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

[01toubib]

To all you PS2 and Gamecube fans, I went to gamestop the other day and they are having a clearance. Got like 50 some games for $20. Including some not too shaby titles. (metal gear solid 2, devil may cry, gran turismo 3, onimusha, dynasty warrior 3, ect.)

Unfortunately because this is a clearance, most of the games will be without a case. I think of the 50 games I got only 10 had cases and manuals, and I had to BEG the counter lady to let me have em. (most of them were thrown away or lost)

But at some titles at 20 cents each, might as well take a look. This is probably one of the few times I went to gamestop and had a fairly positive and exciting experience.

[BoneSnapDeez]

To all you PS2 and Gamecube fans, I went to gamestop the other day and they are having a clearance. Got like 50 some games for $20. Including some not too shaby titles. (metal gear solid 2, devil may cry, gran turismo 3, onimusha, dynasty warrior 3, ect.)

Unfortunately because this is a clearance, most of the games will be without a case. I think of the 50 games I got only 10 had cases and manuals, and I had to BEG the counter lady to let me have em. (most of them were thrown away or lost)

But at some titles at 20 cents each, might as well take a look. This is probably one of the few times I went to gamestop and had a fairly positive and exciting experience.

What was the condition of the discs though?

I'm always tempted to scoop up some of the cheap-o sports titles, but when I pop the disc out of the sleeve to inspect it I'm always disappointed to see how scratched it is.

[isiolia]

What was the condition of the discs though?

I'm always tempted to scoop up some of the cheap-o sports titles, but when I pop the disc out of the sleeve to inspect it I'm always disappointed to see how scratched it is.

I swung by after work, picked up 15 games for about $15. Offhand, the deal they're doing is 5 $.99 (or under) games for $1, and buy two get two $2.99 or less (well, I bought a $3.99 game and a $2.99 game making a couple $1.99 games free). Also bought Romancing Saga with case/manual for $5.99, all the rest were disc-only in sleeves.

Granted, -most- of what's in the $.99 pile particularly are sports games, but there are some racing titles in the mix or very common things like MGS2, Medal of Honor Frontline, one of the SOCOM titles, etc.

Condition-wise, they're all over the board. There are a handful that look -terrible- (disc polishing practice fodder), but at least as many that look brand new. The majority I snagged (without looking at them in the store) look fairly decent, but obviously YMMV.

[01toubib]

What was the condition of the discs though?

I'm always tempted to scoop up some of the cheap-o sports titles, but when I pop the disc out of the sleeve to inspect it I'm always disappointed to see how scratched it is.

I checked some of them out. They are "guaranteed" to work. Granted I haven't verified it.... but at the number of games I got for the price. Even if 20% are crap, I still think I made out well. So far though I've had no problems.

[Nintendork666]

It's a shame that GS stores have become pretty much useless to retro-collectors as of late. My store's already dumped all their $3.99 or under PS2 titles and anything over that price was being kept in disc-only storage "in back"; GCN titles were nowhere to be found, and all the DS cases + manuals have been thrown out. The PSP section is very tiny, as other members here have already mentioned.

I knew this was coming. We all did. I guess I just didn't expect it to suck this much.

Thank god for GamePlay. Somehow they manage to stock current titles, and games dating back to the NES all within stores no bigger than your average GameStop. Now THAT'S a franchise I can support! They have some really good deals too, I saw a Mystical Ninja 64 for $12.99 once - but had to pass on it due to not having my wallet on me. That copy is long-gone now. But I did get D (CIB) for $16, and Space Channel 5 Special Edition (CIB) for just 99 cents!

Here's their official site for anyone looking for a store near them: http://www.gogameplay.com/

Their online database doesn't seem to support the retro titles, but I doubt you'll be disappointed if you check out a local location.

[BoringSupreez]

It's a shame that GS stores have become pretty much useless to retro-collectors as of late. My store's already dumped all their $3.99 or under PS2 titles and anything over that price was being kept in disc-only storage "in back"; GCN titles were nowhere to be found, and all the DS cases + manuals have been thrown out. The PSP section is very tiny, as other members here have already mentioned.

I knew this was coming. We all did. I guess I just didn't expect it to suck this much.

True. The way GS handled phasing out the oXbox and GBA was far more tolerable. One day they were accepting them as trade-ins and treating them as well as the current-gen stuff, the next they were on sale, and after that they were gone completely. None of this gradual shifting towards disc-only and only stuff worth more than $4.

[Hobie-wan]

It's a shame that GS stores have become pretty much useless to retro-collectors as of late.

Of late? I don't remember being able to buy PS1 games there 6 months ago. Or NES games 2 years ago. Or 2600 games 10 years ago.

[ice445]

To all you PS2 and Gamecube fans, I went to gamestop the other day and they are having a clearance. Got like 50 some games for $20. Including some not too shaby titles. (metal gear solid 2, devil may cry, gran turismo 3, onimusha, dynasty warrior 3, ect.)

Unfortunately because this is a clearance, most of the games will be without a case. I think of the 50 games I got only 10 had cases and manuals, and I had to BEG the counter lady to let me have em. (most of them were thrown away or lost)

But at some titles at 20 cents each, might as well take a look. This is probably one of the few times I went to gamestop and had a fairly positive and exciting experience.

I checked my local ones, none of them had anything at all. The ones that DID have PS2 games were selling them for full price as if nothing was different. Really annoyed me.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Yeah I'm having the same problem, ice.

I'm not running into these amazing GameStop deals everyone here is talking about.

It's mostly sports and cheapo titles left on the shelves. I guess some games are technically "marked down" but why pay $3.99 for a scratched up covered-in-stickers copy of NFL 2K5 when I can get an immaculate one from the web or my local retro store for the same price.

[BurningDoom]

Yeah I'm having the same problem, ice.

I'm not running into these amazing GameStop deals everyone here is talking about.

It's mostly sports and cheapo titles left on the shelves. I guess some games are technically "marked down" but why pay $3.99 for a scratched up covered-in-stickers copy of NFL 2K5 when I can get an immaculate one from the web or my local retro store for the same price.

Maybe you're local store's employees just are lazy and haven't marked them down yet. Last time I went to Gamestop I walked out with 5 PS2 games for $1, and not one of them was a sports game (okay, a couple were racing games, though).