I'm not much of a gamer but I tried to buy a game at GameStop maybe ten years ago and came across the unsealed game phenomenon. I don't think I've been back in one since, even though I've purchased some games since then.
I don't understand how any business thinks opening retail packaging and selling the product as new is acceptable. There has to be some logic to it but it is baffling, and an absolute deal breaker, to me.
I'm not at all surprised to hear it's a business in decline.
The one Gamestop in Ithaca used to have a clerk who was highly knowledgeable about games, fun to talk to, and always gave good recommendations. The folks who work there now aren’t up to that standard.
I like it how it is a place to go and run into people like the teenage girl who is dressed like somebody from
and is arguing with her dad (my age) about the value of an anime plushie and I will definitely take her side. On the other hand there is very little inventory there, and frequently a game I buy for $5 doesn’t work and the replacements don’t work either. In a world where most of the gaming spend is on mobile, where downloading is the dominant distribution channel for consoles and PC and a game you buy on disc might need a 50GB update on day one, I can’t see how they are relevant. It struck me as really strange that two issues of Game Informer featured Genshin Impact which is a hit mobile game that entirely cuts Gamestop out.
In Binghamton NY roughly 50 minutes away there are two vintage game and entertainment stores that beat the pants off Gamestop. Both of them have sections of used XBOX and PS games that are about twice as big as our Gamestop. One of them has a lot of used music, DVDs and also a selection of comics. The other one has an arcade with at least 60 coin op video games and pinball machines. Both feature real retro games and cartridges such as Atari 2600, Colecovision and such, I even saw a C128 for sale. My son bought an N64 there and we were able to get a CRT television to go with it by special request at our local reuse center.
I don't understand how any business thinks opening retail packaging and selling the product as new is acceptable. There has to be some logic to it but it is baffling, and an absolute deal breaker, to me.
I'm not at all surprised to hear it's a business in decline.