Is Gamestop Evil? The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[the7k]

I seriously wonder myself how the comic book store in my town has managed to stay open for so long, with seemingly no customers at all. Every time I go in there, the only 'customers' (if there are any) are just standing around and talking.

I might have to go in there one day and just flat-out ask them if they own the land and don't have to pay a lease or something, because it seriously confuses the hell out of me.

[BoringSupreez]

I seriously wonder myself how the comic book store in my town has managed to stay open for so long, with seemingly no customers at all. Every time I go in there, the only 'customers' (if there are any) are just standing around and talking.

I might have to go in there one day and just flat-out ask them if they own the land and don't have to pay a lease or something, because it seriously confuses the hell out of me.

Sometimes those guys who stand around and talk drop big dough on something.

[CRTGAMER]

Gamestop Game Hunt Info

Here is a good used game hunt info, for some who may not know.

Its the same price!
Gamestop uses the same SKU for both Regular, Greatest Hits and Exclusive Collectors Editions of most used games. The craziest one I came across recently was the Final Fantasy XII Collectors Edition. This is Gamestop's very own exclusive at the very same SKU and Price as the regular release!

The Gamestop pic is just like this one at the web site, a single disc with a regular case.




The version I purchased at the exact same SKU and price. Extra DVD disc and Metal case.

[Mendoza]

I seriously wonder myself how the comic book store in my town has managed to stay open for so long, with seemingly no customers at all. Every time I go in there, the only 'customers' (if there are any) are just standing around and talking.

I might have to go in there one day and just flat-out ask them if they own the land and don't have to pay a lease or something, because it seriously confuses the hell out of me.

Sometimes those guys who stand around and talk drop big dough on something.

Yeah the local shop we had had very few clients, but guys would drop hundreds of dollars a week.

A regular dropping 300+ wasnt uncommon.

Plus they ran magic tournuments, and the owner played in them as a way to hedge the house bet.

[Limewater]

A bump to point out the more neutral new title.

I don't like the new thread title. It's more neutral, but also not really accurate. I'm not sure anyone on the thread has really asked, "Is Gamestop evil?" And you could stick "The Good and the Bad" on most topics here. "Role-Playing Beat-Em-Ups? The Good and the Bad." "10 Unreleased Video Game Consoles. The Good and the Bad." "Bradygames/Prima. The Good and the Bad." Et Cetera.

[dsheinem]

A bump to point out the more neutral new title.

I don't like the new thread title. It's more neutral, but also not really accurate. I'm not sure anyone on the thread has really asked, "Is Gamestop evil?" And you could stick "The Good and the Bad" on most topics here. "Role-Playing Beat-Em-Ups? The Good and the Bad." "10 Unreleased Video Game Consoles. The Good and the Bad." "Bradygames/Prima. The Good and the Bad." Et Cetera.

I like the old title too.

[Inazuma]

If I ask myself the question "Does GameStop do more harm than good to the video game industry?", the answer is pretty obvious.

Bring back Funcoland!

[AppleQueso]

I liked GS better when it was Babbage's.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

If I ask myself the question "Does GameStop do more harm than good to the video game industry?", the answer is pretty obvious.

Bring back Funcoland!

But Funcoland IS GameStop. In fact they're the original games only division started by Software Etc. in the late 90's.

Software Etc. was a mostly PC hardware/software and PC gaming oriented shop that had a minor Console section that started in the Greater NJ Tri-State area. Funcoland was started by the same company to delve into the ever growing Console owning segment of the market and focus exclusively on games instead of the wider Software Etc. catalog of items.

The Funcoland branding and nameplate was phased out in the late 1990's after several robberies and shootings in Northeast NJ. The new entity that replaced it was called Babbages and functioned identically to Funcoland given they were simply the same company under a re-brand. However Funcoland stores still exist because of leases that were cheaper to keep under the old brand than to re-negotiate under the new company name. This is why when you go to certain malls you can still see Funcoland and Babbages stores in older malls with lessees from the mid-late 90's and early 00's.

In 2002 the company fully renamed to GameStop-Inc. and the other two nameplates became subsidiary holdings in name only. Internally all Funcoland, Babbages and GameStop stores are identical in their operations and the items they carry.

In late 2005 GameStop and it's largest competitor EB-Games merged after an approval by an anti-trust oversight commitee and the EB-Games nameplate was fully converted over into Gamestop by mid-2007. As with Funcoland and Babbages there are still EB-Games (and it's subsidiaries) stores but they exist in name only and operate as GameStops inside.

[Hobie-wan]

Babbages is older than the 'late 90s' though. My copy of Gradius III came from a Babbage's next to Baybrook mall in 91 or 92 after it had been reduced to $20. I had also purchased C64 and DOS games from that same Babbage's.