[General Discussion] Gamestop and gutted games

Originally Posted by Infernal Monkey

Don't shop there then. :] I always hear these whinging stories from Americanadian's about how GameStop/EB's shit.

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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Ronz

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.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by RockgamerXIII

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.

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.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.