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Gamestop's policy of destruction (trashing boxes and manuals)
Vegan
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I heard that Gamestop was now trashing the boxes and manuals of used DS games, so I went to see for myself. Sure enough, the shelves of boxes are gone; it's now a locked case (or graveyard, if you will) of cartridge-only copies with price stickers affixed directly to the title labels. This disturbs me.
I wouldn't call myself an outright game collector, since I only buy games that I actually want to play, but I have no interest in cartridge-only or disc-only copies. Of course, I can easily choose to buy used DS games from places like Amazon, Goozex, and eBay, but we all know that Gamestop is where most people sell their games.
As long as the policy of destruction is in effect, DS games will go there to die and complete copies are going to become about as common as complete NES games. They did this to GBA games, too, which are now hard to find complete from any market.
It breaks my heart to see this happen. I guess I'm a videogame conservationist. Am I overreacting, or do you find this troubling as well?
I wouldn't call myself an outright game collector, since I only buy games that I actually want to play, but I have no interest in cartridge-only or disc-only copies. Of course, I can easily choose to buy used DS games from places like Amazon, Goozex, and eBay, but we all know that Gamestop is where most people sell their games.
As long as the policy of destruction is in effect, DS games will go there to die and complete copies are going to become about as common as complete NES games. They did this to GBA games, too, which are now hard to find complete from any market.
It breaks my heart to see this happen. I guess I'm a videogame conservationist. Am I overreacting, or do you find this troubling as well?
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Used games? What's the problem.
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Yep. This.
One of the gamestops I used to go to started selling used games without manuals/original packaging... seeing as they're kind of worthless (to me) without em, I stopped buying from the store. They probably changed the policy, but I also switched over to only buying games online, so ... yea. If I do go to a brick and mortar game shop, it's usually one that's not a gamestop. hell, even FYE had/has used games relatively intact as far as their box and packaging goes.
@mrt144: he's not just buying the game for the game itself. He's a collector. Having just the cartridge isn't as valuable.
Eh, like I said, I don't consider myself a collector, more of a conservationist. I don't buy every game I see in an attempt to get a full set a system's games or anything. I buy only the games I want but I do keep them on a shelf. The case and manual make up two-thirds of a game, in my opinion.
It just really distresses me that a video game business is actively committing some kind of video game holocaust. We know that all of their money comes from used game sales. Don't do something that makes me not want to buy your used games. Don't do something that makes me despise you and lose all respect for you.
I can choose to not shop at Gamestop, of course, but now they're sabotaging the ability to get them properly from ANYONE in the future by creating a scarcity. If I were a collector, I'd be overjoyed that my 80 complete DS games are now more "rare". I don't want that, I don't revel in that.
It was done in the name of wall space, cause space = $.
Also because GameStop's corporate managers are really backwards. They found out that people were more likely to buy DS games that were just cartridges on display as opposed to in generic mock boxes.
THEN they thought it was a logical step to go, "Oh, well if that increased used DS sales, and kids mostly trade in DS games without boxes, let's just axe the boxes entirely."
PS2 game boxes being tossed...eh, I could care less. It's PS2. It's done.
I actually feel the same about DS game boxes... Not because it's a done system, but because once I remove a DS game from its box, it never enters the box again. When it gets removed from the DS, it goes into the Ziplock Bag Of DS Games. Right now, thinking about it, every DS game box I own is basically junk taking up space in my room.
Which is odd, because I'm very careful about games for my other systems.
I can almost see animal rights activist style videos being taken of backroom butchery of DS/GBA game cases as a disturbing, viral PSA to warn others of the horrors of selling your games off to gamestop.
Honestly this is a large reason why they're doing it.
Every time I complain vocally about the DS box thing to another manager (usually because someone asked me what Fashion Stylist VIII - Even More New York Clothes entails, and I can't explain it), they go, "Well think about it, most DS games traded into us are just the catridges."
Which is true. Dumb kids come in and empty their pockets onto the counter. All of my DS games are in my ds travel case, but I have all my boxes alphabetical on a shelf.
Also...I hate the stickers we put on them.
edit: Though I don't know how anyone could complain about boxes for anything like GBA or SNES or NES. Those were made out of paper that disintegrated into mush on touch.
I care. I don't care if a system is "done", this stuff should be preserved.
I agree that things with cardboard boxes (NES, GBA) is asking a bit much, but hard plastic cases... And yeah, you can replace them, they're just DVD cases, but there go the liners and booklets (which I still read before playing any game).
This has to stop.
Buy games new if it means that much to you.
Also, video game holocaust? Holy fuck that is melodramatic and potentially offensive.
In our store, we only did this for the PS2 games that sell for $5.99 and under because there are just too damn many of them, though recently if they come in with a box we just put the whole thing in our bargain bin
And we haven't gotten rid of our DS boxes at all so I don't think this is a comapny-wide thing
Why should it be preserved. Maybe if JRPGs weren't on their 8th or 13th iteration in the fucking franchise or EA didn't release Madden et al every year there would be some fucking gravitas in historical context.
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It boggles the mind that people assign an intrinsic or inherent value to something but don't seem to want to pay for it brand new. Put up or shut up.
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Not really going to get into a gamestop argument, but if keeping manuals and stuff is something you care about, then best not trade in any of your games. I don't really find this behavior very stunning though, nor do I find it offensive.
These people aren't destroying the rain forest. They're not committing some heinous, inhumane act. They're video games. You said you have no interest in buying cartridge only games. Okay, don't buy at gamestop. There are people that do want JUST the game, so THEY can buy at gamestop. Just make sure not to look down on the people that are okay with buying a game with only the bare bones, because that makes you kind of a douche.
It just made me think of it in terms of dollars and...sense
Second'd
I do buy things from there occasionally, but it's only when I'm in the area and I've got nothing better to do, stop in, and manage to find something new for cheap.
I don't think I've ever pre-ordered anything from 'em. Haven't bought used game from 'em since the Dreamcast days (Which was Spider-Man).
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Really? You consider the case and manual to be of more value than the actual game?
I used to always want the case/manual in perfect condition and had my 'collection' displayed on my shelves next to the tv/computer but as time has gone on I have kinda got over it. As long as I have some way to keep the game safe, its easily identifiable, and if I choose to resell it will get approximately what I paid, I have no problem not having them.
edit: And also I don't think I've read a manual properly for years. I remember the great manuals of yesteryear. Baldur's Gate 2 had a fantastic one. They were full of story and style as well as base instructions.
These days manuals are the bare minimum if there is even one at all. Most manuals I've seen lately are <20 pages with quick descriptions of basic actions. PC games have gotten to the point where some don't even have manuals (except as a pdf on the install disc).
Developers no longer put any love into the items that come with the game; not including special collectors edition crap, gamestop wouldn't dare trash those things. I just see this as a natural evolution of developers focusing on the 'game' and not on the accessories that would make it an 'experience'. Are there even any games that require accessories that aren't controllers anymore?
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I haven't shopped there in years. But then again, I've severely changed my game purchasing habits over the years. With the exception of Bioware games and maybe one or two other exceptions like indie games, if it isn't less than 20 bucks = i'm not buying it. period.
I haven't bought any games lately, but when I do, It's usually after searching through ebay
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And yes, their flat trade-in values are often terrible (Amazon is way better, but they also require all boxes and manuals, for those who are into that kind of thing), but if you wait for good promos and also only buy during good promos, you can recycle in-store credit indefinitely. Just last week their website had a buy 2 get 1 deal, and I bought six games, traded four right back in (they also have a 50% trade-in value bonus promo right now) to recoup my initial cost, and kept the last two for free. The games in question (Sly Collection and Heavy Rain, both fairly recent) are complete with box and manual; Heavy Rain was initially disc-only, but I brought it to a retail store and the register worker was happy to swap out my copy for a complete one, no questions asked. It's completely possible to get killer deals; you just have to be a little patient.
You hear bad things about them from diehard gaming enthusiasts. It is blazingly ironic that the one dedicated gaming retailer is actually pretty weak at serving the gaming enthusiast (having "only enough copies for preorders," disc/case conditions, etc.), and I won't dispute that, but the lion's share of sales are from mainstream consumers who very likely don't care about whether a game's manual is a little frayed, or what ultimately happens to the games they trade in.
People are getting fed up actually and doing something about it though, just use online services to buy and sell used games. You get more and pay less because more of the money stays with the buyers/sellers instead of gamestops 100% markup. I'm using [url][/url] and there are others.
I'll happily buy from Gamestop when I can get legitimately get a better deal there, but I have not seen that happen in some time, and the selection at my local stores has gotten so bad that I hardly bother to walk in there anymore. Of course, I've had my share of deals and good experiences there, but its been quite a while.
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If you want something to complain about, complain about Wal-mart throwing away clothes because they have to get them of the shelves when they don't sell. And yes, they have to throw them in the dumpsters, they can't donate them to charity/homeless/salvation army, they have to destroy them.
Now that's retardation.
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Hey now, Wal-mart is saving a homeless man from wearing a blouse from the Kathy Lee collection. That's a wash in my book.
Re GameStop: Meh... I use Amazon for new games exclusively now (Release date delivery FTW)
The only time I go to GameStop is when there's a new game I can't afford, and want to weed the "Garbage" out of my video game collection. My biggest gripe with GameStop is the policy them seem to have adopted in exclusively hiring unknowledgable DudeBros.
is it hyperbole thursday already? Damn, where did the week go?
yea... that was interesting. I was using conservationalist / collector interchangeably, but that just took it to a whole 'nother level. but of what? I couldn't say.
@Skull2185: I buy my games primarily from Amazon because of release day delivery... and two day shipping for free on everything else.
I actually like doing Ebay for rares now. I was able to get the entire panzer dragoon series on the saturn, completely intact, for cheap. I was very happy.
I mean, I hate Evil Boutique/Gamestop as much as any other indignant video-game nerd, but my only other options in this town are big box store number 1 and big box store number 2, and they're arguably just as evil to purchase from as EB/GS