Why no Walmart Factor for Video Games

[Porkchop]

They are always talking about the Walmart factor and how their low prices drive others out of business. Grocery Stores Chains can't compete against the Super Walmarts and Mon and Pop store can compete in other areas. There is even talk about Best Buy and C City being pushed in the electronics area.

So why isn't Walmart driving down Video Game prices?

Could it be that they don't sell enough copies to gain the power over the game companies to force them to lower prices, like they do with other manufactures?

I know I avoid Walmart when it comes to buying video games and DVDs. They lock them behind glass and only put one person in the electronis section to ring up purchases and unlock the cases, or if they have 2 people working you have a hard time finding they guy with the key because he is unlocking the case so someone can buy printer ink.

I refuse to put up with Walmart's BS to maybe save 5 cents on a game. :angry:

What do you think is the reason for no Walmart factor?

[Cryomancer]

Well, i'm sure this isn't a major factor, but I don't trust walmart for most media, as they censor music cds. Doubt that would be why as I don't see them censoring games (as far as I know, i don't buy there much either). Just my .02 USD.

[izret101]

I got 2 games from Wal Mart and it was when i was out of state so i wasn't crushing any mom and pop stores because they had all already been crushed out there.
But i saved just under 5 bucks on my purchase between price cuts and no sales tax.


ALWAYS BUY LOCAL FIRST CHAINS COME LAST!

[Bratwurst]

You want to know why Walmart doesn't slap low prices on video games? It's because the video game industry is one of the few businesses out there that has Walmart by the balls.

Sony doesn't have to buckle under pressure from Walmart that they'll find some other supplier if they don't provide their stock cheaper. They are exclusive, just as Microsoft and Nintendo are in relative leagues of their own, the only time they cut prices for competition is across the board like on console price drops. The software aspect is entirely regulated within Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo as well, so there is no outsourcing to China to be had, unless Wallyworld wished to endure serious lawsuits involving piracy.

Even if Walmart had some clout in the form of biggest sales as a client, the supplier in this case would simply reward some other retailer if they didn't like the way Walmart so much as looked at them. EVERYBODY wants videogames, they don't care where they go to get them.

Nintendo during the late 80s and early 90s was a perfect example of this phenomena of 'brand dictating to the retailer' rather than the other way around.

[Promophile]

You want to know why Walmart doesn't slap low prices on video games? It's because the video game industry is one of the few businesses out there that has Walmart by the balls.

Sony doesn't have to buckle under pressure from Walmart that they'll find some other supplier if they don't provide their stock cheaper. They are exclusive, just as Microsoft and Nintendo are in relative leagues of their own, the only time they cut prices for competition is across the board like on console price drops. The software aspect is entirely regulated within Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo as well, so there is no outsourcing to China to be had, unless Wallyworld wished to endure serious lawsuits involving piracy.

Even if Walmart had some clout in the form of biggest sales as a client, the supplier in this case would simply reward some other retailer if they didn't like the way Walmart so much as looked at them. EVERYBODY wants videogames, they don't care where they go to get them.

Nintendo during the late 80s and early 90s was a perfect example of this phenomena of 'brand dictating to the retailer' rather than the other way around.

Just got a terrible image in my head, Walmart making their own system. Wonder what THAT would look like.

[Emily]

crap

[Porkchop]

Just got a terrible image in my head, Walmart making their own system. Wonder what THAT would look like.

A light blue XBOX with a big W on the top? LOL

Crap

[Cav]

Yeah, it is kind of funny to think about how far it's come since the original Pong.


Bit off topic here...

Back then Sears would only sell Pong if they could put their own brand on it. The odd part is why did Sears think that "Telegames" would be a stronger brand than "Atari" since they at least had some brand recognition in the arcades? Personally I would've preferred a "Craftsman" Pong, but no such luck.

So, really if that precedent were set in concrete we'd all be playing with our Telegames PS2s (with a big dopey "W" on it).

-Cav

[grimbal]

If Wal-Mart did a system it would be along the lines of one those "plug-n-play" controllers. A full stand alone console format would not fit their business model of low prices. There would be too much cost involved with development because they would have to out source almost everything.

MAYBE you might see something like the Atari 2600 / Sears Tele-games systems, which were virtually interchangeable. Where Wal-Mart has a custom outer shell with the guts of a PS2, Xbox, or Gamecube inside it.

But with hardware cycles rotating every five/six years it still wouldn't be a logical business step for them. Because they would have turn around and dump more money into development or licensing.

Let's face it $ony, Micro$oft, and Nintendough are in it for the money. Either they get it by selling their product to stores or they will by licensing it out. Personally I feel they would rather not go the licensing route either.

And as far as censoring games. Wal-Mart does not have the games censored in any way. Generally, with games if they don't like the content they will not sell it.

With music the record companies provide the edited versions so that Wal-Mart will sell it.

Anyways, just my humble opinion. :)

[pixelsnpolygons]

Wonder what THAT would look like.

Probably a lot like this " :)" - you know, their little yellow faced Roll Back mascot they have. But anyway, I'm not sure why Wal-Mart isn't driving down video game prices - Target, where I work, frequently does. In fact I'd say it is one of the best places to get new games for cheap. Big games often either come with a free $10 gift card or are $10 to $13 cheaper than the usual price. But even so, thankfully Target doesn't have a stranglehold of the industry either - I'd hate that. At the moment, things are pretty good and you can get what you want just about anywhere. I'd hate it if I had to start going to Wal-Mart because their games were 20% cheaper than elsewhere or *gasp* if they started having exclusives... like if you could only buy Halo 2 at Wal-Mart for the first 3 months.

[izret101]

*gasp* if they started having exclusives... like if you could only buy Halo 2 at Wal-Mart for the first 3 months.

The dealer i go to would then buy aton of games from walmart because they know people would be willing to pay 5 extra bucks not to have to deal with a long drive and morons.

[SoulBlazer]

I don't buy new games there (with a few exceptions -- I recall getting Final Fantasy Tactics and FF8 when they were brand new there) -- but they are great for getting bargin games. I've bought numerous PC games there for very little. With EB and GameStop not having large PC selections anymore, Wal-Mart actually has a better selection in most cases. They also carry games longer then many other stores will.

[sirgeoph]

Probably a lot like this " :)" -

dammit! beat me to it!

[icarwngs55]

Video Game companies apparently hate hate HATE Walmart....mainly due to their slash and gash price attitude...Nintendo Especially...One main reason is due to them not doing presales and also not having a variety of stock in video game titles for the most part....Therefore Nintendo for example would rather give its breaks to Gamestops and EB's due to presale and number or titles

A perfect specific example of this is the Nintendo DS....I know I know people think it is impossibel to find and no one will get one for Christmas BOO HOO HOO...Sorry my ignorant white trash friends (Not you guys Walmart shoppers...Though I have my suspicions) you can find them you just have to keep at the Gamestops and EB's...My gamestop recieved 60 preorders of DS's we got them the were allpickedup by black friday...Black Saturday so to speak we recieved 60 more from Nintendo due to a good presale and they like us...Overall Nintendo hates walmart and bestbuy and target...thank you

Mike

[Ed Oscuro]

no outsourcing to China...unless Wallyworld wished to endure serious lawsuits involving piracy.
Wal*Mart did something like that with the Tommy Hilfiger ripoffs a few years back, and a number of lawsuits have followed as a result. They definitely don't need to get the game folks after them as well.

[Ed Oscuro]

Probably a lot like this " :)" -

dammit! beat me to it!
Actually it would look like this:
ROFL

That's me, kicking it down the street back to Wal*mart so I can get a refund (though I'm wondering what I was doing in Wal*mart in the first place - last items I bought there were the Zero Mission strat guide - hard as hell to find one in decent shape - and Blowout, which went over REALLY well x_x

[Captain Wrong]

You want to know why Walmart doesn't slap low prices on video games? It's because the video game industry is one of the few businesses out there that has Walmart by the balls.

Sony doesn't have to buckle under pressure from Walmart that they'll find some other supplier if they don't provide their stock cheaper. They are exclusive, just as Microsoft and Nintendo are in relative leagues of their own, the only time they cut prices for competition is across the board like on console price drops. The software aspect is entirely regulated within Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo as well, so there is no outsourcing to China to be had, unless Wallyworld wished to endure serious lawsuits involving piracy.

Even if Walmart had some clout in the form of biggest sales as a client, the supplier in this case would simply reward some other retailer if they didn't like the way Walmart so much as looked at them. EVERYBODY wants videogames, they don't care where they go to get them.

Nintendo during the late 80s and early 90s was a perfect example of this phenomena of 'brand dictating to the retailer' rather than the other way around.

That is the answer absolutely. Well said, my processed meat friend.

There is an interesting issue here as someone mentioned. We all should be thankful that the ratio of power is in the hands of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo for one reason. I guarantee we'd see the same sort of censoring of games you see in music if Wally World had the clout to demand it.

[PapaStu]

Well, i'm sure this isn't a major factor, but I don't trust walmart for most media, as they censor music cds. Doubt that would be why as I don't see them censoring games (as far as I know, i don't buy there much either). Just my .02 USD.

/me throws Cryomancer's 2 cents back onto the table.
PLEASE get your info right before you go and spout off crap about Wal*Mart and their music. I work for the major vendor that services about 75% of the Wal*Marts in the country and am responsible for the Music, Movies, Books and Childrens books in the stores so this is my area of Wal*Mart experience.

At NO point does walmart censor music. They CHOOSE to only carry edited music (made BY the labels, and have since the start of the Parental Advisory back in the early 90's). Have you paid any notice that Wal*Mart carries Rated R as well as the Uncensored movies in their stores, just not explicit music? Well here's the reason as to why.

The Advisory sticker is just that, an advisory that there is Explicit content on that album. That explicit content can be as little as a single use of Damn, or nothing but explicit racial and sexual comments. There is NO distinction between them on the labels and to make matters worse some labels dont put the advisorys on their albums. So to prevent issues, Wal*Mart has made the command decision (as Stupid as I personally think it is, but it is one that makes business sense) to just carry edited music UNTIL the record labels actually come up with some sort of a better method to rate whats on the album.
However when you look at movies, you can see that its Rated "R" for violence, sexual content and language ect ect. They carry them, but its NOTED on the product why its labeled as such. Music just doesnt have that kind of system.

**Back to the topic**

As to why I'm pretty sure that Wal*Mart doesnt get a real cut on games is the same that no other retailer does. The production cost to the games is set when they go to publish and set MSRP. The game companies need to make back their costs, after they pay the approprate licensing fees and such to Sony or MS or Nintendo for the games and they need to cover R&D on the games just like any other business. They are forced into fixed costs, so they pass them onto the stores as they recieve them. The same could be said for the systems themselves, Wal*Mart doesnt sell the system but for mere pennies under the msrp, they dont get any special treatment because they have the possibliity to sell more units than all the GameStop stores combined. Systems cost x amount to make, and if you sell them for less than that and dont factor in the hundreds of millions in R&D for them, theres no point to sell the systems at all because you will continue to take a huge hit per system.

[frodo2968]

Hmm, well I bought a sealed GBC copy of Zelda: Oracle of Ages for $14.88.

LOL

[sirgeoph]

@PapaStu: That's a really good point. I never looked at it that way. Thanks for the insight!

[whoisKeel]

I'm calling BS on the lot of you. Wal-mart is the biggest (i do believe) retailer in all of the U.S. If they suddenly stopped carrying titles for a system, even sony, it would put a serious cramp on their sales. Mom and Dad don't walk into EB games(with exceptions) to buy a ps2, they goto Wal-mart/Best Buy/Etc.

Nintendo/MS/Sony might not like it, but they have no choice in the matter.

On another note, I've yet to see ANY retail chain or independent store carry a title less than the MSRP, that's why it IS the MSRP. Sure there might be a few sales here and there, but the retail price IS the retail price. It is set that way because it will sell that way, anybody who's taken a beginner course in economics will understand.

[Bratwurst]

I'm calling BS on the lot of you. Wal-mart is the biggest (i do believe) retailer in all of the U.S. If they suddenly stopped carrying titles for a system, even sony, it would put a serious cramp on their sales. Mom and Dad don't walk into EB games(with exceptions) to buy a ps2, they goto Wal-mart/Best Buy/Etc.

Nintendo/MS/Sony might not like it, but they have no choice in the matter.

On another note, I've yet to see ANY retail chain or independent store carry a title less than the MSRP, that's why it IS the MSRP. Sure there might be a few sales here and there, but the retail price IS the retail price. It is set that way because it will sell that way, anybody who's taken a beginner course in economics will understand.

If Walmart stopped carrying video games it would give the competition that much more of an advantage. Consider Target, K-Mart, Sears, Media Play, Best Buy, Circuit City, BJ's, the list goes on. Singularly they may not permeate every nook and cranny of America like Walmart does, but do you think parents nationwide are suddenly going to stop giving their kids gameboys for Christmas when Walmart theoretically stops carrying the product?

The MSRP tends to stay solid for electronic entertainment products because Sony (etc.) is the sole provider of the product. They ensure this by becoming the publisher and distributer through their network of third parties under licensing and legal patents. This at least applies to new releases, and not some year-old game in the bargain bin of course.

EDIT> I wanted to add a personal suspicion that Walmart's lackluster attitude towards selling games is probably a result of suppliers not wanting to play ball with them in the first place. Sure, they'll sell you the latest mario, but the software section's pretty damn small compared to other areas. And locked glass doors?! That's bullshit!

[retroman]

i sure wont buy music there..

[Cryomancer]

Well, i'm sure this isn't a major factor, but I don't trust walmart for most media, as they censor music cds. Doubt that would be why as I don't see them censoring games (as far as I know, i don't buy there much either). Just my .02 USD.

/me throws Cryomancer's 2 cents back onto the table.
PLEASE get your info right before you go and spout off crap about Wal*Mart and their music. I work for the major vendor that services about 75% of the Wal*Marts in the country and am responsible for the Music, Movies, Books and Childrens books in the stores so this is my area of Wal*Mart experience.

At NO point does walmart censor music. They CHOOSE to only carry edited music (made BY the labels, and have since the start of the Parental Advisory back in the early 90's). Have you paid any notice that Wal*Mart carries Rated R as well as the Uncensored movies in their stores, just not explicit music? Well here's the reason as to why.

The Advisory sticker is just that, an advisory that there is Explicit content on that album. That explicit content can be as little as a single use of Damn, or nothing but explicit racial and sexual comments. There is NO distinction between them on the labels and to make matters worse some labels dont put the advisorys on their albums. So to prevent issues, Wal*Mart has made the command decision (as Stupid as I personally think it is, but it is one that makes business sense) to just carry edited music UNTIL the record labels actually come up with some sort of a better method to rate whats on the album.
However when you look at movies, you can see that its Rated "R" for violence, sexual content and language ect ect. They carry them, but its NOTED on the product why its labeled as such. Music just doesnt have that kind of system.

Interesting, that's a decent way of doing it I suppose...but it's still supporting the censorship in a way .If they really demanded change, they could threaten to drop music altogether, that would be a bit better message than what they are doing. Thanks for the info though.

[PapaStu]

Interesting, that's a decent way of doing it I suppose...but it's still supporting the censorship in a way .If they really demanded change, they could threaten to drop music altogether, that would be a bit better message than what they are doing. Thanks for the info though.

When it comes to edited material if there wasnt a government push for it back in the early 90's by Tipper Gore among others to save our society from the ills of music, then there wouldn't be such an issue now. I don't buy edited music myself and on my lunch will go over to that Best Buy or other close music store (My competitiion to my own job and company) and buy my explicit cd. However Wal*Mart caters to the biggest bulk of their customer base by carrying that music in a manner they see fit. If one doesnt like that, then they dont buy it. I loose numerous sales every day because that cd isnt explicit but at the same time, most people dont just shop at Wal*Mart purely for that cd, or movie but I do see my weekly regulars there to get the insane deals which does bring customers into the stores in the first place. In some realms Wal*Mart is coming down from their own harsh policies in so much that they are once again carrying Eminem as well as Sheryl Crow (both artists that have said things against Wal*Mart or it's business practices) as well as some other groups once before deemed to "explicit" to carry. These stores dont have massive amounts of space to carry every album under the sun leaving most stores with just the "top 40" type stuff (though depending on your market you do carry more off titles than in other stores, because of a greater likely hood of sales), but going to say the website, you have access to tens of thousands of albums.

They arnt going to drop something like music specifically because of what Bratwurst said. In taking music out of theoretical sales, they loose the chance at getting you into the store and making any real sales on you. The margin on games, movies and cd's is incredibly low so the desire to sell them under cost even more is pretty defeating if you do it on a normal scale. However when you buy all that other stuff, they are making a tidy margin that makes up for the shallow loss on music and other mediums with low returns.

Don't get me wrong, Wal*Mart is big and bad, with business practices to be desired, and I have more than my fair share of really shitty days do to Wal*Mart policies and management decisions. But they have gone and done some scarily amazing things, not only in the evolution of shopping, but what they bring to the consumer on such a massive scale, nation wide in the world of retail.

[FlashStash]

I'm calling BS on the lot of you. Wal-mart is the biggest (i do believe) retailer in all of the U.S. If they suddenly stopped carrying titles for a system, even sony, it would put a serious cramp on their sales. Mom and Dad don't walk into EB games(with exceptions) to buy a ps2, they goto Wal-mart/Best Buy/Etc.



You are correct...

I get a consumer electronics trade publication whcih lists the stores by sales, and Wal-Mart, I remember is somewhere in the top 5 chains for total video game sales. I'll see if I can find more specifica later...

FS

[PentiumMMX]

I have not bought any games from Wal-Mart since Donkey Kong Country for Game Boy Color, and this is why:

I went to Wal-Mart looking for Super Mario Bros. DX, bot I saw 2 games that looked cool, Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario Bros. DX.

I chose to get DKC, and brought it home, played it for 6 days, then felt "ripped off" and tried to return it and get SMBDX.

I come in with my game, went over to the Return desk, and told them

"I want to return this and get a different game"

They told me that

"You can only get the same game, because returning it for another game would break copyright laws"

Then I said

"Then can I get my money back?"

I was told that

"We can't give your money back"

I look back at that and think "I did not have a friggin' ROM dumper, I did not even use friggin' emulators back then!" :angry: .

Evern since then, I have never bought any games from Wal-Mart.

[ddockery]

That's the return policy at a lot of chains. I have a LOT of problems with Walmart but if anything their return policies are too loose. If I were retailer, wouldn't take that return either. They are not Blockbuster and are not in the business of renting games.

As for the glass doors, they're trying to stop shoplifting how dare they!

All that said, absolutely despise this place for more reasons than I can count. Anything they do that might piss you all of is great, because as far as I'm concerned the less people who shop there the better.

[goatdan]

Interesting, that's a decent way of doing it I suppose...but it's still supporting the censorship in a way .If they really demanded change, they could threaten to drop music altogether, that would be a bit better message than what they are doing. Thanks for the info though.

It isn't really censorship, it is just limiting where (or how) you can get certain material. Wal*Mart refuses to sell America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction from Jon Stewart, so I picked it up from Target.

If Wal*Mart had told Warner Books (the publisher) that they wouldn't sell any of their books if they printed America, that would be censorship.

It's just a stupid policy.

I don't shop at Wal*Mart around here because the last three times I've been in one, I've seen parents beating their kids (and I mean closed fist to skull, not spanking stuff) and people running around swearing and the store being an absolute mess with stuff lying all over the floors. I won't go back even if I would save $10.00 a week shopping there.

That having been said, I think the reason that Wal*Mart doesn't dominate the video game market and make other chains like GameStop and EB quake in fear is because it doesn't make sense for Wal*Mart to carry the same selection of games.

This is where I really feel that Toys R Us messed up back in the day -- when the NES, SNES and Genesis were out, Toys R Us was always the best spot to pick up games. Not just did they have awesome displays, but their selection was unbeatable. They used to have the flip up cards with the pieces of paper in them to get the games with, and while that wasn't the nicest way to display things, it allowed them to put out tons of product into people's hands. An average TRU back then had hundreds of games to choose from, and always had a selection of the newest gadgets that may or may not catch on like the Atari Lynx, Sega Nomad, Game Gear and so on.

Suddenly, Toys R Us just started carrying the games that were popular at the moment, just like all the big chains do now. This ended up lowering their sales, as people wouldn't go out of their way to get stuff they could get anywhere else. In turn, stores like GameStop and EB can get that crowd to stop there to check out a selection of every possible game.

If Wal*Mart wanted to make a cheap new / used video game section in their stores and run it almost as a subsidary, it would work and they could drive others out of business. But until they get the selection of games that the smaller stores carry, I'm really not interested at all.

[Captain Wrong]

I'm sorry. If WalMart says we're not carrying this album unless you make these changes to it, THAT IS CENSORSHIP, plain and simple. Yes, the record compaines in their rush to make more and more money are willing to make these changes, but it is still the big box retailers of the world who are dictating what's ok and what's not for their customers rather than letting the consumer make that decision themselves.

At this point in time, the labels know what Wally World finds ok, so they probably don't have to run anything specific by them, but I can think back to Nirvana's In Utero which Wal Mart specifically told Geffen change the art work and the name of "Rape Me."

Call it what you want, but when you have one of the world's largest retailers, and in many small communities the only place locally to buy music, refusing to carry something (such as Green Day's "American Idiot") or only carrying things that are changed from the artist's original intentions to something more pleasing to the corporation, that is censorship.

[Aswald]

That's a good question. Maybe it's because they just know that by driving down prices just a bit, it'll be enough.

Back in the mid-1990s, when games were clearly going from cartridge to CD (actually, they pretty much had by then), a common question was "why, if CDs are so cheap to manufacture, as opposed to cartridges, are the prices not so much lower?" The answer every magazine gave was "because the companies know that you'll still spend that much on them."

Another reason may be supplies. You see, Wal-Mart itself shops around to find the cheapest sources of given products. There are probably a lot of manufacturers of, say, plastic toy tables. Wal-Mart actually gathers representatives from various (usually Asian, esp. Chinese) manufacturers, and bids them DOWN, sometimes haggling over a single penny.

But video games are a different story. Who supplies, say, DOA: Extreme Beach Volleyball? Just one company. Who supplies the X-Boxes themselves? Just one company. So Wal-Mart cannot haggle the way it can with other products. And these companies are not small fry themselves; can you imagine even Wal-Mart trying to bully Microsoft or Sony?

[PapaStu]

I'm sorry. If WalMart says we're not carrying this album unless you make these changes to it, THAT IS CENSORSHIP, plain and simple. Yes, the record compaines in their rush to make more and more money are willing to make these changes, but it is still the big box retailers of the world who are dictating what's ok and what's not for their customers rather than letting the consumer make that decision themselves.

At this point in time, the labels know what Wally World finds ok, so they probably don't have to run anything specific by them, but I can think back to Nirvana's In Utero which Wal Mart specifically told Geffen change the art work and the name of "Rape Me."

Call it what you want, but when you have one of the world's largest retailers, and in many small communities the only place locally to buy music, refusing to carry something (such as Green Day's "American Idiot") or only carrying things that are changed from the artist's original intentions to something more pleasing to the corporation, that is censorship.

Refusal to carry American Idiot was something my company spoke up about. We've had numerous calls placed in (especially as it came out because there was NO mention of us not getting the cd), and have been told thats Wal*Marts decision (they say due to lyrical content because of a lack of an edited release) but I feel that its because of the politically charged nature of the cd. Before any cd is approved its listened to by a Liason between our companies. However I do know that they do a horrible job at that, as weve carried numerous explicit albums (of mostly hard rock groups) and have gotten away with it beccause there isnt a Parental advisory on it and the lyrics are harder to understand (so hearing Fuck isnt as big a thing or something). I've yet to figure that one out myself.

Like I said before, Wal*Mart tends to back off its stance on music after a while... They do sell In Utero (edited in the musical sense) but not in cover art or anything else.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=844597
(Although "Waif Me" is pretty funny.... As a Song title only, click to listen to it, theres no editing there).

I agree that it is in a form of censorship, but since they do carry the edited music that is put out by the labels this is censorship that is done by the labels, not done at Wal*Marts request. Wal*Mart when going to the lengths of requesting that an album gets changed or whatever is pretty rare and isnt known for working. They just pull it (which I agree is bad in its own right).

[goatdan]

I'm sorry. If WalMart says we're not carrying this album unless you make these changes to it, THAT IS CENSORSHIP, plain and simple.

I agree that it is in a form of censorship, but since they do carry the edited music that is put out by the labels this is censorship that is done by the labels, not done at Wal*Marts request. Wal*Mart when going to the lengths of requesting that an album gets changed or whatever is pretty rare and isnt known for working. They just pull it (which I agree is bad in its own right).

I'm not trying to stick up for Wal*Mart here, but the fact is that in America, everyone has the right to do what they want to or don't want too. Wal*Mart doesn't carry certain CDs because they feel that it will tarnish their image (shyeah, right) and certain books because they feel they are inappropriate or whatever. Personally, I don't like the stance -- I have bought nearly everything that was talked about as being censored there -- the Green Day CD (and saw them live, check out the tour if you can), Jon Stewart's book and so on. I don't have Nirvanna's CD. To get these items, I as a free American, decided to purchase them elsewhere. Wal*Mart would never carry my favorite band Bad Religion because their name is "too controversial." That's fine. I get my BR fix from Best Buy or local dealers then.

While I personally think it is stupid of Wal*Mart to not carry this stuff, on the other hand I have to commend them for taking a stand on it. They could definitely make more money by carrying these items, but they chose not to based on their principals. It isn't censorship, it's their free speech rights.

It's kind of like a local radio talk show host that got in trouble for using a racial slur on air recently and then came back on air and slammed the companies that pulled their commercials from his show over it. He said that they had no right to pull their commercials, and he would remember it forever and always speak badly about it -- but if I as a business didn't want to be associated with a racist idiot, I think that I should have every right to pull my ads.

That's freedom of choice, and even though it's goofy, I think it must be defended.

Now, if the government decided to follow Wal*Mart's lead and not allow any store to sell items that may be deemed inappropriate, I would be extremely pissed off.

[Captain Wrong]

@PapaStu, are you sure the "Waif Me" version doesn't have changed cover art? I'm thinking specifically of fetus on the back cover being cropped/airbrushed out.

And yes, the censorship is done by the label, but it's entirely due to Wally World and other big box retailers. They don't have to ask for it anymore because everyone understands how the game is played now. The other stores don't want these edited releases becasue they don't sell.

@goatdan, I get the "freedom of choice" thing but here's the rub: there are parts of the country where WalMart is the only retailer around selling music. Not everyone has a Best Buy or mom and pop around to go to as an alternative. When you run into that, it moves beyond telling someone they can just go somewhere else and into one corporation dictating what's right for an entire community.

And if it was just over "obscene" materials, I might agree with you in respecting them for taking a stand. But the fact that you can still get all sorts of right wing books (Limbaugh, O'Riely, etc.) and music (Toby Keith and whatnot) while the company pulls Jon Steward and has pulled Sheryl Crow, this indicates to me a specific political agenda not a moral one. I mean, you can't buy a "lad rag" but you can buy Rambo. You can't buy gansta rap, but you can buy a gun. It's a little difficult to buy WalMart's MO as being anything other tha political motivated.



Wow. Sorry to take this waaaay off topic. :)

[SegaAges]

not every wal mart sells things for retail.

when my brother went to school in iowa, the walmart charged 75 per game.

he had ot get everything online.

if they do anything, they throw up prices in small cities since many times wal mart is the only place you can get games at

[goatdan]

@goatdan, I get the "freedom of choice" thing but here's the rub: there are parts of the country where WalMart is the only retailer around selling music. Not everyone has a Best Buy or mom and pop around to go to as an alternative. When you run into that, it moves beyond telling someone they can just go somewhere else and into one corporation dictating what's right for an entire community.

I actually lived in a rather unpopulated section of the state of Wisconsin for six weeks a summer for six years straight when I worked at a summer camp. The nearest Wal*Mart was an hour drive, but there was a few stores nearby that sold other things such as clothes, food and even a couple small electronics shops. I don't feel that Wal*Mart has such a control over parts of the country that there are no other choices -- just that you have to go a little further to get it.


And if it was just over "obscene" materials, I might agree with you in respecting them for taking a stand. But the fact that you can still get all sorts of right wing books (Limbaugh, O'Riely, etc.) and music (Toby Keith and whatnot) while the company pulls Jon Steward and has pulled Sheryl Crow, this indicates to me a specific political agenda not a moral one. I mean, you can't buy a "lad rag" but you can buy Rambo. You can't buy gansta rap, but you can buy a gun. It's a little difficult to buy WalMart's MO as being anything other tha political motivated.

Oh, it most definitely is politically motivated, but it is also to service their customers the best. You said it yourself -- most of the Wal*Mart stores are located in rural areas and are the one truly big store. If you take a look at the election results from the last two elections, you'll see that rural areas voted overwhelmingly for the Republican and urban areas voted more (on average) for the Democrat.

If Wal*Mart chooses to only carry Republican centered material, it means that they feel that their customers will be okay with that. The same conservative customers might walk into the store and see any of the previously mentioned things and be angered by them.

Unfortunately, that's just the way of the world. Conservative Republicans (and I am not attempting to lump anyone into this category if you voted Republican, but this is an in general) get a lot more pissed off about things they find offensive than extreme liberals. The liberals might go marching in the streets of Washington or make music that states that they hate the government, but it is very rare one of them would attempt to ban a book. The Conservatives on the other hand will fight so that this "horrible" stuff isn't seen around their places.

Again -- I'm not lumping all Republicans into that boat, as I am friends with many, many of them and they definitely do not do this. On the other hand, I'm related to a bunch of people that if they even heard that I listened to Green Day or Bad Religion would probably try to have me arrested.

It might not be fair, but nothing in life is fair. At the same time, since it's America, I feel that Wal*Mart can make this decision all they want. I make the decision not to shop there, and so can anyone that feels its unfair. As someone already said, they are changing their opinions on certain items.


Wow. Sorry to take this waaaay off topic. :)

I don't know... Wal*Mart's censorship in a thread about the Wal*Mart Effect seems to be right in line with me :)

[PapaStu]

@PapaStu, are you sure the "Waif Me" version doesn't have changed cover art? I'm thinking specifically of fetus on the back cover being cropped/airbrushed out.

And yes, the censorship is done by the label, but it's entirely due to Wally World and other big box retailers. They don't have to ask for it anymore because everyone understands how the game is played now. The other stores don't want these edited releases becasue they don't sell.

Captn,
Honestly I dont know about the back of the cover and weither or not its been edited. Ive got like 6 versions of In Utero, and if I remember tomorrow, I'll check to see if my clean "Waif Me" one is any different.

I think that labels also make the edited ones so that they can get those sales from the parents who's children want that hot cd and whatnot, just not letting them hear the F-this and N-that.... I will concede that when I was at Wherehouse Music (at one point the biggest Privately held music chain in america with 430+ stores before Chap 11 and Transworld got to us in 2003) and when the Eminem Marshall Mathers LP hit, we had 300 Explicit and 2 clean. Yet I could have easily sold 50+ the first few weeks as I had TONS of parents wanting the clean one for their kids. Its kind of a mixed bag.

[Aswald]

As someone who lives in a VERY rural area (as some of you may have guessed), that statement about such places being Republican in nature is by no means a stereotype.

You have to give Wal-mart credit for knowing which side of the bread is buttered, that's for sure.

Still, don't expect the prices of games to go down sharply. At least, not unless there's another 1984-style crash.

Oh, by the by...Wal-Mart=Double Bleah.

[Daria]

Just got a terrible image in my head, Walmart making their own system. Wonder what THAT would look like.

A light blue XBOX with a big W on the top? LOL

Crap

The WalBox?

:P

[Daria]

I have not bought any games from Wal-Mart since Donkey Kong Country for Game Boy Color, and this is why:

I went to Wal-Mart looking for Super Mario Bros. DX, bot I saw 2 games that looked cool, Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario Bros. DX.

I chose to get DKC, and brought it home, played it for 6 days, then felt "ripped off" and tried to return it and get SMBDX.

I come in with my game, went over to the Return desk, and told them

"I want to return this and get a different game"


Whoa- wait a minute? You're mad because you bought a brand new game, played it and then wanted to return it for no other reason then you didn't like it? Of course Wal-mart laughed in your face, do you see a *used* game section in there store, because that's what the game became after you opened it. Wal*Mart's NOT a rental chain, you'd better be sure you'll like the game before you buy it because unless you open it and find the game to be damaged there's no reason you should be trying to return it.

What's Wal*Mart suppose to do DKC after you decided that you "just didn't like it" reshrink it and sell it to some poor bastard as new?

[CartCollector]

Aswald, if you remember correctly, it was in the mid-1990s when game development teams began to get larger. More workers, more pay.

Here's another things to consider: Since the beginning of gaming, carts usually cost $50 for most consoles. Today, games are still the same price. You're saving $2-$5 when you factor in inflation.

[evildead2099]

Broaden your understanding of what censorship is. Censorship is not limited to editing music, movies, games, etc. Do some research before you claim to be an expert on the matter.