GameStop is consistently thrown to the wolves around here. I still have yet to see what the big, overlying problem is with their establishment. Here’s the most common ‘offenses’ I seem to read over and over. 

GameStop Employees

I have never in my life seen a business criticized over and over for trying to move product. All of those complaining have a problem with employees pushing pre-orders, used games, and membership cards. This is what makes a business work; without striving for profit, a company like GameStop would file bankruptcy within hours of launch. GameStop is not your fucking hangout. Stop acting like you should be able to go and loiter. 

And GameStop hires people with retail experience, because, and I can’t stress this enough, they are a business striving for profit. The employees aren’t there to have a conversation about your self-important views about how Halo should’ve been Game of the Year. And on the off-chance they do spark up a conversation with you, it’s to make you comfortable spending money at their store rather than somewhere else. These people are not your gaming buddies.  

Business Practices

They sell used games because game retailers make very little from new copy sales. If the gaming market was nearly as profitable as the movie market, the situation with used games would be entirely different. I really don’t think it’s shady to put profit and staying in business first. The gaming industry is starting to take steps to curb this anyway. 

If pre-orders are what get your fire burning, it’s the same deal: a way to make money. It sounds like a lot of titles nowadays are giving away extra content to entice customers, so it really isn’t all bad. I’ve also read a lot around here about GS losing record of a pre-order being made. While this surely isn’t ideal for a place you shop, adult shoppers keep record of what they spend their money on. This is the electronic age. Checking transactions are viewable online, and if you spend what you would consider a large sum of money on something, especially something you aren’t receiving right away, receipts are something that should be kept in a safe place. GameStop losing record of your pre-order isn’t just a screw-up on their end; you should be able to prove that you did so.

Gamers are not entitled to special treatment because their hobby isn’t as mainstream as others. Seriously, grow up and become responsible consumers with a reasonable expectation of retail outlets. What I really don’t understand is how a gamer can think of GameStop and Best Buy as different types of businesses. They aren’t. 

You are not special and don’t deserve special retail treatment because you like to play video games.