Are Exclusive Games GameStop's Secret Weapon? 102
An anonymous reader writes "It's one thing to try to muscle out the competition, but when you start to lock down the sales of certain games, consumers lose. This is how GameStop hopes to compete against the big box retailers. With sales of games predominantly happening at stores like Walmart or Best Buy, they must feel that extreme measures are required. 'Chulip--an offbeat game involving kissing--has been released in the US to the cheers of fans of quirky games. The only problem is that EBGameStop is going to be the only place to buy it. Strategy gamers will be annoyed to hear that The Settlers for the DS will also be an EBGameStop exclusive. The game has been getting some favorable early buzz, but if you'd like to buy it on the 28th of next month... well, you know where you'll have to go.'"
Meh (Score:5, Insightful)
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The big-box stores aren't going to be carrying most of the quirky or non-mainstream titles in the first place, unless they become a surprise break-out hit like Katamari Damacy. If I'm going to go look for, say, Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja, I'm going to skip Best Buy and Wal-Mart and go straight to EB already.
It makes sense for GameStop to advertise this de facto exclusivity and work out whatever deal they need to make it reality, since in probably makes no functional difference to the publish
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No! (Score:5, Insightful)
Now, this doesn't mean I refuse to shop at smaller stores but the smaller shops I use tend to have better customer service, wider selection, or are more convienient; I'm not going to go out of my way to pay more for Sponge-bob (a gift for my Niece) to have to deal with an over-weight college drop out (who smells like a dead moose) with an attitude.
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There is no such thing
Regardless of where you shop the company will spend a similar ammount of money locally paying for rent, utilities, and labour and the rest of the money will go to paying for the goods you sell and investments; the local shop owner is as likely to invest in foreign (or multi-national) companies as they are to invest in local companies. Money is always flows from one place to another and never (actually) pools anywhere.
::shrug:; (Score:2)
Sure, of course I prefer the mom-and-pop game stores, but those are nearly non-existant nowadays. While I am aware that Gamestop is one of the reasons WHY they went away, there are still some great deals there
Agreed (Score:3, Insightful)
And to the screeching Wal Mart apologists: if online sales trumped Wal Mart's "decency" controls, why is Wal Mart still such a dominating factor in game sales? Hmm?
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If I owned a store, it wouldn't carry certain items that are legal to sell in my jurisdiction. Is that censorship or a matter of principle?
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But when you're the only distributor in town, the effects of your principled refusal to carry certain legal items, means your will is invariably imposed on the entire affected region.
Now imagine that this region is all of the United States.
This is not in any way saying that you cannot engage in censorship. But it is in every way s
Nothing new? (Score:2)
I'm not a big fan of this trend, but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere, either.
Resales (Score:3, Insightful)
It is hitting certain game styles enough (primarily single player, plot driven games) that fewer are being made. Offline games pushed to build in 'contact the server before you play' model, requiring an internet connection to play single player games. Or publisher based online distrobution, where transfering ownership costs money if it is possible at all.
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This doesn't particularly bother me, so long as I get the games I want, at the prices I'm agreeable wi
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Publishers will figure out how to break the model (via DRM, contact-the-server, strong arming, etc). This will EB/GameStop who depend on this as a major income stream. If Gamefly gets much bigger, they could potentially become a target as well.
Gamers will be hurt as stores close and they have to deal with worsening anti-resale measures. They are already getting hit
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The funny thing is that though development costs have skyrockete
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I used to work at Gamestop, and actually what they do is so they can display new games without having anti-theft devices is they open
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Yours may not have, but others did. The last time I bought games from EB was when both of them (which I bought "new") had clearly been used. One of them even had spots on the bottom of the disc where liquid (hopefully a drink) had been spilled.
Some of them also still allow the "checkout" of new games by employees, which is essentially the same thing.
I don't buy games in brick and mortar stores at all
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The biggest problem, even before Gamestop bought EB, was that we had to really push things down people's throats and meet our quotas. At first it was easy, a $10 discount card on used games that came
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I just picked up some gamecube games to play on my new Wii.
Pikmin was $10. Amazon's lowest used price is $15.
Animal Crossing was $16, Amazon's lowest used price is $14. Factor in the fact I got it the same day, and that I didn't pay shipping, and that's a win too.
Lego Starwars was $17, and it's $16.50 on amazon. Another win.
All in all, I don't regret buying any of those games there.
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Of course I live in Austin with a very active craigslist.
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[0]This was before the company apparently fired all of the gamer
As an ex-retailer, this isn't as bad as it sounds. (Score:5, Interesting)
Our most important items were those that we had received to sell before the online merchants did -- at a decent margin (50-60% profit). It took about 2 years for the manufacturers to offer these "brick and mortar-only" products, but they helped us so much that it gave us reason to open additional stores.
I don't think you'll see tons of games go local-only, but those that do will help to keep the local stores open, and for the manufacturers this is a very important area to keep alive. I can't see the negatives, except that the more local-oriented family stores won't have that competitive edge, which is definitely a loss.
Niche marketing? (Score:5, Interesting)
What smaller stores can offer is a store by gamers, for gamers -- with employees who understand what the games are about (c'mon, finding gamer employees can't be that hard). Just like comic book/game stores can stay in business by providing niche services and products (where else are you gonna find a blue pearlescent D30 for your collection?), Gamestop and similar stores can attract customers by just providing better service.
Some things they might try are:
* Guaranteed availability of games on launch day (I believe they already do this; I don't think Wal-Mart bothers.)
* Try-before-you-buy, with a bunch of really cool peripherals set up (to encourage sales of these, too),
* Courier service, for lazy geeks who want their games now but don't want to drive to the mall (maybe work with a pizza-delivery joint?),
* Web delivery of games (I just downloaded Ship Simulator, which is 300+ meg; it got here in just a few minutes. Much easier for everyone involved than buying a CD from a store or using FedEx.)
Bottom line -- they shouldn't need strong-arm tactics like this. Can't really fault them much, though; it seems like it's becoming more and more common. 8-(
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Ahahahahah. That's funny.
I think the last four or five times I went to hunt out a game on release day every single EBGamestop in the area was sold out. In each case I ended up finding it in Best Buy or CompUSA. "Did you pre-order?" "No." "Well, then we don't have any." Fuck you too, EBGamestop.
This happened with Ratchet: Deadlocked, Shadow of the Colossus, and Civ4. I can't remember others offha
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This is very true. While I find that Wal Mart's selection is poor, and stock levels even worse, places like Best Buy and Future Shop (its Canadian brother) treat me quite kindly. Where the local EB's have the whole "did you preorder? no? then sod off" mentality for games on launch day, there's no such issue with the big box stores.
I walked into a Future Shop and got Crackdown (for $10 cheaper than EB, no mail-in or anything required, just a markdown) on launch day. Try that at EB and get the evil "did you p
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Perhaps GameStop could start turning a profit and making money if they actually stock games.
Poor choice of games? (Score:2)
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You know, they used to do that back when FuncoLand was more than just a memory of days gone by. You'd ask an employee for help, they'd unlock the drawer the console was kept in, they'd pop in your game, and you'd be playing it. You knew the game worked, you could tell if you were going to like the game or not, and the system generally worked well.
Now, if the game's not on the manufacturer-issued demo disc,
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and you: REally, it's a matter of finding one of the stores that has a good staff.
The problem isn't finding people to work there. I work at an EB Games in Calgary and went through some random papers up by the till that were left to rot...
Everyone wants exclusives. (Score:5, Interesting)
While this does shaft the consumer slightly, we only notice because games are normally sold by resellers, not the original manufacturer. (McDonald's, for instance, doesn't allow resellers to sell Big Macs). Lots of things we buy are only availible from one store, while things like grocery stores ususally have a mix of exclusive and non-exclusive items. It looks like Game stores want to emulate the grocery store model.
High-Quality exclusives also exist (Score:2)
Second, many exclusives are higher quality- the Martha Stewart goods in Kmart being a prime example. They are not branded with the store name, however, because people interpret that as being the cheap option. (I.E. if Schnucks wanted to market exc
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My wife got me a set of Lord of the Rings dvds for Valentine's Day. In it was a coupon that gave me $20 of products from a site that sold Lord of the Rings miniatures. The products were all outrageously priced (much more than walmart anyway) but it had a feel of high quality, rare items. Though they probably don't sell billions I could easily see them making a ton of money. Even if they made some exclusive brand that was just dragons, orcs and elves without the LotR brandi
If they were more customer friendly.... (Score:5, Insightful)
The chains that GameStop absorbed (Funcoland, EB, etc...) never had the anti-customer practices that Gamestop has, and the remaining vidoe game specialty stores don't do the little things that make GameStop so terrible. I don't know what they're thinking, but perhaps they'd be better served to stop doing the things that chase the customers away rather than tring to force customers to shop there when they don't want to. I know that with me only one of those things is likely to work.
What types of things am I talking about? Imposing draconian quotas on their employees, which causes the sales associates to bully the customer into sales to prevent losing their job; Forcing pre-orders for items which are not in short supply; Paying pathetic trade-in values while charging outrageous prices for used titles; Maintaining a poor back catalog; Accepting vendor promotions that encourage their sales associates to favor one vendor over others at no real gain to the company; Cramming so much marketing material into the store that you can't find anything you're looking for; Locking PC games in huge plastic security boxes; Selling non-guaranteed pre-orders; Selling not-for-resale demo copies as "used"; etc.
Fix some of those things. It can't be that hard, and it can't cost that much. Then, maybe, I'll consider shopping at GameStop again. Until then I'll take a page out of their book and buy the games they "lock up as exclusives" used from somebody else.
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What B&M offers higher prices? If GS didn't offer the highest prices why would people trade their games there?
What B&M sells used games for less? If GS didn't have the lowest prices why would people buy used games there?
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If GS didn't offer the (highest|lowest) prices why would people (trade|buy) their games there?
Name recognition. Th
BM? (Score:1)
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Uhhh, how many times did you ever shop at a Funcoland or an Electronics Boutique? In my opinion EB has always been the absolute worst of all the specialty games retailers I've ever encountered. Bar none. Bad policies, run their employees ragged on purpose to encourage turnover (every kid wants to work in a game store, and they'll work cheaper too) Software Etc? Please, I stopped going to the
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Uhhh, how many times did you ever shop at a Funcoland or an Electronics Boutique? In my opinion EB has always been the absolute worst of all the specialty games retailers I've ever encountered.
Constantly since I was old enough to see over the counter. EB started to go downhill right before the GameStop buyout, which wasn't until 2005. Funcoland had a huge array of used products for every platform you could think of, and had the best trade-in policies *ever* (Can't say I eve
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Funcoland also existed in a much different landscape before it got bought. Back then there were a lot more functioning SNES, NES, Genesis, and N64 systems out there than there are now. The Dreamcast and N64 selection lasted quite a long time in most Gamestops before the lack of anyone buying them forced them to put that space to more profitable use. Not to mention the lack of re-release software collections, and it was far m
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What, then,
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Why would I not?
First and foremost, the vast majority of PS1 games you get as a trade-in are in barely saleable condition. Scratched to hell and back by god knows what.
Second, that era of games is startin
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It doesn't matter how many PS1s are still functional, since PS2s and PS3s are fully capable of playing the games.
Unfair (Score:2)
Been there (Score:1)
How'd it work out for them? These exclusives are few and far between so seems like not so well.
Unless the games are actually published by Gamestop/EB or a subsidiary, the only way t
GameStop (Score:5, Insightful)
Before anyone cheer or wails, let me explain.
In America convenience sells. Yes, there are people who will go out of their way to make sure what they're getting is a quality product. However, the majority of consumers won't seek out that small, family run business no matter how good it is. Whatever's closest to home or on the way back from work is what gets their business.
Now a lot of people buy groceries, clothes, and other things at Walmart and similar stores. A lot of people go to Best Buy for music and movies. A lot of people have multiple errands to do on a Saturday morning when they'd rather be relaxing at home. Why go to 8 individual stores for specific task X when you can go to one or two which cover all of them?
It all boils down to Hardcore versus Casual again. Before Walmart and others caught on that video games were good sellers, everyone had to go to places like Funcoland, Babbages, EBX etc. to get games. It was a good time to be a specialty store. However, once the giants entered the scene they took away a large portion of casual gamers. The casual gamers aren't likely to have enough motivation to seek out a GameStop if there's a closer Walmart or Best Buy.
Meanwhile, hardcore gamers still know that Gamestop is the best bet for finding game X, used or new. Best Buy and Walmart will only rarely have a game over a year old, and that's only if it was either really popular or really bad. The only better option is the internet, but that requires shipping. Sadly, in the very near future it may be the only recourse for titles marketed but little.
What we see here is GameStop's desperate attempt to remain relevant. With Best Buy thinking about reselling used games, the niche Gamestop fills is shrinking. They need a tangible edge over the giants in order to compete, and the giants have been eating away those for some time. The better selection isn't tangible to most casual gamers, so that isn't enough. Gamestop needs something obvious.
Hence, exclusive titles.
As people have already pointed out, this is akin to suicide for developers. When the purchasing power of the casual gamer is becoming paramount, why would you restrict your title to a single store more known for its hardcore crowd. Unless A) your game sucks, B) your game is specifically directed at the hardcore crowd, C) your game is an AAA title that will sell bajillions anyway or D) you've been offered more money than you could ever make on the title, I just don't see the incentive.
So we're left with a fangless GameStop, fighting off bigger predators in a desperate bid for survival. Personally, I'm sad. Gamestop may not be the best thing ever, but losing it will leave a gap in gamer culture. We're no longer special enough to warrant our own store.
Eventually, whether or not GameStop survives, games will finally be recognized as mass media and will receive the attention they deserve. At which point specialty stores will return to viability (ala Suncoast Video). Until then, it'll be a struggle for GameStop to compete.
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Yet I've still found myself in EB because I didn't really have any other choice. Big box stores focus on mostly the top 20%. I want Katamari-like games. I want early release GC games to play on my Wii. Future Shop and Best Buy just don't have that ki
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Does anyone actually shop at gamestop? (Score:2)
I got a gift certificate from gamestop for my birthday in september and every time I go to the mall (admittedly only once every couple of months) I check out the gamestop looking to use the gift card. Everything there is so overpriced. Even with the $5 on the gift card any decent used games are still more than
Well, good luck (Score:1)
My local store has 5 employees, yet there's always a line. Why is this? Well, yesterday it was because 4 of the employees were busy talking about their girlfriends and sorting thru a box of games instead of taking care of the customers.
Maybe it's because the PC games consist of 3 racks, most of them in random order. Console games are not in much better shape.
Maybe it's because they never have anything new in stock.
Got the Command and Conquer 3 pre-orde
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The game racks are generally in alpha order. (How they manage this, I can't imagine... It must be a nightmare.) The near one usually only gets pre-orders on release day, but the one at the mall generally has extras. (Larger customer base.)
And they generally have all the pre-order materials, like the bonus discs and such.
In ad
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Got the Command and Conquer 3 pre-order disc in? No. Want to reserve it anyway? Um, no, I actually wanted the disc, I'll go somewhere that actually keeps a stock.
The problem with that is that we only get what the warehouse sees fit to distribute, I'll tell you right away that my store would be MUCH
Curse you, geography (Score:2)
What about ebay? (Score:2)
How exactly does this work? (Score:1)
Step 2: Only release said game in one chain.
Step 3: ?
Step 4: Profit??
From the game publiser's point of view, how exactly does only releasing into one store help revenues? Considering that some publishers are claiming game development costs are nearing $30mil for a single game, why would you seemingly shoot yourself in the foot by only releasing the game into one chain?
I don't know about you, but I have much better things to do with my time than drive around town goin
Dissastisfied with gamestop (Score:1)
Used or New? (Score:2)
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I ran into the situation where I asked for the game, and the person behind the counter grabbed a box, got the game from a paper sleeve, and put it in the box for me. I was a bit dismayed, but figured it was just something to prevent shoplifting.
When I got home, I noticed that all he gave me was the game DVD. No manual, no anything else.
If this had been a game that required a CD-Key to play, I would have been completely out of luck.
However, after
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My experiences at gamestop (Score:1)
nice stores tho (Score:1)
Um, this changes things how? (Score:2)
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