Emphasis mine. Regardless of the business aspect of this fiasco, it just underscores the fact that it's all being done without any consideration for the customer whatsoever.Dragonclaw said:
GameStop Pulls OnLive Coupons From Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
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*Rimshot*Hashbrick said:
They really didn't do anything wrong as far as I can see either. Other media contains coupons with potential competition for the sellers. Lot of them don't even advertise at all. Why should Gamestop be a special snowflake, in need of consolation because it happens to infringe on them this time?
Gamestop employee here. Just a lowly minimum wage GA. I'm gonna tell you guys a bit about how we operate in the store I work at. I can not speak for any other store. This applies strictly to mine.
Yes, we open new games from time to time in order to display the box. Can't leave a box on the floor with a game in it. We keep this "new" copy in a white sleeve (as opposed to yellow for used games) and keep them in a drawer. Nobody ever plays them, nobody touches them, they are pristine. We do not sell this opened "new" game until we have sold every other new copy we have, then if someone asks for that game we explain that we have in fact opened it and ask if they still want it. If they do then we sell it, if they don't then we tell them about the 2 stores within a couple miles of us that probably do have the game sealed.
We don't have any kind of repackaging machine in the back as far as I know, been there a couple months, I think I would have seen it by now.
I never heard anything about this coupon and having to remove it, we don't have a PC client base but we do keep select PC titles in stock. Not sure if DXHR is one of them.
That is all I know right now. I will gladly answer any questions I feel I can answer without getting anyone in trouble and that I know the answer to.
Yes, we open new games from time to time in order to display the box. Can't leave a box on the floor with a game in it. We keep this "new" copy in a white sleeve (as opposed to yellow for used games) and keep them in a drawer. Nobody ever plays them, nobody touches them, they are pristine. We do not sell this opened "new" game until we have sold every other new copy we have, then if someone asks for that game we explain that we have in fact opened it and ask if they still want it. If they do then we sell it, if they don't then we tell them about the 2 stores within a couple miles of us that probably do have the game sealed.
We don't have any kind of repackaging machine in the back as far as I know, been there a couple months, I think I would have seen it by now.
I never heard anything about this coupon and having to remove it, we don't have a PC client base but we do keep select PC titles in stock. Not sure if DXHR is one of them.
That is all I know right now. I will gladly answer any questions I feel I can answer without getting anyone in trouble and that I know the answer to.
Oh dear...this looks very compromising. I don't see this ending well at ALL. If Gamestop REALLY didn't know or agree to the onlive thing being sold in their store copies, then they should have pulled it, demanded an explanation and new copies, and (failing that) sued. Just yoinking the online coupons is a probably illegal and VERY underhanded move IMO. The customers were promised it, they should get it.
*looks over shoulder to the SA community*
"Ey! Razorfist! Gamestop is at it again! Time to bust out the gamestop rant video again?"
*looks over shoulder to the SA community*
"Ey! Razorfist! Gamestop is at it again! Time to bust out the gamestop rant video again?"
I'm not surprised that this is so slanted against Gamestop, much less written in a way that makes them out to be the sole group in error here.Andy Chalk said:
It only took me a minute on Bing and Game Informer/Giant Bomb to find a statement from Square Enix that says they did not tell Gamestop about the third-party coupon inclusion, at all.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/08/24/report-gamestop-pulling-onlive-coupons-from-deus-ex-human-revolution.aspx
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/gamestop-pulling-deus-ex-human-revolution-pc-off-shelves-updated/3618/
"As part of Deus Ex: Human Revolution?s boxed offering on PC, Square Enix included a third party coupon. GameStop was not made aware of this inclusion and Square Enix respects the right of GameStop to have final say over the contents of products it sells and to adjust them where they see fit in accordance with their policies. Square Enix invites gamers who want to purchase the PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution without additional coupons to buy the game at any one of over 4000 GameStop stores in North America or purchase a digital download copy online from www.gamestop.com."
Looks like a classic case of not informing your buyers of the contents of your games, and I thought people still frowned on that.
My friend today.
"So because they opened new games, would it be safe to say they are going to sell them at a discount price? No!? Well fuck that nonsense, I'll just buy it off of Steam."
"So because they opened new games, would it be safe to say they are going to sell them at a discount price? No!? Well fuck that nonsense, I'll just buy it off of Steam."
THANK YOU! God, it's true. The hate for GameStop is usually generated from people who were treated like shit or people who hate the trade-in system.NameIsRobertPaulson said:^THIS^Beautiful End said:Some games are opened at GameStop and the boxes are put up for display (Why we don't use a dud box and cover art for this purpose is beyond me. Although that would mean we would have t do that for every single game in the store..) So if you snatch the last copy at that store, yes, your game will be open BUT BRAND NEW ANYWAY. It sucks, I know.
And yeah, I see this as a dick move. But let's analyze this: Imagine McDonalds gives a coupon for a free hamburger when you buy one of the same value. Now imagine if they printed this coupon on...I don't know, all the BK water cups. Just bear with me, please; I know it sounds redunkulous.
What would BK do? They would probably stop giving away drinks with their meals. Or they would change their cups. Some customer might say "Hey! Where's this coupon I heard of?" to what some employee might reply "Sorry, we had to remove them because they promote McDonalds. :/"
Very few people are gonna stop and analyze this like that. They just hear the word Freebies and they demand stuff. No, I am not defending GameStop simply because I work there. GameStop has its dick moves (Like trade-ins) and that's the management's fault, not the employees. What I think GameStop should have done was add some sort of incentive to kinda say "Hey, you're not getting that one coupon but we're giving away something else instead". But again, that's not up to them, it's up to the developer that decides to give something away via GameStop.
I don't know. I see my beloved Square Enix pulling the biggest dick move here for not telling GameStop.
"WHOOPS! We forgot to mention that the games come with a coupon from your rival. So...too late! if you wanna sell any copies at all, you gotta sell the copies we gave you!*TROLL FACE*"
If a dealer gets coupons for its rival, they're gonna get removed. Doesn't matter what field. This is like if the designer of the headlights for a Ford Focus gave away coupon for a discount on a Honda Accord.
I never understand the hate for GameStop. To be it always seemed like
A) Had a bad experience with a stupid employee or
B) Pissed that they didn't get more than .50 for a copy of Madden 06 last year.
YES, there are some employees who suck; not all of us are like that. In fact, I'm willing to say most co-workers I know are nice and passionate about gaming. After all, we're all gamers at the end of the day.
YES, the trade-in system sucks at times. And yeah, I still think that giving someone $1 for a game is redunkulous. But that's not all there is to it. No one is forcing you to sell your games there. Hell, I work there and I don't sell my games there! But like I said, there's more to it. It's as if someone says they hate KFC because of the chicken wraps. There's other stuff on the menu, you know!
I know it's a pointless argument. I'm not saying GameStop is perfect but it's not as horrible as people assume it is. Best Buy isn't any better. Neither is Amazon. But whatever, that's a lost argument and that's off topic *Drop'd*
Back to topic. Yes, what GameStop did could be illegal. And I know the anger is coming from the fact that people expected a freebie and they didn't get it; a freebie that they didn't know existed last week, mind you. Look, I'm not saying to understand GameStop and cut them some slack. But can you blame them for what they did? if you had a company, you bet your ass you'd do something if your "competitor" gave coupons to all your customers at your doorstep, which is kind of a metaphor of what happened here. But you're still getting the game, people!
If I had been affected by this situation, I would have been slightly pissed. But then I would have understood. It wouldn't matter if it was Best Buy who did this or Wal-Mart or whoever, I would still understand from a...business point of view, I guess. It's easy to demand stuff as a customer but few people will actually take the time to analyze the situation.
Actually, I'm pretty sure that if Wal_mart had been the one doing this, people wouldn't be as angry. If the game would have come with a coupon for...I don't know, a Target item, people would have been understanding. But no, the word GameStop comes up and suddenly everyone is a troll.
I just don't see what the big deal is anyway.
Let the flames begin. *Puts on helmet* *Leaves*
I beg to differ. Some of the people responding in the last two pages seem to understand that there are two sides to this story. The memo on the front page certainly has a feel of bile to it, though, but blame that on the person who wrote the thing. Not the company.NameIsRobertPaulson said:
What Gamestop did may not have been the best immediate tactic to handle things, sure, but since OnLive is a competitor, not a partner, it seems they are well within right to halt the handout of these coupons. The fact that these mean a free download/copy of the game via stream is making it worse than it may be.
Fair enough that Gamestop is pissed off, but yeah they should have had words with Square Enix before opening sealed boxes.
new games are larger dollar amounts per sale, yes, but a lot of those dollars goes to the publisher/developer so gamestop makes more money on used sales.major_chaos said:
No but but gamestop loses money when people buy the game new istead of used and project 10 dollar makes more people buy a new copy.NameIsRobertPaulson said:
You don't really get the reference to Niemöller's quote do you?major_chaos said:
First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
It is not what comes next you should worry about but where it ULTIMATELY lead.
This isn't a tough decision at all. Gamestop did what they always do: they redefined the terms of what constitutes a "new" game to better suit their profits. They're greedy money whores, and they always have been.
Before, they sold opened games as "new" for full price, didn't check to make sure their trade-ins weren't stolen and only knocked 5 dollars off the new price for used games (even though they keep 100% of the profit.) When people still bought new games, they chose to not order enough games to meet demand. Now they're pulling coupons which the people who MADE THE GAME are selling as part of the total package. They're essentially stealing from customers by removing one of the included incentives for purchasing.
I haven't bought a game at GS for a while, and I doubt I will again. Their new prices suck compared to what I can find online, they don't stock the more rare used games (because they're rare, I mean, I'm not holding that one point against them) and their prices in general are higher than what I find on places like Half.com and Amazon. I don't see why anyone with a Paypal account/online payment account and a computer would ever shop at a GS again. Even if you pre-order, they've been known to not honor pre-orders and not include the bonus items.
Before, they sold opened games as "new" for full price, didn't check to make sure their trade-ins weren't stolen and only knocked 5 dollars off the new price for used games (even though they keep 100% of the profit.) When people still bought new games, they chose to not order enough games to meet demand. Now they're pulling coupons which the people who MADE THE GAME are selling as part of the total package. They're essentially stealing from customers by removing one of the included incentives for purchasing.
I haven't bought a game at GS for a while, and I doubt I will again. Their new prices suck compared to what I can find online, they don't stock the more rare used games (because they're rare, I mean, I'm not holding that one point against them) and their prices in general are higher than what I find on places like Half.com and Amazon. I don't see why anyone with a Paypal account/online payment account and a computer would ever shop at a GS again. Even if you pre-order, they've been known to not honor pre-orders and not include the bonus items.
First and foremost: bravo Squeenix. The whole GameStop business model, particularly the used game part, is a kick in the nads to video game publishers (if you don't know why, check out the Extra Credits episode on Project $10, link at the bottom.) A legal kick in the nads, but painful nonetheless. And now, as soon as a publisher decides to kick back, just once, GameStop flips out and literally breaks the law.
This is not just a minor "screw you." Gamestop could have just buried all the DX games in the back, or kept the shelf stock low intentionally ... that would have been shady but legal. This though, dismantling the product and selling the games as "New" violates a whole grip of laws. Most obviously theft(potentially larceny or false pretenses, depending on when the game is considered "personal property") to false advertising, and bonus points if we find any of those coupons were used or sold separately.
Is Squeenix squeaky clean here? No. What they did was shady for sure. BUT, it was legal. Nothing criminal about being a bit underhanded. What GameStop did was a crime, straight up. And I have no doubt that it will be treated as such.
Though, now that I think about it ... I wonder if it qualifies as shoplifting.
Linky: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/2068-Project-Ten-Dollar
This is not just a minor "screw you." Gamestop could have just buried all the DX games in the back, or kept the shelf stock low intentionally ... that would have been shady but legal. This though, dismantling the product and selling the games as "New" violates a whole grip of laws. Most obviously theft(potentially larceny or false pretenses, depending on when the game is considered "personal property") to false advertising, and bonus points if we find any of those coupons were used or sold separately.
Is Squeenix squeaky clean here? No. What they did was shady for sure. BUT, it was legal. Nothing criminal about being a bit underhanded. What GameStop did was a crime, straight up. And I have no doubt that it will be treated as such.
Though, now that I think about it ... I wonder if it qualifies as shoplifting.
Linky: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/2068-Project-Ten-Dollar
Deus Ex OnLive Code being sold on eBay.
If you don't use/hate OnLive, you could have sold the code to some other people and potentially recoup your investment in the game. OnLive is selling the same game for $49.99, so you can potentially sell the code for the same price. The way I see it, the game you bought gained an extra $49.99 in value thanks to Squeenix and OnLive's meddling.
If you don't use/hate OnLive, you could have sold the code to some other people and potentially recoup your investment in the game. OnLive is selling the same game for $49.99, so you can potentially sell the code for the same price. The way I see it, the game you bought gained an extra $49.99 in value thanks to Squeenix and OnLive's meddling.
Isn't this what a free market economy is all about? If your competitor is willing to shell out the dough for a promotion like this, you have one of two options, Gamestop:
1) Refuse to carry the product
2) Suck it up cause you were too stingy to throw down for a deal like this yourself
Seriously, this is a damn shame, and it's offensive that they are actually openly acknowledging that they engaged in this kind of conduct. I haven't shopped in Gamestop in several years, and this debacle has just convinced me never to.
1) Refuse to carry the product
2) Suck it up cause you were too stingy to throw down for a deal like this yourself
Seriously, this is a damn shame, and it's offensive that they are actually openly acknowledging that they engaged in this kind of conduct. I haven't shopped in Gamestop in several years, and this debacle has just convinced me never to.
