With record sales being posted, GameStop is dominating U.S. retail game sales with little or no sign of slowing down. But at what cost? It seems GameStop has some secrets not all its customer base may be aware of.
In 2003, GameStop settled a lawsuit, "alleging that the company sold games as new even though they had already been bought and returned to its stores under the stores' return policies, in violation of state consumer protection laws."
One would think that after being caught once, well, they would "clean up their act" and avoid any sort of correlation to that of a pawnshop.
Which brings us to the ongoing procedure, to this day, at GameStop stores of removing the factory plastic wrap and breaking the factory seal from new game titles in order to use the game boxes for display. The disc is stored behind the counter, until at times, an unknowing customer brings up a display box, paying new prices, only to have a disc slid into the display box. GameStop refers to this process as "gutting", while the customer still pays the new price.
It has also been reported that these "gutted" games can also be taken home by employees to "test out" and learn about the games they are selling only to bring them back to the store to sell as new. "The alleged practice of GameStop lending new copies of games to employees at their stores and then later selling those games as new, unused copies, may be a violation of federal law. GameStop's "check-out" policy, confirmed to Kotaku by a number of the chain's managers and employees, could fall under scrutiny of the Federal Trade Commission." When confronted about this policy GameStop had this to say, "We (GameStop) do not comment on corporate policies that are competitive in nature," said Chris Olivera, vice president of corporate communications. "As your questions relate to company training, operations and discounting practices, I would not be able to provide feedback."
Being late to the party to this generation of video games and systems, I had some catching up to do when I got back into console gaming this past winter. Trying to avoid big chains like Walmart, I decided to make most of my purchases from my local GameStop but did no research on their business practices. Over the next few months, acquiring 30 some odd 360 games, all purchased as new. Though due to work and lack of time most of the games have yet to be played, and apparently being a complete idiot or perhaps just an honest person, until recently had not noticed that about 80% of the games I had bought were "gutted" copies most of which were scratched, finger marked and looked heavily played, looking worse than some games I've owned for 10 years. And no, the "gutted" process was never mentioned at the counter, but really, in my opinion, this practice should not even be an option when purchasing new products of any kind.
GameStop provided this template type explanation when emailed about my experiences with the company:
"First off, on behalf of the company, we offer our apologies for your lack of satisfaction in the products you purchased from our Meadville location. While all stores company wide follow the same display guidelines through "gutting" new copies of the game to provide the cases for display, this location failed in ensuring the games were transferred back to the cases in the original state they were taken out in. In a perfect scenario, we would not have to go through this process, which we agree, would not only improve the quality of games being sold, but it would also decrease the work load on our staff members, providing them much more time to spend talking to and helping our customers. While it is possible in larger "big box" retailers to simply place their games in racks with security casings or behind locked glass cases, we do not have those options as our stores are not suited for these type of display methods. Several options have been and are being looked at with regards to how we can safely display these new titles without fear of having them stolen on a regular basis however to make this jump in 4400+ stores commands a lot of time, planning and testing that at this point is not yet complete. Typically our staff members make sure to mention when selling these gutted copies to our customers why it is opened and explain our necessity for doing so. At this point, you as the customer, have every right to choose not to purchase. In past experiences, a very small percentage of "gutted" games that have been sold turn up in the condition in which you described, however, if you were not provided the information as to why the games were sold in the state you purchased them in, then again, we missed on a very big aspect of our customers experience."
"Should you not wish to purchase the title if it is a "gutted" copy, our associates can take your name and phone number and have the specific title either shipped in, or contact you back the next time they receive it in stock. As for the legal ramifications to our stores processes and policies, that is a matter in which the legal department has and will also continue to work on to ensure that GameStop and any of it's affiliates stay within all necessary rules and regulations regarding the buying, selling and trading of all video games. Lastly, should you wish to continue shopping with us we will honor your decision in any future transactions should you wish to not purchase the open "gutted" copy or wish to inspect the disc prior to leaving the store. Again, even if you purchase an open copy and do not notice any imperfections until after you've attempted to play the product, there is a 30 day return policy in place that will allow you to return, exchange or trade the game back in for a refund or credit towards any future purchases."
Since I used to take for granted the assumption that if the sticker says "NEW", it's of course new, I've found myself inspecting the data sides of discs before I leave any retailer. And yes, at first I didn't have a problem paying new prices for an open box, considering GameStop's entire store line of new games is sold this way, at least at my location, I again assumed the games discs were in new condition . But do me a favor and don't assume anything when it comes to GameStop or you will be left feeling like how your grandmother always warned you would when you do ass-u-me.
I'm curious how the gaming community feels about GameStop and their policies reguarding selling openned or "gutted" software as new and at new game prices and the reported employee "check out" company policy or training proceedure of letting employees take these "gutted" games home to play, only to sell them as new later on.
The fact that this may be old news to many of you is also very disheartening, since a company with such shady business practices has exceled over the years and continues to do so.
GameStop currently operates as "GameStop and "EB Games" at 4,400 locations nationwide.
So I stopped by the local Barnes and Noble today, and picked up a pictoral history of World War II, which I couldn't put down until the last page. As I was reading about the various battles, I kept having flashbacks to my gaming experiences in "Call of Duty 2" and "CoD: World at War." It may sound silly to suggest this, but I think my understanding of history was enhanced by those video games.
I remembered laying prostrate in the snows of Stalingrad, dodging enemy snipers. Or repeatedly attempting to storm the defenses at the Parliament building in Berlin, only to fall time and time again. Of course, they're video games, so the so-called "hardships" I endured were only virtual in nature. Nevertheless, they gave me a glimpse, an experiential reference from a first-person perspective, of how challenging it must have been to survive in those circumstances.
In turn, reading about World War II battles gave me greater appreciation for the "Call of Duty" games themselves. The fact that images of World War II could evoke memories of my experiences in a video game made me realize how much care and effort must have gone into bringing those battles to life in a convincing way. It goes to show, I think, that video games are not necessarily all ***** and giggles all the time, that they don't have to glorify violence for violence's sake, that games can have some educational value on a visual and emotional level.
Have you ever played a game that taught you something or made you appreciate something more, from an educational perspective?
...goodbye.
Boy, that would have been awfully obtuse, wouldn't it?
I'm going to do my best to avoid turning this into a massive weep session. I've already started and scrapped writing this message more times than I can count, so instead of putting endless thought into this, I'm just going to say what I feel and leave it at that.
The five years I've spent at GameSpot are arguably the most important years I've spent in my life. Prior to this gig, I'd never had much of a real job. When Jeff and Greg and the rest of the crew back in 03 gave me--some skinny, 21 year old punkass who'd never done anything but freelance for a few scattered sites--a legitimate chance, I'd never envisioned that this would turn to be the job that defined me, that gave me a place and a career. I had no idea that I'd actually make some semblance of a name for myself here. That anyone would actually give a crap about what I did or what I wrote. I still find the notion kind of unbelievable, actually. Reading all the messages people have been sending me since the word got out has been utterly mind-blowing. It's one thing to enjoy what you do, but it's quite another to know that others enjoy what you do. It's gratifying, and I'm thankful for it.
I could probably spend the next several hours giving individual thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way, but most of them know who they are and have been thanked in more personal fashion, so I'll skip the acceptance speech from hell. Instead, a general thank you to the staff (both former and present) for letting me be a part of the dream that is/was GameSpot. Also, thanks to you, the reader. I'd be nothing if you folks didn't come back time and time again to read the junk I put out, and I can't tell you how thankful I am that you did.
Leaving completely sucks, and believe me when I say I'm in no way joyful about my departure. Well, OK, that's not entirely true. There is a certain sense of...freedom that I'm feeling now as I envision an endless string of pantsless weekdays. Still, if I'd had my druthers, I'd have probably rather stayed precisely where I was, doing what I was doing. But circumstances don't always work out the way you'd prefer, and things change, often not for the better. My time here was finished. I was conflicted about that notion going into the holiday break, and that notion turned into fact with startling clarity as soon as I came back from break. It was a frightening and painful experience to let it go, but I had to. If you love something, set it free, and all that junk. I don't think this one's ever coming back, though.
Of course, I'm not going to disappear into obscurity--at least, not without a fight. You'll probably start seeing my name start appearing on bylines relatively soon. I'm not doing anything full time just yet, but we'll see where the wind takes me. In the meantime, if you need to get in contact with me for any reason, my new e-mail address is alexiconofscars@hotmail.com, and if you want to read my assorted ramblings about whatever, I am keeping a personal blog at The Head Of Alfredo Garcia. Stop by sometime if you want to read about what I think of practically everything except games. I'll give you a hint: I hate all of it.
And lastly, let me just make one thing as crystal clear as possible. I hold no ill will, issue no blame, take no umbrage with any of my former co-workers on the edit team. These guys are some of the hardest working, upstanding, straight up cool mother****ers I've ever met in my life, and as long as they're around doing their thing, GS will continue to live and breathe--there will still be a soul there, underneath whatever ridiculousness might be on the surface these days. There is no GS without those guys. The GS content crew is a family, and no one can change that.
Before I duck out, a few stats to chew on from my time here:
Number of reviews written: 733
Number of video reviews produced: Somewhere around 100
Number of video features appeared in: Dozens
Controllers broken: 7
Debug consoles broken: At least two that I can remember (sorry Ricardo!)
Number of console launches experienced: 5 (not including N-Gage and Gizmondo, which absolutely, positively don't count)
Number of weekend birthdays spent at the office: 2 (thanks PlayStation 3, Wii and Rock Band launches!)
Number of E3s covered: 5
Number of hours of sleep lost while covering said E3s: 280
Number of delicious sandwiches consumed during work hours: Too many to count
Pounds gained over the last five years: 45
Favorite review ever written: It's sort of like choosing your children, but I'd have to say that Super Mario Galaxy was probably the piece of writing I was most proud of just for clarity and overall quality. For pure comedy, while Big Rigs is obviously the fan favorite, I think my Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler's Green review was my favorite, mostly for the opening paragraph, but there are some good chuckles elsewhere, too. My only regret with that one was that it was published before I'd learned the skill of brevity.
Favorite video piece: Regarding Robocop. Tim Tracy took my hours of ridiculous footage and turned that thing into something magical.
Worst review ever written: Read any of the first five to ten reviews I did for the site. They're as boring as they are barely informative. I was still learning the craft at that point. I think I've gotten a touch better.
Review that caught me the most flack: Probably Advent Rising. I will still never understand what anyone saw in that game. It was like retarded Star Wars with a broken frame rate. Now there's a box quote for ya!
Biggest editorial regret: Never giving Burning Questions proper closure. What can I say? I snapped.
Biggest non-editorial regret: Lack of travelling, specifically to Japan. Would have loved to have gotten one TGS trip in.
Thing I'll miss least about GS: Apart from the current unpleasantness, I'll say the commute. Nothing sucks more than driving an hour through traffic to work every day, especially when you're accustomed to carpooling and then suddenly end up having to do it all by your lonesome. *cough*
Thing I'll miss most about GS: The dozens and dozens of awesome people who have come and fled over the years that helped make GS a terrific place to work during their time. You know who you are.
And with that, I bid you all a fond adieu. It's been real.
--A
