Not to beat on a dead horse, but I went at lunch to grab a copy of GTA IV for my Xbox 360, yes I am hopefully that the DLC will be worth it in the future and hearing that it is already being worked on and could be out as soon as the summer also helped push me over the edge. So I walk into the local Gamestop and my experience goes a little something like this…
Me (well dressed upstanding citizen): Good day sir, I will take your finest copy of GTA IV for the 360.
Ass Clerk (yes I am almost positive this was his name): Do you have your copy reserved?
Me: Of course not.
AC: Sorry I can’t sell you a copy then.
Me: Are you kidding me?
AC: No. Try Babbages down the street.
Me: This is why this store sucks.
This is not a dramatization, it is verbatim what transpired, why in the world would Gamestop limit themselves to sell only pre-orders on the largest title of the year, shiet of the decade possibly?! What is their obsession with pre-orders?
So I went down the hall of the mall to Target and seeing that they had a bunch on the shelf asked a clerk to unlock the cabinet so I could get a copy and he told me there was no need as he had a ton behind the register. He showed me full boxes of games for both systems along with collectors editions, how is it Gamestop can only sell pre-orders, yet Target has a cornucopia of games? Needless to say I got my copy of GTA and went back to the Gamestop and showed them proudly.
57 Comments
Write a Comment»Yep, this is why I’ve stopped shopping at Gamestop/EB. I got fed up with them trying to get me to pre-order everything so they could earn interest on my money (and push the stupid strategy guides too). Their ridiculously low trade-in values only add insult to injury. I’m glad I discovered Goozex (game trading site) so now I can actually get fair value on my old games.
The only times I go to Gamestop is when I want to preorder a special edition of a game. Otherwise, I go to Best Buy or Target or wherever I am closest to at that point in time.
yeah I have to stop shopping there. it is insanelt retarded at times. Target had a ton of the collectors edition just sitting around, it is heavy as fuck. i asked to see it and the guy was like I am not even sure what is inside, I said no worries I know exactly whats in there, lol
I don’t like GameCrazy, Gamestop/EB Games, eigther. But last night was fine for me. They had 170 pre-orders for xbox and 120 for ps3 and my friend and I both got our copy, we didn’t pre-order it.
Haha yea true that. I actually ordered GTAIV from amazon with 2 day shipping and it is here today (wtf? lol). Bestbuy always has 10000 copies as well.
try blockbuster, they hooked me UP last night!
Target FTW!
Thats how you do it. I kinda like GameStop, but they’re really asses when it comes to pre-ordering. Games never go out of stock, seriously, especially when its a really hyped game such as GTA.
I bought mine at Gamestop across from my work without reserving. Because you had that exprience don’t mean all Gamestop do business same as the one you went. You’re just one of those Gamestop hater.
My Walmart had so many of them, they didn’t have enough space to store it inside the glass case. I checked 15 minutes ago…
Never pre-order and avoid GameStop/EB as they never have a good deal and always try to screw you over. Why give such a company money is beyond me?
I have never pre-ordered a game in my life (20 years of gaming) and never unable to buy a game on launch day!
Get this…They didn’t and don’t get enough for just reserves…They get plenty…But once those sell out, the only ones left are the reserves…Now, this may seem as a shock to someone as obvously bright as you, but the reason those people reserved it was so that they are guaranteed a copy once a store sells out of their walk in stock…So they don’t have to go to more than one store to get it…The fact that you didn’t get a copy from the first place you walked in should be enough of a reason to understand why stores do reservations…
It is obvious that none of these posters understand a business model.
It is necessary for companies to place orders to attain product from all game
publishers. The reason that companies like GameStop are aggressive with pre-sells is so that:
1. all the people that want the game (and reserve it)….get the game.
2. all the arrogant “hard-core” whatevers, get whatever is left or
shop at wal-mart or target.
the reason that BB and WM and target have product on the shelf is because
over 50% of the buying public has the games reserved at GS. No one really wants to have the girl from the photo dept at wal-mart open the glass case for them to get a sweet new game.
the amazingly funny thing about the whole situation is…..all these
people dislike GameStop so much…..and they refuse to pre-order games, but they always check at GameStop first…..I wonder why that is ???
yes I am a GameStop employee. let the flaming begin.
@Doug - Well some people don’t want to drive in twice to the store. I would rather just drive once and pick it up right there, not have to make 2 trips. Anyways, I have convinced all my friends to buy from Amazon with the 2 day shipping (for free). Get this, I ordered GTA from them. They shipped it out yesterday and I have it in my hands today. Pretty amazing.
Anyways, the employees at my gamestop are cool and I just walk in and talk with them sometimes when I’m waiting to get my haircut. I really don’t buy anything from them though since I preorder with amazon.
@fragloser. very fair point. and intelligent conversation. well appreciated.
I am all about convenience and bargains….if I find a sweet deal at a competitor…you bet I will score on that…..or even online.
the rub lies with the “customers” that walk in a day or two before a game launches and ask “hey, can I get game X”….”sorry it’s not out yet, but I can order one for you and it’s guaranteed”….”nah, I’ll just come back”…..and they show up the day of release and are almost insulted that we are sold out. those are the people making multiple trips…..but they also complain the loudest. boggles the mind.
keep up the positive debate, your level headed opinion is welcome on
the internet.
You’re gay Doug.
And obviously Joe isn’t wanted
. But yea you guys are a good store. However I just do not purchased games from you guys anymore but that isn’t really your fault, I just calculate it like this. The game stop is around 4 - 6 miles away from my house. that is 24 miles of driving to get a new release. That is probably about $6 in driving the tax that you pay for the game so I would rather pay online and actually pay less for the game and have it become a convince to me. One other complaint is that I pre-ordered stranglehold from you guys and showed up the date it was released. Because of one reason or another you guys didn’t have the game that day so I was a little ticked off so I went to bestbuy and picked up a copy and canceled my preorder.
However I do think that you guys should order the # of games with the preorders and also order around 10 copies extra if possible. That way people who forgot to order a copy can still get one. However, only do this if it is a popular game that you know will sell such as GTAIV.
Not all EBs are like that, the store I run, we cap it at certain limit and stop taking pre orders. Our store had 100 copies of each system for walk-ins.
Idiot. Thats what you are. And anybody that agrees with him is also an idiot. The reason Gamestop and EB are only able to sell preorders is because they are the nations biggest videogame retailers. Which means they get way more customers than target. They order shipments based on preorder. Preorder equals demand you dumbass. Target got the leftovers. And why didnt you preorder your copy like a smart person? Its not any extra money at all. All you pay on a preorder gets deducted from the total price of the game. Im sick of dumbass, ignorant, plain stupid people calling preorders useless. You are right. Its the biggest game launch of the year so far. And you expect to just walk into a store and get a copy? LOL. And also get a copy before the smart people who had the good sense to preorder their copies? The reason preorders exist is to ensure people(smart people) get their copy first, with extras, and to guarentee them a copy. So quit being a bitch. And preorder your games from now on.
i got my copy from walmart..i only saw a couple of copies..didnt see any limited editions or w/e..im not even sure what the look like.. the walmart had like 2 copies left for 360 and like 5 for ps3 that i could see..
awesome “joe moseky” your 5 minutes of internet fame.
nice job adding zero to the thread.
perhaps reading isn’t your forte, but “handling” your gaydar is.
obvious malfunction.
good luck finding the man of your dreams.
it’s a thread about games. and business models. grow up.
Yea I just talked to my friend mike who had his dad go out and get it for him from bestbuy. They had one copy left for the 360 at around 6-7pm. I’d say thats pretty good though.
Well chances are they had extra copies you just got there too late. I love how its GS fault that you arrived too late to receive one of their extra copies. I’m sure you would have also been happy had you gotten the Pre order only to have them sale it to guy like you before you get there to pick yours up..
Ok, seriously, this thread is complete idiocy. If it’s a game that might be sold out (a blockbuster hit like GTAIV) what is stopping you from picking up the phone and calling first? Jesus christ, it’s not like you have to leave your house just to check inventory.
Second of all, preorders exist not to “leech money off of preorder interest” (i seriously rofl’d at this comment) it’s to ensure you get the copy. If you spend $5 a month in advance to ensure you get the game, for the same retail price you get anywhere else (as the $5 counts towards the general purpose), what is your huge beef with not preordering? It’s the same damn thing as preordering it from amazon…which you did….without the shipping cost and extra wait time due to shipping (which, by the way, amazon doesn’t control at all - ups or your shipping medium does).
I think you’ve had one or two bad experiences with gamestop and, with all due respect, your own incompetence is holding you back now.
As for El Cid’s comments, I again was laughing at stupidity. Gamestop has a universal return policy where if you do not like the game you can trade in for full store credit or your money back within a week or two.
Hell, I even traded in my Mario Galaxy on the Wii for like $35 two months after the game came out. What do you want, full retail value? seriously…learn business.
PS this was not intended to be a flame, although I realize now it kinda turned out that way. I suppose I could tone it down, but it’s almost 2am so I don’t care enough =P
@XiD - Actually Amazon does control the shipping for things sold by them. For example, what I do is I make a new account and sign up for the prime account to get the 2 day free shipping but cancel it before the month ends (you can do it at the beginning) and then shipping becomes free and you actually save money if you want to factor in gas (depending on the car you drive)
@XiD - Ironic having you call anyone else stupid. You obviously have no concept of finance and business models. If you took the time to read Gamestop’s financial reports you’ll see that the overwhelming majority of their profits are from trade-in’s. The return policy is not universal and they DO track your number of returns so if you use them as a rental store they can rescind your ability to return games.
They also earn a significant profit from pre-orders as they earn interest from this money. While there is a grain of truth that it helps them determine demand for a particular SKU, this obviously is not what they are using it for when they don’t have enough copies of a popular game (which had a lot of pre-orders) to sell customers on release date. Furthermore, there are literally over 30 other retail vendors within a 30 minute drive of me who managed to figure out demand and have plenty of copies of all games to sell without pushing pre-orders.
Gamestop does well with the casual gamers who don’t realize they’re being screwed or gamers who are unfortunate enough not to have other competitors nearby. Gamestop has the worst pricing of all major retailers - just check out cheapassgamer.com each week for evidence of what shrewd consumers can pick up with just a little research.
I am glad that you can so easily delude yourself with visions of intellectual superiority by blindly supporting the least consumer-friendly, over-priced major gaming retail corporation in America. It’s easy to be satisfied when one has such low standards.
If I buy a game from a brick and mortar store, I go to Target, because they always have the games I’m looking for. Walmart is a crapshoot, and gamestop usually is unable to sell me anything on day one if I didn’t preorder. And Target’s a shorter drive for me.
GS does not have a universal policy to take returns within a week for full store credit, at least not in NYC. The issue at hand is why do they need to only fill their pre-orders on launch day? Trust me this GS I went to was empty, there was no line and the only other person in the store was buyign two copies of Pokemon for her kids. There were copies on the shelf a plenty behind the employee, but I guess they were on reserve for the line of imaginary pre-orders?! My personal opinion with GS is getting worse and worse, Best Buy as well, but thats a side topic.
N2N & doug: Say ‘hi’ to your momz for me.
Funny, I had two similar experiences yesterday (launch day) as well. I decided to goto Gamestop because during release week they typically give you an additional 20% on trade-ins and I had a handful (4) games I was done with and wished to get rid of. So here is how my first experience went:
Me (walks in with a handful of games): Do you guys have any copies of Grand Theft Auto available?
Clerk: Do you have a pre-order?
Me: No, but I want to trade-in these games.
Clerk: Then you have your answer.
Me: Oh. Okay. Thanks. (Before turning and walking away I noticed 3 boxes opened with both versions of GTA. I walk away).
Clerk (shouting): We hope to have another shipment tomorrow!
Me: It looks like your shipment arrived early behind the counter!
That was in Morgantown, WV!
Here was in Pittsburgh, PA:
Me (walks in with the same games): Do you happen to have any copies of GTA available even without a preorder.
Clerk (suddenly finds something interesting on his finger nails and intently examines them while slyly saying): I may have a few copies available, I *could* sell to you…
Me: All right, cool. Here are these, now may I have my game please?
I just don’t understand the need to feel the control of a game store…
It’s like being the bus driver of the slow bus.
>>If you took the time to read Gamestop’s financial reports…
dude. lol. didn’t realize at the time I was in the company of people that cared so much about hating this company that you took the time to do detective work. i stand down as you have an infinitely higher understanding of this company and obviously put way more effort into caring about them (lol).
apparently, a company having a smart business strategy that gains them money while keeping customer retail sales the same is a terrible thing. Gamestop is worse than big oil! Down with gamestop!
if you have beef with the store, don’t go there. if you don’t like the service, don’t go there. it’s really that simple. just because a clerk denies selling you a game doesn’t mean they are on a power trip - a power tripping employee who doesn’t sell games won’t be an employee for long.
my biggest problem with all these whines is that you guys can’t seem to grasp that concept. a manager who decides to just not sell games won’t be a manager very long, because his sales rate will be dick. there’s obviously a reason he isn’t selling it to you, look past your own “i’m the victim! i’m the victim!” mentality and you might see something.
What you guys also have to realize is the size of somewhere like Gamestop vs. the size of target or other major stores such as Walmart or best buy. Although Gamestop is gaining financial speed even in the not so good market we are in today they only have a max of 10k stores. Even at that look at the size of the store itself also, its maybe 1/6 max the size of somewhere like Best Buy. Anyways, to put it simple, if you don’t like shopping there why bother showing up to see if they have it to begin with?
@ Xid - Agreed, I need to stop shopping there but its like I am a date rape victim that believes its my fault, I just keep going back for more. lol
I honestly cannot stand all the pissing/moaning that goes on about GameStop. 99.9% of the ‘horror’ stories that people complain about are greatly over-stated. Seriously, if you had EVERY intention to go buy a HUGE game not only the day it came out, but at MIDNIGHT; why could you not have taken two seconds during the eight months they offered it, to pre-order? GameStop does that as a service, not as some conspiracy to screw you over. Hundreds of thousands of copies of that game were pre-ordered by smart people because they thought, “Hey, GTA is probably going to be a pretty big deal.”. Just because you didn’t have the forsight to do that, doesn’t make it someone elses fault.
@ J - Hey ass hat, yes I do expect to walk into a store and purchase a game and I did, read the article. My point was that it shouldnt be necessary, if someone is more secure in pre-ordering because they want to gurantee their copy, go right ahead. I feel that games should be available, dont force me to pre-order, if you tell me its sold out, that is fine and I will go on my way, but that didnt happen. I easily wlaked into Target and purchased the game and didnt even wait on line, the nice gentleman behind the counter even gave me the collecters edition to look at since they had a ton and there were no clients around. GS experience bad, Target experience good, that was my point of the article.
@ iTaPthat - It wasnt forsight, I didnt overlook it, it was conscious. This game was mass produced and with good reason, Take two wanted to make sure to sell as amny copies as it could with the looming merger hanging over their heads and the fact that the company has beeen hemeraging money during the dev period. Pre-ordering to me isnt smart unless you just want to have it paid off and not worry aobut hte money, pre-ordering does nothing really, you still wait in line and some stores even cant fill their pre-orders, this has happened many times. The only thing you get is sometimes a free giveaway or a gift card, otehr than that it is a headache in my opinion.
I guess its different strokes for different folks really.
Yeah, I only get pre-orders when you get something free. I’m a sucker for free shtuff.
Al Zamora, the point is, GameStop sells more games than anyone. Outside of there pre-orders, they’ve only got so many copies to sell. For big game launches especially, they do sell out. Some stores may only get enough to meet pre-orders. Gamestop doesn’t keep this a secret, it is no surprise to anyone. I just feel that there is no right for anyone to complain in a situation like this. If you really wanted it from gamestop, it should’ve been pre-ordered. If you hate gamestop because they never have your non pre-ordered game, why do you even attempt to get it from there?
Maybe gamestop is closer to him than the other stores?
For me Walmart is closest, then Target, then Gamestop. But I choose to go to Target because, the lines in Walmart are insane, and Gamestop never has anything on launch day if you didn’t preorder.
Although I did get SSBB at midnight from Walmart, because the place is dead empty at that time. They had ~40 copies on the shelf.
Wow…the ignorance in this article is painful to read. Seriously, who is the ass here if you can’t even understand why Reservations exist?
Halo 3 should be enough of a reason for you to call reason why it’s necessary. See, stores (based on assumption) loaded up with copies of each of the three versions of Halo 3 because they were told it would move MILLIONS. 2 months later everyone was sitting on a pile of Limited and Legendary Editions nobody wanted…why? Prices dropped and STILL they sat on piles of a game that was guaranteed to sell like oxygen going out of style.
Now we get to GTAIV, which is a great game, but from a business standpoint taking the safe approach means a more guaranteed bottom-line of profit and no stale produdct collecting dust down the road. GameStop perfects this now so they maximize their dollar (spent/earned).
I used to HATE the idea of reservations, but then I realized I had far too many moments like you described in this article…got mad…then realized what an ass I was being crying foul on a security blanket I was offered but never bought into. Needless to say, I now reserve EVERYTHING I’m interested in. It give me peace of mind knowing I can walk in and get my copy on DAY ONE, and a chuckle when I see another ass (like you) complaining about big box stores that don’t specialize in games…having games…I mean honestly, they have games because people just don’t go to Target to shop for them (unless you’re a soccer mom or a member of the nuclear family).
I know I’ll get crap for this, but your one experience at one store doesn’t apply to all of them.
My experience was this:
I went to Wal-Mart and the guy told me they were actually closing at midnight and to try the gamestop upstairs. So, I went up there without a pre-order. Regretting that decision, I stood in line.
The manager asked if there was anyone in line that had not reserved the game. Another guy along with myself raised our hands. We walked into the store and paid for the copy and got back in line. Then at midnight, he just handed out copies to everyone in line that showed they paid.
Best experience I had for a midnight launch.
Oh, and I arrived at 11:40 pm.
Dude, this article doesn’t do anything but show that you are A) A jackass B) A GameStop hater And C) That you know nothing about the pre-order system. And I highly doubt you REALLY went in there all polite-as-ever while the, as you put it, “Ass Clerk” told you he couldn’t sell it to you. ALL GameStops get copies of games based on pre-orders. So why in the hell would they want to risk selling someone’s copy who reserved it, and have them get angry, so they can sell it you someone like you who thinks that just because they came into a store they should get something? You are just one of those people who think they are more important than others and should get things regardless of how things work. And GameStops CAN sell copies to non-reserve customers. They probably didn’t want to sell it to you because you are were a dick. You can act all innocent, but we all know you are full of it. You article sucks. Don’t give up your day job.
Dude like some People allready mentioned in your article, you dont have a fu..ing Idea how gameshops work, or the preorder system.
I mean if youd be a store would you automatically buy thousands of copies of a game, just to find out later that you cant sell all of them???
No of course not, no you are not doing so because you want to be smart and make good money right?… Thats why you want ppl to preeeeeorder to make sure you sell aaaall your copies.
So yeah, why dont you just go to freakin wallmart and buy your game there??? They have tons of copies, cuz they expect ppl to go in there buy a game and maybe find some other shit like chips and coke, thats why they even sell most of the stuff they have there anyway!
So before you post bullshit like that again, you maybe want to think and try not to be a stupid ignorant like you seem to be.
@XiD - the point of my initial response to you is that you should avoid calling people stupid when you are just stating your opinion and don’t bother to have the facts. That just makes you look stupid.
I’m a 42 year old father who has been a hard core gamer for over 25 years, so I take a substantial interest in the creation and business of gaming. Because I’ve built up some knowledge of the industry over the years I thought it would be wise to structure my investments around my hobby which is why I knew this information already.
I do not shop at Gamestop/EB because I take issue with their business practices and heavy-handed marketing approach (even though it would be a wise stock investment!). I don’t think it was unreasonable for Al to assume that when he walked into a gaming store to buy the highest profile game of the year that they would oblige. The fact that they wouldn’t or couldn’t is a problem with Gamestop - not their customers.
Why are you guys so willing to cut Gamestop slack on this when this practice would be completely unacceptable for any other retail product/store? Do you have to pre-order movies or CD’s at the store to get a copy on release date?
OK let me break off a bit of knowledge for you, pre-orders help to get the magic number of copies to order but it isnt the only means to derive it. You know how copies of GTA 3 you sold form the last launch you also know how many copies of other large titles you sold at launch, form that data alone you can extrapolate how many you will need for this launch. Historical data is more important than pre-orders alone, most companies use pre-orders in order to capture their customers info so they can send them mailers, promos, etc. I know exactly how big business works, seems like there ar emany differeing opinions on how GS is run though, some are sayign that pre-orders dictate how many copies they receive and other people are saying that it has no bearing, get your stories straight and then lets discuss.
P.S. ignorance is all relative, but knowledge is power. lol
Wow…the responses Al Zamora follows up with here have made me see the light…truly, the man is wise beyond his years.
I take it you’re a business major because everything you vomit here seems to steam knowledge.
Just accept the fact you’re on the popular bandwagon of hating on the company (or a disgruntled former employee) and you condemn it based on your experience with ONE employee (who you’ve apparently cited as the SOLE problem). Why don’t you hit up another GameStop or two and see if it’s the same, then I’ll concede to you that GameStop does nothing more than hire “Ass Clerk’s” as you so eloquently put it.
@Al Cid
You “take issue” with their business practices and heavy-handed marketing? Why? Because they ask you to reserve games? You aren’t asked to pre-order cds and DVDs because 1)-They’re mass produced at #’s FAR greater than games 2) Both mediums do not make they’re money SOLEY based on sales of customer purchases:
a) Pre-order worthy films have theatrical releases first, then DVD, which also includes rental, then premmium cable, then network TV…Money can continue to roll in for films for years and years…
b) Music gets money from publication sales, radio play, DL’s, concerts, and again, can make money for years…
Games make their money primarily based on sales…It’s in the best interest of SPECIALTY STORES such as Gamestop to heavily market the games they sell, and to promote pre-orders….And I know for a fact that Gamestop doesn’t make their money from reservations…They make their money from used game sales…
You don’t have to shop their…Believe me, they don’t miss your money at all because millions of other people take advatange of their reservation system which works out wonderfully for everyone that actually RESERVES the game.
Yes, I work at a Gamestop and have for about 7 months…Before that I made all my game purchases there because I like the idea of going somewhere were they were actualy gamers, and not someone who was assigned the “games department” by some manager who couldn’t care less about TRUE customer service.
And here’s a great example of why reservations are a wonderful idea and service:
Yesterday and today several people came in asking for GTA for 360 which were completely sold out except for reservations…One kid asked for it and I asked if he reserved it and he said “No”…I then told him that we had none except for reserves and he stormed off mumbling something about being “tight”…This leads me to believe that he asked several places of they had it and they didn’t….As he was leaving I told him that this is why we ask if you want to reserve games…He then said “fu** reserving”…Uhm…Ok, and that’s why you’re walking out of another store without GTA…
A brain is a terrible thing to waste…
And yes, you could maybe get it when you go to Target or Wal-mart, but get this…Some areas of the world don’t have such stores (as in Staten Island) without walking distance and some urban areas require a metro system in order for a large amount of people to get around and people rely on….So you tell me, without the luxury of location and transportation, wouldn’t it stand to reason that one should take advantage of the reservation service which GUARANTEES that the game you want will be were you want it on the day a game is released?
Why is it called “common sense” when so few people have it?
I think I’m going to write a tutorial on how to order with amazon.com so you don’t even have to use any gas and get free 2 day shipping. Should solve all of the problems.
HAHA, great plan. (by the by, I pre-ordered GTA IV from Amazon with the supersaver shipping and got it in the mail yesterday, yay)
Another point your missing about reserving from gamestop as opposed to ordering from Amazon…It cost $5 at least. You can have the game paid off over time rather than have a credit card. And get this…Some people who bought the game didn’t have a credit card…Weird, I know, but 17 year olds, at least in NY, can’t get them.
Then you have the incredible number of people that turn out for these midnight releases. Last I checked, the mail doesn’t deliver at midnight…
You can post the tutorial about ordering on Amazon but it’s not going to change the fact that Gamestop is providing a great service for customers to take advantage of…
@ Fragloser - sounds good.
@ N2NOther - 17 year olds can get credit cards, they just need to be co-signed by a parent/guardian, so it would be like a joint account.
Yea I’m 16 and I have one. It’s really not as great as people think though. It’s not like I can run around and just buy anything that I want because at the end of the month my mom sees my credit card bill and pretty much knows exactly what I buy so it isn’t like what you see in the movies at all.
@N2NOther - Well in my case I could wait until I got back from school to play so picking it up from amazon was fine for me. It also saved me the trouble of having to drive there.
Agreed, midnight launches did me no good what so ever since I had work in the morning and wasnt planning on taking a day off or depriving myself completely of sleep, hehe.
SIGH. No Zamora you cant form a report based on the last GTA launch. Thats not how business works. For many reasons. People could lose interest. All the recent GTA flak could make customers shy away. People could and are always saving their hard earned money for other titles. Like MGS4, or Wii fit. Preorder information is never used to send anybody anything. If you want anything shipped or mailed to you then you need to subscribe to Gameinformer. Then you will get coupons and other newsletters. And preorders have all the bearing on how many copies they recieve. Preorders equal interest in title. Which they then calculate and order 1 for each preorder. And depending on how many preorders they recieve, order more for following shipments. You never hear of an abundance of barbie games do you. Because who really has interest? Your problem is you are upset and pissed you couldnt walk into gamestop and get a copy on launch day. Be smart next time and preorder GTA 5. The money you pay for preorder goes toward your purchase anyway. So quit being a bitch. “Why couldnt I get one on launch day at Gamestop? Waaaah”. Be smart and preorder all high profile titles from now on. As a matter of fact. Go preorder Gears Of War 2 right now. I have and already paid it off. So I can walk in tell them my name and leave with my copy. No worries at all.
@ J - What kind of business is GS running that htey cant run a report of previous sales? Anyone interested in GTA 3 will definitely be interested in GTA IV, the flak GTA is gettign does not hurt the game, it actually raises its popularity and will cause mor people to purchase it. THe flak is a marketing persons dream, publicity for their game, negative or positive is still publicity and air time.
Again I am not bitching, I was merely retelling my experience, I never said I hate GS, I said at times I am frustrated at the store and even said that I shop their often. The experience did not scar me as I went about 300 ft up the mall and got a copy easily. My frustration lies with how the employee handled the situation.
We are not against GS, there is no monetary gain for me in slandering them, which I have not, just sharing my experience.
P.S. I wont pre-order GOW2 because agian a title like that I do not think it will be necessary and will just pick it up at a Best Buy or soemthing, no worries on my part. I would pre-order something that is less mainstream since chances are those would be harder to find, i.e. something like Valkyrie Profile.
Do you really think massive amounts of parents are co-signing on CCs? When me make $27,000 in one day and $21,000 of that is cash, then you have to wonder exactly how many of those kids had parents co-sign a CC.
The point here is that not everyone pre-orders and yes, there are alternatives, but to bitch about not getting the game at the FIRST PLACE YOU WENT TO because they sold out of non-reserves is flat-out dumb. You don’t HAVE to reserve, but it’s a nice comfort zone for people that do. I work at Gamestop and I pre-ordered. Just because I wanted to be sure that I would get my game at midnight.
@ Al Zamora (RE: not preordering GOW2)
Well I guess we have another article to look forward to in November when you return from GameStop with similar results as this.
Ok look. You may not hate GS or EB. But this article makes it seem so. And the way you referred to the clerk at GS. Makes you seem like a major hater. But you need to understand that GS and EB cant order based on previous entries. Not everybody that played GTA 3, Vice City, or San Andreas is gonna go buy GTA 4. Some lost interest, some cant because they havent upgraded to the new console war yet. And parents who bought their kids GTA in the past arent buying for them now because of the recent GTA flak. But what GS and EB are doing is outstanding. Thats why they are the number 1 and 2 videogame retailers in the country. Now I apologize for coming at so angrily. But all the recent GS and EB hatred around the internet is highly undeserved. I have no problems with preordering because it is highly helpful and useful. And their trade in policy is very good. The idiots that think they should get full price for an opened, played, and used game is just irritating to me.