GameStop's Redemption: 7 Things GameStop Can Do To Stop Sucking

From the article: "[N]ot all is well with the world's largest video game retailer. Over the years they have slowly been ostracizing the hardcore gamers of the world with insulting business practices and annoying employees. So here are seven suggestions to the GameStop brass on how to fix the problems with your store. Maybe they'll ignore them, but look at what has happened to the big players in your own industry after Nintendo ignored gamers in 1996 and how Sony is doing the same today.

Number 7. Stop hiring idiots."

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

stop ripping people off on the trade inns. There going price for new releases is $25. People pay $65 for those game.

They think that while games went up in price this gen by $10, that they can still give you the same as last gen for them. Maybe even less.

[C_SoL]

#8 should be....Stoping hiring a$$holes.....everytime i go to my local gamestop there always being di<ks....it must be that their job sucks and they get stressed out or there just di<ks 24/7....

[ionace]

well having worked in retail myself, i can tell you it's usually because you're sick of stupid customers, or in this case ignorant parents so its kind of normal tho that doesnt necessarily justify it

but ya gamestop is generally speaking a s4ithole

[witchking]

I totally agree on the trade ins. I've stopped trading things in there and sell them on eBay instead. Most of the time you can get 2x or 3x via eBay than what GameStop will give you. It's a rip off.

[ReBurn]

Train employees to stop favoring consoles. It is not the job of the retail employee to try to influence peoples' purchasing decisions. If I go into Gamestop and ask for a PS3 game, don't tell me that the Xbox 360 version is better or vice versa. I've done my homework. I know what I want. So don't patronize me.

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

I never sensed that the employees where fanboys. But I guess every gamestop employee is different.

[lonestarmt]

oo man, I agree. I tried to get wild arms 5, and the guy kept on telling me I should buy mass effect. I told him I didn't have a 360 and he insisited I should just for this game. I told him, I know about it and I'm not sure on it, and he just rolls his eyes, o you, your one of those Jap guys. Gamestop, stop hiring @$$ holes.

[fopums]

the gamestop in spokane is full of fanboys, and who would have guessed thats its the heavy set middle aged guys who blab about Halo constantly....ugh

there is actualy a pretty girl who works there that knows more about games then any of the clowns who work with her.

I asked what games she was waiting for and she said MGS4, Mass Effect and well...whatever WoW thing around the corner.

they should employ gamers there, not loser fanboys with bad facial hair who give other gamers a bad image.

and yes that trade in stuff is ridiculous, though lets be honest, its good for the developers for us to fund them and not gamestop....

[ReBurn]

It depends on the location. There are 6 Gamestops in my immediate area. Of the 6 there are only two where they don't try to influence my decisions.

[ruibing]

Yep, same thing happened to me this summer back in Boston when I was trying to get that latest release of Xenosaga. I really don't go to GameStop to socialize with their employees, the only question I ever need answered is whether a game is in stock.

I mean at least in BestBuy and other stores they ask you whether you need any help and only recommend a product if you can't decide. If there's not many people at the store, an employee who come next to me and start telling me his recommendations, and it is hard to stop the guy without being rude.

They need to be a lot less aggressive, a lot more professional, and a lot more neutral about their approach. Their used games are usually scratched like hell (unlike Newberry Comics) and I really only ever go their to browse now a days. Amazon and other online stores usually takes good care of me now.

[pswi60]

every time i go into my local gamestop (there is only 1 in the 4 surrounding counties where i live) the ps3 display system is either 1)always off, 2) frozen, or 3) on graw2 with nightvision on and both controllers off. it always looks as if the ps3 is broken, not to mention its right in front of the counter so you cant even play it without getting into someones way. they are xbots all the way and i hate it

[socomnick]

Its not that they favor a console its that they give their honest opinion.

[ruibing]

It's one thing to be giving their honest opinion, it's another to insult my decisions. I can't tell you how many times I hear "can't believe you blah blah blah this game" or "if you blah blah blah this console, you could be blah blah blah". I mean hearing this from friends are fine and I'm sure he's being honest to himself, but I really would prefer he keeps those opinions to himself or his friends. It's something between being nosy and annoying.

[IPlayGames]

This is true. my manager is always bashing the ps3. when sombody is asking to buy one his fav line is "be4 u make the biggest decision of your life let me tell u about the 360". Sunday he was trying to convince a guy for at least 30min. and u can tell he was getting upset to where he was like can i just have my ps3. its so garbage and i ask him why he does its not like he gets comish. and he has no answer but sony sucks

The sad thing about is that he didnt even start playing game until Halo came out so im like how much do u really know about what makes a good game?

[shodown19]

Please stop asking me about preordering this game and that game. When you ask for a game, the first thing they ask is...DO YOU HAVE IT PREORDERED? No I do not. I just want to come in, pick up my game and play and go home.

I rarely do business with Gamestop anymore due to me finding out that Blockbuster Video gives back at least 20 to sometimes 50 percent more than what Game$top would give me.

As persistent as they are with preorders, It's not hard to imagine employees making some kind of good commission off of each preorder.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

They have to get a certain amount of reserves. It's also a contest.

[lonestarmt]

yup and you got to buy this stragey guide!!!!! I don't need one for tekken 5, geez.

[Drano]

Some customers will just forget to mention it, they don't recognize them on first sight and they don't want to lose a sale because someone bought it off the shelves instead of his reserved copy. It's as simple as that.

Jump Beyond.

[Skerj]

Preorders also determine how many units gets shipped to that store. I used to manage an EB and my assistant manager and I started entering game character names in the computer to reserve games so we'd stop getting shortchanged on stock. Funny thing is as long as we didn't use Lara Croft, no one higher up knew anything about the names.

As far as the strategy guide, they make a lot of money selling those things off as well as the Game Informer Subs, and warranty plans. Last I knew the last two got them commissions which is why they're so aggressive in trying to get you to purchase them.

[IPlayGames]

reserves:
1: the more the store the more games they get.

2: AAA games are normally hyped 1 or 2 months be4 and we tell u "IF U DO NOT HAVE IT RESERVED THEN U WILL NOT GET THE GAME." so i tell this to u be4 hand and then i see u release day then i will not sell u the game (go to target/Best buy)

3: getting more helps us get more promo (Shirts,toys) H3 we needed over 150 then we would have got the Red Bull girls cum during midnight release.

4 and final: sometimes we don't have any extra so if u dont have it reserved then we cant sell it to u plain and simple.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Fanboyism is TERRIBLE around here.

AND I QUOTE! "The cell processor...what a joke." <That was the manager!!!

He HATES the PS3. He tried to convince everyone at the Guitar Hero III launch that FFXIII and MGS4 were announced as multi-platform just a few weeks ago. What's wrong with that guy?

EDIT: Yeah, it's just getting stupid. I'm sure somewhere there's a PS3 fanboy Gamestop manager...it's just that every one I've been to has a 360 fanboy. You do know that they were told to suggest the 360 last holiday season to every walk-in. That's not necessarily fanboyism; they just wanted to make a sale and the Wii and PS3 were scarce. It makes a lot of sense, but it's gotten to the point where, when I ask for a PS3 game, they ask me why. When I picked up Ratchet and Clank, the guy asked me if I had played Super Mario Galaxy. I was like, "Yeah...it just feels like Super Mario 64 though." Which, it does! He's like...it's better than Ratchet and Clank. I was like, "No, you WANT it to be better because Ratchet and Clank is on the PS3 and you want it to fail so you can be RIGHT about something in your life. You stand there all day doing nothing for money and have the nerve to tell someone who grew up appreciating the gaming industry that their system sucks. You do it every time I'm in here. Grow up, dude! Get a life!"

I put in my application yesterday.

EDIT 2: Thanks dude...I gave you bubbles too.

[lonestarmt]

haha yeah, the one I used to go to never had the ps3 demo on. It always annoyed me, so I asked the manager one day, ( I used to buy a game there 4 times a month), he said I turned it off, because no one played it, besides who wants a ps3 anyway?? I know not every gamestop is this way, but its like when a kids goes in there with thier mom who don't much about games, these biased jerks can push thier agenda, rather than trying to get what might be best for the customer. Funny thing though I went in there a month later, and the 360 was off, and the ps3 was on, why you ask red ring of death. lol.

I have yet been to a gamestop with a working wii, They say you have to ask them to play it or otherwise they leave it off. Why??

[shodown19]

That was classic. Long rant about Game$top's problems and then....I put my app in.

Funny Stuff man. Have a bubble on me.

[ry-guy]

Everyone in everything has an agenda, whether you like it or not.

Liky my agenda for making this post is to point out the fact that no matter how hard you try there is an agenda behind every decision and every comment.

[Jack Bauer]

they should be more strict with trades... im sick of getting used games that looked like someone played hockey with it and on top of that no box or instructions!!

[ReBurn]

Agreed. They should test trades to see if they'll even boot.

[Drano]

Sometimes, people will just bring you back about 20 used games, that can happen five or ten times in the same day. Employees do not have time to test them all. If they can, at least, check the state the games are in (scratches, box, booklet), it's very often enough to tell you if the game is working or not. Even if the games DO boot, chances are that the bugs, if there are any, show up after a couple of minutes of gameplay or even after a couple of hours.

It sucks to have to come back and exchange a game because it's just not working but hey... it happened to all of us at least once. Don't make a fuss about it. I think you forgot that sweet and "o so true" american proverd that says "Sh*t happens". Never been so true.

Jump Beyond.

[IPlayGames]

If its so jacked then i don't take but u can always bring it back within 7days.

The rate is funny we buy a new game $20-25 then sell if for 5 less then a new copy....lol. not my decision that what the computer prints out.

[TeaDouble_E]

They should give us are employees discounts on NEW systems ! We do get 15% off of everything else accept new systems. I could get a used system and use the EDGE card with my employee discount and get 25% off a used system but I dont want a system that came from a meth out customer. People who trade thier system in never take care of it.

[montavious]

So your basically #7. Dude you work for them, and i'm sorry but if not getting your employee discount is your biggest gripe, your part of the problem. Gamestop used to be IT in my small town for PS2, Nintendo back in the day. Now that same store is empty EVERY DAY. Wonder why?

[Skerj]

Yeah sorry to break it to you but they're NEVER going to give you an employee discount on new systems. Best thing you can do is if you live in a town with a high military population, you can get one tax free like we all did.

[WAR_MACHINE77]

I don't think they could even give you a discount on a new system. My friends mother works in the purchasing department for Target and she was telling me that stores buy the consoles and sell them at cost and only make money on software (was trying to get a hook up on my PS3). I don't know if she was just feeding me a line because she doesn't get a discount or if that is in fact the case.

[FadeToBlack]

Stop ripping people off with tade in's and selling them fro 4 times what they paid!!!!!

[happyjimmy]

No they dont....

[lonestarmt]

Know more about what I"m talking about. One time I went to ask for a copy of shadow hearts 1, and the guy try to convience me that it didn't exist and when I showed him the box art for shadow hearts 3 a new world, he tried to tell me that was the first game, and that I was confused. When he finally looked in his files and said he had it and gave me a copy, he then gave me the second one, Shadow hearts the convent. Just lame stuff like that, its like they only play halo or madden at gamestop. I exepct something like that at target, but not GAMEstop. Its funny when I tried to get a job there during college and they wouldn't hire me, now I"m glad they never did.

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

They need to pay me back for all the rip offs. I say they owe me about $300 atleast.

[Descendant]

I mean I work at Gamestop, so I might be bias or whatever, but it is our job to ask for a pre-order; this way we can assure you'll come back to do business with us, because not everyone is a hardcore gamer. Plus there are in some cases where we run out of copies of games, and the people who didn't pre-order them has to wait 48 hours and hope we still actually have some in stock. Seriously Ratchet and Clack sold out on day one in my store.

Also why would we stock more "obscure" games when they don't sell at all? We do have PC games, but they don't sell whatsoever. I have only sold one Orange Box on the PC and that is it.

Lastly that one display box is NEW. What do you think we do with that disc? We put it safely away and doesn't even get touched. You can also ask to seal it back up again if you feel the need to. You can even ask to see the disc before we put it in its case. Granted the store isn't perfect, but nothing is and everything is just because you want to complain about something.

[montavious]

When you buy a floor model tv, have you ever paid the full retail price? It doesnt matter what you do with the disc, its that little piece of plastic your removing when you open the game. Without that, its NOT NEW, peroid end of story.

Gamespot has LOST my business because not only do they continue to boter me about pre-ordering. When you DO pre-order, the games been available at Walmart, Target and every other place BUT Gamespot. The release date is just that, the date the game is released. NOT when Gamespot decides to ship it to their stores.

[WAR_MACHINE77]

that drives me nuts too. I stopped pre ordering a while ago because nothing pisses me off more than seeing it on shelves 2 days before I get my copy.

[Charlie2688]

Thanks to GameStop...I now only order online...at Amazon >.>

Cuz you cant say NO to FACTORY SEALED games and random price drops even in new releases :D

[J@D]

Thanks to Amazon... now I'm a happy guy ^____^

[Bubble Buddy]

trading games guys. trust me. they give so much more cash. At gamestop i could've got 45$ but in blockbuster i got 60. not much, but every bit counts

[clevernickname]

is they will cost Gamestop money; pre-orders, carrying more copies of obscure titles, lower prices on used games, etc. will all cost money. Gamestop obviously pursues these retail strategies because they make money, and in spite of the fact that their own customers find them distasteful.

We need to remember that these are not gamers selling games, but business people running a business.

[Cryos]

true, but you have to remember that they are in competition with wal-mart, target, toys-r-us, and amazon to name a few.

There are a few ways to win over customers that might go elsewhere.

1. knowledgable staff that's friendly and informative, not pushy
2. better prices on trade ins, or even a better policy for trade ins (even giving more money for a game sold back in the same week)
3. better prices on used games.

Customer loyalty is VERY VERY important, and if they focus on making customers happy, they will get more customers, and more money.

[witchking]

I actually travel a little way to get to GameStop. I pass another GameStop on the way. Walmart, Target and Circuit City are all closer. However, the manager at the GameStop I go to knows me by name, has handled "special" requests (i.e., holds onto something if she knows I'm coming in for it that day), etc. She has earned my loyalty.

My biggest gripe is that GameStop should be rewarding that loyalty. The EDGE card should be for more than just buying used games. If I buy 5 new games there, I should $5 off my next purchase.... or something along those lines. Make it worth my while that I'm shopping there instead of at one of the many other retailers. I'm actually surprised they haven't implemented such a plan already.

All of that being said, I don't sell used games to GameStop. I make more for them via eBay. And I agree that used games there are also far too expensive; I buy them from eBay. I got Bioshock a month after its release for $40. Used copies were selling for $55.

I also like the suggestion of having more obscure titles, though I believe that is a difficult feat (there are a LOT of titles vying for space).

I generally only go to the store when I know the manager will be in, because I know I'll be treated right. There are one or two other employees there who know me now and I feel comfortable chatting with them and I know I won't get pressured. There are a few there who are jerks, so I just don't go when they're working.

I agree that you shouldn't be hassled about pre-orders, used games or fanboyism. There are undoubtedly people who go into GameStop who find some of that acceptable or helpful, but frankly there are some of us who know what we're doing and don't need all the hand-holding. I'm buying a game, for Chrissakes, not a used car.

[IntelligentAj]

The Gamestop's around my way are pretty good and they have people who play a diverse amount of games. When I ask for a second opinion it's normally informed so I can't complain. With the trade-ins FuncoLand(for those who remember)was much better at giving you a fair value for your games but if you don't like it then don't trad-in your games there...it's really not that hard.

[jaja1434]

I agreed with all of them except the stupid employee one. Of course I hate it when I get a not so intelligent person but last time I checked they pay at or just above minimum wage. So well you get what you pay for and that includes employees.

[Chug]

So I went to gamestop lately to pick up the orange box, got to the counter and asked for it and the employee looked at me all retarded and said "no". I was like ok...are you sold out? He paused then said, uhh...which one? I said the 360 version, and we finally did buisness. Conclusion: He narrowed me down to a sony fanboy for no apparent reason.

[SmokeyMcBear]

maybe its because lately hes been having a bunch of ps3 owners in and asking for the game and the sold out eye of judgement ( ive called like 3 times for it, the guy seems really annoyed when i ask). Maybe hes just venting.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

He probably thought you were f**king stupid for asking about The Orange Box on the PS3 considering it's not f**king out yet

[Tsalagi]

Yeah, because it's the Gamestop employee's right to act like a d!ck to the customer when they can't remember the release date for every game they want. /sarcasm

[Chug]

If you could read in the first place, I didn't ask for it on the ps3, I simply asked for the orange box, OK DUDE? Everyone knows its only out on 360/PC right now.

[JosefTor]

Perfect article. And I agree with you guys, they shouldn't tell us that other systems are better and stuff like that. I would assume employee training and hiring would cover something as important as that.

[Mr Blings]

Little annoyances over the past year or two have built up and I'm done. Actually the only reason they've even had my business is because the shop by me was still an EB. It definately hasn't been EB for a long while. When I read they would no longer offer warranty on 360 because it cost too much I wanted to puke. I have so many other options in close prox. I'll use instead. The thing which bums me the most about this is when hardware comes out I always preferred pre-ordering the hardware in a small atmosphere shop, not at one of the big box locations. I know I have a few years to I'll really have to worry about that, but when time comes where will I pre order my next system?

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

They can stop making whiny, baby, fit throwing, and petiton siging PS3 fans cry so much.

[FirstknighT]

Bestbuy for me!

[bloodzombie77]

They can tell their fanboys to stop sucking so much. Not to mention NOT charge HUGE amounts of money for obscure used games.

I found a copy of Nocturne (A Shin megami Tensei RPG), and they wanted $60 for the damn thing!! Not to mention they're trying to sell Silent Hill 4 for $40, and both the Katamari games for $35, even though they were $20 budget titles NEW! Oh, and a rare port of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on Xbox? $95!!! They can take their price gouging and stick it back up their @ss where it came from.

[bloodzombie77]

They also charge more for their gamecube games than the system itself. They wanted $50 for a used, older than dirt Resident Evil 2 port.

[SaraAB87]

They can stop selling non-working games. Seriously, 50% of the time the employees are just standing around and playing Pokemon or some other game, when they could be using that time to clean the filthy dirty GBA games they have so they actually work, they could be buffing CD's so that they aren't scratch filled and cleaning off cases that have poo on them. They could also remove the non-working games so the customer does not have to waste expensive gasoline driving back and forth to the store to exchange the game, getting a non-working game should be the store's problem, not the customer's. I own about 250 Gameboy games in total and the only place I have gotten non-working ones is gamestop, the people that trade stuff in there must somehow abuse it to no end or purposely submerge the cart in water before they trade it in so it doesn't work for the next person. I have bought many, many games at yard sales and thrift stores that have been in better condition than what Gamestop sells, their quality of used merchandise is seriously bad and they need to do something about it. I don't think I have ever gotten a non-working game from a yard sale, but I have gotten plenty of non-working games from Gamestop.

[Shaka2K6]

Beacuase they are all losers, you average fat,geek lonely guy from school that is always hiding behind a PC to sound cool and hate on Sony, PS3 is the best and Sony controls the video game industry.

half the gamestops store is full of Sony products PS2,PS3 and PSP.

[Loopy]

Why give them tips?
Just don't buy anything from them and let them wither and die.
Why would you care about a bunch of loathsome retailers ?

[Martini]

The only thing that pisses me off is you have to pre-order games ( $5-$10)in order to get a copy on release day. You know what gamestop F..k you - there is a Target on the same shopping plaza and they have games on release day in stock !

[Tyrael]

good read.

[Fux4Bux]

Yeah the opened games sold as "new" really gets to me. Especially sticking those damned stickers on every game and ruining the case by leaving a sticky residue. I never buy anything at Gamestop unless they get something genuinely new earlier than the big box stores. I would go there all the time if they didn't screw you over on "new" games, mess up all the cases, and have crappy employees.

[Tsalagi]

I especially hate that they started putting those stickers under the plastic and on the box art itself on used games. Why? Do they think we'll leave them on there out of fear of ruining the box art and they'll get free advertising?

[vox]

"when I ask for a PS3 game, they ask me why. When I picked up Ratchet and Clank, the guy asked me if I had played Super Mario Galaxy. I was like, "Yeah...it just feels like Super Mario 64 though." Which, it does! He's like...it's better than Ratchet and Clank. I was like, "No, you WANT it to be better because Ratchet and Clank is on the PS3 and you want it to fail so you can be RIGHT about something in your life."

mario galaxy is too much like mario 64 judging from a demo
...
but you'll buy the 6th installment of ratchet and clank since the ps2

you're a fanboy just as much as the people who irritate you, deal with it

[Relientk77]

when i bought a PS3 back in december '06 (this was when they were still sold out and no one had em at x-mas time) i asked if they had any PS3s.. and the guy looked at me funny and was like ... um yes we have alot of them, and he was like yea well they arent really selling (which was a lie cuz thats like 2 weeks b4 the ps3s flooded the shelves), just like the psps, the DSs are completely destroying the psp in sales..

i really didnt wanna get into a worthless arguement about vid games i just wanted to buy a system, so i bought it and really didnt say anything to him lol ...

so gamespot hires anti-sony ppl? and fanboys .... really odd

hey gamespot how bout u DONT HIRE FANBOYS .... dont hire ppl who critize ur system/game selection at the counter... or say oh this is better on pc/ps3/360/wii IDC i told u what i frickin want dont give me a fanboy anti-company/system lecture .. give me what i asked for so i can damn pay for it and leave

[Enigma_2099]

... Including The Red Star... I has to track my copy down online... from the official site...

... and I'll tell you why it was so hard to find... they didn't print enough copies because they didn't think it would be that popular... a practical SPIRITUAL SUCCESSOR to Contra: Shattered Soldier, Contra 3, and Neo Contra... and they didn't think it would sell...

Kyuzo 4LIFE, BEEYOTCHES!!!

[SwiderMan]

Nice article. Could be a Top 100 list, though.

[IntelligentAj]

Also I would like to add that I work for the Home Depot in NYC and there is no way to stop hiring idiots because people know how to put on a front to get a job. So unfortunately there will continue to be idiots working everywhere...it's inevitable.

[KidMakeshift]

I live in Los Angeles and every Gamestop in the area is a complete mess: nothing's organized, employee's gladly express their disinterest in both helping customers and simply working there, and used games are way over priced and are usually scratched or missing the manuals / original case.

Buy your games of Gamefly (rent then buy for half price). Buy your consoles from best buy with a 2 year replacement warranty. Buy your used games from Amazon, Ebay, Half.com. Gamestop will only rape you of your money and enthusiasm.

This is from a gamer who practically buys everything. Hell, I bought Kengo: Legend of The 9 off Gamefly.

[Peenutt]

I know a lot of you players out there remember the good old Electronics’ Boutique. I use to love going there at that time buying a game from someone there that knew SOMETHING about the games that I played or wanted to play, or when I decided to trade in a game I felt that the value of what I traded in was just. But now that the company has went less for the customers and more for there pockets I feel they have totally lost there sight on were they’ve came from. Many years ago I use to work at one and times were good. Then as time went on they went the way of EB Kids and tried there hands at that and that feel there until they slowly slipped away to the all mighty dollar. Now some people may say that money makes the world go round but I think it shouldn't be at the cast of losing what started them out in the first place. (ALL OF YOU”S AND THE GAMES THAT WE LOVE.)

[IPlayGames]

I speak of what i know and i tell people the truth. (i wont let a kid buy pimp my ride thats just wrong).

I joke with people because there stupid (i love it when they ask for H3 on PS3) and because its boring so its good for a laugh and passes the time.

I dont care what console you buy (my manager does and i dont know why) but ill inform you of the good and bad of both if u ask.

[riisken]

I agree with everything except the used price. I think they should keep it that price. I learned from PSM that the industry is hurt by the business that GameStop brings. I understand that the sale of used games is great, but I'd rather support Insomniac, Ubisoft and such than GameStop.

[zsscommand]

I agree with this article, however the EB (which used to be Software Etc. many years ago) still has the same guy working there after all these years. He's really cool, doesnt nag about preorders or which console is better, he just gives me the game Im looking for. He's really the only reason I still shop sometimes at EB/Gamestop. Now the other stores in the region suck horribly. If he ever quits I guess its online and Best Buy for me...

[DeadlyFire]

I agree with the article but feel like they left out something. One reason the PC shelves are shrinking with less games in their stores is that they sell no gaming PCs. There is no real decent place to just buy and pick up a gaming PC with everything you want in it. In most places the hardware is outdated and overpriced. At least in the retail stores. Its a bit different for online PC parts sales.

[khellendros1]

Yeah I went to a GameStop to buy Eye of Judgement and Ratchet. The guy tells me that because no one reserved EOJ they are not carrying it. I'm standing there giving him the you're a stupid f*** look thinking this is a game store. You're supposed to carry All the new games. They had the booster packs but not the game. Why would I buy booster packs without the game. I took my business to Best Buy.

[squallsoft]

I agree...
and i would also like to add a couple of my own:

8. Offer competitive wages. Minimum wage can't even buy you a weeks worth of gas anymore.

9. Raise the trade in value. Its ridiculous that a game that is only a day old and retails for 60 dollars only trades in for 15. Give me a break. They are gonna resell it for 55 anyway...

10. Old school love. Why shun all the oldies? EB used to sell NES games for god's sake! Now I can't even go to Gamestop and buy PSone games! For shame...

If these things change, there still might be hope for Gamestop yet. As it stands now, i hit Amazon for all my gaming needs...

[IPlayGames]

1. Pre-orders(PO): something that you people dont know is that our Hrs. are determined by the # of pre-orders and subs to GI we get. And the number of copies that are PO they add about two for non-PO (so if 1 game is PO then we get 3 copies). Besides it only cost $5 to PO a game and if u dont have fun driving to all the stores around your house to find 1 when you could have a copy waiting for at your local gamestop.

2.Obscure stuff: You have to think about that from the companies point of view. Yea it would be good to do it but why when they would sit on the shelf for months. This has affected me as well I wanted a copy of Kengo for 360 but we only had 1 since its not a top seller.

3.Game Informer: Keep buying subs ($15 for 12 issues) and they'll keep making them.

4.Lower Prices(Used Games): I agree sometimes we sell a gain 3x the amount of the trade in. I just laugh nothing else i could do.

5.Display As New: Yea that would change if they sent Box art display for every game that comes out but until then you have to buy display its not like its played just put into a protective sleeve.

6.PC Games: The best way to get PC game back to your store is to Pre-order. But since you dont like doing that in your region there is one store that carries the abundance of the PC games find that store and u should be happy.

7.GS idiots: Yea a lot of my co-workers dont know a lot about games but Higher Ups do send books and DVD with sells pitch info on up coming releases and in our free time its ok to read GI to get more info. I do what i can to inform them on AAA and not so hot game but i dont have all the info.(Ive been playing games since be4 nintendo) So i do what can to keep there eyes open.

There you have it Hardcore Gamers, you don't have to listen to me and you don't have to like what I say. But you know that a lot of gamestop employees are saying it and as H.G. Wells once said "Adapt or perish."