It feels like a bad idea for both companies and for us. I usually never stop at gamestop and most of my purchases come from best buy and ebgames so hopefully the great eb sales doesn't end.

I agree. Unless it's a "Must have right away" game, and let's face it most aren't, Used is the way to go.


I agree again. Some of the "mom and pop" stores are full of shit though. I was at "Gameland" here in Torrance and I bought a used game who's name I can't remember right now. Anyway, as I was buying it the manager told the guy ringing me up to raise the price on the remaining copies of the same game. His reasoning was since I bought one copy then others must be interested in it and it's going to suddenly sell like hotcakes.

I'm like, WTF?

I'd say in those cases waiting for a price drop to $20 or a trade in the forum here is the way to go.

Used games are usually not much cheaper than the new one for a while, after a few months they'll go down to $15 or 20 cheaper, and then when the game drops to $20 the used is only $2 cheaper most of the time.

So I generally would rather just wait a little longer for a $20 new copy than picking up a used game for lesser savings.

They both suck ass. Period.

I doubt many of us are buying those newer used games for the 45 that they mark it as (which is still more than most other places new in ads). The only reason I go to EB or Gamestop is:
1) To trade in a game that I know I'll get some credit or a deal for
2) To find obscure titles: either new titles not stocked by the big chains, or older titles that I missed initially but are so obscure I'd have a hard time finding it

It's number 2 that I'll miss the most if these kinds of stores ever go away, leaving only Frys as a place near here to go to get smaller-release games.

didn't see this coming, and it sounds like i'm not the only one, maybe it's because i don't care.

the only good thing about EB or Gamestop were the preorder exclusives, which even then were pretty rare they had something for a game i was interested in. otherwise there isn't really any point for me to go there since their prices are too high and i hate being pestered to preorder stuff i don't want.

First Adobe buys Macromedia and now this!?

And EB often has sales where the new prices are better than the used prices. I buy almost all my games new for $15 or less, often much less.

most of the games I've bought from EB have been new, since as another poster mentioned sometimes their sales on new stuff are cheaper than their used stuff. they always know what they have used wise, so it's not like you are going to find Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 at an EB for maybe less that 54.99. then again I heard of people finding that game at Gamestops for 25 bucks or so.

I've never seen these deals on games you speak of for the games I want and I never pay more than $15 or $16 tops for used. It's not like we're talking used underwear here. Once you're playing it you cant tell used from new. I've never had a problems with a used game so it's less of an issue for me. As long as I'm not paying more than the stated amounts above for used I'm happy. Anything more than $16 for used game is nonsense. Also, I don't know or trust anyone on the boards enough to do any online trading.

I rarely shop at EB and the times I did look in all their game prices were waaaayy too high.

The only reason I ever step inside an EB or Gamestop is to look at their used dvds.

No. They can screw over naive, poorly informed consumers who buy their video games in a mall at full price. At worst for me, they will provide me with less opportunities to screw them over.

Having said that though, see my thread here to see why that's not likely to happen anytime soon.

Yeah, I really cannot tell a difference between any of the game stores. Gamestop, EB, Game Crazy I think...they all seem exactly the same to me. There are about 4 within spitting distance from my house. I do prefer the local Gamestop (when I need to shop in one of these places) because it's cleaner and a bigger store, while some of the others are very cramped.

Really? I'm just talking games dropping to $20 when they become Greatest Hits, Platinum Hits, Player's Choice etc. And some games like Beyond Good and Evil hit $20 sooner and without being added to those lines.

I can never seem to find any games I want used for a decent price. The only ones I see under $18 or so are sports games, crappy games no one woudl play, and some of the sort of popular games that got mediocre reviews but some people love (think Bloodrayne, the last few Legacy of Kain games etc.).

For the AAA type games like Zelda, Halo, etc. (which are all I'm interested in picking up) the used prices always suck. Even when the new games drop to $20, the used ones are still $17.99 most of the time. And who wouldn't pay $2 more for a new game, that's sure to have new scratches, a nice case, and have the instruction manual included?

I can't imagine they will keep all of the stores open after the merge. When Gamestop bought Funcoland a couple years back, they kept both stores near me open, one inside the mall, and one just outside. But with EBgames, there will be the two Gamestops, and another EBgames across the street.

EBgames stores are sprouting up like Subway chains. After years of only a single Electronics Boutique (their old name) in a distant mall 20 miles away, EBgames opened 3 new stores within 3 miles of me in the past year. I can't complain, I really like EBgames, they've always had good trade-in deals (I traded up my old PS2 + 5 games for a new PS2 when the new slim PS2s were just coming out), and they always have some real steals on some games (recently $9.99 each for Manhunt and Hitman Contacts, also I picked up PS2 Alias for free $9.99 - $10 rebate, etc.). They even had a 2 for $25 Greatest hits deal during the holidays which made for cheap Xmas gifts. It's fun finding some bargains on the shelves.

there are 4 EB Games in my local mall. Now ill have 4 Gamestops? The horror!

I think it is interesting that GameStop will have as much marketshare as WalMart at the end. Even if they close some stores, the new size of the company may mean more exclusives like custom systems and pre-order items. I always wondered why Toys R Us and the like had custom accessories and systems (i.e. GBA color) but not EB or GS.

Well, they're keeping the names separate until next year, and then during rebranding will close off redundant stores. Though as some have said, I can't really tell them apart either (when there's a sale at one store and not the other, I always have to look up the nearest store on the website to make sure I'm going to the right one... the different names like Planet X don't help either.

Do you ever go to cheapassgamer, I think there are EB deals posted every other month for games that are cleared out at $10 or less. It usually is for fairly recent games, although not the latest and greatest, sorry if my message made it seem like every game hit $15 all the time.

Check this thread for a recent sale on some decent games EB sold for $10 recently.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=417221

I hate Gamestop. As a former EB Assistant Manager, this saddens me to no end. We used to enjoy pissing all over the Babbages (tells you how long ago...) in sales numbers in my mall...

I saw that thead. But again. Never the games I'm interested in. Or, by the time I see ther post it's over with. Either way, I'll check out that cheapassgamer site....

I think it should be a crime for these places to buy brand new games like DMC3 or God of War from someone used and sell it for $44.95.

The only time I find good deals on used games is when the game is REALLY old, like the first Buffy game on XBox is under 10 now (I bought it for $7 or so). But newer stuff? I always do better on eBay and this sites trade forum.

I've found Gamestop and EB B&M stores to be very similar. I guess the best one in your area will depend on which store is managed the best. EB has a much better website IMO. It is updated often and you can order used games very cheap with free shipping. I find that their prices on a lot of used stuff for older and current systems are a lot cheaper than can be found on Half and ebay. Most of the stuff Gamestop's website, however, is always "backordered".

Where the hell is "Australasia?"