@mr_squibble Don't forget, according to CEO Paul Raines in a Gamespot interview last month or so, Gamestop thinks there is no difference between original and replacement packaging
Anything GameStop touches is in danger. Following their existing business practices, they would likely attempt to increase their stock in vintage games by mass buyups and meager trade-in 'specials', attempting to corner the market as much as possible and then artificially inflate prices by choking supply to create false demand. Everything about this company is wrong.
It was bad enough when Raines lied to us last month or so in the Gamespot article about their refurb business and price justification. The bulk of game trades brought into GameStop never see that refurb center. If the employee judges the game satisfactory it is shelved for sale as soon as possible. Only badly damaged games go to the refurb center, and the trading gamer is charged a "refurb fee" (which is based on the trade value of the game, not the condition) against the already low trade credit. So, Raines telling us their low trade-in values are a result of the cost of refurb is misleading at best.
Sure, there are situations where Gamestop is a good value to a consumer, but they're few and far between. Gamestop's business model depends on half-truths and customer manipulation. They *are* a business, and they have every right to run however they see fit, but to attempt to paint themselves as a friend of the gaming industry is blatantly dishonest.They push they games from publishers with whom they have volume sale deals. Good games (like Amalur: Reckoning) whose success might have been good for the industry are relegated to bottom shelf status and ignored after launch so Gamestop can rack up pre-sale dollars on the next banner title people will buy anyway.
I am a former Gamestop employee. I hated it there; I was expected to mislead customers, push crappy games, steer people towards used games even when the customer's money was better spent on new (Used BF3 the week after launch? $5 less than new but you need to spend $10 to play online? Gamestop should be ashamed), and shove reserves and membership down people's throats even when that route wasn't right for them. I feel bad for my friends I left behind there, but I had to get my soul back. I'm still waiting for HR to return it to me, probably postage due.
Be honest, Gamestop. No one believes you're in it for the gamers.
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