fujishig

Did they have some kind of preorder bonus, or did you have credit or something? Otherwise Walmart has pretty much every new Switch game at 10 bucks off when it comes out, at least so far.

Mike86

I didn’t realize that about Walmart. I dunno, just decided to pre-order when I was picking up something else there.

spainlinx0

Is that true about Walmart? I haven't seen anywhere advertising Animal Crossing as cheaper than $60 at launch. I am anticipating the game greatly, but I won't pre-order. I'm positive I will have no trouble finding a copy in stock on release day anywhere I go, except Gamestop.

fujishig

It has been for the last few months, although it's not currently on sale. Usually what happens is in store, all games are like 50 instead of 60 on release. They may be doing away with that... if I search on google for walmart switch games, I see Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (which just came out) listed in the results at 49.94, but when I click through it's 59.99. It doesn't help that Walmart has all these third party sellers in a bid to be amazon.

Even if it's not on sale at Walmart, Best Buy has a 10 dollar credit if you preorder it (not the version with the bag though) so that's a better option as well.

lopper

I've noticed that at Walmart too. Games showing up $10 cheaper in store than online.

The last time I was in a Gamestop it was to buy Luigi's Mansion 3 back in November. When I got to the counter, the employee asked me if I'd preordered, which I hadn't. Then they did the whole, "Gosh, I don't know if we have any extra copies...let me take a look." And I'm like, it's 2019, and I've been hearing that line for over 20 years. If Gamestop still can't order enough copies of a game to sell past its preorders, then they're truly fucked, especially when I could get that same game at half a dozen other places with zero problem.

milo bloom

Will retail stores ever reach a point where they realize they turn off customers by forcing that stuff?

I think it's getting better, there's times I've bought electronics at various stores and they'll ask if I want the warranty, I say no, and they just move on. They don't do the hard sell anymore.

Sonny Corinthos

I had to stop by GameStop yesterday because my PS Plus subscription had run out. The have a sign on the front door that says only ten people including staff, are permitted in the store at all times. So, I looked through the door and their was only a few people in there already, so I went in. I asked the girl behind the counter are they going to shut down for a few weeks because of the virus and she said yes. She said after the Animal Crossing released tomorrow morning, they have been told by GameStop corporate office to close the store for at least two weeks, maybe more depending how things are going then.

So I asked her about how they are going to do the Animal Crossing release and she told me the following. There will be three staff employees there to help with giving out the game and other items that people may have ordered. So that means only seven people will be let in. Once someone gets their game and leaves, another person can come in. I look for this to take forever as she said they had a ton of Animal Crossing pre-orders.

Abob Teff

Having been through the Suncoast age and a short run with Blockbuster after that ... granted things may have changed since then ... the markup on that stuff makes it very attractive to retailers. The problem occurs when your corporate buyers lose touch with the consumer and overload you with merchandise that won't sell. Hot trends are very fickle and hard to nail down.

Maxflier

Did you re-up yet? PS Plus has been about $36 lately on CD Keys.

fujishig

I said it in the PS5 thread (I think) but I'm not sure how Gamestop survives this pandemic unless government funding for small businesses covers them and comes fast and quick.

In many places, if not all, their physical stores are going to close. In places where they don't close, their B&M competitors like Target and Walmart have groceries and other essentials. They will probably not pay staff and lose them. They also lose the one advantage they had over their online counterparts, so essentially they become an online-only store. People also seem upset because for the stores that have already closed, the preorders can't automatically shift to online preorders so who knows when they'll be able to get their games (this should be an easy thing to fix, but who knows with them).

Also, it seems like Amazon is matching Walmart for new releases or something, because both Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing are 10 bucks off.

They probably counted on surviving until the next console releases, but even that may be delayed. And they were already in serious trouble before this.

Dan

So, umm... Yeah. This is fucked.

fujishig

Yeah. I doubt they could reopen if they closed down, so I understand the desperation, but they are not "essential business."

Decker

As someone who bought literally thousands of video games this generation and yet not a single one at a Game Stop, I think they are pretty inessential.

Noonan

Same but I'm fine with digital, unlike many others. I would only go to them if there was a game I "had" to play the morning of release but couldn't get via download. I don't see that happening again and can't remember the last time it was the case.

Abob Teff

Sonny Corinthos

Yeah, I wish I had know about it. I paid 60 bucks at GameStop.

lopper

Fuckin lol. That's bonkers.

If I didn't still trade games in, then I'd have zero reason to shop at Gamestop ever again. As much as I resisted the move to digital at first, it just makes sense these days, and I probably buy 90% of my games digitally now, so I'm rarely in a GS anyway. Maybe fewer than five times in 2019.

Michael Corvin

Deftones

i have purchased a few here and there, mainly due to trade in deals, but yeah, this whole thing is absurd.

Deftones

fujishig

Man, I feel for those in-store managers, a ton of them seem to have a lot of heart and the corporate heads just batter them down again and again.

Hey, how about we don't take gross tradeins?
"$$$"
Hey how about we be socially responsible and close some stores because our name is being dragged through the mud?
"$$$"
Can we pay some of our associates to stay home if they need to?
"$$$"
Half the stores in the mall are closed so we have a lot more traffic, and it's kind of dangerous for our associates with all the people.
"$$$"
Have we thought about putting people over profits at some point?
"Hahahaha, you're fired."

I mean not exactly but you know that's true.

Maxflier

Man, that executive on the conference call is a next level scumbag. Gamestop's days are numbered anyway, but Jesus Christ this is not a good look.

majorjoe23

Reggie Fils-Aimé has to be combing his contract looking for an out.

milo bloom

Is he already there? I can't fathom him greenlighting that decision.

Decker

Oh there's one....