Zero Originality: The Gamestop Whistle Blower

[Muckraker]

Check these videos out. They're lovingly done in the Zero Punctuation style.

Episode 1: Used Games, Trades, and GameStop's shit products:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/u...es/263243.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byJSoWl476I

Episode 2: Yahtzee, Game Informer, Edge Card, and Reservations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxn2ezNDCwc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6n0E9Iz5E0

Episode 3 Part 1: Working at GameStop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r72BRRTkOQs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFK7BKwlj8I

Episode 3 Part 2: It gets worse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFzC65kF7P0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejAaOV8hQQw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ej2dUvsz8E

Kudos to I am Sal for bringing this to my attention. You guys probably don't know who he is, but I'm afraid that if I don't give credit where credit's due, he's going to kick my ass.

[evil_genius]

Maybe he should try slowing down with that speech impetement so people can actually understand him.

[Atari 5200]

Maybe he should try slowing down with that speech impetement so people can actually understand him.

I agree. My head nearly exploded trying to understand what he was saying.

[TonyTheTiger]

He's not being entirely fair with all those points. It's not an absurd policy for a store to pay out more store credit than cash for a trade in. Nor is it absurd for a store to make more profit off of used merchandise than they would on new.

And criticizing a game magazine for being late with news compared to the internet...well...the New York Times sucks ass too then.

[Poofta!]

if you cant understand him, i feel sorry for you lol. he talks fast but cmon, listen dude.


it is interesting and funny to watch this, gamestop DOES have its benefits and some stuff is easier and cheaper to get there. especially if you take advantage of their coupons.

[Zing]

I watched one of the "working at gamestop" videos and I really didn't see anything for him to complain about. It was like "oh nos if you work here you have to put labels on a bunch of traded in games". No shit. Guess what? When I worked at Petsmart, I had to sort the cat can section, and I liked it. This is the kind of job that teenagers and minimum wage workers want and need.

If he hadn't claimed he worked at Best Buy before, I would have assumed he has never had a job in his life.

[pewing33ny]

if he used his time more wisely he could get a real job and not have to worry about gamestop

[TonyTheTiger]

I watched one of the "working at gamestop" videos and I really didn't see anything for him to complain about. It was like "oh nos if you work here you have to put labels on a bunch of traded in games". No shit. Guess what? When I worked at Petsmart, I had to sort the cat can section, and I liked it. This is the kind of job that teenagers and minimum wage workers want and need.

If he hadn't claimed he worked at Best Buy before, I would have assumed he has never had a job in his life.

It's not really a Gamestop thing. It's a retail thing. Eventually you start to grow tired of it and even a little cynical once in a while. Some people move up. Others move on. And though there are few hard and fast rules in life, one of them is probably that no matter where you work there's bound to be something that grinds your gears. And that's true even if you are the boss.

After watching the videos there were a lot of instances where you could replace "Gamestop" with any major retailer during the tirade. Look, maybe some particular practices suck but, in the end, it's a retail chain and that comes with all the benefits and detriments associated with that status.

[Muckraker]

if he used his time more wisely he could get a real job and not have to worry about gamestop

Keep watching, and you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Also, he doesn't get to the nitty gritty until the third episode. It's there that you hear some of the stuff you haven't heard before. Like the empty pocket procedure and how they pay employees.

[G-Boobie]

Keep watching, and you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Also, he doesn't get to the nitty gritty until the third episode. It's there that you hear some of the stuff you haven't heard before. Like the empty pocket procedure and how they pay employees.

Neither of those points are particularly surprising; that's working retail. How SHOULD they be paid? They're working retail. Fuck, I wish I could afford to have a nice, simple retail job again.

And you may as well drop the 'he doesn't' stuff. Like we don't already know you're pimping your own stuff, here.

[Poofta!]

i think he means that they get paid in debit cards instead of checks as the grievance. (not the minimum wage -- minimum wage is almsot expected at retail)

[Dangerboy]

I quit watching after about 3 "points" that were made because they were all wrong.

I'd love to see a Zero Punctuation episode on piss poor rip offs.

[roushimsx]

These are absolutely dreadful.

No new or interesting points raised, terrible audio quality and lives up to the name of "Zero Originality". Way to pollute the internet, buddy.

[gepeto]

Man I hate to see him when he is angry. pretty interesting. I know the stores near me have a killer turnover rate and the workers there really have no game personality. You ask questions they blow you off. I really for the first time almost stopped going to one of there stores. It is really sad when the gameing environment is totally removed. On another note trade ins help when you have no money. If you know then you don't trade in but most people a casual gamers and and are looking to get something.

[heybtbm]

if he used his time more wisely he could get a real job and not have to worry about gamestop

Exactly what I was thinking.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I watched approximately 20 seconds of the first video and I had to shut it off.

I have two questions.

Why do people feel the need to BLATANTLY steal the gimmicks of other game reviewers??? (ie The Happy Video Game Nerd, The Irate Gamer, THIS TOOL of an ex Gamestop employee, etc.)

And WHY do people (especially, and most importantly, those who are AWARE of what they're STEALING from) tolerate and/or support them?

This asshole is blatantly ripping off Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, completely fucking SHAMELESSLY stealing from him.

It's not only depressing, it's downright SAD...

...I was about to give him shit about it in his comments section, but, SURPRISE! They're disabled.

[slip81]

uuuhhhh, welcome to retail dude, it's not just gamestop

EDIT: shit, someone else already said it

[Tupin]

I think it's a joke that he's a rip-off.

Ripping off game reviewers as a joke and parodying them is a popular thing to do on Youtube.

Plus, the video is called "Zero Originality". Doesn't that say something about the seriousness of it all?

[G-Boobie]

I think it's a joke that he's a rip-off.

Ripping off game reviewers as a joke and parodying them is a popular thing to do on Youtube.

Plus, the video is called "Zero Originality". Doesn't that say something about the seriousness of it all?

Yeah. It means he can't come up with his own gimmick. Am I supposed to be impressed that he pointed it out before I had a chance?

[Moon Jump]

It IS a rip off, I watched it all and he even says he loved Yatzee's reviews since Psyconauts and he wanted to do it in that style so he could be anonymous. The last video is dedicated to Yatzee.

I always love hearing stories from employees, it's the same thing, different place. You can't take a break, EVERYBODY in the store is an idiot and they make you do stupid mind numbing stuff everyday.

I worked a few months at the local Toys R Us and had pretty much the same experience that guy had. I thought the job would be fun, and I'd make some money too.

Well, it's the same thing everywhere. They don't care if you know the product, they only care if you can SELL the product.

I had this one schmuck who was my R-Zone's top seller tell me all about how awesome Tom Clancy's End War was going to be. He followed up with.. "Who's Tom Clancy??" I told him, he was an author and he said "Oh..I thought he was a spy or something"

The wonders of retail baby. Just makes you wish for more independent stores, like Digital Press. And no, that's not a shameless plug, that's how a game store SHOULD be.