The Video Game Critic

Sounds like I just went to the wrong store.  It was in a mall, and not a very good mall.

I have mixed feelings about Gamestop. I don't like that they open new games, but I have to admit that I've never would have noticed a difference if I didn't already known otherwise. The people who work at both local Gamestops (one located inside a mall, one located in a plaza/strip mall) have never been anything less than nice to me and they even occasionally chat about games, but I hate that I have to tell them that I don't want any preorders/membership cards/magazines everytime I have to check out (not the employee's fault, I know). I used to go there on a semi-regular basis, but at this point I only stop maybe once every couple months to root through their bargain bins. Otherwise, I either go to the local independent game store for the retro stuff (shockingly, my town of less than 15,000 supports one) or to Walmart to browse (where I don't have to feel like I have people looking over my shoulder constantly the way I do at Gamestop); everything else is online, especially since PC gaming has become a much bigger part of my gaming diet as of late.

Edward-I can buy online, but I still enjoy going to Gamestop because with all their discounts and trade-ins for store credit a new game ends up costing me a lot less then if I had bought it online at say Amazon, plus their pre-order bonuses give me incentive to get games new there in the first place. Also their store prices are often different from their online prices, so while GTA V may cost 54.99 on their website, it won't necessarily be the same price in the store. The Gameinformer subscription is nice as well.

Where I live there are no locally owned game stores, so Gamestop is my only option. Two of the three stores near me are in strip malls, and those are indeed the better ones.

@darkrage/Vexer

Walmart's selection does suck; it's just that I have to go there anyway at least once a week to shop, so I always take a look out of habit. They have a section of $20 games, and sometimes good things end up there.

I just find stores in general recently are just plain boring and it's no wonder online shopping is taking off. The local EB/Gamestop/EB (I think they changed the name back to EB again) has excellent employees but it's still a disorganized mess and is always crowded. It's also the ONLY dedicated game store in an area of 100,000 or so they have little incentive to do some badly needed renovations. I also hate how the place is a glorified pawn shop and how little savings they offer on "recycled" (nice try) games.

I do remember how laughable the trade in values were for their games. I actually laughed at the clerk and said "you can't be serious!". The competition will give you double easily. Bottom line: I don't boycott them but I can't see why anyone would make them their first choice, especially given how cramped and crowded the place always is.

The Gamestop next to a Taco Bell have become a cramped mess ever since they accepted Smartphones and Tablets. There's even less space for new Wii U and Xbox One games.

Guess how much room for accessories in general? Not even a fraction of a half-wide. Tightly cornered. Monotony indeed.

A few years back, when I lived elsewhere, I bought SNK Arcade Classics (or whatever it was called) from Gamestop "New," and it was very heavily scratched up.

The Gamestop in the mall close by has way too many kids in it (especially during the weekends) ... I feel like parents drop their kids off to play the kiosks and smell gross. I'm guessing they're not well organized, since they're rooting around the game bins and not putting stuff back. Not really a fun place to be.

I miss going to Funcoland and getting those "buy/sale" price flyers. WHOA! SO MANY GAMES!

Greisha -
I know what you mean about the old Funcoland stores.  I used to love them.  They had games from many generations (dating back to the NES) and you could find some great deals.  Plus, they didn't all have the same stuff, so you could visit all of them and find something new.

Monopolies suck, and I think the fact that GameStop bought out all the smaller chains was really a really bad deal for the consumer.  It's like anything else - Comcast and internet, EA and game companies, etc.  A bunch of executives get rich and we end up paying more for less.

I agree, now I don't know where the nearest one from my tiny town in Virginia is,...but the ones back in the San Francisco area ranged from bad to ugly where dealings are. The one closest to me seemed to be nothing but really expensive games wise and said games tended to be scratched up, though 3rd party accessories tended to be decent quality.


I dunno about the rest of California either,since I try to keep to Amazon at this point.