Great article about what Gamestop SHOULD do (but most likely won't)

[8-bitNesMan]

This sums up everything that is wrong with the company, IMO

http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=7820

Thoughts?

[roushimsx]

Katamari Damacy didn't become a hit because people bought it in droves at Wal-Mart. It became a hit because GameStop followed the buzz and stocked enough copies.

Katamari Damacy didn't become a hit because Gamestop stocked enough copies. Gamestop totally missed the boat on Katamari Damacy; EB Games was the only store that bothered to stock it when it came out and it quickly became their number one selling game of the month. Gamestop (and everyone else) was late to the game on the Katamari bandwagon. My local gamestop wouldn't even let me fucking preorder the game (it was a $20 title and considered a "C" game or whatever, making it ineligible for preorder apparently) so I just preordered three copies on EBGames.com instead.

Still, I agree with bits and pieces here and there while other stuff is just the same crap that's been beaten to death over and over again. #2 in particular is damn near impossible to appease...the best they can do is make it easier to order the more obscure stuff, but even then they're limited by what they have in the system. Perhaps if you were able to order items from the system and have it shipped out from different B&M stores to your local store (doesn't GameCrazy do this?).

My biggest gripe is the condition of the games. They really ought to put more emphasis on selling quality condition product and discount the price if it's missing the manual and/or case. You should be able to order a used copy from them and have the option of selecting, "I want the box and manual" or "Box and Manual aren't necessary to me". If their line of thinking ("people don't really care if a game is complete or not") is true, then it shouldn't hurt to cater a little bit towards the slightly more hardcore audience because a majority of orders aren't going to have that box checked.

But yea, whatever. Bitch bitch, whine whine. Gamestop doesn't care what any of us think because they're making too god damn much money the way they're rolling right now. Just frequent the alternatives that still exist and the smaller local mom and pop shops... perhaps if enough people did so then it'd start to hurt 'em in the pocket book. (like that'll ever happen)

[otaku]

Definetly some great points they need to consider implenting. Last time I bought a game from them was about a year ago I bought two games-sc3 for ps2 which had to be returned cause it was damaged (used wouldnt play) and another game shipped cause I ordered online which they shipped in a generic case without manual or art which I don't like either at least they tell you (I failed to notice this) but I don't think they should do that or offer rock bottom prices on them

[FantasiaWHT]

Uh.... 1 and 2 are rather exclusive to each other. If people preordered them, GS WOULD carry more obscure titles.

#3 I agree with. Definitely a good idea.

#4 is a joke. I'm so sick of people whining about used prices. Three main points: A) $5 is 10% (a little less now with $60 games). With a discount card it's 20%. That's not a pittance. B) You can't just look at that $25 credit and $45 price, or the $2 credit and $10 price. Games sit around on shelves, and don't sell - sometimes that game GS paid $25 for sells for $10. C) Complain as much as you want, IT WORKS - that means customers LIKE IT. You may not like it, but demanding/asking a company change a sound business practice because it doesn't fit your buying style is childish.

#5 is a joke. A) It's still new (so long as it hasn't been PLAYED). B) The purpose of it is to allow people to handle the boxes and read the back and even read the manual. Customers PREFER that over having to ask a stockboy to open a locked case every time they want to look at a game. Not everyone knows exactly what they want

#6, totally agree. I think the biggest reason they stopped is a LOT of problems with stolen PC games being traded in on a regular basis. That and piracy depresses the used PC game market. But I still miss a ready source of dirt-cheap entertainment.

#7, I might dispute the premise (that GS employees are a step below the rest of retail employees), but the general sentiment is something any retail establishment can do.

The whole premise is faulty. They're ticking off the hardcore gamers. But their business decisions, by any measurement, have been phenomenally successful. If ticking off hardcore gamers by pandering to others is a sound business practice, GS's upper echelons actually have a DUTY to their stockholders to use them. That's what comes of being a publicly-held company.

[Cloud121]

Here's one thing I've always disliked. I used to work for them, and trust me, I've always hated that corporation with a passion. I only worked there just because I was great friends with everyone there, and the employee discount is good on used systems.

Anyway, just recently, GameStop just discontinued all new GameCube sales, by transferring all new games to a used SKU. Hm.... Okay, you just screwed many of the developers and publishers out of some cash. Supposedly Xbox is coming up next.

Oh and, in some of the TV commercials, it says "Games. Gear. Knowledge. GameStop." I'm sorry, but "Knowledge" and "GameStop" should NOT be in the same sentence ever. I was the only person that worked at my store for the last year and half that knew anything, outside of my best friend Bill, the Assistant Manager. They were always coming to me asking for release dates and everything.

Here's another thought. As you know, they haven't been doing NES, Super Famicom, Dreamcast, etc. for years. Since about 2002 or so. Now, corporate said that there wasn't a market for those games. When I worked there, we'd get a few people every couple hours or so walking in looking for NES and Super Famicom. Now, since Iowa is a bit of rural state, just imagine how many people would walk into the Chicago, New York, Texas, Los Angeles, etc. stores asking for them. No market? Yeah right...

[Trebuken]

Terrible article.

States they are losing hardcore gamers but has no proof of that; likely it's not true either.

1.) Gamestop is also being pressured by game publishers for preorders. They know how many to produce and can save money; otherwise games would be even more expensive. I preorder a ton of games at Gamestop and I have never not gotten what I asked for. You do not have to buy it if you preorder it...

2.) I bought the single copy of Red Star at my GS too. It received good reviews. They might have an opportunity to grow sales here, but likely it's not worth the risk or the publisher only produced limited supply initially.

3.) Is there a rumor that they weren't going to maitain Game Informer? Why's this on the list?

4.) There pricing makes complete sense from aretail perspective. Additionally you get 10% off with you edge card this means you save roughly 18% on newish games (depending on your sales tax).

5.) I can see how this matters to some, but seems like a trivial complaint to me...don't buy it then...

6.) Who has a bigger selection of PC Games? I used to go to Software Etc., Babbages, or Electronics Boutique and they had almost exclusively PC Games...I'd love to see the comeback. Timeshift (PC) is $10 cheaper than the other versions, it can look much better on a PC, and the money you ssave on the game and future games justifies the cost of PC hardware...

7.) All retail enviornments have this problem. They do not want to pay wages or benefits 'for competitive reasons'. Employee turnover is intentionally kept high to keep wages down. They sometimes maintain a 'manager' for a long while to compensate for the kids. I wish they were more knowledgeable. I often ask them questions they have no idea about, like 'Do you have the component cables for the new model PSP?'. None of them had a clue..in three stores.

Gamestop is actually a good gamestore as long as you know what to expect.

[7th lutz]

1.) I understood their point. There employees pushed the pre-ordering games down my throat when a major title was going to be release.

2.) It is problem besides gamestop. Obsecure titles like taito Legends 2 were not carried at a target or any store then specializes in selling video game stuff.

3.) I agree with keeping Gameinformer. My only complain is they are more corporate know. Before they were bought by gamestop, they did alot of covers of games based on good to great scores unlike now. The put games on the cover for pre ordering purposes like hyping the game. Gameinformer had some bad to medicore games on the cover since Gamestop took over them.

4.) It is a market thing, not a gamestop thing. Gamestop is only selling the game by its worth and they are taking a risk by selling used games. Some genres based on used games don't sell well like sports.

5.) Have to disagree there unless there were scratchs or anything that proved the game was played prior.

6.) I have to agree. While I never been a pc gamer, I remembered stores having a lot of pc games in a video game store before gamestop took over.

7.) This is not exclusive to gamestop employees. I ran into stupid employees at a record store that sells video games at other stores that sell video games also. This is bussiness practice hiring issue. They don't want to spend the money on employees and this is what you get.

[esquire]

Anyway, just recently, GameStop just discontinued all new GameCube sales, by transferring all new games to a used SKU. Hm.... Okay, you just screwed many of the developers and publishers out of some cash. Supposedly Xbox is coming up next.

First. How are they screwing developers and publishers out of cash by doing this? These items are already paid for by Gamestop corporate. The developers and publishers have already been paid!!

By moving over to used stock, they are writing them off as a loss, just they do with pennying out the strategy guides after sitting on the shelf for a while. Theey did the same thing with their PS1 and N64 stock as well. do you expect them to carry non-selling items forever?

Second, they already started doing this for XBOX within the last year, with respect to select titles. Likewise, they did it for PS1 games a while back.

Back to the article.....

2. Start carrying more copies of the obscure stuff. A few months back I went to a GameStop to buy a copy of The Red Star, a side-scrolling shooter for the PS2, a game in an obscure genre on a system that is becoming more obsolete by the day. The clerk had never heard of it (even though I was holding the box in my hand) and thought it was some kind of special controller. It was also the only copy of the game the store had.

...and if the item sells, and demand increases they'll stock more. So what the writer is saying is that Gamestop should buy a lot of stock of obscure releases, with no track record on sales, or for limited niche markets, in the hopes that they'll sell and make their money back? Sounds risky to me. Again, obviously no business sense here at all. It's all supply and demand. For every Katamari Damacy success, there are many commercial failures like Okami, or obscure releases that sit on shelves like Ar Tonelico, to name just a couple.

If an obscure release does well, demand will dictate an increase in supply - look at Disgaea, Phoenix Wright, Cubivore, Rez and Gitaroo Man. All had re-prints, re-releases or additional stock.

4. Lower prices on used games. This one should be something that common sense tells you is the right thing to do. But not, apparently, for the executives at GameStop. The markdown on a used game should be more than $5 off of the current retail price. A used game is just that, used, and with the fragility of disc-based media it's idiotic to expect a used game to be considered almost equal in price to a new game.

Obviously written by someone who has no understanding of the free market system business model where the mantra is "buy low and sell high". Any store that sells used games, whether Gamestop, Gamecrazy or Gamerush, is going to give you less for trading in than what you could sell it for yourself. This is where these stores make a good share of their profits. Let's see, they can buy a new game from the developer/publishers for $5 under retail and make a $5 profit ($5 is simply an example), or they can buy it for 1/2 or less of the retail price and sell for $5-$10 under retail, maximizing their profits. Makes sense to me. This is the business norm.

5. Stop selling the open display copy as "new." As many of you may have noticed in the past, GameStop opens one copy of every game they sell and puts the box out on display. When it comes time to sell this copy they pull the disc out of a pile of other display games and give it to you in the open box. The company does not even put its meager used game markdown on the game because they consider it "new." Well, even a two year old could understand that an open game that's been handled is not new. And it's even worse if a customer is buying the display copy as a gift.

Okay, I am confused. First the writer is complaining that they should not sell the display copies for full retail price, but then goes on to say that it's even worse if a customer is buying the display copy as a gift. Which begs the question - How is a markdown going to help the customer buying the item as a gift? Okay, I know the majority of us are collectors, and even a few of us collect sealed games, but for the overwhelming majority of consumers, games are purchased to be played, and most of the time are opened by the time the consumer gets into his car after leaving the store, so why does this really matter to anyone other than the sealed collector? Unless something is missing, the disc is scratched or the packaging damaged (which all can happen with sealed games as well - See Halo 3 Collector's Edition; Castlevania Portrait of Ruin Preorder Package), it should not matter. If you want a sealed game, no one is forcing you to buy that copy. Go to Best Buy, Circuit City or another store that has it sealed. I have walked away from a purchase for that very same reason. I guess the writers solution would be to either keep everything behind the counter (like that would work; imagine the lines just to look at a game box) or make the stores (which are pretty small and limited in space to begin with) keep an extra empty box for every game in stock (keeping in mind that it might be impossible for games with smaller print runs to even have a display case).

[gepeto]

What they need to also do is stop the whole pay thru there debit card scam. How hard is it to pay someone by check?

[Wolfrider31]

It's the opened games as new issue that really irks me and why I usually only shop at Wal-Mart or Best Buy or Futureshop for new stuff.

[Bojay1997]

Bottom line for me is that there are lots of alternatives for even the most obscure games nowadays and I don't buy anything from EB or Gamestop in their stores and only buy online if the game is new and substantially cheaper than I can find anywhere else. My first preference for a new $60 game is always an independent game shop. There's simply no reason to buy from Gamestop or EB for those games as they don't give you any discount at all. If I can't get it at an indy game shop, I will go to Best Buy, Fry's or Target. Again, there is little or nothing that comes out nowadays that at least one of these stores don't carry. Failing these options, I will either go to Game Dude or buy on-line from Game Express or some of the other places I trust. So, why won't I shop at GS/EB?

1) The service is terrible and I don't care for their high pressure sales tactics. I don't need replacement plans and I don't need to preorder games since with a very few rare exceptions, every new game that comes out is readily available on launch day at multiple retailers, often cheaper than GS/EB. I also don't need some fanboy employee laughing at me because he thinks all I own is a last generation system. Guess what, like most of us here, I have every system from every generation and I don't need to be mocked because some dude making minimum wage thinks I am a lamer. I realize this sounds far fetched, but it has happened to me on at least three occasions at GS/EB.

2) I'm not going to pay full price for a used game. I'm sorry, but a game that has been opened and stripped into various parts is used. There is no debating that and if I'm not mistaken, several states have laws which would back me on this. I'm frankly surprised nobody has sued them for their practice of selling used merchandise as new, but I guess most of us just don't buy stuff from them, so it doesn't matter. I like to take off the shrinkwrap and unseal my games. That's my right if I am going to pay full retail. I don't care that they want to save money on paying for displays or prevent theft. Not my problem. Get plastic cases like Best Buy or Fry's. I'm not going to sacrifice the quality of my new games so you can profit.

That sums it up for me, so I could care less if GS/EB makes changes or not.

[Ed Oscuro]

Anyway, just recently, GameStop just discontinued all new GameCube sales, by transferring all new games to a used SKU. Hm.... Okay, you just screwed many of the developers and publishers out of some cash. Supposedly Xbox is coming up next.

Does this mean that new GC games will be ripped open before you buy them with a palette knife? Hallelujah (if so)!

[FantasiaWHT]

Two of my biggest gripes when I was working there I would've liked to have seen

STICKERS!!!!!! EFFING STICKERS!!!! This was actually more EB right before the merger, but aside from the price and sku stickers, there would be so many other stickers that literally 1/3 of the cover would be masked - 10% sticker, trade in sticker, strategy guide sticker. ARGH!

The other thing was the fact that, in tiny stores really cramped for good space to put good product, we have to waste prime space on absolute shit that will NEVER sell a single copy because a publisher of some garbage is paying for the space.

[crazyjackcsa]

Brutal article and everybody else has said just about everything I already thought. In fact, by reading the posts I nearly avoided reading the article. There is no money pandering to the hardcore (god I hate that label) Sega learned the hard way. And you can't make all of the people happy all of the time.

I am glad however that some people pointed out that 5 dollars off a preown is still 10% which is a goodly amount. And that even the credit you get back on preowns is weak, the store in effect is taking on 100% of the risk there. They could give you 20 dollars for the game, it can sit for 6 months, and they could end up selling it for 10, it's a chance you take. And ordering in Niche games by the truck load because they might become hits? Good luck staying in business.

[Maxx]

#5 is a joke. A) It's still new (so long as it hasn't been PLAYED). B) The purpose of it is to allow people to handle the boxes and read the back and even read the manual. Customers PREFER that over having to ask a stockboy to open a locked case every time they want to look at a game. Not everyone knows exactly what they want

BS! I totaly agree with #5. As a collector, I'm trying to collect games on an Extreme Mint/Complete condition. By this, I want the registration card, mint book that's not had 300 people thumb through it. That is, if it's there at all! I want the bonus material in it. You think a "New" copy of Yu-Gi-Oh The Dawn of Destiny is going to have the 3 limited edition cards in it? You think Shrek Super Party is going to have the watch in it? But an opened copy is not the complaint. It's the fact that they only have 1 of the game and this is what you have to buy at a new price.

[ScourDX]

Two of my biggest gripes when I was working there I would've liked to have seen

STICKERS!!!!!! EFFING STICKERS!!!! This was actually more EB right before the merger, but aside from the price and sku stickers, there would be so many other stickers that literally 1/3 of the cover would be masked - 10% sticker, trade in sticker, strategy guide sticker. ARGH!

I hate that a lot. I think EB/GS start using different type of yellow sticker which has less adhesive than previous yellow sticker. I purchased couple of used game this past week and I am able to take of the sticker without any problem.

[esquire]

BS! I totaly agree with #5. As a collector, I'm trying to collect games on an Extreme Mint/Complete condition. By this, I want the registration card, mint book that's not had 300 people thumb through it. That is, if it's there at all! I want the bonus material in it. You think a "New" copy of Yu-Gi-Oh The Dawn of Destiny is going to have the 3 limited edition cards in it? You think Shrek Super Party is going to have the watch in it? But an opened copy is not the complaint. It's the fact that they only have 1 of the game and this is what you have to buy at a new price.

You don't have to buy anything. That is your choice as a consumer. Take your money elsewhere if you do not want to buy the last copy.

BTW, all the Gamestops near me remove the inserts before they put the display case out.

[esquire]

I hate that a lot. I think EB/GS start using different type of yellow sticker which has less adhesive than previous yellow sticker. I purchased couple of used game this past week and I am able to take of the sticker without any problem.

EB was actually the worst of the two. The damn yellow stickers they used proved hard to remove over time, and the yellow coloring would get on your hands. Worse yet, EB would put those round stickers on telling you to trade in your games, as well as the round stickers to seal display copies as well as used copies (before they allowed you to return used games) so they'd know if you opened them.

[Bojay1997]

You don't have to buy anything. That is your choice as a consumer. Take your money elsewhere if you do not want to buy the last copy.

BTW, all the Gamestops near me remove the inserts before they put the display case out.

Unfortunately, it's not always your choice. I had to return a copy of Untold Legends I bought for the PS3 through the website for $20 which was purportedly new. It was unwrapped, had a price sticker on it that said "new" and had fingerprints and bends in the manual. The customer service guy was nice enough about it but told me that the warehouse had probably gotten some copies from the stores and that some stores now gut all their games for security. He assured me it was still new, but agreed to replace it with a new factory sealed one or replace it again if the replacement they sent me was in similar shape. Of course, I had to physically drive to the UPS place and repackage the game, etc... Seriously, there's no reason to ever shop at GS.

[Oobgarm]

As much as I love to bag on GameStop now that I don't work for them, this article is a complete joke. It sounds to me like some whiny kid learned how to use a blog and started complaining without looking at the big picture.

GAMESTOP DOES NOT CARE ABOUT HARDCORE GAMERS. THIS HAS NOT AND WILL NOT EVER BE THE CASE.

1. Stop asking us to pre-order.

I can understand this to a certain extent. It is annoying to have some minimum-wage register jockey harass you about preordering games, simply based off of what you're buying.

But it's how they forecast sales. Some stuff might not be allocated correctly if no preorders were taken. If anything, they need to knock off the preorder hocking for the AAA titles and focus more on 'niche' titles.

2. Start carrying more copies of the obscure stuff.

See my above statement.

Why should a company sit on stuff that most likely no one will buy? It's not a sound business practice. The shelf space occupied by some anime-inspired second-person strategy racing RPG that maybe a handful of people would be interested in would be much better utilized by a large title that's practically guaranteed to sell out.

When it comes to employees actually being knowledgeable about any and every game there is, that's asking a bit much. Competent employees should have at least an idea of what's stocked in their store.

Oh, and Katamari? GameStop saw that it was selling well and that they had missed the boat. They didn't follow the 'buzz'. If they had done so, they would have had plenty of stock beforehand since this game was poised to be a sleeper.

3. Keep publishing Game Informer.

Duh.

4. Lower prices on used games.

As stated earlier: "demanding/asking a company change a sound business practice because it doesn't fit your buying style is childish."

5. Stop selling the open display copy as "new."

It makes sense to me why it's done. But honestly, I think that there should be some sort of discount on a title if it is the last new, gutted copy. I always hated having to sell the last one to a customer, since I personally wouldn't have wanted a game that had been opened.

Not to mention their employee check-out policy, meaning that game may have been taken home and played without the knowledge of the customer. (Not sure if this applies to new games, as it did when I worked there)

6. Gamers still play PC games.

In my region, GameStop didn't sell used PC. We barely sold any new PC. But the PC gaming spectrum is so broad, it's tough to please everyone.

I say let the big box stores handle PC game sales. They can buy in larger quantity, which would hopefully equate to a better sale price.

7. Stop hiring idiots.

No matter what, every place will have it's share of idiots.

GameStop just happens to have a bit larger share than most other places. And it's only obvious since said idiots actually have to deal with the public, while many places(foodservice especially) can keep the dim-witted folks away from public interaction.

The main reason is that for many, GamStop is a dream job. You get to work around and talk about games all day. There are a lot of folks out there who aren't well educated on the industry and don't keep track of new game releases, but still love games anyway. And then you have the people who know nothing about gaming in general, but can push sales very well.

Employee turnover is high. GameStop prefers to keep their wage expenditures low, so many employees are ousted before they can make any headway. There will be exceptions, sure, but most people looking to make a career out of working for GameStop by starting at the store level are destined to fail. Managers and above are, in most cases, immune to the wage ceiling, but even that is dependent solely on sales numbers. No amount of gaming knowledge is going to help you get a raise.

When I worked there, I was paid minimum wage, or a little above, for close to 5 years. I stuck it out since I liked the job. I think the most I ever made was $7.50 an hour, and that was full-time(40 hrs/wk) assistant manager pay. I made that starting out at Best Buy.

Basically, if you offer low-end pay, you're probably going to get low-end employees.