Yes, GameStop is making a killing on those games, but that might actually work out well for everybody. Consider this: because GameStop is so profitable it can set up shop in even crappy markets. I live in Eastern Kentucky, in a "hillbilly" county that is far from rich. Yet even here we have two GameStops. And we've purchased new games from them.
Yes, we've purchased used games, too. But if our only choice had been WalMart we probably wouldn't have purchased those because we'd have become discouraged by the entire process.
Why? Because for every 10 games we buy, only 1 really catches our interest. The other 9 will make us motion sick, or have a hokey game mechanic, or horrid voice acting, or simply isn't what we expected. How many times would we spend $60 before we gave up on the whole exercise?
Yet when we finally learn of a game we like (Call of Duty and Fallout come to mind) we zip on over the GameStop and buy it NEW — or even in a Special Edition. The ability to buy used games has taught us how to recognize what we'll like AND when we're ready the GameStop is conveniently close by. (It also doesn't hurt that their magazine — Game Informer — has lots of reviews to pique our interest).
If not for GameSpot, my wife and I would probably buy only one game a year. But because GS exists we buy about 3, two of which are pre-ordered.
Here in the USA the fast food chain Chick-Fil-A was castigated for (apparently) creating a sock-puppet account to respond to criticisms on Facebook pages. Once the sock-puppet was discovered — her avatar was found to be a stock photo — Chick-Fil-A was blamed for the action. But that has never been proven.
I'm no fan of that restaurant, because they're making bigotry and intolerance a selling point, but I CAN entertain the possibility that they had nothing to do with the sock-puppet.
I am also aware that some companies will pay below-minimum-wage workers to flood comment areas with a particular message. How do you prove this has happened? It's not that hard to obscure the truth.
I don't think the Advertising Standards Bureau has really given this matter any deep thought.
"A lot of people need to get thrown in jail," eh? Yes, I guess so, Paul, but that's what THEY say about the rest of us.
I'm reminded of a Pogo cartoon where a bear-like creature (who resembled Spiro Agnew) managed to throw EVERYBODY in jail except himself. In the end, he realized that ... he was lonely. :(
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Timothy Campbell.
Gamestop Cleaning Up, Oh My!
Yes, we've purchased used games, too. But if our only choice had been WalMart we probably wouldn't have purchased those because we'd have become discouraged by the entire process.
Why? Because for every 10 games we buy, only 1 really catches our interest. The other 9 will make us motion sick, or have a hokey game mechanic, or horrid voice acting, or simply isn't what we expected. How many times would we spend $60 before we gave up on the whole exercise?
Yet when we finally learn of a game we like (Call of Duty and Fallout come to mind) we zip on over the GameStop and buy it NEW — or even in a Special Edition. The ability to buy used games has taught us how to recognize what we'll like AND when we're ready the GameStop is conveniently close by. (It also doesn't hurt that their magazine — Game Informer — has lots of reviews to pique our interest).
If not for GameSpot, my wife and I would probably buy only one game a year. But because GS exists we buy about 3, two of which are pre-ordered.
Impractical to Monitor
I'm no fan of that restaurant, because they're making bigotry and intolerance a selling point, but I CAN entertain the possibility that they had nothing to do with the sock-puppet.
I am also aware that some companies will pay below-minimum-wage workers to flood comment areas with a particular message. How do you prove this has happened? It's not that hard to obscure the truth.
I don't think the Advertising Standards Bureau has really given this matter any deep thought.
Re: ...and just as bogus as the claims that frakking is safe.
I'm reminded of a Pogo cartoon where a bear-like creature (who resembled Spiro Agnew) managed to throw EVERYBODY in jail except himself. In the end, he realized that ... he was lonely. :(
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Timothy Campbell.
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