“The games retail market is dying.”
February 20, 2020 7:22 AM Subscribe
Hard Sell: GameStop employees report extreme pressure from ‘desperate’ bosses [Polygon] “In more than a dozen interviews with Polygon, current and former GameStop employees spoke of a tightening regime of strict sales targets and intrusive customer scripts, designed to extract as much value as possible from the company’s dwindling base. All the employees we spoke to said they were concerned about the future of the company. Most reported their customer numbers had decreased noticeably in the last year. “I’ve seen a change in the sheer desperation the company has towards its profit margins,” said one store manager with multiple years’ experience at the company. “The company is frantic and distrustful,” said one assistant manager. “You can feel it in every message they send. The structure is falling apart and they’re scrambling.” “I think they’ll close a thousand stores this year,” said one former store manager with many years’ retail experience.”
• Working at GameStop in 2020: Anxiety, Stress, and Low Morale [IGN]
• Working at GameStop in 2020: Anxiety, Stress, and Low Morale [IGN]
“With so many changes happening within the company, most of the GameStop employees I spoke to said that morale at their stores is very low. Specifically, after last year's announcement regarding the store closures, many employees said they are worried about the future of their stores, and their jobs. [...] Employees I spoke to generally don't feel great about the future of GameStop. Throughout our interviews, they frequently referenced retailers that are long-gone, like Radio Shack, Hollywood Video, and, of course, Blockbuster. "Let's look at Blockbuster and Hollywood Video, for example," Jack said. "Good things don’t last forever, and those two companies are just prime examples of what happens when the times change." "Corporate is clearly struggling against digital game sales, and I've seen it firsthand in the store," Victor said. "[GameStop] is clearly on its way out, down a painful route." It’s not all doom and gloom. Many feel the impending release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X this holiday season could turn GameStop’s successes around. "[The next-gen launch] is very important due to the fact that profit has been on the steady decline since the holiday boom ended, and the 'dry season' begins until August or September," Victor said. "I'm sure they're hoping it'll stabilize what is clearly turning into a turbulent year.”• Shopping at GameStop is miserable [Polygon]
“Why would anyone want to walk into a GameStop in 2020? The venerable video game retailer is currently cratering, with overall sales for the holiday quarter down 25% year over year. The company had announced it would be closing as many as 200 stores last year after a series of disastrous quarters, and that was before its dismal holiday performance was announced. The news has been bad for a while, and it’s only getting worse. GameStop’s executives believe that things will turn around when Sony and Microsoft release new consoles, but I’m not particularly optimistic about the company’s chances. My biggest problem with GameStop doesn’t have anything to do with pricing or the schedule of hardware or software. It’s that shopping inside a GameStop itself is a miserable experience. [...] I don’t think GameStop has much of a chance, even with the new consoles coming in 2020. Amazon is too convenient, Walmart never bothers me about pre-orders, and buying games directly through the consoles themselves is always an option. GameStop is likely a relic from another era, and there’s nothing to be done about that unfortunate reality. But GameStop isn’t just suffering from the general loss that plagues so much physical retail, it’s actively pushing its best customers away with shoddy practices and a lack of care.”• Confessions Of A Teenaged Strip-Mall GameStop Delinquent [Kotaku]
“Everybody at the strip was convinced that Caleb had stolen the cash. We were leaned back in uncomfortable metal chairs that left dents in our legs, sitting around a table littered with menthol cigarette butts. “The strip” was a strip mall, sterile and unexceptional, home to a Starbucks, a Cold Stone, a Chipotle, a GameStop. We were doing some amateur detective work. Twenty minutes prior, Caleb had been complaining that he was broke. Now, he had returned from behind the strip mall, stoned and in possession. Also, $20 was missing from my purse. Hmm. It was 2007, I was 16, and it was the first time someone had stolen from me, at least to my knowledge. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that big, smelly, broke Caleb would turn out to be such a fucking sneak. He denied it, of course. Someone said I should fight Caleb, punch him in his pudding-white stomach. I don’t remember whether I did, but I do remember feeling overwhelmed and wandering off into the GameStop to watch the employees do inventory as they closed the store for the day.”• Why the gaming world will be worse once GameStop is gone [Ars Technica]
“For many consumers, the seemingly imminent demise of GameStop is not a cause for sadness. The company has a reputation in many corners for poor prices on trade-in games, high-pressure sales tactics for extraneous add-ons, unfriendly staffers, poor return policies, and, in recent years, stores filled with toys and Funko Pop figures instead of games. (RIP to GameStop subsidiary ThinkGeek, by the way.) But when I put the question of GameStop's eventual demise to my Twitter followers a few weeks ago, I was somewhat surprised at how many people say they'll be sad to see it go. This isn't mere nostalgia for the retail brand that has subsumed stores like FuncoLand, Babbage's, and Software Etc. I heard from a significant portion of gamers who think the gaming world will be markedly worse off without GameStop in it. [...] For some, GameStop took the place of the neighborhood bar. "My local one is like my 'Cheers,'" @Gamera_Heisei said. "Everyone knows my name, we chew the fat. They will flat out tell me if a game is worth it or not cause they know my taste... I will miss it." That kind of advice and personal attention from a knowledgeable GameStop employee can be invaluable.”
Investors have been jumping ship for a while. GameStop's stock has lost almost 90% of its value over the past 5 years in a pretty much steady decline.
posted by jedicus at 7:36 AM on February 20, 2020
posted by jedicus at 7:36 AM on February 20, 2020
I'm shocked they're still open at all.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:39 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:39 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
The death of physical media is the death of ownership. I don't love GameStop, but we will definitely be worse off without them.
posted by grumpybear69 at 7:40 AM on February 20, 2020 [42 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 7:40 AM on February 20, 2020 [42 favorites]
If I want to flip my old games to buy new ones, I have a local shop that will pay literally ten times what GameStop does for trade-ins, and is owned by people who actually give a damn. That's the future of brick-and-mortar shops for physical media, whether books, movies, music or video games -- inherently niche and catering to the people who lean into that. An electronics boutique, if you will.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:41 AM on February 20, 2020 [40 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:41 AM on February 20, 2020 [40 favorites]
It's not at all that physical content distribution is dead. It's that you need to offer different things when you're doing physical distribution.
I used to love going to Gamestop. I was one of those loyal customers. I used to love it because employees were given a lot of time to play games at work and were incredibly knowledgeable about niche games. When I walked in, I could tell the employees kind of the games that I had liked in the past, and they'd be able to recommend me a game that I would like in the future - usually a used game, that I could pick up at a reasonable price point, sometimes that other people wouldn't have heard of. And it would be amazing. I fondly remember a lot of the games I got that way, and they were my very favorite games that I never would have heard of.
That hasn't happened to me in about five years. When I go into Gamestop and ask about games, they always recommend me one of the AA games, usually 'the newest and best', usually to pre-order. I haven't been recommended a game not by one of the big content providers in a long time. Now I wonder if they're required to. And I never see employees playing games in the store anymore - which means I doubt that they're getting to have those experiences with the small games - which probably have lower profit margins, I suppose, but the thing is, when I could trust recommendations for games, I went there often. Now that I know it's a randomized crapshoot of profit, I don't.
Gamestop did this to themselves by not listening to the workers and listening to the shareholders instead.
posted by corb at 7:41 AM on February 20, 2020 [20 favorites]
I used to love going to Gamestop. I was one of those loyal customers. I used to love it because employees were given a lot of time to play games at work and were incredibly knowledgeable about niche games. When I walked in, I could tell the employees kind of the games that I had liked in the past, and they'd be able to recommend me a game that I would like in the future - usually a used game, that I could pick up at a reasonable price point, sometimes that other people wouldn't have heard of. And it would be amazing. I fondly remember a lot of the games I got that way, and they were my very favorite games that I never would have heard of.
That hasn't happened to me in about five years. When I go into Gamestop and ask about games, they always recommend me one of the AA games, usually 'the newest and best', usually to pre-order. I haven't been recommended a game not by one of the big content providers in a long time. Now I wonder if they're required to. And I never see employees playing games in the store anymore - which means I doubt that they're getting to have those experiences with the small games - which probably have lower profit margins, I suppose, but the thing is, when I could trust recommendations for games, I went there often. Now that I know it's a randomized crapshoot of profit, I don't.
Gamestop did this to themselves by not listening to the workers and listening to the shareholders instead.
posted by corb at 7:41 AM on February 20, 2020 [20 favorites]
> The death of physical media is the death of ownership. I don't love GameStop, but we will definitely be worse off without them.
Or you'll just go buy the physical media from another place where you can buy the physical media.
Retail isn't completely dead. But predatory retail is. Not going to miss them.
posted by parliboy at 7:43 AM on February 20, 2020 [10 favorites]
Or you'll just go buy the physical media from another place where you can buy the physical media.
Retail isn't completely dead. But predatory retail is. Not going to miss them.
posted by parliboy at 7:43 AM on February 20, 2020 [10 favorites]
Hopefully the GameStop bank guy will be able to recover his life savings.
posted by zamboni at 7:47 AM on February 20, 2020 [21 favorites]
posted by zamboni at 7:47 AM on February 20, 2020 [21 favorites]
Perhaps I'm not typical of MeFites, but games (which I LOVE now at age 49 more than ever before) are ephemera for me. I prefer digital downloads, as I know I am never going to dig up old games and play them. I have a box full of basically worthless Xbox 360 games that I will likely donate soon to a local charity. The fewer plastic boxes in my life, the better.
If I want a blast from the past, I can watch older games on Youtube for a few minutes. It's sad to see people lose jobs, though.
posted by SoberHighland at 7:48 AM on February 20, 2020 [7 favorites]
If I want a blast from the past, I can watch older games on Youtube for a few minutes. It's sad to see people lose jobs, though.
posted by SoberHighland at 7:48 AM on February 20, 2020 [7 favorites]
> The death of physical media is the death of ownership. I don't love GameStop, but we will definitely be worse off without them.
This was true with older generations of games (NES/SNES/PS1) and the like, but with a lot of modern video games its sort of a moot point. You can download it or buy the disk from a store but you are still relying on internet based "validations" and game servers being up and running that the video game companies can turn off about just about any point making your game unplayable. Really all buying the disk does is save you on download times and even then probably not since it will want to update to the newest patch anyway that was released after the disk.
posted by Captain_Science at 7:49 AM on February 20, 2020 [18 favorites]
This was true with older generations of games (NES/SNES/PS1) and the like, but with a lot of modern video games its sort of a moot point. You can download it or buy the disk from a store but you are still relying on internet based "validations" and game servers being up and running that the video game companies can turn off about just about any point making your game unplayable. Really all buying the disk does is save you on download times and even then probably not since it will want to update to the newest patch anyway that was released after the disk.
posted by Captain_Science at 7:49 AM on February 20, 2020 [18 favorites]
The last time I stepped foot into a Gamestop was 2010. I was already wary of them because they'd earned a reputation as being more interested in being a pawn shop and making money from pre-orders. However, I decided that I was interested in picking up Starcraft II after it had released, and they seemed like a good bet to have it in stock.
And in their window, a giant poster saying that they had Starcraft II in stock. But when I went in and asked to buy it, the store manager met me with disbelief that I hadn't pre-ordered. I replied, "it's the biggest game of the year, why wouldn't you have copies in stock? Your window says you have it in stock." "Oh, we have it in stock if you pre-ordered." "I'm not sure you understand what 'in-stock' means."
I then went across the mall to Best Buy and they had dozens of copies, including the Collector's Edition. All sorts of neat swag for $40 extra, and no pre-order required? Shut up and take my money.
I couldn't help myself though, I walked back to the Gamestop and shouted to the manager, "hey look, Best Buy has SC2 IN STOCK."
posted by explosion at 7:53 AM on February 20, 2020 [26 favorites]
And in their window, a giant poster saying that they had Starcraft II in stock. But when I went in and asked to buy it, the store manager met me with disbelief that I hadn't pre-ordered. I replied, "it's the biggest game of the year, why wouldn't you have copies in stock? Your window says you have it in stock." "Oh, we have it in stock if you pre-ordered." "I'm not sure you understand what 'in-stock' means."
I then went across the mall to Best Buy and they had dozens of copies, including the Collector's Edition. All sorts of neat swag for $40 extra, and no pre-order required? Shut up and take my money.
I couldn't help myself though, I walked back to the Gamestop and shouted to the manager, "hey look, Best Buy has SC2 IN STOCK."
posted by explosion at 7:53 AM on February 20, 2020 [26 favorites]
Physical content distribution is dead.
Nah. Vinyl records and paper books are both doing very well. I still buy physical games for my Switch because of the paltry amount of on-board storage.
posted by Automocar at 7:53 AM on February 20, 2020 [12 favorites]
Nah. Vinyl records and paper books are both doing very well. I still buy physical games for my Switch because of the paltry amount of on-board storage.
posted by Automocar at 7:53 AM on February 20, 2020 [12 favorites]
Old games used to have value-added extras in physical editions. Manuals, maps, artwork. I'm personally not a collector of that stuff, but I could see the appeal. Now they are just plastic boxes with a disk and a printed front/back cover. I don't understand why people would want to collect stuff like that, but I've never been much of a collector of anything.
posted by SoberHighland at 7:54 AM on February 20, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 7:54 AM on February 20, 2020 [7 favorites]
Yeah, I agree about ephemera. I am a PC gamer which means that I've been entirely digital for over a decade. I rarely replay games after I'm done, although to be fair I've never really had an issue where an old game was inaccessible anyway.
To me this ship sailed away so long ago that what we're really talking about is a really sleazy store that treats it's employees and customers poorly and has done so for years.
Don't take away my Bull Moose, though.
posted by selfnoise at 7:55 AM on February 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
To me this ship sailed away so long ago that what we're really talking about is a really sleazy store that treats it's employees and customers poorly and has done so for years.
Don't take away my Bull Moose, though.
posted by selfnoise at 7:55 AM on February 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
It's such a clusterfuck of awful. Corporations have really ruined so much of this industry. I have always enjoyed talking to the employees of these types of stores, it's a nice space to shoot the shit and talk about games that we love, to find out what is selling well and what isn't.
Are you going to get the majority of your money back if you resell a game at one of these locations, no. But I do appreciate that I can find older games at discounted prices. The EB Games (subsidary of Gamestop) near me has also really branched out into a lot of gaming related merchandise: funko pop dolls, t-shirts, toys, board games, special statues and figurines, etc. I don't mind this at all, sometimes you can get a good deal/discount if you're a smart consumer.
I will not miss how these companies gouge consumers and the toxic way they treat their employees. I will miss the space itself, the gaming memories that it created for me. That's what I'll miss and it's why I still hit them up as much as I can. I went to a midnight release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate last year and it was an amazing event and a memory I will cherish.
posted by Fizz at 8:13 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Are you going to get the majority of your money back if you resell a game at one of these locations, no. But I do appreciate that I can find older games at discounted prices. The EB Games (subsidary of Gamestop) near me has also really branched out into a lot of gaming related merchandise: funko pop dolls, t-shirts, toys, board games, special statues and figurines, etc. I don't mind this at all, sometimes you can get a good deal/discount if you're a smart consumer.
I will not miss how these companies gouge consumers and the toxic way they treat their employees. I will miss the space itself, the gaming memories that it created for me. That's what I'll miss and it's why I still hit them up as much as I can. I went to a midnight release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate last year and it was an amazing event and a memory I will cherish.
posted by Fizz at 8:13 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Digital games can be played without an internet connection on Xbox if it's your "home" Xbox. You can also sign into any other Xbox and download it then play the game offline. The only exception is online only games because... they're online.
But that's it.
Anyway, gamestop is very unpleasant to be in because I can feel the employee pain as they ask me all these dumb things they know I don't want and won't buy. It's like how at Hollywood Video we had to ask people for a $0.25 "disc protection plan" that was nothing. We didn't check disks. We had no way to verify YOU had been the one to damage it. I never even offered them so guess I had bad sales numbers! But the company was going out of business clearly at that point anyway.
I looked at them this week to try to buy the newest Elite Xbox controller but they don't have any. In my big-ish city. None! So whatever. Of course Amazon has them on sale. Sigh.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 8:14 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
But that's it.
Anyway, gamestop is very unpleasant to be in because I can feel the employee pain as they ask me all these dumb things they know I don't want and won't buy. It's like how at Hollywood Video we had to ask people for a $0.25 "disc protection plan" that was nothing. We didn't check disks. We had no way to verify YOU had been the one to damage it. I never even offered them so guess I had bad sales numbers! But the company was going out of business clearly at that point anyway.
I looked at them this week to try to buy the newest Elite Xbox controller but they don't have any. In my big-ish city. None! So whatever. Of course Amazon has them on sale. Sigh.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 8:14 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also, I'm going to plug that local game shop of mine because it's entirely possible to live in the DC area and not know about it (I took four years to find it) and they also have a good online presence: estarland.com
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:15 AM on February 20, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:15 AM on February 20, 2020 [7 favorites]
As a related data point, I've noticed that Target stores in my area have significantly reduced the shelf space allocated to games and videos. In the near future, any gamer or movie buff who doesn't have high speed internet access might as well not exist.
posted by SPrintF at 8:15 AM on February 20, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 8:15 AM on February 20, 2020 [7 favorites]
And in their window, a giant poster saying that they had Starcraft II in stock. But when I went in and asked to buy it, the store manager met me with disbelief that I hadn't pre-ordered. I replied, "it's the biggest game of the year, why wouldn't you have copies in stock? Your window says you have it in stock." "Oh, we have it in stock if you pre-ordered." "I'm not sure you understand what 'in-stock' means."
YES! THIS! Way back when we all bought shiny rainbow discs of silver, this was notorious. They would only send enough stock to cover the preorders plus like five more copies. Management probably thought the game being out of stock would be incentive for customers to preorder more but all it ended up doing was burning goodwill as customers would immediately go somewhere else on release day. They were so desperate to front book the revenue it killed them.
The sad thing is, when you look at how Amazon has changed the market, Gamestop had the perfect way to leverage itself into a logistics network of nerd culture and do the same thing. Even in their most thinly populated markets, like, say, the middle of Iowa, there's still a Gamestop in every medium sized town. Instead of the large fulfillment center in Louisville, why not have smaller regional distribution centers? They were at the mercy of their position. Having one giant fulfillment center in Kentucky might be great for centralizing and containing costs but then you basically limit yourself to UPS for distribution. They don't have to be competitive anymore. You have to take what they're offering.
Then you can do your own distribution and actually have a schedule that works for you instead of against you. You can carry the bulk of the inventory in the smaller warehouse, thin the stores out a little, but also replenish quicker. Stores get their supplies once a day from Kentucky. If you have regional storage and a couple of drivers you could have them replenish stock in an hour. You have another team of drivers just dropping off games to customers direct from warehouses or even other stores. Don't have a game in stock? Well I can have it at your front door in two hours.
Also, wtf at this in house refurbishment. Why would you do that? All that happened is that Gamestop stores got a bad name for used gear. Techs were hurried along by management trying to make numbers and they sent so much faulty stock to stores. Plus they were in Gamestop branding and ugh. It just feels so cheap and nasty. What they should have been doing is making deals with the console makers themselves to provide factory refurbishment. Instead they thought they could do it in house, do it cheaper, and take more of the profits. All it did was ruin the brand. If they got the factory refurbished units direct from the OEM they would be the customer. They can use their giant retail brand as leverage to keep quality high and prices low. Profits wouldn't be as high but people could at least buy with confidence knowing that the same people who built the thing serviced the thing.
The whole thing is probably going to become a case study of an inability to adapt to market conditions combined with corporate greed in some economics textbook. It'll also be a textbook study of how keeping staff on such a ridiculous short leash can easily backfire. Call a Gamestop right now. I bet you $100 the person who answers it will say something inane like "Welcome to Gamestop, home of the best used game prices". They don't say it because they believe it. They say it because they have to. It's said at the same hurried pace my brother-in-law recites the Kiddush at the Passover Seder in order to get to the eating.
I don't know if it could have been saved, but I do know that if different people were running it, Gamestop could have died with a bang instead of a whimper.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 8:20 AM on February 20, 2020 [11 favorites]
YES! THIS! Way back when we all bought shiny rainbow discs of silver, this was notorious. They would only send enough stock to cover the preorders plus like five more copies. Management probably thought the game being out of stock would be incentive for customers to preorder more but all it ended up doing was burning goodwill as customers would immediately go somewhere else on release day. They were so desperate to front book the revenue it killed them.
The sad thing is, when you look at how Amazon has changed the market, Gamestop had the perfect way to leverage itself into a logistics network of nerd culture and do the same thing. Even in their most thinly populated markets, like, say, the middle of Iowa, there's still a Gamestop in every medium sized town. Instead of the large fulfillment center in Louisville, why not have smaller regional distribution centers? They were at the mercy of their position. Having one giant fulfillment center in Kentucky might be great for centralizing and containing costs but then you basically limit yourself to UPS for distribution. They don't have to be competitive anymore. You have to take what they're offering.
Then you can do your own distribution and actually have a schedule that works for you instead of against you. You can carry the bulk of the inventory in the smaller warehouse, thin the stores out a little, but also replenish quicker. Stores get their supplies once a day from Kentucky. If you have regional storage and a couple of drivers you could have them replenish stock in an hour. You have another team of drivers just dropping off games to customers direct from warehouses or even other stores. Don't have a game in stock? Well I can have it at your front door in two hours.
Also, wtf at this in house refurbishment. Why would you do that? All that happened is that Gamestop stores got a bad name for used gear. Techs were hurried along by management trying to make numbers and they sent so much faulty stock to stores. Plus they were in Gamestop branding and ugh. It just feels so cheap and nasty. What they should have been doing is making deals with the console makers themselves to provide factory refurbishment. Instead they thought they could do it in house, do it cheaper, and take more of the profits. All it did was ruin the brand. If they got the factory refurbished units direct from the OEM they would be the customer. They can use their giant retail brand as leverage to keep quality high and prices low. Profits wouldn't be as high but people could at least buy with confidence knowing that the same people who built the thing serviced the thing.
The whole thing is probably going to become a case study of an inability to adapt to market conditions combined with corporate greed in some economics textbook. It'll also be a textbook study of how keeping staff on such a ridiculous short leash can easily backfire. Call a Gamestop right now. I bet you $100 the person who answers it will say something inane like "Welcome to Gamestop, home of the best used game prices". They don't say it because they believe it. They say it because they have to. It's said at the same hurried pace my brother-in-law recites the Kiddush at the Passover Seder in order to get to the eating.
I don't know if it could have been saved, but I do know that if different people were running it, Gamestop could have died with a bang instead of a whimper.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 8:20 AM on February 20, 2020 [11 favorites]
Digital downloads are fine unless you live in an area without high-speed internet. Even then, being unable to reasonably download updates can be a problem.
EB Games (a Canadian division of GameStop) are now full of toys and crap. The stores always seem to be a mess and look like a bomb went off. Truly awful places to shop, although my kids seem to like going there.
I much prefer our local MicroPlay which carries a lot of vintage gaming stuff and has a fantastic and knowledgeable staff.
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:44 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
EB Games (a Canadian division of GameStop) are now full of toys and crap. The stores always seem to be a mess and look like a bomb went off. Truly awful places to shop, although my kids seem to like going there.
I much prefer our local MicroPlay which carries a lot of vintage gaming stuff and has a fantastic and knowledgeable staff.
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:44 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
I then went across the mall to Best Buy and they had dozens of copies, including the Collector's Edition. All sorts of neat swag for $40 extra, and no pre-order required? Shut up and take my money.
Same experience, except with Target.
And you know what? Apart from the fact that they have the product, shopping for games at my Target is a miserable experience. You're all the way in the back of the store, and everything is locked up. The only interaction you will have with an employee is a required one: this one. Yeah, Mario Odyssey. Can you take it out for me?
I've got many, many local bookstores. There are even places you can buy movies and music that are run by aficionados, with recommendations and everything. But for video games, I have to scroll confusedly through endless crap I can't differentiate on the Switch store and get recommendations through friends on Slack channels.
posted by billjings at 8:47 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
Same experience, except with Target.
And you know what? Apart from the fact that they have the product, shopping for games at my Target is a miserable experience. You're all the way in the back of the store, and everything is locked up. The only interaction you will have with an employee is a required one: this one. Yeah, Mario Odyssey. Can you take it out for me?
I've got many, many local bookstores. There are even places you can buy movies and music that are run by aficionados, with recommendations and everything. But for video games, I have to scroll confusedly through endless crap I can't differentiate on the Switch store and get recommendations through friends on Slack channels.
posted by billjings at 8:47 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I remember going to the local mall as a young boy in the early 90s, staying for what seem like hours at the Babbages just reading every box for PC games that I didn't have a computer for. It was the absolute coolest place for me. When my dad bought a PC in '94, I finally got to pick out a PC game. I bought Doom 2. I remember sitting in McRaes department store while my mom shopped, holding that game like I had found the Holy Grail.
Babbages is what GameStop wanted to be. It lost itself along the way.
Once it was rebranded as GS it lost its cool. It became about pushing games and preorders.
Also, I found that I had more terrible customer service experiences there than any other store. You either had the nerd that couldn't look anyone in the eye and ran to the back room when customers were around, or the hardcore condescending gamer nerd that had some snide shit to say about what ever game you brought up. Every once in a while, you would get someone that was actually helpful, but they seemed to be few and far between.
Maybe thats more of an indictment of "nerd" or "gamer" culture. Regardless, I haven't bought anything from GS in a decade, mainly because of customer service.
posted by GreatValhalla at 8:52 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Babbages is what GameStop wanted to be. It lost itself along the way.
Once it was rebranded as GS it lost its cool. It became about pushing games and preorders.
Also, I found that I had more terrible customer service experiences there than any other store. You either had the nerd that couldn't look anyone in the eye and ran to the back room when customers were around, or the hardcore condescending gamer nerd that had some snide shit to say about what ever game you brought up. Every once in a while, you would get someone that was actually helpful, but they seemed to be few and far between.
Maybe thats more of an indictment of "nerd" or "gamer" culture. Regardless, I haven't bought anything from GS in a decade, mainly because of customer service.
posted by GreatValhalla at 8:52 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've got many, many local bookstores. There are even places you can buy movies and music that are run by aficionados, with recommendations and everything.
Yeah, that's the thing that bums me out. The practical alternative to GameStop for physical purchases is a big box generalist store like Target or Best Buy.
I guess the bright side possibility is that maybe when GameStop finally kicks the bucket there will be space for a minor renaissance of indie game stores, the way that Borders and Barnes & Noble dying reinvigorated indie bookstores?
posted by tobascodagama at 9:02 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yeah, that's the thing that bums me out. The practical alternative to GameStop for physical purchases is a big box generalist store like Target or Best Buy.
I guess the bright side possibility is that maybe when GameStop finally kicks the bucket there will be space for a minor renaissance of indie game stores, the way that Borders and Barnes & Noble dying reinvigorated indie bookstores?
posted by tobascodagama at 9:02 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
From what I've heard this is similar to how Borders went down. Declining sales due to shifts in media buying leads to corporate panic and turnaround measures like diversifying into a wider range of lower-quality products, more high-pressure sales tactics and upsell/add-ons etc. Good/experienced employees sense the culture change and the company direction and they leave; less experienced/less engaged people are taken on with less product specialisation and/or interest, resulting in a worse customer experience (and that stressful vibe that retail stores get when they start getting sucked into this doom spiral). Then the whole thing finally collapses into the vortex created by this series of reactions to a worsening situation that continue to worsen the situation until they go out of business.
posted by terretu at 9:05 AM on February 20, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by terretu at 9:05 AM on February 20, 2020 [11 favorites]
Chapters seems to still be killing it up here. They've put a cafe into every store and sell an endless variety of giftware, tech and toys, and some books. At least there's still a giant one in the Eaton Centre and it's always packed.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:09 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:09 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
So we finally caught up with three years ago and bought a Switch recently. Last week, I walked into a local GameStop and found a game I wanted, but they only had used copies, and those were priced higher than the new copy I could get across the parking lot at Target, or just download directly to the console. But! The used games were on sale, buy 2 get 1 free. So with a sigh, I kept looking and found three games I’d maybe want, but even with that “deal,” it was still cheaper to go somewhere else and buy them all new.
I walked out of the store thinking, so GameStop is obviously on the Blockbuster path. I won’t be returning to any of their stores, why would I?
posted by LooseFilter at 9:14 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I walked out of the store thinking, so GameStop is obviously on the Blockbuster path. I won’t be returning to any of their stores, why would I?
posted by LooseFilter at 9:14 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
From what I've heard this is similar to how Borders went down.
Speaking as a former Borders employee who was there for all of this, this is 100% how it went down.
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:16 AM on February 20, 2020 [10 favorites]
Speaking as a former Borders employee who was there for all of this, this is 100% how it went down.
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:16 AM on February 20, 2020 [10 favorites]
Pour one out for Funcoland, one of Gamestop's predecessors, for which their practice of having a lot of (working) consoles available for free play seems more modern than trying to compete in retail with Amazon. I was one of many kids who were dropped off there when their parents had to do something boring like grocery shopping.
I feel like trying to pivot into an arcade/gaming cafe would make more sense than trying to sell more collectible figurines, and also resist the online toxicity that spreads when you're playing people online and not in person.
posted by meowzilla at 9:19 AM on February 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
I feel like trying to pivot into an arcade/gaming cafe would make more sense than trying to sell more collectible figurines, and also resist the online toxicity that spreads when you're playing people online and not in person.
posted by meowzilla at 9:19 AM on February 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
Something nobody seems to be saying is how much is this happening because the Game *Manufacturers* want second hand game stores to all die in fire? They've fought tooth and nail to keep e-games from being able to be re-sold (I think Europe is looking at that?) so why *wouldn't* they be doing everything they can to kill these places? That combined with all the "downloads are just fine" people is finally going to do it. They can partner with Target and Best Buy, not these. (Or, at least, they'd rather keep more of the pie themselves if they can.)
posted by aleph at 9:23 AM on February 20, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by aleph at 9:23 AM on February 20, 2020 [5 favorites]
Not the same industry, but a floundering retail store used to keep me up at night with terror and threats to RING MORE SALES. I have a visceral reaction to this kind of mess. These are people ya'll.
posted by lextex at 9:24 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by lextex at 9:24 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
"These are people ya'll." Not to the Capitalists. Or rather, it's more a matter of "that shouldn't matter".
posted by aleph at 9:27 AM on February 20, 2020
posted by aleph at 9:27 AM on February 20, 2020
And Switch games? Amazon has the 2-year old Breath of the Wild on "sale" for $49. It's preposterous, but Switch exclusives are so damn expensive compared to other systems. Sony's recent mega-game Death Stranding was reduced in price in about a month. Nintendo users pay such a premium. And the Switch online store is vast mountain ranges of pixellated shovel ware.
I don't get it. In fact, I had a Switch and recently gave it away.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:29 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I don't get it. In fact, I had a Switch and recently gave it away.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:29 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
Switch isn't going the xbox/playstation path. And so far it seems to be working for them. You? Not so much.
posted by aleph at 9:31 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by aleph at 9:31 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's preposterous, but Switch exclusives are so damn expensive compared to other systems.
That has literally been Nintendo's business model since the NES. They've made it this far.
posted by Twain Device at 9:36 AM on February 20, 2020 [10 favorites]
That has literally been Nintendo's business model since the NES. They've made it this far.
posted by Twain Device at 9:36 AM on February 20, 2020 [10 favorites]
New NES games were $60. Games that had been out for a while were $40.
We should be amazed that somehow inflation hasn't at all grasped video games, not complaining that Breath of the Wild is $49.
The fancy gold cartridge Legend of Zelda that we got when I was 6 was $117.97 in 2019 dollars, if my uncle paid $50 for it.
posted by explosion at 9:38 AM on February 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
We should be amazed that somehow inflation hasn't at all grasped video games, not complaining that Breath of the Wild is $49.
The fancy gold cartridge Legend of Zelda that we got when I was 6 was $117.97 in 2019 dollars, if my uncle paid $50 for it.
posted by explosion at 9:38 AM on February 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
Well, that would explain why their action figure prices just jumped like 40%. Hey GameStop, guess why I recently stopped shopping with you guys?
posted by davelog at 9:40 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by davelog at 9:40 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure "corporate greed" is the correct concept here. These businesses are failing because of a built-in system of fear and panic. Sure, there's individuals in corporations that are greedy. But those specific people aren't necessarily the whole story.
I see it more stemming from individual fear. It's not that everyone is striving to make the most money, at least not in a logical or long- or even medium-term sense. Self destructive systems like these are imploding because of the shared sense of Fear and Fearful Self Preservation... "I have to get MINE now, TODAY before the entire building collapses and I'm screwed" is prevalent everywhere in business these days. "Tomorrow is Someone Else's Problem" is the underlying motto in contemporary American Businesses. I saw it intimately in the advertising world, and it appears to be almost everywhere. But again: not coming completely from Power Players wanting to game the system or screw over other people. It's fear from millions of scared people in all levels of the mechanism... all acting out of fear.
I'm no corporate genius and I don't have a solution, but I think I see and have seen how and why this happens.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:41 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I see it more stemming from individual fear. It's not that everyone is striving to make the most money, at least not in a logical or long- or even medium-term sense. Self destructive systems like these are imploding because of the shared sense of Fear and Fearful Self Preservation... "I have to get MINE now, TODAY before the entire building collapses and I'm screwed" is prevalent everywhere in business these days. "Tomorrow is Someone Else's Problem" is the underlying motto in contemporary American Businesses. I saw it intimately in the advertising world, and it appears to be almost everywhere. But again: not coming completely from Power Players wanting to game the system or screw over other people. It's fear from millions of scared people in all levels of the mechanism... all acting out of fear.
I'm no corporate genius and I don't have a solution, but I think I see and have seen how and why this happens.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:41 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I will also add this, we shouldn't cheer for people who are losing their job. Work is often hard to come by, and these are retail jobs that a lot of younger people in high school & university need to keep themselves afloat while they complete their education or transition into adulthood.
The CEO cronies at the top are deserving of our vitriol, but not the employees who just want to put some food on the plate.
posted by Fizz at 9:42 AM on February 20, 2020 [14 favorites]
The CEO cronies at the top are deserving of our vitriol, but not the employees who just want to put some food on the plate.
posted by Fizz at 9:42 AM on February 20, 2020 [14 favorites]
Oh yeah. :(
It seems like the "smart money" has been running for the exits for a while now. While trying to be quiet about it.
posted by aleph at 9:43 AM on February 20, 2020
It seems like the "smart money" has been running for the exits for a while now. While trying to be quiet about it.
posted by aleph at 9:43 AM on February 20, 2020
I don't mind any of my local Gamestops - they're all doing what they set out to do, but buying online you really wonder what the backend logistics of the place is like. Like, you get the distinct impression that corporate has almost _no_ idea what is locked away in each store's media cabinet. I mean sure, no brick and mortar chain is maintaining inventory properly to integrate online sales without some pain, and product still goes for a walk even with the locked cabinets, I'm sure, but.. Ugh. "Do you actually have a copy of this out of print game or not?" "uhhhh maybe? come on over and ask the staff!"
And then when you do buy something online and get the free shipping, more often than not everything ships out of a different... Warehouse? Store? That can't be efficient, either.
posted by Kyol at 9:45 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
And then when you do buy something online and get the free shipping, more often than not everything ships out of a different... Warehouse? Store? That can't be efficient, either.
posted by Kyol at 9:45 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
One of the reasons I stopped going to Gamestop is the horrible high pressure upsale whenever I buy anything.
posted by zzazazz at 9:53 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by zzazazz at 9:53 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
I guess we're witnessing the fall of capitalism. And certainly there's mostly blame at the top. But the entire system is rotting, and pointing at specific Fat Cats trivializes the issue to some extent.
...
But yeah, I had the same experience the one and only time I went to GameStop, probably 10 years ago. I wanted the long-awaited Dragon Age: Origins. I was not closely following the hype machine back then, so I figured I'd show up at the GS around opening time and pick up a copy. It's a specialty store, right? Wrong. They had none in stock except pre-orders. So the business model was to cater to people who were already customers and were in the know about their silly pre-order system. I went to Best Buy later that day and picked up a copy.
Which is sort of ironic. I did advertising for the late Circuit City just before they went out of business. Circuit City started back in '77 as a place that techies could buy electronics from knowledgeable staff. They had employees at corporate headquarters who had been there for several decades. It was kind of a family HQ. Well, some of you might remember the last days of CC and their famous move of firing all their long-time employees (the knowledgeable ones) and re-hiring some of them at lower wages? Didn't work out so well.
At the time Circuit City's biggest competitor was Best Buy, which is hilarious. Best Buy started as a clearance-house sort of store with appliances and all sorts of random stuff at reduced prices. Old models, refurbished, stock that had to be moved at slashed prices. Their name means Discount Stuff! Their logo is still a garage-sale style price tag! CC decided the best way to compete was to go low and stop being experts and to "out Best Buy" Best Buy.
And Circuit City is no more.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:58 AM on February 20, 2020 [8 favorites]
...
But yeah, I had the same experience the one and only time I went to GameStop, probably 10 years ago. I wanted the long-awaited Dragon Age: Origins. I was not closely following the hype machine back then, so I figured I'd show up at the GS around opening time and pick up a copy. It's a specialty store, right? Wrong. They had none in stock except pre-orders. So the business model was to cater to people who were already customers and were in the know about their silly pre-order system. I went to Best Buy later that day and picked up a copy.
Which is sort of ironic. I did advertising for the late Circuit City just before they went out of business. Circuit City started back in '77 as a place that techies could buy electronics from knowledgeable staff. They had employees at corporate headquarters who had been there for several decades. It was kind of a family HQ. Well, some of you might remember the last days of CC and their famous move of firing all their long-time employees (the knowledgeable ones) and re-hiring some of them at lower wages? Didn't work out so well.
At the time Circuit City's biggest competitor was Best Buy, which is hilarious. Best Buy started as a clearance-house sort of store with appliances and all sorts of random stuff at reduced prices. Old models, refurbished, stock that had to be moved at slashed prices. Their name means Discount Stuff! Their logo is still a garage-sale style price tag! CC decided the best way to compete was to go low and stop being experts and to "out Best Buy" Best Buy.
And Circuit City is no more.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:58 AM on February 20, 2020 [8 favorites]
So for anyone above lamenting the demise of the expertise of their local gamestop employees for game recommendations, you may want to check out metafilter-spawned mefightclub.com . While admittedly not as active there as I used to be, that is always still my go-to source for gaming news, recommendations, and general shooting the shit about all things gaming. It does tend to lean more towards PC gaming, but there are plenty of us there that also have a Switch or other console as well.
posted by Grither at 9:58 AM on February 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by Grither at 9:58 AM on February 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
If GameStop dies does this mean they’ll start selling games at Barnes and Noble? I’ve always assumed that some kind of internal deal is why B&N doesn’t carry video games, which is kind of a mystifying gap as they’re half a toy store now.
posted by q*ben at 10:00 AM on February 20, 2020
posted by q*ben at 10:00 AM on February 20, 2020
New NES games were $60. Games that had been out for a while were $40.
Black box games retailed around $30-$35. Later titles which included mapper chips and such retailed around $40-$45 when they were new.
Anecdata, but I don't recall seeing any NES games priced above $50. It may have occurred, but it was not necessarily the norm.
posted by StarkRoads at 10:01 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Black box games retailed around $30-$35. Later titles which included mapper chips and such retailed around $40-$45 when they were new.
Anecdata, but I don't recall seeing any NES games priced above $50. It may have occurred, but it was not necessarily the norm.
posted by StarkRoads at 10:01 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Thanks, Grither! I just signed up under my same Username.
posted by SoberHighland at 10:03 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by SoberHighland at 10:03 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Don't take away my Bull Moose, though.
I'm here for the Bull Moose love. Indy local chain, great people, wide selection of used games and equipment, and they're super nice to the teens who tend to hang out there.
The games retail market is NOT dying. GameStop is dying. From what I can see, people are still thrilled to buy games just, you know, not from them.
posted by anastasiav at 10:13 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm here for the Bull Moose love. Indy local chain, great people, wide selection of used games and equipment, and they're super nice to the teens who tend to hang out there.
The games retail market is NOT dying. GameStop is dying. From what I can see, people are still thrilled to buy games just, you know, not from them.
posted by anastasiav at 10:13 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
As far as hard media on it's way out, I still rent Netflix DVDs, and the quality of the service has significantly dropped, starting with longer shipping times and longer delays on new movies (and quite a few oldies). It's obvious they are winding down, and I'm going to miss them, since my broadband both stinks and has expensive caps, plus Netflix DVD still has an amazing selection of movies to choose from.
As for EB, my last two purchases there were WoW and City of Heroes (lol), so that's around 17 years, and both were pre ordered.
Honestly, what I really miss is back when BB has a massive selection of DVDs and PC Games.
Lastly, B&N still chugs along.
posted by Beholder at 10:14 AM on February 20, 2020
As for EB, my last two purchases there were WoW and City of Heroes (lol), so that's around 17 years, and both were pre ordered.
Honestly, what I really miss is back when BB has a massive selection of DVDs and PC Games.
Lastly, B&N still chugs along.
posted by Beholder at 10:14 AM on February 20, 2020
“The xxxxxx retail market is dying.” - the sentence could apply to ANY retail outlet. Investors have been asset stripping to maximize shareholder profit and pressure on retail workers to 'perform' is very high. Ask anyone from [insert retail name here]...
There is nothing more disheartening than a 'shopper' entering a store and 'doing some research', taking up a sales persons time, and then going and buying online when you have a store/district manager breathing down your neck to make goal...
It is a self-destructing cycle that people will learn is a bad way of doing things when they suddenly realize brick and mortar stores are no more...
posted by IndelibleUnderpants at 10:15 AM on February 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
There is nothing more disheartening than a 'shopper' entering a store and 'doing some research', taking up a sales persons time, and then going and buying online when you have a store/district manager breathing down your neck to make goal...
It is a self-destructing cycle that people will learn is a bad way of doing things when they suddenly realize brick and mortar stores are no more...
posted by IndelibleUnderpants at 10:15 AM on February 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
"...when they suddenly realize brick and mortar stores are no more"
Or when enough of them die off to have the ones left become boutique stores that "rent" time to try products out as their main business.
That's a lot of die off. :(
posted by aleph at 10:29 AM on February 20, 2020
Or when enough of them die off to have the ones left become boutique stores that "rent" time to try products out as their main business.
That's a lot of die off. :(
posted by aleph at 10:29 AM on February 20, 2020
There is nothing more disheartening than a 'shopper' entering a store and 'doing some research', taking up a sales persons time, and then going and buying online when you have a store/district manager breathing down your neck to make goal...
It is a self-destructing cycle that people will learn is a bad way of doing things when they suddenly realize brick and mortar stores are no more...
This is exactly what happened to a locally owned photography and camera products shop in the small city where I live. People would come in, ask the owner and his knowledgeable staff questions about gear, and then go buy it from a big online camera store out of NYC. It was a hundred years of collective knowledge dispersed. According to an article on the closure, there is only one other photo and camera shop left in the entire state.
posted by Fukiyama at 10:37 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
It is a self-destructing cycle that people will learn is a bad way of doing things when they suddenly realize brick and mortar stores are no more...
This is exactly what happened to a locally owned photography and camera products shop in the small city where I live. People would come in, ask the owner and his knowledgeable staff questions about gear, and then go buy it from a big online camera store out of NYC. It was a hundred years of collective knowledge dispersed. According to an article on the closure, there is only one other photo and camera shop left in the entire state.
posted by Fukiyama at 10:37 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
I used to go to GS all the time. It was a great place to browse old games, shoot the shit with the very knowledgeable staff, pick up a few new games, and try out a few of the big AA games on the consoles they had set up. For various reasons, I didn't go to one since 2009 or so, until I went to get a copy of Red Dead Redemption 2 for Xbox in 2018. Wow. Just wow. The store looked like a bomb had gone off, and the staff was not interested in helping me AT ALL. Ended up buying it at Best Buy instead, I think, as they didn't have any in stock. It was very sad.
posted by gemmy at 10:43 AM on February 20, 2020
posted by gemmy at 10:43 AM on February 20, 2020
“The xxxxxx retail market is dying.” - the sentence could apply to ANY retail outlet. Investors have been asset stripping to maximize shareholder profit and pressure on retail workers to 'perform' is very high. Ask anyone from [insert retail name here]...
Thank God that isn't happening for my favorite small bookstores. My reading life would be significantly poorer if it weren't for stores like Borderlands, Green Apple, Square Books, Lemuria... I have bought fewer books off of Amazon in the past five years because of my wonderful local stores, and that is getting to be more the case as time goes by.
posted by billjings at 10:47 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Thank God that isn't happening for my favorite small bookstores. My reading life would be significantly poorer if it weren't for stores like Borderlands, Green Apple, Square Books, Lemuria... I have bought fewer books off of Amazon in the past five years because of my wonderful local stores, and that is getting to be more the case as time goes by.
posted by billjings at 10:47 AM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Nah. Vinyl records and paper books are both doing very well. I still buy physical games for my Switch because of the paltry amount of on-board storage.
Vinyl is 18% of physical music sales, which itself is only 9% of total music sales. So yeah, I guess Vinyl is "doing very well" in the sense that it's taking more of a piece of the rapidly dying physical music market. And for books, well the "GameStop" version of the book store (large chain of small stores with just a general selection) hasn't even existed in a decade.
posted by sideshow at 11:02 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
Vinyl is 18% of physical music sales, which itself is only 9% of total music sales. So yeah, I guess Vinyl is "doing very well" in the sense that it's taking more of a piece of the rapidly dying physical music market. And for books, well the "GameStop" version of the book store (large chain of small stores with just a general selection) hasn't even existed in a decade.
posted by sideshow at 11:02 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I am fully sympathetic to the employees since it sounds like an awful place to work, but as for the company itself, I say only: lmao
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 11:05 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 11:05 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
'Retail' isn't really dying either -that's a grand overstatement. Retail in the US is at like 90% occupied by square footage across the entire country, and the US has more retail square footage than any other developed country by like 3-1 on average.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:13 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:13 AM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
There is nothing more disheartening than a 'shopper' entering a store and 'doing some research'...
While showrooming is undoubtedly a thing, I have doubts that it's all that common at Gamestop, for people like me at least.
The information you're going to get by visiting in person is:
- The game packaging, which of course is going to be positive
- An opinion from an overworked store employee, who probably doesn't have the same likes and dislikes as you, and hasn't played the game, and you'll need to wait 10+ minutes for while they single-handledly ring up everyone else in the store
- The marked up in-store price
You can't play or demo the game, or even see what it looks like.
These days I do a lot of reverse-showrooming, where I scour Amazon reviews, Reddit posts, Youtube and Twitch videos, then happily head into the store to pay $10 more for immediate gratification.
Then spend ten minutes trying to flag someone to unlock the case for me, or stand in line at Gamestop for them to tell me that it's out of stock. Online order and pickup actually works for me but it's a short term fix.
posted by meowzilla at 11:14 AM on February 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
While showrooming is undoubtedly a thing, I have doubts that it's all that common at Gamestop, for people like me at least.
The information you're going to get by visiting in person is:
- The game packaging, which of course is going to be positive
- An opinion from an overworked store employee, who probably doesn't have the same likes and dislikes as you, and hasn't played the game, and you'll need to wait 10+ minutes for while they single-handledly ring up everyone else in the store
- The marked up in-store price
You can't play or demo the game, or even see what it looks like.
These days I do a lot of reverse-showrooming, where I scour Amazon reviews, Reddit posts, Youtube and Twitch videos, then happily head into the store to pay $10 more for immediate gratification.
Then spend ten minutes trying to flag someone to unlock the case for me, or stand in line at Gamestop for them to tell me that it's out of stock. Online order and pickup actually works for me but it's a short term fix.
posted by meowzilla at 11:14 AM on February 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
I guess we're witnessing the fall of capitalism
Because Gamestop sucks...? If we were all pondering "Where were YOU when Gamestop fell?" in 30 years, that would be neat.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 11:16 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
Because Gamestop sucks...? If we were all pondering "Where were YOU when Gamestop fell?" in 30 years, that would be neat.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 11:16 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I tend to believe that the reason why these kinds of businesses falter is that they all spectacularly fail to adopt their customers' perspective.
Growth should not be sought in the extraction of value (price-gouging, limiting stock, upselling, ...) but in the creation of value (knowledgeable staff, free to play games, ...). Consumers have plenty of alternatives to buy their physical video games, but every effort should be made to make yourself the preferred alternative (exactly by offering more value compared to other offers). Unfortunately, too many companies are either afraid to talk to their customers, don't listen to the staff who deals with them on a daily basis, simply don't believe their customers or have the completely ridiculous idea that they're smarter than their competitors. It's a basic lack of empathy, really.
Business education is still too focused on value extraction instead of value creation. But it's simply by creating more value than the other guy that you take a bigger share of the videogame retail market.
(Of course, that market is shrinking. But people with vision who actually care about their business and its customers would have been able to transition to today's smaller market instead of pretending everything's dandy while f'ing over their customers).
posted by Captain Fetid at 11:28 AM on February 20, 2020 [7 favorites]
Growth should not be sought in the extraction of value (price-gouging, limiting stock, upselling, ...) but in the creation of value (knowledgeable staff, free to play games, ...). Consumers have plenty of alternatives to buy their physical video games, but every effort should be made to make yourself the preferred alternative (exactly by offering more value compared to other offers). Unfortunately, too many companies are either afraid to talk to their customers, don't listen to the staff who deals with them on a daily basis, simply don't believe their customers or have the completely ridiculous idea that they're smarter than their competitors. It's a basic lack of empathy, really.
Business education is still too focused on value extraction instead of value creation. But it's simply by creating more value than the other guy that you take a bigger share of the videogame retail market.
(Of course, that market is shrinking. But people with vision who actually care about their business and its customers would have been able to transition to today's smaller market instead of pretending everything's dandy while f'ing over their customers).
posted by Captain Fetid at 11:28 AM on February 20, 2020 [7 favorites]
corb: "Gamestop did this to themselves by not listening to the workers and listening to the shareholders instead."
You could pretty much replace "Gamestop" in that sentence with any corporation and it would work. That sentence is the "Christ, what an asshole" of corporate reporting. It works anywhere.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:30 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
You could pretty much replace "Gamestop" in that sentence with any corporation and it would work. That sentence is the "Christ, what an asshole" of corporate reporting. It works anywhere.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:30 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
There's been an inversion of understanding what a corporation's purpose is.
At one point, it was understood that a corporation existed to, and could facilitate that practice by making money. Nintendo makes games, Chevy makes cars, etc.
It's now thought that a corporation exists to make money, and facilitates that practice by.
Not that the pursuit of profit itself is wholly wrong, but the latter mindset is what leads to companies being hollowed out and gutted.
posted by explosion at 11:38 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
At one point, it was understood that a corporation existed to
It's now thought that a corporation exists to make money, and facilitates that practice by
Not that the pursuit of profit itself is wholly wrong, but the latter mindset is what leads to companies being hollowed out and gutted.
posted by explosion at 11:38 AM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
If we were all pondering "Where were YOU when Gamestop fell?" in 30 years, that would be neat.
Shaka, when the GameStop fell. Gaben, his arms wide.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:45 AM on February 20, 2020 [24 favorites]
Shaka, when the GameStop fell. Gaben, his arms wide.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:45 AM on February 20, 2020 [24 favorites]
The one thing I miss most was being able to "try a game" before I bought it. One of the main reasons I went to a store like Toys R Us as a kid, the reason I begged my parents to go there to look for gifts for my friends for their birthday, was that it was an excuse to wander around the store and eventually find the video-game section and stand there and try out a game for a half hour. I miss that kind of a space. I miss those controller/tv setups.
posted by Fizz at 11:46 AM on February 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 11:46 AM on February 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
→ Digital games can be played without an internet connection on Xbox if it's your "home" Xbox
As longs as the Xbox store doesn't attempt validation, which it seems always to do for me. Since part of my job is demoing adaptive modified games at exhibitions (where a spotty network connection might cost you $100 a day), I could do without the pile-of-useless-gaming-hardware-without-network
posted by scruss at 12:18 PM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
As longs as the Xbox store doesn't attempt validation, which it seems always to do for me. Since part of my job is demoing adaptive modified games at exhibitions (where a spotty network connection might cost you $100 a day), I could do without the pile-of-useless-gaming-hardware-without-network
posted by scruss at 12:18 PM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
When considering how Gamestop is dying, we all should be aware that the games industry is well over a hundred billion dollar a year industry. Probably 200 billion in 2020 or 2021. So capitalism is fine, it's just no one wants a store that is worse and worse in an effort to get one last drop of blood from the stone.
Since part of my job is demoing adaptive modified games at exhibitions (where a spotty network connection might cost you $100 a day), I could do without the pile-of-useless-gaming-hardware-without-network
You're not the situation I described then since you're "demoing adaptive modified games at exhibitions" which is interesting and confusing what you mean by adaptive and modified, but it doesn't really matter. Most people play their games at home on their "home" Xbox. I even play Gamepass games offline sometimes and if anything would require a check, it would probably be a game I'm basically Netflixing.
Some games do require persistent connections, but it's not the majority.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 12:19 PM on February 20, 2020
Since part of my job is demoing adaptive modified games at exhibitions (where a spotty network connection might cost you $100 a day), I could do without the pile-of-useless-gaming-hardware-without-network
You're not the situation I described then since you're "demoing adaptive modified games at exhibitions" which is interesting and confusing what you mean by adaptive and modified, but it doesn't really matter. Most people play their games at home on their "home" Xbox. I even play Gamepass games offline sometimes and if anything would require a check, it would probably be a game I'm basically Netflixing.
Some games do require persistent connections, but it's not the majority.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 12:19 PM on February 20, 2020
Do you happen to know how often you need to connect it? I don't think it will let you stay offline indefinitely. And then once you do connect there are probably a bunch of mandatory patches before you can play again.
At least there are in Steam. That's my current problem with PC gaming. I don't really care about your big multiplayer patch and I can't afford to download another 40GB this month (20% of my ISP's limit), but I was right in the middle of the single player campaign and now I can't launch the game again until it's updated. Grrr.
posted by ODiV at 12:44 PM on February 20, 2020
At least there are in Steam. That's my current problem with PC gaming. I don't really care about your big multiplayer patch and I can't afford to download another 40GB this month (20% of my ISP's limit), but I was right in the middle of the single player campaign and now I can't launch the game again until it's updated. Grrr.
posted by ODiV at 12:44 PM on February 20, 2020
Been in a Guitar Center lately?
The people who work there have to know it’s a suicide mission.
posted by spitbull at 12:44 PM on February 20, 2020
The people who work there have to know it’s a suicide mission.
posted by spitbull at 12:44 PM on February 20, 2020
ODiV, I was curious so I went and looked and they say indefinitely. They break down what you can and can't do offline vs. online.
https://beta.support.xbox.com/help/Hardware-Network/connect-network/using-xbox-one-offline
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 12:49 PM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
https://beta.support.xbox.com/help/Hardware-Network/connect-network/using-xbox-one-offline
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 12:49 PM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
I worked for one of these stores in the 90s and you can count me among those who are frankly amazed that they still exist.
(It was a pretty fun scene at the time though. We were living High Fidelity before Nick Hornby even wrote High Fidelity, at least when we weren't living Clerks.)
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 12:58 PM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
(It was a pretty fun scene at the time though. We were living High Fidelity before Nick Hornby even wrote High Fidelity, at least when we weren't living Clerks.)
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 12:58 PM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
ODiV, I was curious so I went and looked and they say indefinitely.
Neat thanks. I remember reading some stuff just after launch about how you needed to call home every X amount of time or something, so maybe they did away with that or it was just never true.
posted by ODiV at 1:05 PM on February 20, 2020
Neat thanks. I remember reading some stuff just after launch about how you needed to call home every X amount of time or something, so maybe they did away with that or it was just never true.
posted by ODiV at 1:05 PM on February 20, 2020
How many different types of stores has this happened to now?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:26 PM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:26 PM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
Business education is still too focused on value extraction instead of value creation
Oh, you want to learn about value creation? The arts departments are across the quad. Engineering's on the other side of the football stadium.
posted by ocschwar at 2:43 PM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
Has anyone here had any experience managing a Gamestop or know someone who has? An old acquaintance's husband was a manager in a high volume area. He used to say that the upper management folks were startlingly inept, like to the point where the main Grapevine location would have nothing but support staff there because anyone with any clout had been gone half the time. He claimed that the only time any C-level had any interaction with the business at all was getting their quarterly updates and occasionally putting in an appearance at their conferences. No one knew what they were doing and store managers were basically besieging the main office screaming for help and direction.
Not sure how true any of that is, maybe just a guy complaining.
posted by FakeFreyja at 2:45 PM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Not sure how true any of that is, maybe just a guy complaining.
posted by FakeFreyja at 2:45 PM on February 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
I'm not a huge gamer — I just play the occasional bit of mobile games.
Will there be a role for retail or physical presence for a video game or video game console distributor, now that people have effectively moved to subscription, streaming or download-based gaming? Or they buy their consoles from Amazon etc.
What need is there for GameStop and similar stores by gamers, other than offering a physical place to buy and sell old hardware and discs/cartridges?
Makes me wonder what a service-based, retail economy does, when more and more services are automated or otherwise based on digital or online purchase and distribution, which effectively remove most humans from the equation. Amazon and Walmart warehouses can mostly run dark. Unlike humans, robots don't need light.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:46 PM on February 20, 2020
Will there be a role for retail or physical presence for a video game or video game console distributor, now that people have effectively moved to subscription, streaming or download-based gaming? Or they buy their consoles from Amazon etc.
What need is there for GameStop and similar stores by gamers, other than offering a physical place to buy and sell old hardware and discs/cartridges?
Makes me wonder what a service-based, retail economy does, when more and more services are automated or otherwise based on digital or online purchase and distribution, which effectively remove most humans from the equation. Amazon and Walmart warehouses can mostly run dark. Unlike humans, robots don't need light.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:46 PM on February 20, 2020
Business education is still too focused on value extraction instead of value creation
This is the logical end result of the cult of Shareholder Value where the point of a business is no longer to make money and sell products, it's to make money for the investment class. This is a good article on it. So it's not even about building a sustainable business for the long-term, it's about making Number Go Up every quarter.
In Gamestop's case (and Borders case', since I worked there), it makes sense to harass the customer to buy 20 different "value-added" subscriptions and disc insurances and memberships, because it makes Number Go Up in the short term. Likewise, focusing on preorders makes sense because it makes Number Go Up in the short term. There's no value in this school of thought to making a long-term customer. There's no way to calculate how many people got annoyed with all the upsells and just stopped going. And even if there is, by the point that really bites 5 or 10 years down the road, the managers and executive class that implemented the decision have already golden parachuted out to their next opportunity.
Like when they stopped selling (or drastically cut back on stocking) PC games post-Steam. You need that space for stocking things like console games that still had to be bought on disc at the time. Makes sense short term. But 10 years down the road, the cranky PC gamers I know have the disposable income and urge to buy weird Collector's Editions with statues and stickers and toys and all the rest, and maybe they'd go in and pick up something else. But now you don't really stock PC games anymore, so they don't bother.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 4:07 PM on February 20, 2020 [8 favorites]
This is the logical end result of the cult of Shareholder Value where the point of a business is no longer to make money and sell products, it's to make money for the investment class. This is a good article on it. So it's not even about building a sustainable business for the long-term, it's about making Number Go Up every quarter.
In Gamestop's case (and Borders case', since I worked there), it makes sense to harass the customer to buy 20 different "value-added" subscriptions and disc insurances and memberships, because it makes Number Go Up in the short term. Likewise, focusing on preorders makes sense because it makes Number Go Up in the short term. There's no value in this school of thought to making a long-term customer. There's no way to calculate how many people got annoyed with all the upsells and just stopped going. And even if there is, by the point that really bites 5 or 10 years down the road, the managers and executive class that implemented the decision have already golden parachuted out to their next opportunity.
Like when they stopped selling (or drastically cut back on stocking) PC games post-Steam. You need that space for stocking things like console games that still had to be bought on disc at the time. Makes sense short term. But 10 years down the road, the cranky PC gamers I know have the disposable income and urge to buy weird Collector's Editions with statues and stickers and toys and all the rest, and maybe they'd go in and pick up something else. But now you don't really stock PC games anymore, so they don't bother.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 4:07 PM on February 20, 2020 [8 favorites]
What need is there for GameStop and similar stores by gamers, other than offering a physical place to buy and sell old hardware and discs/cartridges?
The classic answer is kids and people who for other reasons can't/won't get credit cards to buy/subscribe online with. There are more ways around it these days though, with a plethora of preloaded cards you can buy with cash. Even so, there are still people out there who operate primarily in cash.
posted by ODiV at 4:08 PM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
The classic answer is kids and people who for other reasons can't/won't get credit cards to buy/subscribe online with. There are more ways around it these days though, with a plethora of preloaded cards you can buy with cash. Even so, there are still people out there who operate primarily in cash.
posted by ODiV at 4:08 PM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's not exactly the same, but I vastly prefer my local board game shop to buying on Amazon. I'll even pay three or four dollars more, and deal with the inconvenience of shopping retail, to patronize them. The way that they do this is by:
Having knowledgable staff: I remember going to my at the time local store and browsing. The clerk came over and asked me what I was looking for, and I said a fun semi-complex card game that travels well. She spent about 15 minutes talking through options with me, discussing various games I already knew I liked, and then settled on Arboretum, which I ended up loving.
Having live events and demos: Every time I've gone to a local game store and done an event I've also bought a game. I'm usually amped up about board games at that point, and open to a sale. It also helps me experience new stuff I normally wouldn't consider buying. Even if I don't buy anything that day, it makes me feel great about the store and want to return.
Being fun, friendly, and open: Going to a game store feels fun. When I think of going to a Gamestop I think "I'm about to be screwed over, or they're at least going to try." The game store wants to sell me a game, and I want to buy it. Even if I just browse, it feels good to be in the store, surrounded by a hobby that I love.
Does this model work at scale? Maybe it does. Does this model work as an endless growth and extraction machine. Absolutely not. It also feels good that a lot of these stores are small business, and that I know they pay their employees decently. But that's hard to translate into a version where there's one of these in every American strip mall (and I wouldn't even want that to be the case anyway).
Reading through the FPP article, it makes me realize that the reason that so many hobbyist stores tend down this path (see also: Borders and Radio Shack) is that there's no room for love or humanity in a system of endless growth. At a certain point, not faced by a small business, you reach an inflection where you can't continue to provide value for shareholders and customers at the same time. Small businesses aren't perfect by any means, but in comparison with these boom and bust chains they're far preferable.
posted by codacorolla at 4:34 PM on February 20, 2020 [11 favorites]
Having knowledgable staff: I remember going to my at the time local store and browsing. The clerk came over and asked me what I was looking for, and I said a fun semi-complex card game that travels well. She spent about 15 minutes talking through options with me, discussing various games I already knew I liked, and then settled on Arboretum, which I ended up loving.
Having live events and demos: Every time I've gone to a local game store and done an event I've also bought a game. I'm usually amped up about board games at that point, and open to a sale. It also helps me experience new stuff I normally wouldn't consider buying. Even if I don't buy anything that day, it makes me feel great about the store and want to return.
Being fun, friendly, and open: Going to a game store feels fun. When I think of going to a Gamestop I think "I'm about to be screwed over, or they're at least going to try." The game store wants to sell me a game, and I want to buy it. Even if I just browse, it feels good to be in the store, surrounded by a hobby that I love.
Does this model work at scale? Maybe it does. Does this model work as an endless growth and extraction machine. Absolutely not. It also feels good that a lot of these stores are small business, and that I know they pay their employees decently. But that's hard to translate into a version where there's one of these in every American strip mall (and I wouldn't even want that to be the case anyway).
Reading through the FPP article, it makes me realize that the reason that so many hobbyist stores tend down this path (see also: Borders and Radio Shack) is that there's no room for love or humanity in a system of endless growth. At a certain point, not faced by a small business, you reach an inflection where you can't continue to provide value for shareholders and customers at the same time. Small businesses aren't perfect by any means, but in comparison with these boom and bust chains they're far preferable.
posted by codacorolla at 4:34 PM on February 20, 2020 [11 favorites]
EB Games (a Canadian division of GameStop) are now full of toys and crap.
Same in Australia - EB Games has been slowly shifting over to selling pop culture tat (an entire wall of horrifying Funko toys), D&D stuff, and boardgames.
I imagine it has nothing to do with the local equivalent of a big box store, JB Hifi, eating their lunch, especially since JB seems to recruit entirely out of art schools and the goth scene. Definitely not their high prices, their sparse stock, or how uncomfortable it is to shop there.
Like, there's still room for physical purchases - you can lend them to friends, for instance - and gaming is thoroughly mainstream so you'd think you could do something with that. But no.
posted by Merus at 4:53 PM on February 20, 2020
Same in Australia - EB Games has been slowly shifting over to selling pop culture tat (an entire wall of horrifying Funko toys), D&D stuff, and boardgames.
I imagine it has nothing to do with the local equivalent of a big box store, JB Hifi, eating their lunch, especially since JB seems to recruit entirely out of art schools and the goth scene. Definitely not their high prices, their sparse stock, or how uncomfortable it is to shop there.
Like, there's still room for physical purchases - you can lend them to friends, for instance - and gaming is thoroughly mainstream so you'd think you could do something with that. But no.
posted by Merus at 4:53 PM on February 20, 2020
Here's another part of the story of digital vs. physical: Impulse buying.
So easy to buy a game at 12:30 in the morning these days, and start playing it 30 minutes later.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:35 PM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
So easy to buy a game at 12:30 in the morning these days, and start playing it 30 minutes later.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:35 PM on February 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I remember downloading the shareware version of Doom from a local BBS in 1993 and wondering then how game shops were going to survive. Turns out they've lasted 27 years past that point, and long outlived shareware...
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 6:05 PM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 6:05 PM on February 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
They are really stuck between a rock and a hard place, and it's only been a matter of time. The last time I stopped in with my daughter, it was shocking how little of it was consoles and games any more. It has to be the death of physical media and being able to download games now. (And heavy-handed sales tactics.) So, the store was filled with accessories and tie-in products. Some of the stuff was cool, but now they have to deal with online stores -- like Amazon -- that sell those things, and probably for cheaper. And around here, same day. I think they cannot win at this stage.
What is sad is that things are getting crazy-frantic at corporate levels, no one will ever ask, "What can we do to end with some dignity?" But can you imagine if people left talking about how bittersweet it was to be working in the days that GS closed? That won't happen at all, but I think that would be pretty cool, and could leave something of an interesting legacy. As sad as it is to lose jobs, it's going to suck even more going down like this.
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:24 PM on February 20, 2020
What is sad is that things are getting crazy-frantic at corporate levels, no one will ever ask, "What can we do to end with some dignity?" But can you imagine if people left talking about how bittersweet it was to be working in the days that GS closed? That won't happen at all, but I think that would be pretty cool, and could leave something of an interesting legacy. As sad as it is to lose jobs, it's going to suck even more going down like this.
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:24 PM on February 20, 2020
> Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish: "I have a local shop that will pay literally ten times what GameStop does for trade-ins, and is owned by people who actually give a damn. "
Convince them to write a book about how to do this, or to provide consulting services, maybe even franchise. There are areas where local retailers can do well, but of course it's all hit or miss. My area has a used small chain selling used and new cd, records, books, games, fan-related stuff. I feel lucky to have that access. A few bookstores are surviving, but not necessarily thriving.
posted by theora55 at 7:54 AM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Convince them to write a book about how to do this, or to provide consulting services, maybe even franchise. There are areas where local retailers can do well, but of course it's all hit or miss. My area has a used small chain selling used and new cd, records, books, games, fan-related stuff. I feel lucky to have that access. A few bookstores are surviving, but not necessarily thriving.
posted by theora55 at 7:54 AM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Has anyone here had any experience managing a Gamestop or know someone who has?
The guy complaining is correct as far as I know (although my Gamestop work experience is well over ten years old at this point.) Their logistics are kind of a shitshow all around, and this is exacerbated by their practice of unboxing new games and outright trashing boxes for older systems. Makes it a lot harder to keep track of all those cartridges when you haven't got something larger and easier to read, sort, and shelve.
Having worked at a Gamestop, I won't buy used games without a box. When I was dealing with that stock, a lot of those were obviously stolen. Now they've discarded the boxes for all remaining DS and Vita titles, so there's no way to distinguish even when they can manage to match the cartridge to the box. Fuck it, I'd like to have physical copies to loan or give, but there's not much point in trying anymore.
Though the single most obnoxious thing about Gamestop, both as an employee and a customer, is the thing where corporate insisted we have multiple TVs blaring different loud crap all over the store at all times. Like, even a shitty sports bar usually just has the sound on for one channel at a time. It's not a pleasant place to browse. It's a place to find out whether they have the thing I want in stock (they won't) and GTFO.
posted by asperity at 8:37 AM on February 21, 2020 [4 favorites]
The guy complaining is correct as far as I know (although my Gamestop work experience is well over ten years old at this point.) Their logistics are kind of a shitshow all around, and this is exacerbated by their practice of unboxing new games and outright trashing boxes for older systems. Makes it a lot harder to keep track of all those cartridges when you haven't got something larger and easier to read, sort, and shelve.
Having worked at a Gamestop, I won't buy used games without a box. When I was dealing with that stock, a lot of those were obviously stolen. Now they've discarded the boxes for all remaining DS and Vita titles, so there's no way to distinguish even when they can manage to match the cartridge to the box. Fuck it, I'd like to have physical copies to loan or give, but there's not much point in trying anymore.
Though the single most obnoxious thing about Gamestop, both as an employee and a customer, is the thing where corporate insisted we have multiple TVs blaring different loud crap all over the store at all times. Like, even a shitty sports bar usually just has the sound on for one channel at a time. It's not a pleasant place to browse. It's a place to find out whether they have the thing I want in stock (they won't) and GTFO.
posted by asperity at 8:37 AM on February 21, 2020 [4 favorites]
spitbull: "Been in a Guitar Center lately?
The people who work there have to know it’s a suicide mission."
Eh. The one near us, where I bought my kid his guitar and ukelele, never seems super busy, but it's also never empty, and you can definitely try the gear before you buy it. Plus, it isn't a huge goddamn mess and 90% Funko toys, so it has that over Gamestop.
posted by caution live frogs at 1:30 PM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
The people who work there have to know it’s a suicide mission."
Eh. The one near us, where I bought my kid his guitar and ukelele, never seems super busy, but it's also never empty, and you can definitely try the gear before you buy it. Plus, it isn't a huge goddamn mess and 90% Funko toys, so it has that over Gamestop.
posted by caution live frogs at 1:30 PM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
You wouldn't dowload a guitar.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 8:09 PM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by inpHilltr8r at 8:09 PM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by seanmpuckett at 7:28 AM on February 20, 2020 [4 favorites]