Down with EB...Long Live GameStop

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2005-04-18 01:19pm

Well, I just got a phone call. My friends who work at the local GameStop were just contacted by thier superiors and notified that Electronics Boutique has been bought out...by THEM!!! That's right. Official word so far has it that Electronics Boutique's are now GameStop material.

Two years ago it would have been sad news. However within that time they have virtually screwed over all of my friends that worked there, and had been employees for many years, and were patrons long before that. So suck it down EB!

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2005-04-18 01:33pm

Gamestop rules. Rock on, Gamestop.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2005-04-18 02:11pm

Fuck. Gamestop has been continually decreasing their stock of PC games, and now has totally done away with all their used PC games. EB has been the only fucking place I could buy PC games with any sort of decent price and selection. This fucking sucks.

White Haven · Post by **White Haven** » 2005-04-18 02:15pm

Eh, both EB and GS were shafting their PC people. I've started to go to CompUSA for my games these days...not only do they devote a larger area to them, but you find off-the-wall stuff from smaller publishers that the CorpWhores at EB/GS don't touch. Shit, I found boxed copies of Darkspace, Titans of Steel, and Time of Defiance there.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-04-18 03:24pm

GameStop stopped (lol) with the used PC games ages ago, because of copy protection issues with the PC companies. People would burn copies of the games and trade them back.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2005-04-18 03:48pm

White Haven wrote:Eh, both EB and GS were shafting their PC people. I've started to go to CompUSA for my games these days...not only do they devote a larger area to them, but you find off-the-wall stuff from smaller publishers that the CorpWhores at EB/GS don't touch. Shit, I found boxed copies of Darkspace, Titans of Steel, and Time of Defiance there.

Hooah to CompUSA. Though sometimes I'll stop at MediaPlay if it's easier.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2005-04-18 03:52pm

I've been buying my PC games from CompUSA for some time now. The Gamestops and EB were never very helpful in terms of staff people usually standing around chatting about something or other and hearng some of the advice they were doling out to clueless customers was sometimes cringe inducing.

Although they did have an awesome used PC game selection there. I've picked up some real nice games for $10 on those racks.

Still CompUSA tends to have much more shelf space for their PC games and the guys I've talked to there are very cool about giving some honest recommendations for games.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-04-18 04:18pm

I thought GAME were going to keep tight hold of EB, but then, this does explain whey every EB I've known in town has changed to GAME over the last year, so this may have been planned a while ago. Most people knew that having a GAME store on one end of the street and an EB on the other end was simply oversaturation (as it was in a local town).

White Haven · Post by **White Haven** » 2005-04-18 04:32pm

Can't beat EB for the used stuff, but I've /GOT/ most of the old stuff that I actually want, by now. Side-effect of being a heavy gamer for long enough.

InnocentBystander · Post by **InnocentBystander** » 2005-04-18 05:14pm

While I perfer EB games just out of habit, I perfer to order games online anyway.

Knighthawk · Post by **Knighthawk** » 2005-04-18 05:32pm

I dunno how I feel about this. I mean the biggest drawback is that EB sells used computer games, Gamestop doesn't. I've gotten so many games used...losing that outlet is really not cool.
I used to work for EB...I think maybe there's something there anyways.

-K

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2005-04-18 06:02pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:I thought GAME were going to keep tight hold of EB, but then, this does explain whey every EB I've known in town has changed to GAME over the last year, so this may have been planned a while ago. Most people knew that having a GAME store on one end of the street and an EB on the other end was simply oversaturation (as it was in a local town).

same story in Norn Iron except it happened 4 years ago.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2005-04-18 06:22pm

I remember back when Software Etc (who was gobbled up by Gamestop) had over half of their story dedicated to PC games and they had MASSIVE collections of PC titles ranging through both catagory and years. I could always find what I wanted there. Last time I checked out a Gamestop, the PC selection was piss poor on the back wall and wasn't even all the new titles or the slightly older but popular titles. Max Payne, Tribes 2, War Craft 3, NONE of these titles were at Gamestop.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-04-18 06:26pm

Sounds like GameStation here, a recently started up chain. They only really do console games with some pre-owned titles too and peripherals whereas GAME and EB both were very similar (duh!) with a good PC chart selection and random assortment too.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2005-04-18 07:10pm

PC selection is for shit these days. Your best bet is MAJOR retailers like Fry's. I actualy saw Fallout and Fallout 2 for sale at Fry's, this was just last october.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2005-04-18 09:05pm

Alyeska wrote:PC selection is for shit these days. Your best bet is MAJOR retailers like Fry's. I actualy saw Fallout and Fallout 2 for sale at Fry's, this was just last october.

Which works out just great for those of us on the East Coast, where the nearest Fry's is a thousand miles away...*mutters*

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2005-04-18 09:25pm

EB staff had such HORRIBLE taste in music.

Still, the only thing I ever used EB for was their retarded return policy. Modern games don't keep anyone entertained for more than a week.

Shop online, guys.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2005-04-18 10:25pm

Hotfoot wrote:
Alyeska wrote:PC selection is for shit these days. Your best bet is MAJOR retailers like Fry's. I actualy saw Fallout and Fallout 2 for sale at Fry's, this was just last october.
Which works out just great for those of us on the East Coast, where the nearest Fry's is a thousand miles away...*mutters*

They ain't very far up north either. First one I ever saw was in Texas.

UCBooties · Post by **UCBooties** » 2005-04-18 11:22pm

All of the EBs around here are just shit holes. Unorganized, cramped, and poorly stocked. Things are crammed onto racks regardless of title or whether they are used or new. Plus the employees act like they are the fount of all that is good and right in my life. Gamestop on the other hand is well lit, clean and organized, and the staff is professional. I hate EB and am so glad to see them getting their asses handed to them.

Icehawk · Post by **Icehawk** » 2005-04-19 12:36am

A new EB Games store just opened up recently near us here and they have a great selection of PC games and its a nice looking shop. The other one that is at our closest mall is not quite as good but still has a large PC selection as well as console games.

I wonder how this takeover will effect things here in Canada, especially since IIRC "Gamestop" doesnt exist up here as far as I have seen.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2005-04-19 12:42am

To Icehawk, they do now.

I forgot about you PC gaming guys. I won't step foot in our CompUSA. I do know thier computer gaming section is second to none here though.

However, for me, it's all console. There's a Rhino next to my house, so for used I'm usually looking there, because they keep a HUGE variety of used anything just about.

I will say over time that the EB, which kept screwing everyone over, kept an employee or two that knew what they were talking about. Usually though, I could trump everyone even the managers. The only thing that kept them afloat was inside corp info. Seeing how most of the 'good' employees went Software, and now GameStop as well, then there's no point for the EB. The two other stores have people that are in the know of what I'm wanting to hear. So, to EB, cya!

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2005-04-19 02:41am

Cal Wright wrote:I forgot about you PC gaming guys.

So has Gamestop. We are less then thrilled to learn a good PC store is going under consider how hard it is to find a good selection anymore.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-04-19 03:16am

Stravo wrote:I've been buying my PC games from CompUSA for some time now. The Gamestops and EB were never very helpful in terms of staff people usually standing around chatting about something or other and hearng some of the advice they were doling out to clueless customers was sometimes cringe inducing.

Although they did have an awesome used PC game selection there. I've picked up some real nice games for $10 on those racks.

Still CompUSA tends to have much more shelf space for their PC games and the guys I've talked to there are very cool about giving some honest recommendations for games.

I went through that today. Some of the "rumors" the guy had heard on the internet were completely made up.

Did you know that the new Zelda game will have Link starting the game in Hell? Then controlling dead spirits?...yeah....Doom 3 Zelda...right.

Ooh, and the Revolution will use WiMax and have a multi-mile LAN range (actually somewhat reasonable...), and this was an official fact announced by them (absolutely not)?

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2005-04-19 03:38pm

To be honest, your best bet on any console or gaming question is to post it here first. It's obvious there are shit loads of PC gamers with lots of info, and I don't rely on internet sources, just the mags themselves. So I usually have a pretty good idea about the console genre.

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2005-04-19 04:05pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:I thought GAME were going to keep tight hold of EB, but then, this does explain whey every EB I've known in town has changed to GAME over the last year, so this may have been planned a while ago. Most people knew that having a GAME store on one end of the street and an EB on the other end was simply oversaturation (as it was in a local town).

Theres 4 game stores in my town... they bought out all the other companies lol