Gain back trust, they say. =P

Joking aside, really, Gamestop, you should have known this would happen. I refuse to believe the thought of just selling the copies as is and going to put up a big sign that says "no promoting competition" afterward was never brought up. Or maybe they did, and just thought doing what they did was worth the backlash. Or maybe that's their plan... They're secretly promoting OnLive through their silly antics! Such genius (damn it, joked again).

Buy 2 get 1 free pre-owned?! Wouldn't ALL the games Gamestop opens count as pre-owned?!

shit bow

I really like Alex's news articles.

"We regret the events surrounding this title release and that our customers were put in the middle of this issue between GameStop and Square Enix, the publisher of this game. And for this, we are truly sorry."

You only regret it because you got caught. If those meddling consumers and their stupid dog hadn't found out about your amazing plan, and demand reimbursement, you could have bought that new porche. Pro tip, stop being idiots!!!

While I in no way agree with retailers removing publisher approved content, the uproar regarding the opening of the game in the first place has me confused. When I worked at Gamestation here in the UK we were instructed to remove every piece of shrinkwrap that came into the stock room. The instructions and discs were removed and filed into drawers and the empty boxes were put on the shelves. This was both before and after GAME bought over Gamestation BTW. We never had one complaint about it (although I did stash a sealed copy aside if it was a title I was personally buying obviously).

When I used to work at GAME in the UK, we were encouraged to open up new games and sell them already-opened. I always thought it to be a bit messed up.

God I hope the next thing I buy at Gamestop has the aids in it.

I bought Deus Ex for my PS3 today and I got my Onlive coupon with it. It flew out the car window.

Two meme images in one article. Ugh....

Full of indignation towards just about anything, eh Alex? Look, the only thing that went wrong here is Gamestop's choice to take the vouchers out of the box and not just taking the boxes off the shelves. It's not some scheme for world domination; they're just idiots. If they had simply removed the items from sale in the first place this would be a non-story. They didn't expect it to blow up in their faces like this so a definite lack of foresight on their part, but don't ask them to apologize for not wanting their competitor's product to be sold in their stores. Square Enix is just as much at fault for not warning retailers.

Suddenly I wish that I bought games on launch day.

People stop buying from there I want to see them die.

Well, at least they try to make amends, although the way they treat their employees with the preorders and quotas, THAT is unforgivable.

@freakin9 said:

God I hope the next thing I buy at Gamestop has the aids in it.

Wait... why would you want that!?!?

Two meme images in one article. Ugh....

You realize that with that Buy 2 Get  1 Free on used games shit they'll probably actually be making a profit off the people they're offering this to?

These sorts of practices are why I haven't stepped foot in a Gamestop in at least five years. All the pre order garbage they throw at you, the ridiculous used game pricing and the "I am smarter than you" sales associates. No effing thanks Gamestop.

It just sucks that they open the products they are selling to their customers. When Lexus ships their cars, Chevy doesn't take the GPS out. You can't really find any retail situation quite like this one. Stores don't remove things! They have such poor business practices.

Shit happens get over it you god damn babys.

We get it, Alex.  GameStop is the devil. 
 
Now stop making your irrational hatred the basis of your writing and actually report shit.

I don't know why anyone would shop at Gamestop when you can get games so much cheaper online or from stores that actually have sales on games.

Full of indignation towards just about anything, eh Alex? Look, the only thing that went wrong here is Gamestop's choice to take the vouchers out of the box and not just taking the boxes off the shelves. It's not some scheme for world domination; they're just idiots. If they had simply removed the items from sale in the first place this would be a non-story. They didn't expect it to blow up in their faces like this so a definite lack of foresight on their part, but don't ask them to apologize for not wanting their competitor's product to be sold in their stores. Square Enix is just as much at fault for not warning retailers.

lol love it @Alex :D

Alex, a word of advice, stick to reviews. Leave the news to professionals like PK.

@Tebbit said:

@freakin9 said:

God I hope the next thing I buy at Gamestop has the aids in it.

Wait... why would you want that!?!?

I figure I'd get at least 3, maybe 4 $50 gift cards for that.

While I do like seeing Gamespot caught with their pants down, I have to wonder, how many people could have possibly bought a new copy of the PC version of this game at that stupid store in the two days that they were selling it?  Does ANYONE buy PC games at that fucking place?

Thing= Alex

@OldGuy: Actually its a 1-3 ratio. Trade a game in for 15-20 bux (sans promotions) sell it at 45-60 bux. If you're looking for cash it's 20% less. As an employee I always tell the customers that Gamestop is never the best option for selling your games, only the easiest. Because people get really pissed when I tell them how much their games are worth.

THE MORE YOU KNOW!

@ZipCrash said:

shit bow

I was mindlessly scrolling through the comments, and you stopped me cold with laughter. Good job.

So you will never purchase anything from Gamestop because of an issue that most likely didn't effect you at all? Fuck you ya dirty chin beard. And everyone else thats bent out of shape over this needs to get over it.

Soooorry.

I knew I was right to hate on Gamestop. I never liked the way they muscled through their dominance in the video game retail store market ever since they bought out EB(Electronics Boutique). Then again, that's found in every corporate industry. I know I'm kind of contradicting myself with my feelings towards this, but it still doesn't mean I like it. It's just business.(Saying that always leaves a bad taste in my mouth).

While I agree that it is a completely uncalled for move by Gamestop, and that they do deserve a harsh finger wagging for this idiocy, this article is probably the single most unprofessional thing I've seen on the Whiskey sites. I mean, the dumb memes aside, whatever happened to journalistic integrity? I understand that it's just vidja games, but at least TRY to be a bit unbiased when reporting on things, man. Be impartial and act like a damn reporter.

$50 gift card AND a buy 2 get 1 free if you bought the standard edition PC version? Fuck me, that's what I get for buying the fucking special edition... Can we start an angry mob for those of us not getting free shit now?

@DJJoeJoe: get a debit card, not a credit card.. and amazon is usually the best way to go for physical copies unless you like used games then theres always craigslist :D

@SquirellGOD: agreed, patrick was handling this so much better.

Am I the only one that feels like Alex Navarro's utter disgust with GameStop is a bit too prevalent? I understand that he doesn't like GameStop, but this whole thing has been made into a far bigger deal than it really is. They don't want to promote their competition. That's good business. When I worked in fast food, the restaurant's televisions stayed on the same channel, for the sole reason that there weren't any commercials for competing fast food chains. No one wrote about it in any news outlet. Sure, this is on a larger scale, but the point remains valid, no?

@heatDrive88 said:

@DocPorpoise said:

great. the old we screwed up but hey look at the shiny things we're giving you.

To be fair, a $50 gift card is fairly substantial.

It's cheaper for them than the whole potential lawsuit/class action down the road.

@ProfessorEss said:

@Alex said:

Raines and GameStop PR's unwillingness to straight-up say "We should not have removed these coupons from the product in question" effectively implies that GameStop isn't really sorry that they did it in the first place. Some might chalk it up to legal language wrangling, in an effort to avoid admitting a more specific "our bad!" that could potentially turn into some kind of lawsuit down the road. Still, all Raines really admits to is that it was pretty jacked up that customers were brought into this mess between a retailer and a publisher, which is but a fraction of the issue at hand.

If you're one of the customers who picked up your PC copy of Human Revolution at GameStop, go forth informed, and get your free games on. Then I suggest doing as I will do, and never, ever purchase anything from this company again.

Maybe I haven't followed this game closely enough but is there anything out there that would enlighten us as to whether Gamestop was deliberately deceived by Square or not? I'm all for villainizing but honestly, I don't understand what makes Gamestop such an impressive villain.

If Gamestop had been deceived by Square than they should've just sent back the boxes (at Square's cost), what they did, however, was tamper with the goods contained within and effectively stole product from their customers who would've received untampered goods (and the vouchers in question) had they purchased the game in physical retail form elsewhere. In tampering with the good Gamestop have effectively stolen from their customers.

What the fuuuuuuck! I want a $50 gift card! :(

I didnt buy the game from gamestop but I havent bought anything from gamestop for a good 3 years

I bought the game but didn't get the email.

Haha, the coverage of this issue has been ridiculously one-sided. "...only tangentially its fault" indeed. SE basically sold GameStop a Trojan Horse and took OnLive's money for doing so.

It doesn't count as a direct competitor. GameStop was working on a streaming service that would make them direct competitors, and that was the reason they cited for the coupon pull. Squeenix couldn't have known about that.

@SneakyPickle said:

Fuck you ya dirty chin beard.

You can't just point out acceptable groomed features and use them as pejoratives. Try again.

OF COURSE they are not sorry, it was a clear dick-move from the publisher. So they had to dick-move it back. I understand them, and I understand their customers. This is a really good "were sorry" gift for everyone who bought the game, much better than that onlive coupon in the first place :)