Video Game Stores

[WishMaster3K]

I totally miss Funcoland. These newfangled Gamestops just don't know how to treat a customer.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIneqrDkCSw]YouTube - Early Funcoland Commercial[/ame]

They always had at least four systems for you to actually try the new damn games on.

Most of the time, I'm lucky if the controllers at Gamestop are even plugged into the console. It's like they're a game store, but they're totally not selling games anymore. It's become a business as opposed to a passion.

Everyone's ranted about these in the past, but Gamestop is so anti-video gaming, it's depressing.

No way that someone should buy a game Tuesday for $65, realize on Wednesday that they don't like it, and only get a $9 trade-in because the packaging is off.

[Telera]

Re: Video Game Stores

Ever since Gamestop bought out the EB in my area, it's become utter shit. Not only did Gamestop mistreat the awesome manager they had there until he told them to fuck off and quit, but ever since then, as you say, it's become so blatantly focused on pushy sales that it isn't even fun to go in there anymore.

Back when the old manager was there, before Gamestop bought them, I could walk in, he'd look at me and know exactly what game I'd come for, because he knew his games, he knew his regular customers and their genres, and he knew what was coming out that day (or thereabouts) that they'd be after. That guy was fucking awesome. Example: .hack//Quarantine release day. I'm walking in the store as he's walking out for break. I didn't have it preordered, didn't bother for .hack games. He looks at me, laughs and says 'Here for .hack?' I nodded and that was that. I thought that was cool. He was good at suggesting things you might like if he knew your game-style.

Cool to talk to. Awesome salesperson, and just a good gamer in general. Hell, he offered to let me borrow his WoW discs to get the trial going. (Which I didn't. WoW is not my thing.) And no, he wasn't hitting on me. He was an older guy, and married. By older, I mean somewhere in his mid/late-thirties and I was still a late-teen when I started shopping there.

When he quit, I was sad. Most of the employees left with him. The people who are in there now often don't know jack shit, are generic pushy-type sales people, and the way the store is now set up and run in general is just unfriendly and bland.

I miss the way it was. I only go in there out of necessity now, as the Wal-Marts hereabouts fail at getting anything good, and never on release day.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Video Game Stores

The people at Gamestop know my family and are very nice. We always have fun and goof around whenever we go in the store. I don't think its as nice as the "mom and pop" stores that used to be around but the one near me is still quite nice.

[Murphie]

Re: Video Game Stores

Depends entirely on the location and the staff there. The one near my house right by the college campus? Staffed by a bunch of assholes. Conversely, the next closest one, in the semi-snooty hipster suburb? Full of awesome people. Lots of demo-able systems.

[Feba]

Re: Video Game Stores

honestly, most retailers that sell video games nowadays are crap. I usually go to Best Buy, but I dislike a lot of the stuff I've seen out of them. I haven't been to a gamestop in at least a couple years though; they've just sucked all the fun out of gaming. They put so much pressure into getting people to preorder and then sell them games when they finish them instead of trying to actually give people fun. In a lot of cases, it's not even that they're bad people, it's that their job requires them to act like that if they want to get a paycheck.

The mom and pop stores have been killed off in most places, which is sad, since they're usually the best.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Video Game Stores

I believe that each Gamestop employee is required to get at least 5 pre-orders a day to meet quota. And if they don't meet that, it will look unfavorable when they're up for the next scheduled review.

Then again, Gamestop is a "retail" chain, so these things are too be expected. You honestly don't need video game expertise (clearly) to be an employee there, just sales-knowhow.

Or be a girl. Two of my friends work at a Gamestop near the main bus terminal in Queens (so it's fairly busy) and one of them has the position next in line from the manager, so he was trying to get a third friend working there due to a few positions being open...

My third friend has been in retail since we were in High School (worked in Old Navy, then Express Men, then the Gap, etc...) and they hired a young lady who's previous job was down the street at one of the Fast Food restaurants.

Not to take anything away from her, she's a great person, but I can't help but feel that simply because the prospect of a "gurl" working in "t3h Gamestop" would be more appealing, she was hired.

Or maybe I'm reading entirely too far into the situation. :-/ My apologies.