GameStop

i like to believe that consumers have the power to change the retail world but unfortunately i know that the majority of people don't really give a fuck.

I've had nothing but good experiences from Gamestop. When I go in, the employees are friendly and very helpful. A large amount of my good video game/anime discussions have been with their employees. I just feel bad that I only buy something 1/4 of the time I go in. I buy games from four sources: Amazon, Steam, Gamestop, and Playstation Network.

The gamespot my me is really good. When I've gone to pick up a used game because I didn't see it new They always point it out because they know me and know I like to buy new. Never really had a bad experience, but I know they are trying to make a good profit any way they can. As for Xenoblade,they took a gamble by paying Nintendo for the games then opening them in the hope that they would make a better profit. They still paid the 60 bucks per game, so instead of $4 profit they made about $24. That capitalism, it sucks but EVERY American company does stuff like this.

Not caring is still a power. It's just a horribly inefficient one as far as the gaming market is concerned. I tend to buy used games off of Amazon to mitigate the expenses I'd incur if I didn't enjoy the game. For instance, I'd be furious if I paid 60 bucks for Star Trek: The Game. But I only paid 16 and change for a used copy. If gaming companies want my money, they have to work for it. Give me a game worth 60 bucks of fun and I'll pay it. Give me a game worth 16 bucks of fun and I'll wait until I can buy it used.

I used to work at the gamestop in Columbus back in ... eh 2000-2001ish. it's been a while so i don't remember the exact dates. It was one of the few Gamestops in the city that the employees actually liked their work. When we'd fill in at other stores the management acted like total douchebags towards us and when employees from other Gamestops came by our store they couldn't believe how laid back and friendly we were with people. The thing they were surprised at the most is that we weren't in that great of an area and still had the thugs/gang-sta's come in trying to run some smack or acting as hard as they could... we laughed them off. Mostly because we liked our work and even though our pay was shat... and i mean total shat... only the 2 managers made enough not to need a 2nd job to live off of we still all had fun, events (madden tournements) couches in the lobby to test games when we hooked up XBOX's and PS2's up for the public. I left it a year or so later when RL got complicated. Sad thing is in like 2004 or 2005 the area that was rough got rougher and less business came into the store which meant it was sold off and the entire minimall strip was demolished for a parking lot. Those were some of the best times hanging out after work drinking and staying up all night playing massive 10hr halo stints.

I don't like what gamestop is doing with the likes of Xenoblade Chronicles and Metroid Prime Trilogy but it's a win/win situation in my opinion.. If gamestop didn't do this, I'm sure buying a used copy on ebay would be a lot more. I got Xenoblade Chronicles from a Craigslist Contact for about 100. A few weeks later, gamestop has it for around 80 or 90. I think it helps if you are looking for rare games, but if you can find better deals.. check amazon or ebay before deciding what to get.

That isn't inflation of the game market. Inflation would make the games worth less by flooding the market with supply. Gamestop is a business and they need to make a profit to continue to exist and pay employees. They ARE sort of a ripoff compared to other methods of gaming and are certainly less fair on trade-in values and used game price discounts than they once were. I highly suggest that everyone take the cash that they would place on a next gen console and build a nice gaming PC instead. Go buy games on STEAM folks. The games can have much better graphics/sound than console versions, keyboard/mouse is far superior for most any game, many games have console menu options unavailable to consoles (confusing I know... console system vs console commands), and best of all... you can catch games at RIDICULOUS sale prices. I bought Skyrim for 30 bucks when retailers were still selling console copies for 60 bucks. I got fallout new vegas ultimate edition for 5 bucks. Not to mention all of the PC only titles and indy games. Don't just forget gamestop... forget the console folks, you're ripping yourselves off and playing inferior versions. Not to mention the gaming rig you could build for the same or similar price as a new console can do a lot of things BESIDES gaming. I seriously have over 100 titles on Steam and paid less for them than I would have 10 or 15 console games. And they're better versions. And they're tied to my account not my system or a disc. And hey.. forget paying insane money for puny hard drives on a console. My PC right here is packing 1.5 Terabytes of HD space. Lay down your consoles and come play with the big boys :D . You should all at least be playing Team Fortress 2 with your current systems anyway! lol Edit: And I almost forgot to mention.. with PC gaming you can use MODS. Mods to improve or change just about any part of a game. It's like having millions of post-production devs willing to create optional improvements or DLC free of charge.