Game Stop is Killing Video Games #StopGameStop

In 1983 the video game industry passed away. Due to tons of crap games, corporate greed, and a huge lack of quality control. Ever wondered why Nintendo felt like it needed a Quality assurance seal or why they were so picky about what they released on the NES? Now almost 34 years later Kitsuga.com fear we’re on the verge of another collapse. It’s one of the most widely loved hobbies in existence and it’s up to us to save it (sound familiar?). George Santayana said it all with, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

[Razzer]

You could say the same for used books, cars....pretty much anything used. I'm going after the best deal. Period. And no, that is not killing video games. Might as well say physical copies of games are killing games.

If you want to point fingers then point squarely at the ridiculous price of digital games.

[_-EDMIX-_]

10000000% agreed.

For a game to be bought used, it had to be new in the first place. Many industries exist today and I always use other industries to see where gaming might be headed. I've noticed many gamers don't seem to understand that other businesses, thus are not even able to fully understand the game industry. To say Gamestop is killing the games industry is exactly like saying used cars are killing the auto industry.

[Artemus]

Exactly, the only thing killing games is big publisher's greed.

On a side note, I find this quote utterly hilarious: "Ever wondered why Nintendo felt like it needed a Quality assurance seal or why they were so picky about what they released on the NES?"

LMAO! Looks like the writer never played 80% of the NES library.

[Raziel893]

@artemus lol yes that quote made me laugh as well, LJN that is all I'm going to say.

[Soc5]

Yup, they've made their profit, they just can't stand to see another company profiting from their business.

[rainslacker]

The average profit margin on a new game is 25%. That's pretty pitiful in the grand scheme of things. Indie game stores may be lucky to get a 15% profit margin. Might be 30% for GameStop with volume buys and stronger buying power, not to mention their marketing deals they have with publishers.

If publishers want GS to not go the used game route, maybe give them a better profit margin, so there is no reason for them to buy used games so cheap, because if they can get it new cheaper than they give for trade in value, they won't see the need anymore.

Of course, that would require the price of games to go up, which consumers won't like, and it's likely that publishers will continue practices they've seen can give them an added revenue stream, so no real gain there. People will still sell their used games to pawn shops, or best buy, or on Ebay, and nothing really changes other than the outlet of money exchanges. And of course, the most likely scenario if game prices go up, is that the extra $10 will just go mostly to the publisher, thus GS has more incentive to continue to sell used games, because there is even more risk for them to actually purchase product.

It's a complicated matter of economics. Not something that can be wrapped up with some quippe hyperbole with a neat little bow tied around it. So many factors that go into it, and in the end, it's not GameStop that's killing the industry. There is absolutely no data to suggest that people will buy more new games, if GS didn't have a trade in policy. However, there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that trading in games does drive new game sales, as 80% of all trade ins go towards new game purchases according to GS. That's a pretty significant amount of revenue to take a chance that people will simply pony up the money if there is no other choice.

[xxchicago33xx]

I agree with what you are saying to a degree. However, your auto industry example is not accurate. An overwhelming majority of used cars are actual sold at retail...by the dealership associated with the make of the vehicle. The exception being Carmax...which is the gamestop of auto and actually has a similar reputation in the auto industry.

So comparing gaming to auto would mean that the publisher such as EA would have to buy the game and sell it back to someone else used. Regardless...keep up the good fight I'm sure you guys can take down a multi-million dollar corporation via petitions and comments!

[Razzer]

@NynjaDoom

lol....if you think michigan is a result of used cars....dude, just stop.

[UCForce]

I don't like GameStop for sure, but that's how is it. My local game store do fairly well with me and consumer.

[game4funz]

How are digital games priced ridiculously? I rarely ever pay full price.

edit: I don't always buy on sale. In fact I rarely buy on sale.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Yes...you rarely pay full price ie you buy on sales.

So basically restrict buying games only to a certain time a of year when the publisher sees fit to lower the price for a temporary time?

http://store.steampowered.c...

So never mind that this game's normal price is $60 even though it released in 2012? Oh but its on sale....great deal at $30 though right?

https://www.amazon.com/Call...

No sale either, thats its normal price on PC on Amazon....

https://www.amazon.com/gp/o...

Even cheaper if you buy used on PS3 or 360.

Soooooo do you not get the issue when a publisher has 1 method for you to buy their games?

[ziggurcat]

"How are digital games priced ridiculously?"

because the regular price of those games, when they're released, is the same as the physical copy. they should be cheaper, even on day 1 because there's no cost in producing packaging for the digital version.

[Razzer]

The only cost on a digital download is the bandwidth. Compare that to the cost of printing a blu-ray. Boxing it. Shipping it. Etc.

If you are not paying full price then you are using something like g2a.

[Old McGroin]

Went looking for a second hand copy of Zelda A Link Between Worlds a few weeks back in GameStop here in Ireland, found one for 44 euros (!!!) while just across the way from it was a brand new copy of Gears 4 for 30 euros, hmmmm.

[darthv72]

Well that is because unlike other games, nintendo ones still hold a particular value regardless of age. Trying to buy mario kart 7 for 3ds and the game used was still going for over $30 and that game has been out for several years now. It should be under $20 but because it is a "Nintendo" games... they still sell for a commanding price.

[CorndogBurglar]

Two things:

1. Gamestop isn't the only store that takes trade-ins and resells them. Best Buy does this now too. Why are we not blaming them? Why are we not blaming Play & Trade, or mom and pop stores? Only Gamestop.

2. This guy isn't taking into account how many games are traded in toward new copies.

Also, the writer of the article said this:
"That’s not to say I’m totally against used games, it’s quite the opposite in fact. I grew up in flea markets and Pawn shops trading and upgrading with the solid 2-for-1 trade policy (which I always felt was fair to both parties) and/or trading with friends."

So, he admits to contributing to developers not getting their money from him BEFORE Gametsop and video game trade ins even existed.

Also, his solution is to ONLY buy new games and not used games.

Look, I understand Gamestop has some shady practices. I get it. But lets not blame them solely for this. They are not the only ones taking and reselling trade-ins.

This article is totally biased.

[ShaunCameron]

Play & Trade? That's still around? I thought it closed down in 2013.

[zekk]

@nynjadoom
Did u know that eb game made $0.87 per copy of the quantum of solace game? At Best buy we got cost plus 10% as our employee discount and it was cheaper to buy the game as a customer by about $5. Since that's the case how are businesses supposed to survive? There are a lot of cost like rent, debit and credit fees, power, heat, and staff wages. None of that is cheap. And to be fair it's not too bad for the customer that is trading. Instead of going to sell it yourself and having people haggle and asking you to meet them or mailing it off you have a middle man who takes it and gives you something back with half the hassle. Also if you complain about the trade value you have to also consider that the store is taking the risk that no one will buy the game. If it doesn't sell then they loss money. If the price of the game falls below the trade value just to sell the game then they loss money. There are a lot of factors involved but essentially store can't survive on selling new games alone. You say developers are lossing money? Well what about the people working in these stores? Are you saying it is alright for them to gouge these businesses? You realize how little they get from sell each copy of the these "poor" developers games? I mean from what you are saying it's ok to run them out of business and have everyone of their staff loss their jobs so they can make more money. You know that the multi million dollars that games make are the profits made publisher and developer and not the store selling them? You may think your are unbiased but you and your article only give one veiw point and that is biased.

[Razzer]

@NynjaDoom

People can determine for themselves whether or not trading is a good deal or not.

"If they actually paid a portion of used game sales to the publishers and devs that would definately help."

They don't deserve to get paid again and again and again for the sale of a used game! You want to talk about "ridiculous greed"? And BTW....these are the same developers who hand over exclusive DLC deals to GameStop all the damn time. So if you are going to bitch and moan on their behalf, you might want to turn your focus back on the devs who are in bed with GameStop along the way.

And no one is forcing a single damn dev to sell games through GameStop. Period.

[CorndogBurglar]

@ NynjaDoom

Hi idiot,

You said this:

" it's the scale of gamestop as a company that causes THEM to be the issue. Small shops were never an issue, and companies like Best Buy only participate to try and keep some amount of business in games."

So let me get this straight. You are saying that Gamestop is the issue, simply because they are the bigger company? So Best Buy, mom and pop shops, and Play & Trade (When they were still around) get free passes because they were smaller companies? Even though they are doing the SAME EXACT THING! Even though they are keeping money out of devs' pockets as well? What world are you living in where that makes sense? Just because a smaller company isn't taking quite as much from devs as a big company like Gamestop, that makes it okay? Let me ask you something. If I stole $20 from you, then someone else stole $100 from you, are you going to forget about me stealing the $20, simply because someone else stole more? Or is there a limit? Is it okay if I keep stealing $20 from you a couple times a week simply because it isn't that much money? Think, man. This isn't rocket science.

Also, Best Buy has been selling video games since Best Buy opened their doors. They didn't NEED to start dealing in used games to keep selling video games.

Like I said, there are things to be upset with Gamestop over. Selling opened games as new. The constant annoyance of them trying to upsell pre-orders while paying. The horrible management that we've all heard countless stories of. Making employees work midnight releases as "volunteers" with no pay. I get it. They aren't exactly a stand up company in some respects. But the trade in/selling used games business has been around for a while, and Gamestop is hardly the company that started this practice. Blame them for things they are responsible for, and if you feel they are contributing to the fall of the video game industry, then blame everyone else that is in the used games business as well.

By the way, you spelled "ninja" wrong, dummy.

[zerocarnage]

Yeah I agree, there is never any price adjustment on digital releases games unless it's a sale or holiday and the sales are usually on holiday, so it's a blue moon type of scenario. Ms, Sony, Nintendo all do this, they do not care whether a game has been out 6 years, the price for a digital release will still be the same. No adjustment because a game either solt so well and has been out for years or it just didn't sell period so the price doesn't come down to get those copy's solt.

Yeah they need to get with the dealers in the streets on this and do price comparison.

I do buy digital now though, not only does it stop me selling my physical copies but I share on Xbox one with my son, so now I have a massive collection.

[Raziel893]

Sony, and Ms cannot control pricing of every game released on their digital store if publishers decide to lower the price they will lower it. If what you said was true then every full ps4 release on the store would be priced at 59.99 but that's not the case. A good amount of games are priced lower without any discount or plus deals with games like until dawn and mad max priced at 19.99. I also know that physical may still be obtained cheaper than the digital but your comment seemed to imply that prices are never changed or lowered.

[XanderZane]

So Gamestop makes a killing off of traded in games that they resell for a much higher price. What baffles me about this, is what aren't Publishers and developers, buying back their games for cheap and reselling them for a profit too? Why is Best Buy, Gamestop and Blockbusters the only ones having fun doing this? I think the reason Publishers aren't doing this is because they are now selling digital copies of these games for $60 and making a killing off of it. That doesn't include all the DLC as well. It's funny because these are the two things I would never do. 1) Never trade my games in at Gamestop, BestBuy or anywhere else that will rip you off. I sell my games on Ebay for a fair price. 2) I would never pay $60 for a digital game. No, I don't hate digital games at all, but if I can't hold it in my hands, it should be a hell of a lot cheaper. The most I'd pay for a digital game is $30 and even that seems like too much for me.

Please stop selling your games at Gamestop, Bestbuy and any of these places that are crooks. Even buying some used games at these places are a ripoff.

[DivoJones]

A lot of us hoped prices would be lower with digital products (e-books, games, etc) seeing as it avoids the costs to produce, ship, and shelf space. Some games will always sell well at the $60 price point, but I'd be curious to see what would happen if more games launched at $40, and if the economics of scale would result in more profit by elling more units and appealing to a more frugal customer base. Titanfall 2 would be a good example of where it could pay off to be less expensive than the competition to help overcome the poor timing of its release.

[rainslacker]

You'd have to sell 33% more copies to make the same as if it were at $60.

It's a sound principal, lower costs sells more copies, but in the real world, it's hard to say if you'd see that kind of uptake on sales. realistically, you'd need to see much more than a 33% increase in sales to make it worthwhile, when the current paradigm supports making as much as possible at $60, then making more off those who are more value conscious.

Realistically, the sale price of games actually needs to go up to support current AAA budgets. Although there is more room for multi-tier pricing where not every game needs to be $60. But a while ago, it was seen that any game that releases below the commonly accepted price point is considered less of a game, so it ended up selling less than the same game at $60. Weird, but that's the market we're in.

Consumers are pretty unwilling to accept that game prices need to rise to support the higher budgets, and still bemoan the DLC and MT, but those DLC and MT are allowing these high production value games to get made. otherwise, there is no way investors would give them the go ahead, because there is too much risk involved.

It's way to complicated to really think that there is one issue, or an easy solution. Sadly, the bad practices aren't likely to go away though, because they've been proven that people will spend money on them, and publishers aren't going to give up a viable revenue stream. The only thing that will change that is if a good game with no strings attached releases, sells great, and other games people complain about stop selling and making money. That's unlikely to happen though, because it's been suggested that's what needed to happen for a decade now, yet DLC/MT are becoming more prevalent.

[joab777]

I didn't want to respond to this article, but just had to after discovering how illogical it is. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and hatred I guess.

I agree with your response, so I guess I'll just respond to you. Selling used games is not the issue and YES, it does allow people to keep gaming that otherwise wouldn't. How many people trade in games that would just sit on their shelves otherwise? How many poorer families are able to buy used consoles? Now, this doesn't mean that Gamestop hasn't been shady, but an argument can be made that they have struggled financially also. They pay a lot for new games, and most do NOT sell 10x or even close. Also, with competition being what it is, often their used games are more than new games bought online, as well as the price of most games tanking within a month or so. And those that hold value often do not get traded in. This is why they have ventured into other businesses.

As far as the Industry today, it is thriving, not dying. And that is saying something, when most people don't have luxury income like they used to. It IS true that publishers are figuring out ways to subsidize the lack of a price increase. We should be paying like $80 for new games now!

Now, this doesn't mean there are not many shady practices being used. But the blame should be pointed squarely on us! We demand certain products and we either do or do not fork over the money for them. Recently, mobile games have made a KILLING on micro transactions because we continue to spend billions, $1 at a time. We buy season passes etc. But we scream bloody murder at subscriptions or charging too much!

Overwatch is the perfect example that if we love the product we will pay whatever for it. If we do not, we will find flaws and dissect the evil practices. Destiny is a great example of our flawed purchase practices. We say no sub, get angry that dlc is paid, but demand more content and squash the micro addition. We demand to know everything and then hold it against them! No Mans Sky releases to insane hype and we demand our money back b/c a 4-man team couldn't live up to our expectations. Yes, it should have been $30, but many played it for dozens of hours and had fun, and economic theory would require a high price for the demand WE created!

We ARE schizo! We ARE the problem! Not Gamestop or Publishers etc. We demand a better Warch Dogs and Titanfall and when we get them, we don't buy them!!

The magic of childhood is why this author remembers pitfall in such a manner b/c today we have amazing Indies and platforms etc. Hell, we have so many choices, games for everyone! It's never been better... or more complex! It's tough to determine value in the present market! We have games like Uncharted, GTA 5, and Firewatch! We have Virtual Reality for goodness sakes! There is no loss of adventure or amazement! Children today can play Minecraft on a portable device! Soon, they will be able to play Breathe of the Wild on the go! We have limited 4k gaming and more is coming! We can create games and have them funded by others! The most expensive game in history (not yet but who knows) may have originated on kickstarter. Who would have ever guessed that that was possible!

So I don't buy anything that's being sold here! It is the Golden Age of geeks and nerds...undoubtedly! But it's a business, and unfortunately we are in the middle of a global economic evolution. There is money to be made and jobs to be offered to millions! It will all shake out and WE will be the determinates, not some store around the corner called Gamecock, or whatever was printed here!

[Soc5]

Preach it!

[NeoGamer232]

There is nothing wrong with the pricing of video games.

What is wrong is that people support the used game market rather then supporting the developers and publishers directly with new purchases. I buy video games at the lowest price that supports the developers and publishers who make the games. Not the lowest price I can find.

And publishers and developers that create junk games and charge full price for them.

Games are one of the best dollar for value propositions in the entertainment industry. Games can give you 10's, 100's, and 1000's of hours of entertainment for about $50-60. Meanwhile, going to a theatre to see a movie costs $30 for two people and two hours of entertainment and a rock concert from a AAA act will cost $100-1,000 per ticket for 3 hours of entertainment.

[rainslacker]

I think this article tries way too hard to blame one entity for what's happening. Used games have been around since the dawn of gaming, and they weren't the reason for the crash. DLC....or expansions, have been around since long before GameStop. Bad games have been around since before GameStop.

The current trends with publishers implementing practices we gripe about comes down more to them trying to make more money. It's as simple as that. It's easy enough to blame used games, and that's about all the publishers are willing to blame, because no business is going to come out and call it's consumers cheap and unwilling to pay more for games whose production costs have risen exponentially compared to the actual cost of games. But you up the price of a game by another $10, to cover it, and then see what the consumer says, and watch people buy less games.

When it comes down to it, GameStop's practices actually see more new games get sold as people trade in to typically purchase new games. It's not ideal for the publishers, because they'd prefer to sell new copies, but at the same time, GameStop has such a shitty profit margin on new games that there is no way they can stay open without selling used games. Bigger stores can manage it due to having other things to back up, but new game profit margins are among the lowest margins of any consumer product, and it's even worse for the indie game store without the buying power.

GameStop isn't killing the gaming industry or gaming. That is counter productive to their long term success, and it's completely idiotic to even act like they are the reason for all the things we don't like in gaming. It's not even really greed the way some people talk about it. It falls solely on those $100 million budgets, where games still sell for what they did when they were $50 million dollar budgets.....mixed with a lot of trying to appease investors and make enough profit to keep investors invested, so the publishers can continue to make games.

I guarantee you that if people really did stop buying DLC and all these microtransactions, the actual production value of games would plummet within 5 years. The only games that would get made regularly with high quality production would be those that sell like COD or GTA. It's a necessary evil, and unfortunately, there is no easy answer. "Stopping" gamestop isn't going to help anything. It'll probably make things worse, and the publishers know that used game trade ins promote new sales.....they just want their cut of the profits because they want to double dip where they really have no right.

[finite]

PC Digital is rather cheap thanks to an open purchase environment and the likes of Greenman Gaming and other cdkey sites.

[annoyedgamer]

Only greedy publishers would make an argument like that. Gamestop is killing itself by bad company management.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed. I'd say the way they conduct business is hurting them. They will get better before they get worst though as clearly they will need to ease up on their prices of used games if they want to stay in business. I don't see it driving them out of business just yet if ever.

[game4funz]

I don't buy games from gamestop anymore.
I prefer best buy or target if I'm going to buy retail.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@Game- thats nice.

I buy where I can get the cheapest price, Best buy, Target, Amazon, Ebay and yes...Gamestop. I don't shop based on emotions bud. Who ever has the best price new or used is who gets my money.

[Fist4achin]

I agree with you as well. Gamestop doesn't give crap for trades. The only plus about GS is their selection. When I'm looking for something older, they are a good place to usually find it. I know I could always go online, but on occasion I'm ready to play it now versus waiting for the shipping...

[no_more_heroes]

something Amazon is hoping to eliminate with same-day delivery.

[indysurfn]

@No_more_heroes I'm one of there best customers, so before they announced same day I have been one of the test subjects for nearly a year. It work's great you order something and a couple hours later it is in your box or on your porch! DANG! Two day and then one day shipping got me shopping more. Now delivery in a few hours, betting me home from work will surely make me buy more still from amazon.

[rainslacker]

I agree. Their trade in prices are rediculously low. I suppose it's convienant for some though. But I found an easy solution. I don't trade my games into gamestop, Problem solved, and outside the odd instance every decade or so, I've never had a problem with them overall.

Sometimes I wonder if people actually realize all but one of their greivances with GameStop would be 100% solved by not partaking in the things they complain about as if it were compulsory or something. Last thing left is their trying to sell open games as new....which was my last problem with them,because they didn't have it new in the system anymore, and tried to sell it to me for the used price, which was higher than the sticker price on the box they pulled from the shelf for the open new copy....which I tried to explain was illegal, but to no avail, so I didn't buy it. Fun little aside on the stupidity of some of their policies.:)

Anyhow, since Amazon Prime has 20% off newish games or pre-orders, I have little reason to go there anymore. I like to peruse their used game section for those really good deals or their b2g1 free deals, and occasionally they have some good prices on new games or if I just feel impulsive and want to get a game quickly, which is rare.

[UCForce]

They need new management who is mindful without doing something stupid and greedy.

[GrimReaperGamer]

The person who wrote this definitely rides the "special bus"

The day gaming goes completely digital is the day I stop gaming.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed.

All anyone needs to do is look at the normal price of GTAV on PSN or XBL or Call Of Duty Black Ops II on Steam to know whats wrong with digital.

[FunkyGoron]

GTAV was like $20-$30 digitally on Black Friday and during these Holiday Sales... What is wrong with digital in your mind? If we both buy a game new, we pay the same price... we both could wait and shop smart and each of us at some point could find a price deal on a game we liked, digitally or physically.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@FunkyGoron- "we both could wait and shop smart and each of us at some point could find a price deal on a game we liked, digitally or physically"

Nope. You would have to wait for a publisher to ok a sale to get that price.

I can get that price any damn day of the year used physically.

The problem with digital is GTAV is still full priced as a normal price.......

So imagine they don't have physical versions....consider they don't even need to have any sale considering they are no longer even needed to compete with the used market.

If something like GTAV or even worst COD Black Ops 2 can be full price still years later, who knows what they would do if we had only 1 method of distribution. Sorry but I like options bud, I see ZERO benefit to the consumer having 1 option to buy games.

You wait for that price, you need to get permission by the publisher to get that price, I can get that price from any person that owns the game physically right now.

[FunkyGoron]

You must be very angry. COD Black Ops 2 was just like $10 on Steam during the Winter Sale. I don't care if you choose not to shop smartly and wait/look for deals and feel the need to impulse buy at your brick and mortar store.

I hope they get rid of physical versions of games, get rid of the middle-men retailers, and charge what they deem the game is worth. We would start having more $10, $20 up to $70, $80 games because without retailers the price point for any given game would change drastically. The Witcher 3 might just be worth $100 based off the amount of content and impact. Games like NMS probably should top out at $30.

It was nice to see Recore @ $40, same with R&C... I want publishers to feel free to move the price of games around as the market demands. Retailers add an unnecessary barrier to this.

As people have said, look at the car industry... I can buy a car online completely cutting out the salesmen and the lot owners and the "PHIL PRICE CHEVY" dealers. I am sure that helps drive the price of cars down over-time. I want this for games as well.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@funk-"I hope they get rid of physical versions of games, get rid of the middle-men retailers"

Lol

Yes, less methods to purchase games and the better /s

"COD Black Ops 2 was just like $10 on Steam during the Winter Sale"

Lol let's see winter sale vs everyday used..Hmmmmm

So only buy games 1 time a year? Sounds pretty dumb.

I'll take buying it for cheaper today, used, for a physical version that I could play for life.

[ShaunCameron]

Those games are still in high demand, hence the near-full retail price to this day.

[rocketpanda]

It will happen...eventually. I still remember walking into game shops and being able to buy physical PC games. Now I can't, and even if you can in some places, in the box is no disc just some code to download the game from steam or origins.

Once publishers decided not to put up stupid prices on psn and xbl then the shift will be easier and quicker. £64 for some new AAA titles, bloody hell!

Saying that I still prefer having physical copies of my games on console.

[_-EDMIX-_]

? Nope.

You can still actually buy boxed PC games at Gamestop, I actually did just this week. Bought Far Cry Primal on PC....on disk....at Gamestop....soooooooo yea. I don't know what your talking about lol

You very much can buy many, many PC games on disk. Like....lots. I'd say most of the PC games I buy are still on disk, if I care for the series anyway. I mean, I'm likely getting TES VI on disk.

[CorndogBurglar]

You don't game on PC's do you?

You can buy physical copies of PC games anywhere. Gamestop, Target, Wal-Mart....they all sell physical PC games. And no, they don't just have download codes inside. They still sell the disc. You can buy a card with a digital code on it for the same price at most places also. But they most definitely sell physical disc copies of PC games.

[christian hour]

@corndog @_-EDMIX-_

Must be a UK & Ireland thing. Or just a stupid "you live in a heavy populated city" thing. Or just a "varies from store to store based on consumer habits" thing, who knows. Point being, Rocketpandas not entirely wrong with his experiences, he's just noticing a trend. And its not a doom and gloom trend so hold on to your bum fluff.

Now, I don't frequent gaming stores all that often cos I've worked in them and I refuse to support the awful eejits that run those places (I go in to CEX the odd time cos they're nice folk and they do has physical PC games gouiys!) but anytime I'm in gamestop (GAME has once again closed all its stores in Ireland and fled, it's just Gamestop now, again.) it's about 70% merchandise, 20% used games, 10% new console games and absolute 0% boxed PC games. Plenty of steam/psn/xbl cards, but no pc game section in sight.

There used to be boxes with codes to download the game on shelf, but I guess that fell out of practice when people realised it made more sense to buy a steam card or, just never leave their house at all and use their own plastic moneys card on steam.

I can see why you might still find boxed PC games in the states, broadband coverage in UK & Ireland is pretty much widespread, very little blank spots if any and theres very little greedy bickering between competing providers. From what I understand, a chunk of the U.S.A still doesnt have local access to broadband and this might be the only place they can buy their pc games.

Of course this is all bollox based on years old observations that may be outdated so take that last theory with a grain of nano salt. And my experience with gamestop is based off of he gamestops in Dublin. The ones in rural areas may actually have physical copies of pc games. I know my friend who lives in some weird twilight zone between Dublin and Kildare can't even broadcast his gameplay on ps4 his connection is that bad. Rain stops play. (cricket joke from a man who's never seen, heard or played cricket)

Personally I've been 100% digital this generation. I gameshare with a buddy. Anything he buys, I can play whenever I want. Anything I buy, he can play whenever he wants. The catch being we can't play the games we bought for ourselves if the internet goes down, we can just play eachothers games... The funny thing being he plays a lot of FPS multiplayer games which, I can't stomach. But the odd time our tastes align :)

I'm still waiting for that "game sharing" on ps4 is RUINING THE INDUSTRY! article.

[FunkyGoron]

Very harsh over-reaction and I doubt there'll be a way for physical media to go away.

If you have the internet speed and enjoy owning the games as opposed to buying and trading in (which is a glorified rental service at a certain point), there is nothing better than digital media. My disc drive doesn't even get used so no worries if it breaks (problem with some PS3's).

[rainslacker]

Recently I sold off a significant part of my collection and raked in over $10K. So if all those games had been digital, what exactly would I have gotten for it? Maybe $40 for a used hard drive?

I kept these games for years, so it's not like it was some glorified rental service. I brought something, consumed it, kept it for a collection, then sold it because it was a product that had value. Not just a bunch of 1's and 0's that only belonged to me for as long as the publishers decided I was entitled to own it.

Things might be different when you can sell your digital games, which honestly, was the only good thing about MS X1 DRM, but until that becomes commonplace, and there are protections in place to ensure that publishers can't strip away my content because of some perceived TOS breach, or the service provider simply going defunct, then it's still not something that I think is the best.

I don't want to see digital go away. I'm all for choice. You'll have to explain to me why physical is so evil that you want it to go away, because this idea that one has to die seems to be purely coming from the digital proponents, and even then, only those who are pretty narrow minded to think that digital is the only thing that is worth considering for 100% of the market.

[Gh05t]

That is like saying that the music industry is dead, and the movie industry is dead, Digital has not killed these markets, it has just shifted the money around to others. It also took a huge barrier of entry away for people to breakthrough, Indie games, movies, and music has hit a new rise and overall it is better. It has also made these mediums way more accessible to way more people than ever before.

[Kokyu]

Gamestop and used game sales is not the cause of the industry's problems, its the same problems that pleagued gaming in the 80's corporate greed, poor quality, rushed broken games and dishonest practices. The crash was good for gaming, it got all the garbage and mega corps out of the industry and it came back better and stronger. The crash is coming and the industry needs it.

[FunkyGoron]

I don't think Gamestop is doing anything wrong other providing goods and services people are willing to pay for. I hope they make money and I hope the customers get what they want.

Off topic - I don't understand the vitriol for digital gaming, as in, it's the reason people would quit gaming or is ruining gaming. How are options bad? Choice is needed for diversity which is needed for higher quality of product. I always buy digital games on my XB1 and PS4. I preload if I want, play ASAP. I technically can download the games and own them forever, or, I can even buy a game on PS4 and possibly when PS5 comes out the games become cross-play like so many titles did for PS3/4.

Digital gaming should be cheaper IMO. New AAA games $50 bucks, $60 physical. More of my money goes to the publisher/dev who IMO are the ones responsible for my hobby and the ones I would rather reward. Digital games require less overhead to make and take up 0% of floor space. Absurd I have to pay the same price as someone who had to buy a physical version that costs real dollars to make.

But if you're a smart shopper, you can find amazing deals on games digitally. I recently got Hitman for $30, Talos Principle for $7, Unravel for $4, Rise of TR + all DLC for $30, and Abzu for $8... all within the last week or so with some holiday money. You'll never beat those prices at retail.

[DragonKnight]

The reason for the vitriol is the concept of ownership. When you pay for a thing you expect to own it, but digital turns games from objects to services and you pay for limited access, and pay too much at that. With physical copies you own them for as long as you want and can use them as many times as you want. With digital you can only own it for as long as the license lasts or servers are up. If either expires, tough luck for you. And then there's the added fact that with digital came new DRM such that you can be locked out from playing a game you paid money for if you don't meet certain conditions such as being online.

If I had, for example, an original NES, I could pop in Super Mario Bros and, assuming no hardware issues, play a game that's nearly 40 years old. However the same can't be said of digital games today. P.T. is the best reason to be against digital, and it isn't even a full game.

[FunkyGoron]

PT is a poor choice as you are right, it's not a full game... hence why it was much easier to pull/block from download. I own 200+ games digitally between two platforms and not one of them have I ever had an issue playing. Maybe some small small titles may have issues with servers and most MP games, if the servers go down, it affects both physical and digital owners alike.

I don't mind licensing, if I play 40+ new games in one year I don't need 40 boxes on my shelf taking up useful space. To each their own, the ease of use with digital far outweighs any practical issue of ownership (which doesn't come up often, if ever) for myself.

[NotoriousWhiz]

You do own your digital games forever. You do not however have the capability to re-download them forever, so you'll have to have the storage space to keep the game forever. So the trade off is really physical space vs hard drive space.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed

[DragonKnight]

@Funky: That you haven't had a problem does not preclude there being a problem, and that physical games now can't be played is the point. Digital is anti-consumer in every way but convenience, and it has seeped into the physical realm.

@Notorious: But you don't retain the ability to play them forever, unlike the aforementioned example of the classic NES, that's the problem. Digital is not good for anyone. It isn't cheaper on consoles, it isn't faster to download and play on consoles, it's hampered by the necessity of hard drives, and the worst part is that it's bound by licensing rules. You do not own anything but the license, which means you can't even resell it if you wanted to. As I said, there is only one benefit to digital. 2 if you live in the right countries. Convenience is the first, and not being taxed is the second. In Canada games are stupidly expensive, moreso with our ridiculous tax rates. Brand new physical copies are $80 + 13% HST in my province. That equals $90.40 Canadian for a brand new game that is probably broken, rushed, unfinished, and low quality. But if I bought it digitally then it's a flat $80 because Canada doesn't tax digital goods as they are not a physical product that would require any kind of packaging or shipment with their own costs to incur and regulate. So even though I dislike digital, I have little choice if I want to have any money left.

[JonathanCraneTFM]

@Notorious. Incorrect, entirely. You don't own a single digital copy of any game you buy; you're in possession of a license which can be disconnected/rescinded at any time by the licensor (publisher).

For example, people that bought FarCry 4 technically purchased a license, which was then removed/rescinded under the claim that those keys were "stolen" or otherwise ill-gotten. If Steam went away tomorrow, your games go with it, unless publishers made an effort to decouple their games from the service.

Meanwhile, if you have a physical copy of a game, it's going to run. Updates or no. In newer cases, though, no update means no play.

[indysurfn]

At NotoriousWhiz 8 most people dont know of hard drive failures because they buy pcs every 3 years.

http://www.pcworld.com/arti...

Remember when your thinking about the 80% of drives that survived in a server farm for 4 years. THESE ARE TOP OF THE LINE DRIVES AND COST MORE THAN YOUR CONSOLE! I'm a software guy but I've helped shop for these drives and bought them.

[rainslacker]

Is it vitriol? Or is it just people getting tired of being told that digital is the only way?

Seriously, I have never seen a physical proponent state that digital had to die. I see many digital proponents say that physical needs to die.

Don't mistake indifference as vitriol.

There are people who don't want digital or digital paradigms say in the case of X1's original policies, but that isn't the same as hating on it so much that they think that it shouldn't exist. people can make their case for which is better for them, or for objective discussion, but that isn't really vitriol.

If you want a better example than PT though, my digital copy of R-Type that I brought early on on the PS3 was removed from the PS Store, and I can no longer download it. Was only $5, but still, it was stripped from me. There are a lot of other examples on the Apple and Google store for mobile as well. And it's likely that other companies are going to go defunct, and people could lose a lot of games if measures aren't taken to make sure those people have access to their content.....say like with MS closing GFWL....eventually, official channels to download those games should one lose them won't exist, and not everyone is into downloading torrents.

[Rude-ro]

Ha! No. If anything, it saves gaming. Profit wise maybe not, but usedproducts open the doors to a lot more people who can not afford to pay the very expensive prices of today's gaming.
With the decline of certain franchises, we can clearly see the greed as the prices for those games are doing anything to move them at lower prices.
Greed kills everything. Making gaming so expensive removes a lot of people from the hobby.

[ShaunCameron]

LOL @ today's gaming being expensive. The only thing expensive about today's gaming is development costs, not overall retail prices.

[Rude-ro]

ummmmm no...
But thanks for the laugh.

[rocketpanda]

A single game seller in the US isn't going to "kill gaming". There are other various sources to get games at better prices and service like Amazon. Although I don't know the US market all that well. I currently live in Japan and trade-in value for trending games are fair and the mark up on reselling games aren't too bad either. Critically acclaimed games that aren't often traded in hold higher value here too, titles like Doom and Reaper of Souls have maintained steady prices for most of the year staying close to new copy prices.

Year on year the sales of digital games are growing. It's up to brick and mortar shops like GameStop to adapt before its too late. In the UK, Game almost went to the wall, whilst most other gaming outlets in the UK don't exist anymore.

[AnubisG]

No, Gamestop is not killing gaming. I my opinion these are:

DLC through the roof, mp only games, digital games, half-assed game releases, buggy games to the point where some are unplayable and needs tons of updates, indie games (there are a few good ones but 99% is crap) that overflow the industry. Season passes. Locked content on disc so it can be sold later on for more profit. Publishers and devs not listening to their customers. EA and Capcom are running their business into the ground by not knowing what gamers want and being arrogant.

I'm sure I missed a few things but this is just from the top of my head.

[_-EDMIX-_]

errrrr not really bud.

We've had post launch content in games for a very long time now. DLC is merely the method of the distribution, its not actually the practice of post launch content. We've had MP only games for generations too...buggy games? We've had that too...

How old are you? lol Serious question.

[AnubisG]

I should have been clearer on the things I said I guess. For example, DLC: Most of the DLC we are getting aren't worth the price and what we get as DLC is actually already on the disc is just locked behind a paywall. That is pretty much 90% of the DLC we get so this is what I meant. Don't know about you guys but when they hold back content like that I get pissed. Also, many times it's just customes and shaders and some characters or vehicles. Nothing that adds serious value to the game. Now there is also good DLC like Blood and Wine for the Witcher 3. That is how DLC should be done but it isn't and almost always overpriced. As for buggy games, yes we always had them but we never had this many and not with game breaking bugs like what we get today. Before consoles were online, how many times did you buy a game and it was absolutely unplayable without a patch? Not offten. Now, it's pretty much every game because they just want to push them out as fast as possible. Back in the day you got a complete game out of the box that worked. Now, not so much. How old am I? Old enough to start gaming on an Atari. We started going in the right direction but when online was introduced to consoles it all went to hell. Want to get the full game now days? That'll be $120 minimum with season pass, DLC and you should pray that it works properly on day one.

[Kokyu]

AnubuisG makes good points. All digital really has no benefit right now on consoles. 1 the game still cost 60$ months after release the game is still 60$ 2yrs after release the game is still 60$. Sony with PSN has gotten better with its multiple game sales taking a page from steam but its still not that big of a benefit. 2 more and more games require a constant internet connection to play, this means once that service ends the game is useless. The industry is robust and big enough for physical and digital sales to exist there is no reason to have just one method of retail, plus comcast just hit my area with a Data cap this will now limit my decision on buying a game to physical as most game get multiple gig day one patches and I dont want to add the 50-60 gigs it will take to download the game to my cap.

The industry has been in trouble for a few years now. They always want to point to used and pirated games as th decline but its a scapegoat like guns use games for the same thing.

[gbsrnctaln]

The global games market hit $99.6 billion in 2016. Yup, gamestop is "killing video games" lol. Was this artical written by an 8th grader?

[CrimsonWing69]

I wouldn't say they're killing video games I just hate their policies and ethics. I worked a year with that company and hated it after the first month. It's super corporate and really doesn't put the customer first. We are told to push so many offers, warranties, subscriptions, and pre-orders on the customer and if we didn't make the quota our job was seriously on the line.

One huge thing is the extremely shady practices of gutting a product and selling it new, taking promo-codes from competitive companies like with Deus Ex and the cloud gaming offer that conflicted with Gamestop's. They opened the new product and ripped up that promo and then sold it as new. Also getting Xenoblades Chronicles manufactured new, gutting it, and then selling it above MSRP as a "used" game. Like, who does this other than Gamestop?

So they aren't killing gaming, they're just a company that needs to be erased.

[KillBill]

Stop it already! Stop approving articles that are just making a mockery of gaming journalism. If you can't write a piece without the need to call a company GAMESUCK then just get out of gaming journalism completely.

I grew up with all such stores and they made me love gaming more, not less.Without the neighborhood stores like Gamestop then I simply wouldn't be the gamer that I am now.

You know what sells games... making people want to buy them day one. And Gamestop did that. For ages now, people have been calling out game stores as the end of gaming. And yet every year it keeps getting stronger and stronger. So are the naysayers simply hoping that one year their predictions will come true and say... see I called it?

You know what is really hurting games? Big companies pushing release dates and shoving out games that are still riddled with glitches. Developers that tout their games as the next messiah and then basically offering up a game with a fake beard dressed as Jesus.

Console boys who do nothing but praise their system and demonize others. PC boys who damn everyone except those that have a system as good as theirs. All utter bull just festering at the bottom of the barrel and ruining it for everyone else.

Game sights that care little about truth and simple pander to whatever will get them traffic. And the most hurtful to games.... N4G, for creating an atmosphere that propagates all of this. That allows the worst of the worst to be shoved down our throats on a daily basis. That allows true haters to permeate in the comments and spread the garbage that kids just feed off of.

Here is an idea, how about we just get back to being gamers again? How about we stop bickering about juvenile things and simply enjoy gaming? How about we create a place that doesn't feed off of their own kind... simply because of choice of system?

Stop feeding the journalism trolls and let's talk about games again instead of playing game version of Miss Cleo with our news. You think?

[dillydadally]

This is such a stupid argument. Games have never been in a better position than now. They're a huge industry and only growing bigger. On top of that, DLC and poor quality games come from greed, not gamestop, and if gamestop ceased to exist tomorrow, NOTHING AT ALL WOULD CHANGE. Not only that, but if gamestop went away, there would still be a ton of places to buy used games and more would fill the void. I don't get this argument at all. Every industry has used sales, so does video games, and they're a lot healthier than most of the other ones.

[ccgr]

Aren't digital only games killing Gamestop?

[Gamist2dot0]

Hate to be the devil's advocate but the blame is on the consumers who feed on the practice of trading in games and buying used games at GameGougingStop. The people running the company have one job and that is to generate money for Gamestop to grow. I don't like their practice so I don't shop there. I live in the city so there are plenty of stores/shops for me to buy games, but I buy mostly online because of the competitive deals and convenience.

Gamers have way more options to purchase their games now than before including digital. I remember Gamestop was the only place for me to buy the latest game releases over other stores like Best Buy, Target, etc. And what sucked was that GS charged an extra $5 over retail. And that was the last time I shopped there.

As for comparing games to the 80s, look at the indies games of today and not much has changed. They still exist and are still easier and cost less to make than AAA titles.

For the possible collapse, I don't see that happening with Sony leading the charge this gen. Yeah, call me a pony, fanboy whatever, but I feel that Sony try their best to release their games with quality even when we dislike the delays, many of their titles have proven quality. And sales proved that.

[Tankbusta40]

What a useless rant. Gamestop is a company, so naturally they are going to try and make a profit. I don't really use them anymore because of Amazon Prime(way better to just send the games back to amazon) but I appreciate any place where I can sell something I know I will no longer play and will take up space. I stopped "collecting" video games after the ps1 n64 era and have been selling them ever since. If you don't like the prices one company offers you, its not like you are obligated to sell your property.

[vonholtz]

I have not got a game from a store in years. Now I play on PC and about 75% of my games are indie games. I can not even buy them in a story anyway. I stop playing triple a games for the most part now. But I am sick of the greed of most of the game industry. That if the big game stores go under I will not cry for them.

[Clunkyd]

If everything goes digital, the gaming industry would shrink tremendously.

[ShaunCameron]

No it won't.

[Clunkyd]

Yes it would, it's pretty obvious. If you can't see that then that's your problem.

[yomfweeee]

I don't like GameStop. But anyone dumb enough to buy a used game for a $5 discount.... they're the problem, not GameStop. Anyone who sells a game for ridiculously low value... they're the problem.

[senorfartcushion]

Sigh* what nonsense.

[BlackIceJoe]

I for one like owning the game, so like having the option to buy a game for cheaper. I was just looking on PSN and Xbox Live and saw games that came out last year that were still 60 dollars, but if l buy them from a store l can get them for either 20 or 30 dollars. So the day digital is the only option I'm done with gaming.

[Callediceman]

I don't know about anyone else, but whenever I go to Gamestop to trade games I buy new games with the credit (usually a new release). Also I almost always take advantage of trading in my system when a new one comes out (this is how I now have an Xbone 1s and a PS4 Pro). Of course I know its not top dollar I'm getting for my used games/consoles but it is extremely easy (dont have to list on ebay etc). If anything Gamestop has helped me purchase MORE games and consoles over the years.

[Tzuno]

Stupid prices are killing the game industry, they cut costs with no DVD case and art-book and they want 60$ all the way, people need to wake the fk up.

[Pledius]

Except now I can refund my games with Steam. I love it and love getting money back for shitty games that don't deserve my money

[Twinblade]

Publishers are killing video games, more and more of their games are being published half finished and sold as day 1 dlc these days, not to mention day 1 patches.

[JonathanCraneTFM]

You know. just when I think I've seen the dumbest argument, I check this site, and lo and behold.

If you resort to garbage like "GameCock" and "GameSuck," your argument is instantly null and void. Past that, it's brainless to think that a company that's in the business to make money cares one whit about costs/prices/fairness. Gaming isn't killed by GameStop or the resale industry, it's killed by the gamers.

You buy the same shit in droves and, guess what? It's going to be delivered in droves.

Big deal. GameStop gives you pennies on the dollar for a game you paid full-price for. Its your fault if you sell it back to them for pawn shop prices when we have platforms like eBay, Craigslist, and Amazon where you can make the bulk of your costs back. No one has a gun to your head forcing you to shop at GameStop; it's convenience. Just like Digital is convenience. There's a healthy resale market if people were less lazy and smarter about their precious dollarz.

[ShaunCameron]

Exactly.

[dmonee]

If developers are losing money to gamestop on a 10 to 1 ratio, then why not give a discount to purchase a game digitally? Instead of $60, charge a digital downloader $40. Or!, give a digital downloader free DLC. Either way, this is in the developers hands as well as retailers. I can't sit back and let companies like EA and Activision off the hook. This issue of used game retailings needs to be met in the middle by both sides. If GameStop is selling Battlefield 1 for $30 used and the game is still on the Xbox store for $60, then that's EA's problem. If they were losing coin that bad, then they would and should do something about it. I fear that it's the smaller developers that get screwed the most. However, I do believe CD project red made The Witcher 3, with 50 people. Maybe, these larger developers have to allocate their resources better. Does it really take 400 people to make Madden every year? I don't know these things. I do know something is a stink behind the scenes of the gaming industry though, How do all the gamers have the answers to this problem but yet nothing gets done from the developers and the retailers end?

[Eudave]

I dont get why people still bitch about this shit, people buy used shit always. buying used cars isnt destroying the auto industry? I bought deus ex for $20 used at gamestop instead of $60 new.

[Scatpants]

Maybe they could do something like charge you an extra $10 to play online if you buy a used copy. That's a great idea, right?

[rataranian]

This will be the last gen for them. once it goes all digital its over for them. theyll end up another used game store until they shut the doors.

[mbecker73]

I think you lost a lot of credibility when you started referring to GameStop as GAMECOCK and GREEDSTOP...

[Bjorn-c-blocker]

The publishers include the money they will lose on resale when they sell the games to gamestop in the first place.

[DJNOSTYLE]

Whoever wrote this plays everything on Easy.

[korea09]

That's why I use Steam

[alfcrippinjr]

game stop is killing themselves by ripping of people with the exchange rates they offer
for used games.
you are better to trade them online with someone local for another game.

digital downloads are bad ideas i do buy some unless i can not buy them on disc based .
but if it all goes digital they are the ones that control the prices direct.

also digital downloads cost more then having the disc in your hands
with the disc you can look at it and the artwork on the cases

[holdmyown83]

Screw GameStop!!! I'll never set foot in one this shitty store ever again.

[ChristopherJack]

With digital growth & DLC profit margins, I sincerely doubt Gamestop has any influence whatsoever anymore.

If they closed all their stores tomorrow, someone else will just pick up the slack. Supply & demand. Might lead to another shift towards digital but overall, the industry will remain unchanged.

[rainslacker]

I wouldn't say that. GS actually does a lot of positive promotion for the gaming industry. Despite people's hate for them, they actually do want to see the industry grow, and outside this shift to other merchandise channels, they have always been pretty positive in terms of making sure games get some notice.

Now, I've run across quite a few employees that work there that aren't that great at doing that, and kind of fanboyish, but I suppose that's par for the course.

[cberg25]

Was this article written in 2007? GameStop's influence over the industry has shrunk into such insignificance, they've transitioned into mostly selling Five Nights At Freddy's toys and buying used cell phones. While the used game market was a massive deal last gen, it's calmed down by a massive degree in the past few years. Digital games are easily accessible, widely used, and carry less baggage. This is clickbait that aimed for the most tired, irrelevant opinion - and still grabbed the attention of this site.

[WeAreLegion]

As a GameStop employee, I wouldn't worry too much. We're already stopping GameStop. Numbers are way down.

[formanbradley]

GameStop sold me a used PS3 with a broken DVD drive in June, and by the time I noticed it, the warranty was up. I didn't expect them to take it back... but at the same time, they can't expect me to ever do business with them again. I already sold my games on craigslist cuz they give you jack d*ck for your trade-ins, but now I've gone full boycott.

[Donnie81]

I don't bother with gamestop anymore after I found best buys gamers club unlocked. That 20% off new games is amazing. The last time I was at a gamestop I noticed a really cute new girl, I talked with her a little bit and it was very obvious she didn't know anything about gaming. I then asked her if they had a used copy of uncharted 4 for Xbox one , she looked in the computer for like 20 minutes trying to find it lol.

[rlow1]

He has a point but their really isn't any solution to the problem other than doing away with physical media. Which I would not support. The dlc is somewhat out of hand but mostly in multiplayer centric games. The trend I hate the most are the games that are shipped broken and patched later. Something that never happened to consoles before they became internet capable. That is something that if they did right the first time could save them some money.

[Tumaras]

The article isn't really blaming Gamestop, so the title is a bit misleading. The author is blaming the trade-in of games, which I also think is totally off. Yes Gamestop maybe gives $20 for a $60 game. But, more often than not either with GCU at Best Buy, or Prime with Amazon, or just sales, you can get any new game now for $48 or less at release. Plus Gamestop buys wholesale obviously, so they are likely only paying $30 or less for a new copy. Why should they pay you more for trade-in of a used copy than what they can buy a new copy for at wholesale, which they could also sell at a higher price? It's not used games causing a problem in the industry, since people account for trade-in as part of the justification for paying the high price of games. If there were no trade-in possible, game companies would probably have to drop the prices of new games at least $15-$20 to keep sales the same.

The issue more is with a natural market trend that is pushing the prices of new releases down much more quickly than in the past. Paying $60 for a game is history. Any new $60 (retail) game can easily be had on release day or even pre-order for $48 as mentioned above. Often, within 2 weeks games are down to $30-$35. So that's a big cut of dev profits compared to the days when everyone was paying $60.

And the other contributing factor to pushing prices down is just a lack of quality in the market. That's the problem that caused the game crash back in the 90's, and devs are heading towards repeating the mistake. That came with putting pictures of games that were misleading and made games look better than they were on game boxes, and then not allowing returns. Likewise, game companies were controlling magazine reviews and preventing poor reviews. So customers got tired of paying $60 for a game they couldn't return after being opened, and finding out it was complete garbage that they wouldn't play for 2 hours once they got home. Fast forward to 2016, and super-disappointing releases like Mafia 3 that looked great in ads and then turned out to be awful are repeating those same mistakes that caused the earlier gaming crash. Gamers are going to make very sure a game is good before putting their money in nowadays.

[quent]

Game rentals, piracy and now the used game market are being blamed for the end of videogames, but here we are still going strong, games are expensive and from what I've seen games devalue much better at retail then in the digital market place.

This is anti-consumer rhetoric nothing more

[AlphaKnight75]

Amongunz, Who determines if what consumers is buying is crap? Isn't that a matter of an opinion?? Digital copies should be half the price of a physical copy. But it's not gonna happen and that's why I refused to buy digital ,Unless it's a deal that is to good to pass up. The game developers is what is killing our industry because of their greed!

[jaymacx]

Used games aren't as big of issue from Gamestop because they sell newer (used) games at just 5-8 bucks cheaper than the New sealed game. Used for me is only appealing when the price is low which is usually on older titles. Id rather get a new copy on sale if at all possible.

[Dragonscale]

What has the crash of 1983 to do with pre-owned games? Stupid comparison.

[MagicBeanz]

Some real top shelf quality "journalism" here. smh

[ShockUltraslash]

#StopGamesStop is ruining GameStop.
#StopStopGameStop.

[NickAwesome]

Oh my God hyperbole much? gaming is doing fine, stop spreading false news, maybe this fall gamers were busy buying half ass mid gen consoles and vr and that's why they didn't invest much in new games, also it didn't help they released a ton of games in the same time period, the day gaming is going digital only is the day i stop gaming

[il-JumperMT]

Just make digital slightly cheaper than physical. I could care less what format the game is. I go for cheapest deal. Sometimes its cheaper to buy physical than digital, even brand new sealed games.

[jaymacx]

Ideally a digital game saves publishers on shipping and manufacturing costs. So the game should be cheaper. But what commonly happens is what you said. But I have seen Digital code (cards) sold at retailers so this shouldn't be an issue.

[mastershredder]

It's the video game crash of 1983, not the funeral of videogames you drama seeking Kotaku tabloit wannabe. It takes a real special type of nonsensical non logical gamer to keep blaming gamestop for gaming whoas. I mean this crap is down right hilarious

[Muzikguy]

I feel like I've heard and read this a million times before

[finite]

Have you heard the term used in the industry, you have the right to play the game, you do not have the right to own the game, so if this is the case the owners of the IP can choose what happens to their IP at any time, the author is right to a degree, buying pre-owned gives the developers nothing, when you could be buying a new game instead which gives the developers some money to create another game, older games are harder to find, so pre-owned might be the only way. So simple answer really if there is a brand new copy available buy that over pre-owned support the designers, artists, storytellers, coders everyone that creates the game that gives you hours of fun.

The pre-owned game might have been purchased before as a brand new, but how much does the developer get back from a pre-owned copy? if no money is getting to the developers going to keep creating :) also it's not just pre-owned its is GREED, greed from the shops and Greed from developers and all the microtransactions and shit season passes.

[rockNrolf]

I don't like gamestop, but I won't lose any sleep over the fact that Cliff Blezynzzzky cries that he can't buy his sixth Ferrari.

[madpuppy]

This article feeds into Game Dev/Publisher Propaganda, The games industry makes so much money even with used games sales it is almost criminal.
http://www.cinemablend.com/...

[andrewsquall]

They published Song of the Deep that Insomniac Games developed. So that instantly makes them better than EA lol.

[Einhander1971]

The start of the article says it all game
Crash due to crap games corporate greed. Except it should say 2016, don't get me wrong there is some gems out there, but if the sheep keep buying the same shit year in year out the the industry will never change you know who you are. Something like the last guardian trying something a little different gets slammed for a few glitches gamers should be embracing titles like this not F@@king it over