Anacybele Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Why, you ask? Blame ****ing Walmart. They're going to get into the used game trading thing, which is a big thing that keeps GameStop and similar smaller businesses going. I heard this on the radio this morning. And Walmart loves making good businesses go bankrupt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacLovin Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 meh. I like Play N' Trade better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasori Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Walmart isn't exactly popular in my country so I don't think it effects me very much. I don't think we even have a Walmart in our country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClevelandSteve Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Target has allowed people to trade in games in exchange for a gift card for at least a few years, but no one trades their games in there. Hell, I work at Target and I don't trade in my games to them. Also, I don't buy games at Target because I hate having to interrupt someone else's work to make them open one of those cases that the games are stored in for me, and Wal-Mart stores games like that, too. Though you're right about Wal-Mart liking to drive small businesses out of business, I don't think GameStop will die due to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djing Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Gamestop isn't exactly a small business. Also I've literally never seen a Walmart before in my life. I've seen Target and Kmart plenty of times but no Walmart. I guess I should consider myself lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheon Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Amazon has also engaged in the trade-in process for a while now too. If Amazon, an online retailer that crushes physical retailers, has little to no effect, I doubt Walmart will have much effect on GameStop as well. The only people who will trade in games to Walmart are those who exclusively shop for games at WalMart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Walmart only seems to flourish in North America. They were in Germany, but they could't deal with the German business laws, so they closed down up there. However, GameStop only seems to be in the US as well and that's what had me worried. I'm a GameStop fan and have a membership there. I got my kickass Zelda wallet from their membership points system! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheon Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 However, GameStop only seems to be in the US as well and that's what had me worried. The name "GameStop" is only in the US. GameStop also exists in Canada under the name EB Games. I don't know if EB Games expands overseas or into our neighboring southern continent. The flagship GameStop is under is multinational, which is good for its case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Lightning Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Oh, I hope this doesn't happen. I know Gamestop gets a lot of flak for stuff and perhaps isn't the best dealer in videogames, but its been my go-to local game store since childhood and it'd suck if it closed. I was even thinking about getting a side job there if possible, since I'd rather work with things that I love than not in my spare time. I think we have one, maybe two major Walmarts in my area and twice as many smaller Gamestops, so I'm fairly certain it won't affect them much if at all. I would think most people, especially consummate gamers, would do their shopping at a specialized videogame store before something like a Walmart or Target (much easier to find less mainstream games in my experience); I believe the few times I bought games elsewhere was for last minute gifts and such when I couldn't make it to Gamestop or an equivalent in time. So I wouldn't worry too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk King Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I cant stand the way Gamestop does things so if their business is going to hurt a little bit then I say good. I hate the idea of trading-in games in general, but the amount of $$$ that they charge for used games is crazy sometimes. And they offer no discount when a game doesn't have the manual or original case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Actually, EB Games is different. I've seen them in the US and have shopped at one before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheon Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 GameStop is EB Game's Parent Corporation. While my information was slightly skewed, the effect still remains the same, really. And it turns out EB Games is international outside of the US and Canada. So I think that there is no cause for alarm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Kamon Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) However, GameStop only seems to be in the US as well and that's what had me worried. Hm, we have plenty of GameStops here in Italy too. That's where I usually buy my games. Never heard of Walmart before. Also, there are GameStops all around Europe, more specifically in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Source: various sites. Edited March 18, 2014 by Alfred Kamon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Raven Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Why, you ask? Blame ****ing Walmart. They're going to get into the used game trading thing, which is a big thing that keeps GameStop and similar smaller businesses going. I heard this on the radio this morning. And Walmart loves making good businesses go bankrupt. Everyone's been saying Walmart's going to kill gamestop for like half a decade now. I'd take that with a grain of salt at this point. GameStop is EB Game's Parent Corporation. While my information was slightly skewed, the effect still remains the same, really. And it turns out EB Games is international outside of the US and Canada. So I think that there is no cause for alarm. You don't remember Electronics Boutique or old EB Games stores? I remember seeing them in the mall all the time when I was like 9 or 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Oh. Well, thanks for letting me know, everyone. I honestly hadn't any idea. ._. I'm worried over nothing then, really. If Walmart can't do well outside of the US while GameStop can, then there's no way it will put GameStop out of business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comet Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Gamestop is a better place to get games anyway. Edited March 18, 2014 by Comet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 I agree, generally. But I have to thank Walmart for one thing: my copy of RD. They had one brand new copy left and it's mine. I doubt I would've found it anywhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahrivar Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Walmart only seems to flourish in North America. They were in Germany, but they could't deal with the German business laws, so they closed down up there.They closed down here, huh? I remember visiting one in my city a long time ago, but I didn't go there in recent years - I always assumed that it was going well.On the other side we got a Gamestop downtown which seems to be quite popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 I lived in Germany for a time myself. My mom told me about the Walmart thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icon of Sin Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 (edited) Also, there are GameStops all around Europe, more specifically in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Source: various sites. I wonder what kind of earthquake landed Puerto Rico and New Zealand in Europe. Kidding aside, businesses are businesses and are around to make money. Gamestop may have killed some of your smaller local shops too so it's only a link in the video game store food chain. I know I've seen a few local shops closed down because of bigger players. And now that digital copies are a thing, that may even trouble Walmart as well in video game sales. Not like I've seen them sell PC games much around here, but it will affect consoles in the future. Edited March 19, 2014 by Woodshooter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Laufeyson Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Walmart isn't exactly popular in my country so I don't think it effects me very much. I don't think we even have a Walmart in our country. Lucky. Actually, EB Games is different. I've seen them in the US and have shopped at one before. Nah its the same thing. Meh, i dont think its going to effect too much. Except maybe more hella minging games being a thing in Walmarts. GameStop will just adjust to compete if it comes down to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karasz Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I can't see Walmart taking over the used games business, to be honest. While GameStop catches a lot of hell for some of their trade-in policies, they are, in the very least, one of the more trusted stores that buys, sells, and trades used games (R.I.P. Swap USA). Walmart just catches a lot of hell overall for some of their business ethics. I seem to recall them coming under fire recently for utilizing child labor to make their clothes, and that's just part of the whole gamut of scandals they've accumulated since being in business. And besides that, with GameStop having more stores worldwide than Walmart (which I believe is a mostly American retailer to begin with, though I'm probably wrong), I can't see it going out of business because of Walmart trying to step up to the used games business. If Amazon couldn't stop GameStop, then neither can Walmart. It's that simple, honestly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samias Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 First of all, Gamestop/EB Games is a business, and one that doesn't treat its employees very well for the sake of metrics. Don't feel sorry for them if they lose money. The people who work at the stores where I live are nice people but I made better money with my starting wages at Starbucks than my friend made after working for over a year. Secondly, in Canada there are tons of places that buy back games. Future Shop is a huge retailer and they've been doing trade-ins for years now. However EB/Gamestop gets a lot of exclusive preorder stuff that other stores just don't get. They're also more reliable about tracking their preorders in my experience, whereas I've heard about bad experiences about preordering from Walmart (including my own) or Best Buy. GS's business is not only used games, but preorder benchmarks. And third, digital distribution hurts GS far more than competing box retailers. This has been going on for years now as GS slowly bleeds away potential customers as downloading games straight to the console for a reduced price picks up in popularity. No, not everyone likes digital distribution (I like phys copies), but things like the PSN+ giving away free games every month probably hurts GS more than anything Walmart could ever do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifer Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 (edited) And to think I just bought a year's subscription to the premium membership :( Game Stop will survive this. There already established a nice customer base with that membership campaign and there are those preorders they have. I suppose that this may drive up the prices that Game Stop offers for returns. Edited March 19, 2014 by sifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 (edited) I will admit, I don't like some of GameStop's policies either. Nobody's perfect, after all. But they have a great membership system and they're often a bit cheaper than places like Target and Best Buy, at least around here. And they do preorder bonuses sometimes and Pokemon events and they have cool merchandise that members can get with their points and you usually can't find this stuff anywhere else. Sometimes though, GameStop isn't the only one to blame for some bad rules. The customer is too in some cases. For example, my mom bought me copies of Link's Awakening from them, but both were too glitchy and messed up to play. The first wouldn't save my game and the second I couldn't even start a game because wouldn't even go past the start screen without freezing up. GameStop was dumb for reselling these, but whoever sold them back to the store in the first place was an idiot too. GameStop should make a new policy that they'll only buy back games that still work properly. >_> The employees are often so nice and helpful too. On occasion, my mom and I have run into an ass there, but this was pretty rare. Edited March 20, 2014 by Anacybele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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