Local Gamestop removing Skyrim maps from boxes?

My brother bought a copy of Skyrim from the Wal-Mart next to the GameStop in town because they were out of copies at the moment. I thought it was pretty cool that the game came with a really nice paper map of Skyrim, and when I bought mine from GameStop my copy did not include one. It wasn't a huge deal, but I asked the clerk about the map and he told me that they "Only come on the pre-orders." Two of my brothers friends bought the game as well, one at Best Buy, one at GameStop and sure enough the GameStop copy was missing it's map. After asking a friend who works for a GameStop in a neighboring town, she told me that they remove the maps unless it's a pre-order copy. I told her that everywhere else you purchase it, the game includes the map and she told me that "That's just what we've been told to do." What the fuck? Does anybody have any experiences like this? I can't seem to find anything about this on the internet, so maybe it's just a local thing or something.

GameStop keepin' it classy I see.

@imsh_pl: I mean it may seem like bullshit as usual with them, but I fail to actually see a point in doing this. Like why was the decision made to specifically remove the paper maps from non pre-order copies of Skyrim? What could they possibly gain from this? It's almost like evil for the sake of evil or something.

Well, that sounds shitty. And about right.

I recently made a commitment to stop going to Gamestop/EB games. The last straw was when a clerk told me that she thought it was perfectly acceptable to sell warranties on Steam-enabled games to people who didn't know any better.

I want a Skyrim map. I'll put it over my son's crib. How big is the map? I mean all these maps being taken out of games have to be somewhere.

I wonder what they are actually doing with all those excess maps?

Flawless burlap armor?

@countinhallways said:

I wonder what they are actually doing with all those excess maps?

Flawless burlap armor?

That is what I am trying to understand. Like most of these stupid ass decisions at least make sense in terms of the gaining something, but I fail to see what the hell they gain by holding all these maps hostage. Edit: I just asked my friend who works at the GameStop near my local one, and she says that they just throw the maps away. What the fuck!

It's Gamestop. They are human garbage. Nothing they do should surprise anyone.

@MacEG: After seeing my brothers map, it's about the size of a pillow length and height wise. Weird comparison I know, but that is the only thing I could think of with similar dimensions. And it's not really burlap, it's like half gritty/burlapy feeling on the actual map side, while the other side is straight up shiny white paper.

Yeah I usually don't mind gamestop but this is just an asshole move even if the map is useless to me.

@laserbolts: I still buy boxed copies of games for cool pieces of flavor like this, even if it's a bit redundant. But yeah it's just annoying because I still have my map of Cyrodill from when I bought Oblivion (from the same GameStop). But yeah I especially enjoy it when games have quality manuals and other pieces of fluff. Oblivion did this quite well, it's manual was quite comprehensive and gave you detailed information about every skill, race, and sign in the game while also detailing quite a few useful hints and strategies. Along with the GameStop bullshit with not having a cool map now, I have also noticed that the manual for Skyrim is noticeably lacking in terms of usefulness and interest. It's waaaay thinner than the Oblivion manual and barely touches upon any of the finer details of the game, making internet consultation pretty much necessary if I want to look something up.

Doesn't this constitute product tampering or something seeing as they're removing a part of the packaged item and passing it off as a brand new one at full price?

Wow gamestop just get better and better at being arseholes.

@Matfei90 said:

Doesn't this constitute product tampering or something seeing as they're removing a part of the packaged item and passing it off as a brand new one at full price?

From what I understand they have done similar and worse things to new games before. Like, I've heard people complaining about how they open new games or something when they get them. I don't think you can actually buy a brand new wrapped game from them anymore.

@SathingtonWaltz said:

I still buy boxed copies of games for cool pieces of flavor like this

Classically, those sweet pack-ins are refered to as feelies.

Give Amazon a shot for a physical copy next time. They're pretty good at making sure your game shows up at your house on or before the day it's released. Plus they don't pull any of the insane BS Gamestop does.

And this is why you don't buy shit at Gamestop.

@Ravenlight:Ah cool I didn't know that's what they were officially called. But yeah I miss the neat things games used to come with to make their games feel more organic. I guess most of those "feelies" came around when video games were still trying to bridge the gap between the tabletop gaming scene and establishing their own way of doing things. Nowadays most games contain all the information you need within their menus and shit, but it's just not as cool imo.

Vote with your wallet. Never shop at Gamestop/EBgames. I will search the entire city to find a copy of what I'm looking for just to avoid giving Gamestop a single penny, and I can find it pretty much every time. I bought Dark Souls from Walmart at 7am before Gamestop was even open.

How the heck is this company even still in business? =/. The vast majority of their consumers must not know they're being ripped off.

@SathingtonWaltz said:

@Matfei90 said:

Doesn't this constitute product tampering or something seeing as they're removing a part of the packaged item and passing it off as a brand new one at full price?

From what I understand they have done similar and worse things to new games before. Like, I've heard people complaining about how they open new games or something when they get them. I don't think you can actually buy a brand new wrapped game from them anymore.

Yeah the fact I can't get a sealed copy was one of the reasons I stopped buying from EB Games (Gamestop over here). The other was their ridiculous prices.

Although their excuse for opening sealed product was always for 'security' or some kind of storage limitation that I never understood. Removing a part of the package and not putting it back in upon purchase has to be illegal.

@Matfei90: Yeah I'm honestly not sure if it's legal or not, but I'm surprised that this issue has not been raised against them before (that I know of).

I was wondering about this its supposed to be preorder but they're inside the box. Seems like a dumb way to give then out I get why gamestop is taking them out but I also see being annoyed by it. If they come in the box just leave em in.

On my copy it actually says that there is a map inside on the back of the box. So if it says that you should go back and demand one or else you will shout them to pieces.

@TheSouthernDandy: No the maps come packaged inside the case holding the game disc along with the instruction manual.

I imagine most cities have a local game shop; a small business that serves as an alternative to the corporate retailers. Even if there isn't one available, GameStop is still just about the last place I'll buy a game.

Edit: GameStop also doesn't bother to label their used games that have an already-activated online pass or in-box DLC of some kind; although this could just have been a one off experience for me.

The paper is really nice.

I will gladly send anyone who feels ripped off my map from my copy of Skyrim. It's a shitty piece of paper and the game itself features a much nicer in-game one featuring actual detail.

It's still bullshit that GameStop is doing that though don't get me wrong.

Uh, who still shops at Gamestop and why?

@lawrence_of_suburbia: I would actually have to disagree with you about the in game map. I much prefer an more "mapish" looking map as opposed to the cloudy, murky, hard to really see overworld view that Skyrim features. I feel like an Oblivion style map makes the locations of things much more apparent and I found charting my courses in Oblivion easier.

...Yeah, only bought my copy from them because I had an unused gift card. Otherwise I don't like to do business with them.

@Wipeout said:

Vote with your wallet. Never shop at Gamestop/EBgames. I will search the entire city to find a copy of what I'm looking for just to avoid giving Gamestop a single penny, and I can find it pretty much every time. I bought Dark Souls from Walmart at 7am before Gamestop was even open.

I like to do something different. This is my own personal thing. I like to buy their $1-5 PS2 games. I do this because I get the feeling that they gave the guy that sold the game $10-15. That way I can feel justified in the fact that Gamestop is losing money in every game that I buy.

I will search the entire city to find a copy of what I'm looking for just to avoid giving Gamestop a single penny, and I can find it pretty much every time. I bought Dark Souls from Walmart at 7am before Gamestop was even open.

@SathingtonWaltz
Yeah I know, that's what I was saying. That was my point, I get that they're preorder bonuses but if they're gonna come inside the game box with the game and manual they should leave them in. If they're bonuses they should come seperate.

In theory every copy of the game is supposed to come with a packed-in map of some sorts.

The pre-order versions have the higher quality "burlap-style" map, while all other copies have the map printed on normal paper. Therefore what your GameStop is doing, by depriving you of any form of map whatsoever, is entirely wrong. Maybe they've misinterpreted one oftheir notorious company emails.

Gamestop is trying to punish people who don't preorder so next time you do. It's the same as when they don't have any in stock besides that big ass pile of games behind them. Hopefully they shoot themselves in the foot and hit an artery at some point.

I used to believe in a kind of moral relativity combined with general human benevolence; the idea that everyone wakes up in the morning and does what they perceive to be good based on their own set of morals and beliefs. Even crazy people or psychopaths would always do what they believed to be right, however skewed that might be. This story throws off that whole system, however: Gamestop clearly goes out of its way to fuck with people.

Did you go back and talk to them about it? Maybe they would give you the map if you asked them.

I typically go to a local business that sells used dvd's, cd's, and games. I prefer these because they not only sell retro games, but the games have their cases and they resurface them as well. I find that the prices are a bit better too. Unfortunately the selection varies, but once in a while you'll find what you're looking for.