Video Game Stores Got Soul...Brotha

Your local video game store has got soul.

coltrane

That's right. Underneath a rough, and often times annoying, exterior of pre-orders, magazine subscriptions, and pushy salesmen, is a soul. A soul that is upheld by hobbyists and fans, not by corporate greed and consumerism.

Going to the video game retailer is part of being a gamer. Its part of the experience! Socializing, being surrounded by release dates, and posters; hearing confused parents asking erroneous questions is all part of the soul!

babbages

Can you remember being so excited for a game you can't help but go to the store 2 days before release date just to see if by mistake they put it out? Asking workers or fellow costumers what they're excited for, what they recommend, ask for demos, look through magazines, maybe even find a rare game?

Why?

Game Crazy has already closed 200 stores, and GameStop reported poor sales during the holiday season. Poor sales were partly caused by the economy, aaaaaaand Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart was giving out a $50 gift card to costumers buying the Wii, virtually making the Wii $149.00. Sweet Deal.

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Consider Wal-Mart the Shang Tsung for smaller business.

Larger retailers like BestBuy and Wal-Mart can offer unmatchable deals because their inventory is so enormous. Example: Wal-Mart can sale the Wii for $149.00 because other people are buying washing machines, gold fish, groceries, and office furniture. The more money it makes, the more powerful it becomes, straight sucking the soul from our video game retailers.

Record stores have already suffered this fate. Download-able music, and larger retailers are making record stores a oddity, causing music lovers scrambling to find a home.

But gamers still have a home, and should protect it while providing the experience for gamers alike. Or you can sit in front of your computer waiting for your Steam Account to finish downloading. But then I ask:

Are you a consumer, or a gamer?

Tags: Game Crazy, Gamestop, Best Buy, babbages, miles davis, coltrane, soul

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Chris Davidson

January 17, 2010

I don't completely agree with you. As far as I'm concerned, companies only concern is to give me the best deal. I'm not a service and atmosphere consumer, I just want my games at the cheapest price. If Walmart can provide me with that (It rarely has good deals comparable to Gamestop), then that's where I'll shop. Also, Gamestop is doing just fine for where the economy is right now. Sales might be down for them but they most certainly aren't at a loss. There's a lot of companies you;ll see disappear before them. As far as the gaming market goes, Walmart literally has no advantage over Gamestop, and Gamestop can buy games for distribution at almost the same level as Walmart. They also aren't exactly competitors. Gamestop doesn't earn it's profit from new games, and Walmart doesn't focused on used. The holidays might actually be rough for Gamestop because now too many people want to buy something used as a Christmas present, but they're set for the rest of the year. Also the PC market sadly pales in comparison to the console market in terms of retail releases (Except for Blizzard). A lot of the games people get off steam can't even be bought in stores. I respect your opinion and that you're nervous about having to shop at Walmart for games for the rest of your life, but you have nothing to worry about. That isn't going to happen.

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Mike Hawkins

Steal from Walmart whenever you can. Evil deserves to be attacked at every opportunity.

Antonio L. Burch

Yeh,just make sure it's not the store I'm working at.I will deny I ever knew you.

Allistair Everett

Don't steal from Walmart--they are no less soulless or unethical as any American conglomerate. I get what you're saying but the honest truth is that I'm happy with Amazon.com. Delivery to my door on release date is loads better then driving to the nearest game story. Gamestop and Game Crazy really treat their customers like shit. When you walk into those places, its like their pop-up blocker is busted as they constantly give you the hard sell on some upcoming game or a membership card. They come across so desperate that I never stop to think if said card would actually be worth the discount. I miss the family run game stores that used to be around when I was growing up in Houston. We used to have this one place that was just a broom closet packed full of obscure PC games and I would just go wild, grabbing 5 games I never heard of for an insane price. Now we can just download these budget titles off Steam. Canada has a vibrant independent game store market, mainly because they model game stores after comic book stores. Figurines and posters are everywhere, obscure gems are kept in glass cases, and the people that work there are happy to have you around. This is the only sort of game store I'd ever leave my house for, because it functions as hub for the local community as much as a retail store.

Nick Giunta

January 18, 2010

@ Chris - Ya dude you're right about PC gaming, it's a sinking ship for sure, which is sad because PC gaming has got a terrific community, especially based around the Modding. I know Gamestop isn't going away any time soon, I just wanted some food for thought... cause if 20 years down the road we're all buying our games from Wal-Mart... I'm gana cry. @ Allistair - Cool name. I'm surprised to hear that Canada has a vibrant independent game market. But you're right, if there's any chance of the stores making it, they're usually tied in with something else. Such as, Video games AND base ball cards AND comic books AND toy trains, almost becoming more of a hobby shop. I know Gamestop employees can often times be annoying and 'dumb' but I'm sure there are some employees that are still passionate about gaming. And on a side not... were you raised in Texas and moved to Canada? What's that like?! Thanks for reading!

Frank Anderson

January 23, 2010

Good piece. I do think GameStop does some good for the industry, but I think they really need to change their approach to preorders and subscription sales, or they will continue pushing away customers in a weak economy. All while Wal-Mart continues to chip away at them. As an ex GameStop employee I can tell you that for every hardcore gamer there is in the company, there is another one that does not give a crap about it. And GameStop's corporate leadership are horrible stewards who don't care at all if the way they conduct business is damaging to the games industry. If you can't tell I am a bit conflicted if GameStop should die a quick death or if gamers should fight to make it the games store they deserve.