I bought a used copy of ICO for 10 bucks at a Rasputin Records store and it looked brand new. The CD, case, and manual were all in pristine condition. The same went for my copy of Gitaroo Man. I didn't really care: what mattered was that I had the game. I owned it. It worked fine.

The thing I hate about my local gamestop gutting things is that they still leave the manual in the case. Then random people look through it with their greasy fingers and ruin it. And of course gamestop will still charge you full price even after the manual was tampered with. ;_;

Sorry to hear that, Miles. Unfortunately, that's one of the things (few though there are) GameStop doesn't have a uniform policy on. At my store, we don't leave the instruction manuals in the case in the instance of gutting new games. Everything comes out.

Horseshit.

Lots of EBs still have that ridiculous check out policy. Even if they aren't officially sanctioned anymore, you still hear about it everywhere.

Don't shop there then. :] I always hear these whinging stories from Americanadian's about how GameStop/EB's shit. Yeah, EB's shit here too. They're like a garbage tip! You could probably throw a big bag of smelly apples in there and they'd advertise it on their in-store radio! Shelving space isn't even used for games, they just load them with publisher blowjob 'coming soon!' boxes, everything is dumped on tables in the middle of the store so nobody can move without knocking a mountain of Barbie's Cheese Sandwich Adventures over. That's why I go to one of the many other stores that stock video games instead. Surely Gamestop isn't the only retail chain in America to stock unpopular games. You could do the same! You even save money! Shock! =o

I don't know why EB don't just follow what basically every other store has been doing for the past fifteen years or so, and keep the games locked in security cases. Sure it results in slightly less shelf space, but it's not like they use them anyway. Maybe install a security system that'll detect if someone runs out of the store with a game. That way they wouldn't have to bother throwing the discs and manuals in their bottomless pits! It is the 90's, there is time for technology. The local Game and JB-Hi Fi stores do this, and they stock a shitload more games than EB. I like EB for their massive amount of pre-owned games though, it's where I pick up all my obscure GOTY stuff for like $10 a pop. And the Edge card dealy is pretty neat. 10% off + one year warranty on anything (pre-owned lolololol).

"White" and "worker" and "game store" just don't go good together.

I went to the philippines years ago, and all their games were sealed. They were sitting there in plastic cases which had to be removed at the counter with some special device, and they wouldn't do that unless you paid first.

Excellent security measures and service. Really, down here everything needs to pass the OFLC classification board before they reach the country, although this only kicked into effect around the beginning of 2006.

http://img.search.com/thumb/e/e9/Aus...ie_ratings.JPG

Basically, all games here have one (and only one) of those labels, but they're actually that size. That picture I just linked isn't blown up or anything. And, these aren't stickers, but actual imprints which are printed into the game's cover and cannot be removed.

In order for them to do this, of course, the game must be unsealed (if it was ever sealed in the first place), meaning that every single game rated by the OFLC (which covers NZ, Australia, and parts of Asia) is opened, somewhat.

Oh no, it doesn't stop there. Usually the game stores here (Central Park, EB, Gamesman, Gameplanet) will take the discs physically out of the game case, along with the manual, and put them away. Usually they put them away in a paper-thin disc holder which you usually see regular CDs in.

Then, they put their fucking "This item has been discounted!" or "10% off!" or whatever, stickers on the game cases. Unless you actually ask for them to give you a case which is out the back, of course.

One store I know here puts ALL game cases on their shelves, and keeps the games in the storage room out back. The games are given a position on the shelf, and stacked. You just take one, bring it to the counter, and they fetch the manual and gam- wait, they actually have to take the game OUT of the case, into a CD sleeve, out of the CD sleeve, and back into the case.

One of the last PAL games I purchased (early 2006) was La Pucelle, and I made the store manager go through about six different copies before finding one which wasn't scratched.

This is why I import my games. All of my stuff arrives sealed, in perfect condition, guaranteed. All second hand games I've purchased have arrived unsealed, but flawless. Maybe this sheds some light on why I'm "such a big importer of games" - I won't even bring the blue case, ugly spines and OFLC labels into the picture here.

Actually the ones that have the ugly pre-school ratings as part of the actual box art are completely manufactured here, disc, manual, cover, so they'll usually arrive at stores shrink wrapped. But yeah, the distributors that do the more visually pleasing thing of simply getting in Euro copies and slapping an Aussie sticker over the cover, remove the shrink wrap, and they'll end up at stores all scratched up no matter what. Which means we can't win either way really. :gonk:

I try to avoid EB/Gamestop when I can, but the unfortunate truth is that there aren't many alternatives left. Wal-Mart/Target only get the big titles the day of release, and Best Buy/Circuit City are staffed by absolute morons who don't put out stock and don't have the games when they're supposed to either. EB has slowly but surely put all the mom and pop video game retailers out of business, or bought them out (e.g., Rhino and some other chain that used to be in the Mid-Atlantic region). If you want a title that isn't Halo or Madden on its release day, your best bet is EB, and they know it.

As for gutting, I avoid buying those because I've heard about their "employee rental" policy. At least they aren't as sneaky about it as they used to be. Ten years ago, they didn't even acknowledge they were gutting games. You'd take a box up to the counter, and they'd go in the back room and bring out a shrinkwrapped box. You had to look close to see if it was a brand new copy, or if they had assembled it in the back room and used their shrink wrap machine, and they'd play dumb about the whole policy if you asked.

Time to make some new stores then, I'll lend a hand! We can build them out of shrink wrap! "NOBODY ALLOWED INSIDE"

I dont understand why gamestop does that. Why do they have to open every copy, and put the disc in a sleeve? Cant they just have one opened(display case) and leave the rest sealed? If i buy a game new, it better have shrink wrap on it.

Generally, it would not bother me as I would get used games. Well...use to anyway. These days, used games have only a slight discount from new games and hence I only get those if the new games are unavailable.

I am surprised one would be lectured at a place where they want to buy something. It would make me NOT want to buy it and complain. Sorry, but if one is to spend his/her cash on some product, they shouldn't be criticized for their decisions but given respect for it. It's like saying, "Ok, despite giving my company money and me a job, I don't care and going to lecture you". Paying to be lectured in a store for a product you may or may not buy....no.

However, EB Games/GameStop has treated me well. When I visited them about two months back, I got a game in which they said if I didn't like it, I could bring it back and get a new game. I did just that and had no problems whatsoever. Just showed the receipt, showed my new game, and was on my way.

They also were very helpful for when I wanted to buy a gamecube game. I didn't even ask them directly, only said the thought outloud in which they let me know there were two copies available. They helped me find it too. Very polite when I paid for my game.

I have noticed that things have changed in the last few years from when I last visited one. Namely, NDS and GBA games were in CD sleeves, with the instructions, and were put into the game case. Very strange and seems way too much effort compared to just placing one case out and keeping the rest sealed in the back...

Circuit City isn't that bad, but I never used their customer service concerning games. Actually, I avoid their customer service unless it has something to do about warranties or such. I have found their 'advice' unreliable and downright wrong at times. Can't beat Circuit City's deals though (like the buy one, get another half off deal last week on NDS games).

I have had very little trouble with Wal-Mart concerning games. In fact, the manager was nice enough to give me my money back when I bought and tried out several copies (Having to come back to the store over and over again to get a new copy) of a dreamcast game. And this is during the time of "Once you open, no refunds" for games.

I don't really have an opinion on Target. One just finally opened up, and I visited it a few times. Customer service was fine...they opened the case to let me get my game.

I miss having Toys-R-Us. They had some awesome deals...especially when they are getting rid of stock. When they went to remove all their dreamcast games, the games became 90% off. Can't beat that. Of course, they probably took the longest of all the places I went (bought a paper up to the register, paid for it, and then wait for them to go to the back and find the product).

Two gutted copies of Guilty Gear don't really surprise me. I went into a Gamestop last year and asked the employee if he had any sealed copies of Shadow Hearts III left. The guy gave me the usual offended spiel about how they only open one for display purposes, and then pulled out 6 gutted copies from the case behind him. That didn't really phase him though. He just changed tactics to trying to convince me that the opened copies were just as new.

I've gotten so fed up with EB's shit that I just walk out without a word whenever they start up one of their rant if I'm not already buying something else. It's ridiculous to spend 20 minutes trying to just buy one game that I already had pre-ordered because they won't shut up about the strategy guide and transferring my $5 over to other upcoming games.

You know, there is zero reason for ANY games to be gutted, even display games. If some hourly employee is handing me a supposedly "new" game where they take some random disc out of a drawer and put it into a random case, then they could just as easily have bought the game disc and case from a Hong Kong bootlegger for $1, meanwhile keeping the original real copy for themselves, planning on pocketing the difference.

Still, it would be easy to do the same thing without "gutting" as it's easier to shrink-wrap things now than it used to be. I buy some games that make me wonder if they haven't been re-shrink-wrapped. However, it just gives me a bad feeling if I am buying something new that has been opened, and I'm not the one who opened it. Might as well use Ebay at that point...

My experience with Gamestop has generally been good, except that I think the stand-alone stores have 100% better staff than the stores inside malls. It seems like malls lower the IQ of the general population by a good 50 points right off the bat...

Which reminds me...

I was at EB Games one time, buying a copy of Dark Cloud 2. I saw they had it used and I was perfectly fine with that. So I go and buy the game and frantically run home, literally peeing in my pants just to play.

It was at that moment I realized, "Holy shit. This is a Dark Cloud 2 Demo Disk." Yes, a fucking demo disk. So I return the next day to find the same employee who sold me the game working there. I explain what happened and he was baffled by the mistake also (The demo disk and the actual game cover almost look completely similar). He happily refunded my money and I moved on to another Gamestop in that mall (There are three. <_< It used to be 1 Gamestop, 2 EBs. Now it's 2 Gamestops, 1 EB). I buy another used copy from there, and what the fuck do you know, the CD freezes when I hit the start menu. Being frustrated with my whole situation, I return the game at that Gamestop and look around. Lucky for me, they had a new copy.

At that point, I didn't care if I had to pay $25 for a new copy. I wanted to play Dark Cloud 2, and I wanted to play it NOW.

I finally have a decent copy and it works... I just have to get around to completing it. <_<

Even after all the crappy service from Gamestop and EB, I continue to go there and buy games. Why?

All the store locations are close to me and they usually hold some games I can't find anywhere else. I don't have the luxury of ordering games online like some of you. >_<

Every store I've gone in has two opened copies and the rest of the new releases in the case/shelves behind the counter.

my gamestop blows then

I stopped buying games (from Gamestop) when I couldn't order games weeks in advance. I just order online or download them.

Already answered in thorough detail. Scroll up, or read the quote!

I didn't get a demo disc, but I did get a "promotional copy not for resale" version of Shadow Hearts. It was the full version so I didn't care, but I have seen this a couple of times...

There was a promotional version of Shadow Hearts that was a preorder bonus for Shadow Hearts 2, actually. That version had that promo warning on it. I guess EB took those in as trade-ins and that's what you ended up with.

That's a standard thing here still, I know they stopped it eventually in America, but they still let you return anything for any reason at all within seven days. They even extend it to a full month over the Christmas break. Little Timmy gets Wario Party 387,002 for Christmas, blows huge snot chunks on the disc, the case gets hit by a meteorite of the toilet variety, parents return the confusing mess a fortnight later because little Timmy's bored with it and they get their $100 back. EB puts the game back on the shelf and pretends it's still brand new. :psyduck:

For the past six months or so I've ordered all my console titles online, usually from indie retailers. My town's GAME still stocks Gamecube titles at £39.99. Yes, you can own the best-of-platinum-bullshit version of Resident Evil 4 for eighty dollars. Mickey Mouse's Magical Fuck is the same price. The most damning part is that they only stock second-hand GCN games.

Oddly enough, it seems to be the only branch in the country staffed by people who realise most of the people in their profession are assholes. I was buying Brain Age like a year ago and lo and behold someone - most likely another employee, seeing as this game was "new" - had opened the box, scratched off the Stars Catalogue insert, obviously registered the reward points and then put everything back together again. I asked for another copy when I noticed this, and hey, exactly the same situation in the second box. The girl was totally apologetic about it and said something like "fucking [name]" and told me I'd have a sealed copy if I came back a few days later. Happy fun.

I don't care about the Stars bullshit (I'll never get up to the 100,000,000,000 points required to get a free copy of Zoo Tycoon DS, why lie), but much like most of you guys it's just a matter of principle.

Have we not had over 9000 threads on this subject already or am I just thinking of the other 9000 internet message boards i've read this crap at.

People at EB/Sagestop are just doing their jobs. If you don't want a gutted copy it's as simple as not buying it. Let them make their stupid jokes/comments. If it bothers you, don't shop there. Best way to send them a message is through your wallet.

We get that they're just doing their jobs, but they don't have to be assholes about it. It doesn't take a genius to realize that I don't want to pay for a "new" game that has a beat up instruction manual and has possibly been taken home and played by one or more employees. If they want to try to trick the gullible soccer moms who don't know any better, fine, but don't argue with me when I say I want a sealed copy.

Why can't EB go to a system like Toys R Us used to have, where they put up a wall of flaps with the front and back cover of the games on them? That way, none of the games would get out of order, you'd know what was in stock, and there'd be no need to gut anything.

I liked that too russ, i guess they dont feel like printing all that out or something.

Says the guy who used to work for EB :V

I made a thread like this before, although it wasn't cause I got shit from one of the employees. I don't think you get the fact that he said the guy wouldn't let it go, he wouldn't just let him buy the other game he wanted. He was arguing with him. No, I'm sorry that's not the guys job. If you're in retail you don't harass the customers, if I acted like that I'd be fired.

I don't know why anyone in this thread defends EB Games/Gamestop on this. Disc sleeves are a terrible storage method. What's even worse is some Gamestops/EB Games store the games along with the instruction manuals in freaking zip lock bags. I had to put up with this crap back when I couldn't find the Resident Evil remake for Gamecube anyplace else. But unlike some people, I stopped putting up with it. I use half.com now because unless it's something that's out of print completely, you can usually find it for close to regular retail price sealed on there.

I miss Funcoland and Playsource, they only put used game boxs out on the shelves. ALL new games were kept sealed and behind the counter. They also repaired systems unlike Gamestop. But Gamestop buys out anyone that's a threat to them.

Seriously, that was my favorite system of doing things. They'd never have to worry about anything etting stolen, and we still get all the info that we would get as if we were holding the box ourselves. It's a win-win situation.

As for how Gamestop is now, I just don't buy many new games from there anymore. And when I actually do, about 90% of the time it's a game I preordered so it's not gonna be gutted. On the off chance that I do buy a new game and it's gutted, I just inspect as much as I would a used game to make sure there's no scrathes, the box is in good condition, and the manual is there and intact. As long as it passes those standards, I have no problem buying it.

There's still a few TRUs that have this setup. I've been in stores in Roanoke, VA and Harrisburg, PA within the last year that still had a video game aisle with flaps in the middle of the store instead of an R-Zone. Ah, nostalgia.

I went to buy Soul Calibur 3 at EB once, so i went to the counter and told them i want to buy the game. The guy opens a drawer and takes the display case and puts the game in there when I can clearly see that there are tons of copies in the cabinet behind him. So i had to tell him i want a sealed copy of the game so that I know it'll run perfectly. I got what I wanted so it was cool but it bugged me that he didn't take the sealed copy first and tried to sell me an opened copy. If I'm paying $59 for a new game, I want it sealed.

To be honest, I never knew about this whole "rental" junk. Now that I think about it, my copy of Gitaroo Man Lives is probably one of those. I found the case, brought it up, what do you know, no game. So I leave and a couple days later, its back on the shelf. I bring it up, they give me the game with the molested case.

I guess it doesn't really matter all that much, since Gitaroo Man rocks. The idea of it being used makes me feel a bit uneasy though.

The TRU I used to work at, which is now closed, had that arrangement. It was a bit annoying as the company that manufacturered the tags stopped making most of them, so there would be a lot of empty gaps throughout the board, which unless you knew what you were buying would be left unsold. Plus it was a pain in the ass to have to do inventory for it. People would grab tickets and sometimes leave them somewhere and every day I had to make more which wasted paper and if another employee didn't accurately count in the back it could wind up with inaccurate inventories.

I'd much rather see a display box that you bring up to the counter and they remove the game from the case. The display box should be exactly what the game looks like, just cardboard. Have a couple of those around and put it back in its proper spot when the transaction is complete.

I wasn't exactly defending them in my post. I don't like the fact that they gut games myself. I won't buy them if they are gutted and I don't blame the people in these posts for being upset if the people who work there try to give them BS about it "still being new."

The only point I was trying to make is that this has been a recurring theme across the series of tubes and I don't think EB/Sagestop really gives a damn. Best thing you can do about it is refuse to buy and/or shop there like I do.

Trust me, you won't find someone who is happier to no longer be a EBStop slave than me.

I agree with you completely. I think that TRU had an excellent system back in the day when they used to do this. I think EB won't do this for two reasons:

1. Overhead - They have to spend more on materials such as inserts, laminates, etc. to make this happen. Plus they'd have to completely re-do their store layout for this to happen and the benefits don't exactly outweigh the costs. Bad business decision all-around.

2. Customers like touching stuff before they buy. Sure, the information on the inserts like TRU used to have pretty much gave you all the information you needed, but it's just not enough for some idiots out there who just HAVE to see the box.

Case in point, it just won't happen.