fozzyozzy

It's a smart move. GameStop is essentially saying "We would rather purchase BOTH the hardware and software from the publisher in order to create a return scenario for the customer." And it works. I know as I have personally witnessed years of system bundles go out the door and people come back with the game. Just walk into any GameStop right now and ask them how many used copies of Destiny on PS4 are in the backroom. Or The Last of Us. Or Batman Arkham Knight. And that's fine. If the publisher doesn't want to bundle the title in the box, no problem, then Gamestop corporate generates a coupon code to make the software free. Technically, the profit GameStop makes off a new console sale is around $25, and even then, that's twice the margin for new software. So the line of logic then follows that GS wants you to flip that physical copy ASAP towards an item in the inventory with a higher margin such as preowned games or even PRPs and GPGs (which are 100% profit). And a return incentive creates more opportunities for publishers to make more money off that customer instead of just hoping they go home and enter their credit card information and make all subsequent purchases from their couch. GameStop will turn to selling codes inside of boxes if they have to (oh, wait. They already have)

Now as for the publishers standing up to GS, that's a pretty far-fetched idea if you look at the market share Gamestop holds. in 2014, GS held 28% of the hardware, but 46% of the new games and even 42% of digital content. And Market Share in case you were unaware, is the percentage of ALL copies that are sold compared to ALL OTHER retailers. That's a pretty strong position actually.

It's fine to not like a lot of GS practices, but man, you gotta understand how the beast moves.Don't underestimate retail just because you personally have empowered yourself to shop online exclusively.

Guys guys guys guys! We are in Houston with a team of willing drunks and a ton of donated beers from local breweries. We will be playing through some amazing terrible games (once we work out the kinks). Attention is appreciated and also people in the chat for us to strip for (and body pillows.)

http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.team&teamID=10857

http://www.livestream.com/spacecitynerd

I have a friend who "cannot stand Phil Fish" and I ask him why. He tells me because Fish is whiny. I tell him so what if some person out there is whiny, you have absolutely ZERO interaction with the individual. My view of Fish is a pointless opinion because I Dont let it color my experience with a game. I mean, shit, this is the real world and if you can only enjoy things created by perfect saints then goodbye videogames.

Ryan's NARCing on angels now...

I wouldn't call anything Kojima Productions does "quirky" because that's a cop out of a description. It's more like a cognitive dissonance for the player: peppering in realistic traits with absurd juxtaposition. You either internalize what you see and move on or (in your case) spit it back out, and that's fine. People like Metal Gear games because they're one of the few AAA franchises left that actually exhibit a specific designer's personal style. So what if he wants to talk about the Cold War one minute and in the next show a dude whose battle cry is a "meow"?

@Ecterim said:

YO Patricia you self righteous opinion slinging cunt get of giant bomb and back on Kotak-oh shit this was actually written by a dude from this site, well shit. Way to sell out to Gamestop.

Magnificent use of irony sir! I well appreciated your jape of the assumed gender and sex of the author. Indeed, we are all aware of the embarrassment implicit within an antithetical gender swap, ho ho, females have no place crafting the literary word! Mayhaps you and I shall retire to the lounge to discourse on the subject of the corporate American titan of preowned electronic entertainments, Gamestop, you seem to believe to be in fiscal dominion over this website. Regardless, I laughed heartily and graciously towards this exquisite example of literary comedy.

James Thurber would be proud.

@TentPole said:

@fozzyozzy said:

My point is, the only conversations should be between whoever the victim is and the people who can aid. No room for armchair defenders and security experts.

I don't like people who decided what conversation I should and should not have.

You're right. I'm a user and this is my experience, what will you do to prevent it in the future?

What I'm saying is that the conversation here shouldn't be so much about what could have been done on the user side, but instead pushing Blizzard to think outside of the normal means box for methods to prevent these issues.

The commercial release is barely two weeks old and the developer is already underselling (perhaps not 100% truthfully) the number of cases here. I know there have been methods to hacking for a long time, is it "venting" to wonder if maybe there's something server side being exploited?

I think the appropriate analogy is identity theft. Now maybe the victim didn't shred every single piece of junkmail, but then there are people who casually leave their belongings out in the open. My point is, the only conversations should be between whoever the victim is and the people who can aid. No room for armchair defenders and security experts.

Came back to the game last night to find my character totally stripped, save for the soul-bound items. I don't mind the hackers so much, it's these ridiculous apologists on the forums.

"Oh you got hacked because it's your own fault for not taking precautions A-Z! Wait, you did take all the precautions? Then you must be lying because Blizzard and any other online entities are impregnable fortresses of security."<-- says the person who obviously doesn't remember any kerfuffle approximately a year ago...

So be it.  Price drops are inevitable.  I harbor no ill will, but if Nintendo sees fit to reward me for buying early, I have no reason to complain.