because people are lazy and/or impatient. Don't blame them.

People who trade games at GameStop are asking to lose money. Sell your used stuff on eBay. You get more money and GameStop gets the finger.

FOR used games the price would drop.

Supply and demand BABY..............!!!

acually u dont get that much more on ebay mabby a $1 more and its not worth the effort...... gamestop should give 50% for any game...

Look, make a better choice & stop buying crap games because people are fanboys & only buy AAA games that will stand the test of time.

I dont trade games in because I only buy the games that are great.

It's a good biz model other than the magazine subs...they have quite a racket going with used game sales.

I usually buy my games from Wal Mart to tell you the truth.

everything has pros an cons. for me I like gamestop. I know going in im not gonna get alot for my game, but the way i look at it, is either the game can sit there an me not playing it an i get nothing for it, or i can trade it in an cut the cost of the new game I'm buying!! once i beat heavenly sword there was really nothing that drove me to replay it so I traded it in, i only got 30 for it, but i could have still had it just sitting there now they'll only give you 20 for it!!

companies are in business to make money, an game stop makes money, there 3 gamestops in my area all within a 10 mile radius an i love it to be truthful!!

Gamestop. They are a sad lot.

Ya trade in value does sucks at EB,Gamestop, but what I hate the most is their really bad customer service, I was asking if there is stock for Eye of Judgment (PS3), and there is 2 associate talking, and 1 just sitting behind the counter reading her book... they just ignore me, so I decide to shop @ wal-mart for now on...

Apparently a LOT of people on both branches of the argument have no idea of business sense.

As for the developers, stop crying. The game is LOOONNNGGGG out of your hands by the time it reaches the consumer. It first has to get manufactured by ANOTHER company, then it is sold to RETAILERS...also another company, and THEN it is sold to the consumer, by which time it has changed hands no less than 3 times. If we had to pay royalties for used games, it would be the video game crash of '83 all over again. People would simply stop buying games, and the industry would crumble. Maybe not as fast as '83, but you'd see one hell of a nose dive in both quantity and quality of games. And don't even think of a strike reminiscient of the Writer's Guild, because NOBODY would honor something like that. We'd just laugh at you.

And as for the customers...dude, you gotta know by now that you're not getting more than $7 or $8 for that used game unless it's less than 3 months old. The only thing I can say in defense of the consumer is that some of those games are very rare, and I myself have seen copies of an Xbox port of Marvel vs. Capcom run for about $80 used, and if Gamestop tries to give you $8 for a game that they're gonna turn around and sell for $80, then, yes, it's robbery, but at the same time everyone seems to forget about the rule of "buyer beware." All it takes is a little research to find out what your game is worth, and if it truly is worth something, then I can guarantee someone online WILL buy it for what you want for it.

I, for one, have 100% sworn NOT to trade in any games...ever again. Due to my own youth and ignorance from years ago, I've had and recklessly traded in games that are now so rare, I couldn't ever hope to find them again, much less at a price I'm willing to pay for them. But if you HAVE to trade in games, or try to find that old gem, then seriously go to Game Crazy, both their trade-in and used game prices are very fair and reasonable, and I've never been screwed over by them. One things for sure, they won't charge you $80 for ANY used game, ever, no matter how rare it is.

Considering that its often easier to buy a game at Wal-Mart or Best Buy the fact that Game Stop still remains in business tells me that games or at least buyers don't hate Game Stop. That said, I still go to Wal-Mart for my games. In my area they are literally right across from each other and Wal-Mart has never told me they were out of a game, unlike a certain other store...

As for the game makers complaining... Make better games k. Though there are cases of good games going unnoticed.

If there were more small businesses that sold games. Gamestop is terrible. The only other place to get games is at walmart or something, and they dont take trade-ins. Game stop should give the customer half of what they are going to sell it for..Whats up with used games costing 55.00? new ones are 60....wtf gamestop?

but I dont think that developers loose that much money since at game stop used games are only 5$ cheaper than a used. I usualy just dont buy games there, cause I dont want those jack**** to try to recomend crapy games to me. I know what games I want, and no I dont want a strategy guide , so ill go to bestbuy. I agree with you 17, If the game was really good to begin with It will sell, and the used copy will be $55 and that is just dumb to buy.

I traded in some games one time at GameStop. Then I realized I'd be much better off without the measly $4 (ACTUALLY GOOD PRICE FROM THESE BASTARDS), and keep my game rather than sell it.

I'm much happier just owning the game and having it in my collection then selling it to a Game store where they legally rape you of your hard earned wealth.

I used to love Game$top but in typical fashion the more business they do the greed of the Corporate grows. I have also noticed that they hire complete idiots!! There are 4 stores within two miles of each other and they all SUCK!!! I have found a little locally owned store. The owner is in the Navy but his Wife and other family members help run the store. It RULES!!! They give more for trades and sell games cheaper than G$. They also carry classic systems and will take N64, Dreamcast and other. I will not be shopping at G$. LOCAL STORES and E-Bay!!

While his argument about reselling houses and cars is valid there is one flaw. Manufacturers don't have to sell 500,000 cars or houses to make a profit like game companies do. They make profit off of each item sold. Games companies must sell a certain number of copies to make a profit and if retailers are selling used instead of new then it makes it harder to reach that magic number

Well the only thing Gamestop is good for is buying games that other stores don't sell anymore.

"You know, if Mr. Ellis can prove that he's never bought a used car, used CD, used DVD, used house or apartment (construction crews are being ripped off!) or rented, well, anything, then I'll grant him points for intellectual sincerity."

This is an ignorant comment. How many people own cars, listen to music, and watch movies compared to people who play video games? If the developers aren't seeing profit, they will think twice about making games. PSM put this in perspective for me.

Wha? Greedy is offering $20 for a game like Bioshock and then selling it for $54.95.
Anyway, I'm guilty of helping GS out as well as I still do buy used games from them. Take the latest coupon they've given out in their newsletter. It's 20% off any used PS3 game. So take that 20% and add my 10% via the Edge card and all of a sudden Ratchet and Clank is under $40. If I can take advantage of a deal like that, or the buy 2 get 1 deal (which I'm patientyl waiting for), then I'll go to Gamestop.
But I've also begun exploring Blockbuster as an alternative. I never knew you could trade in used games at any BB, so I got rid of a few older PS2 titles last night. They give you slightly better store credit, but the big difference is the prices are a bit better on most games. A used copy of Bioshock at BB sells for $44.95, which is $10 less the GS. Of course keep in mind that there is no "extra X%" coupons or cards, so it's not always better.
As for the concerns of developers, I understand where they're coming from, but something has to give. Paying $60 for new games is a bit steep, so I've now changed my buying habits. There are other ways of getting more money into developers hands. Licensing fees from Sony, M$, or Nintendo could be lowered, and I'm sure there are other areas to explore.

yeah! lets rip apart a company thats making money off stupid ppl! hell i say way to go. if ppl are that dumb to keep selling them products for $3, how can we tell gamestop what to sell them for? id buy a car for $100 bucks, fix it, turn around and sell it for $1000. its legal, stop whining, deal with it. for christ sakes...

If publishers want to make more money and undercut Gamestop they need to drop the prices, not raise them. They would probably sell twice as many copies at $40 as they do at $60 and they would earn an additional 25% revenue to boot.

I know if games were only $40 I'd buy three or four a month.

and claim anonimity too? Frikgen coward. Anyways I can't really blame Gamestop, it's gamers that allow them to get away with the most ridiculous of practices. If we went else where for service this kind of crap would not be happen on the massive scale it does now.

I mean look at this moron's interview. Just so smog and all "WTF ever" attitude. Gamestop is just sleez.

Back before everything merged and became Gamestop, there was Babbages, Electronics Boutique, Software Etc, Funcoland, and others. It was nice when there was some competition, but now it's basically Gamestop or a big box store, and while big box stores offer great sales, they're far more limited on what they carry.
Bootsielon's comment of raising game prices to $90 is brilliant if you want to see publishers go under and developers disbanded.

Never been to a Gamestop, never plan on going to one. If I ever sell my old games (which I don't like doing in the first place), I use eBay. You can get what they're actually worth if you use eBay.

"You know, if Mr. Ellis can prove that he's never bought a used car, used CD, used DVD, used house or apartment (construction crews are being ripped off!) or rented, well, anything, then I'll grant him points for intellectual sincerity."

Victor Godinez is a complete moron. Buying a car or an apartment is much different than buying a piece of software. First, you can't re-sell a car or a property as fast as you can with a piece of information, and second, most of the costs of making a car are included in the car, even more in home construction. Sure, there are initial investment costs, but they aren't as much as the initial investment required for pieces of software. DVD and CD software makers run the risk of resales; however, these two aren't as risky as videogame sales. Most DVD and CD owners can listen their music or watch the movies as many times and still not get bored, because it doesn't require them to be involved; furthermore, the install base of CD and DVD players is HUGE. Therefore, the risk of the entertainment makers is not as big as the risk that the videogame industry is running; the videogame industry risk is A LOT HIGHER. Most gamers (not the hardcore ones) actually re-sell their games once they're finished with them, because games require involvement and many hours of play, so playing a game AGAIN might not be very delighting for them. That's why they're more likely to be re-sold to GameStop (and it does happen a lot, that's why GameStop is so profitable); however, not only are games rate of re-sale a lot higher than movies and CDs, but the install base of game players is a lot smaller. So the risk becomes even higher. And that's why the VG industry has the right to take measures, because it is in jeopardy of losing profits, or simply in incurring losses. That is, many games could stop being made thanks to the practice of game re-sale. That's why the profit that GameStop makes is not negligible as the profit made by house, CD, DVD, or car re-sellers.

I do think software makers have more valid points than gamers. If gamers don't want to recieve so little money, then they should simply keep their games, sell them over-the-counter, or not go to GameStop. It's that simple.

I'm not gonna say I've never bought used games; but again, that's not my problem. I'm just saying why the industry has a valid point against GameStop, but it's not the consumers fault; the responsibility here lies with GameStop as they are the ones advertising game resale. I don't think the US government will do anything about game-resale, since they're a bunch of douches. The time that would happen, when gamers actually run the congress, games on demand will be available and game "resales" will be nonexistant anyway.

You're better off buying and selling games on eBay, f*ck that place, I hate them with a passion.

I went to trade in a nearly-new-looking PSP(no scratches, nothing) that I bought for 200 dollars 2 years ago. I go to trade it in, guess how much they offer.. 20 bucks. I traded in Oblivion, they offer 16. I traded in Resistance, they offer 10. I traded Dynasty Warriors, they offer 5. I traded in Napoleon Dynamite, they offered 5. I traded in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, they offer a buck. All the movies were UMD format, along with Dynasty Warriors.

I sold my PSP to a friend for 100. I sold Oblivion and Resistance on eBay for 75 total. I sold the UMD games and movies to gamestop because I just wanted to get rid of them. I hate gamestop, I went out to buy Heavenly Sword there and the guy said "Geez, why'd you buy a PS3? look at all those crappy games... including this one..." and yeah I had a nice word with him =]

F*CK GameStop up their stupid asses.

These guys offered me 8 dollars for my xbox1 last year.

I was one of the many conned into believing Two Worlds would be a good buy. A day after buying it from gamestop, I soon realised how horrible it was and wanted to sell it back. They said the most they could take was 20 bucks. Hell I would have taken 35 or 40 but 20 is just ridiculous for a game I paid 60 bucks for and that they're gonna sell back to some poor sap for 40 bucks. Although I do respect the gamestop employees at my local shops, their way of business is disgusting and unfair.

the only pros of gamestop is that they're everywhere unlike my favorite gamecrazy (lol there is no gamecrazy 50 mile radius from st.petersburg,FL) but i hate someday i'm gonnna boycott it.

they offered $2.00...mark my words I'll never even think of going bto that store again unless I intend to make a scene over their scam tactics...

Crikey, this really takes the urine.
I thought we gamers in the UK got a bum deal from places like Game for giving us £15 on a trade in, only for them to sell it for £30.
I think the easy answer to this is to not trade in at the place, especially if they are this cheeky.

I can see the developers/publishers point of view on this though. I don't see a problem with trading or second hand selling but for the shops to make just as much money, if not more on a game sold again, is greedy.

To all gamers, just vote with your money and don't shop there.

lol.No seriously.

FTL

omg seriously. Get over yourselves people. The only way video game stores can stay afloat is to sell used games. The margin on new games is just too small. And the prices go down so quick that half the time they go below what was originally paid and that leaves a hole to be filled.

If you don't like getting 20$ for a game you payed 60$ for last month, don't trade it in. Sit on it and enjoy the game you aren't going to play. Or, like the guy said go sell it on ebay or something. Bottom line is that it's a convenience, and you allow it to happen, so you don't get to complain.

As for the low trade ins, it's like he said, half the games you assholes trade in are crap anyway. My store has 30 copies of NCAA 07 on the shelf. People are suprised that a game that is only a year old only trades in for 3-5$. NO CRAP! there's a new sports game every year, they don't hold their value because NOBODY comes in to buy LAST years sports game. If I owned my own gamestore, I wouldn't even buy them unless they were the current year. But if they did that you would all complain that they only take a select few games!

It's great when the employees are passionate about gaming, but they should keep their own personal preferences to themselves. They should present the pros and cons of all systems/games and let consumers decide for themselves.
Anyway, the one thing that's worse than a know it all employee is the know it all teenager that's got nothing better to do than hang out at the store and give his opinion that nobody cares to hear. You should be given an extra 25% trade in credit just for having to breath the same air as these dorks.

gamespot needs to do alot .. to do alot to get on gamers and game makers GOOD SIDES..... cuz they are no where near our good sides

work at gamestop

gamestop is all pro-xbox 360 and anti-ps3. i mostly go there twice a week, sometimes to look around or to buy some games and all i can say here is that gamestop has crappy sales personnel who brainwashes would be console buyers to get everything xbox 360 and that its the best console out there right now. yeah right! BS! very biased store....
its a good thing before i buy something i always try to get a lot of info on it before i buy a console and thats how i got to know that ps3 is the way to go with all the nextgen features. you wont go wrong with it..
just don't listen to those biased people... just giving you guys heads up in case you encounter it. peace out dudes....

Gamestop had this coming for opening games and then shrink wrapping them in the back and selling them as new.

I'm not sure as to the exact sentiment of the author(is he mad at Gamestop, or just the developers?), but I am sure of one thing-as gamers we should ALL not do business with them, unless absolutely necessary. Once upon a time, before I got into IT, I used to be a Gamestop Store Manager. I have seen first hand how they rip people off, and what people they rip off. I think that, for the most part, the reason they are still in business is due to the economic classes. Let me explain. From what I have seen-and I believe that my perception is sound- is that what fuels them is the underprivileged that can't afford to buy a new game that allow themselves to be ripped off by selling their used games , for, at times, less that 20% the market value that they are worth-just to get a few dollars closer to acquiring a title that they cannot otherwise afford. Now, you or I, if your intelligent-know that fairness resides at 40-50% of the market value...FOR ANYTHING! Afterall, Gamestop turns around and sells you game at 3-4x the amount they bought it off you for. The only people who would allow this thievery amongst themselves, would be those who "have no other way" of attaining the $50.00-$60.00 for the game. Of course, there are children and uneducated people just ignorant to the fact that their getting ripped off that contribute to Gamecrock's success, as well...but from what I've seen...

I do not use Gamestop for my gaming needs. The only thing I have from them is a sub card so I can get Game Informer. If I truly must trade my games, I use Gamecrazy. Gamecrazy, while still not fifty percent of the value I would like, is at least multitudes more fair in what they give you in exchange for your games.

For those of you who want to work at Gamestop, don't. One of the problems I had with my DM when I was managing, was why I didn't fire people to did not attain the targeted amount of magazine subscriptions and game reservations. Any job that has quotas, in my view...SUCKS. You cannot make someone reserve a game, or buy a subscription to a magazine...and if you don't they'll fire you. Plus, the pay sucks(just like THEY suck). I wish that what's happening with Blockbuster would happen to these clowns so I could get a good laugh. Finally, I am also sick of all the little high school freshmen that work there that think they know more about gaming than you. Most of these peons weren't even old enough to start gaming until the advent of the Playstation-yet these are the same clowns who use their own fanboy bias to make or break sales of a console they don't like. Only a dumbass would listen to them. Boycott those bible belt bastard conservative thieves-Gamestop.

I love GameStop, but would never sell games there.

...a certain part of the USA is completely broken. Can you imagine how arse games like GTA, Baldurs Gate, Clair Obscur, Cyberpunk, Disco Elysium, Last of US etc would be if they didn't have social commentary?

Also this guy has a history of pushing certain agendas, so not the person anyone should listen too.

Headline should be "White man making agenda-based game complains about agendas in video games."

Let's be real,

This is just code for " only make games that fit what I like/want".

If a game doesn't "fit' his way of thinking, it's an "agenda".

Dude needs to just man up.

Yeah I don’t think dei every sold many units

Facts

YES! 100% YES! Please no more pushing agendas, we've all already heard the messaging and made up our minds, we don't need it shoved in our faces, it just spoils the entertainment. I put up with a bit but I have stopped watching multiple series and video games part way through because I just get so sick of it!

Lmaoooo he describes himself as a "conservative activist against abortion and social terrorism" (whatever that means) on Twitter. It's always the ones crying about "agendas" that try to push their agenda the hardest. Being anti-agenda is an agenda in itself.

I don’t want pandering one way or another just for the sake of it. Make a good game. If it’s what you want to make and I don’t like it that’s fine.

This is just stupid. I didn't give a shit when Samus Aran was reveled to be a women. It was lik ok cool yeah ok move on.

Like what is the big freaking deal here? So there are gay people in games? So what? As long as the game is fun to play that should be all that matters.

No one is really forcing anything down anyones throat. People really need to grow up

Umm is there? I swear some people would be much happier only playing Tetris and Pong so that nothing offends them.

Uhhh isn’t Star Wars the most political universe you could even mention? It’s literally as political as it gets… people like this make not want to support their games.

I didn't know we had Sweet Baby Inc. employees in the comments section here.

Rarely have I seen such a contradictory headline. "Underrepresented Majority", so which is it? If they're the majority then they're hardly underrepresented. And What is the actual definition of Agenda in this case? Because calling Star Wars, Zelda and Metroid Agenda-free is a bit of a weird take. If you truly want something Agenda-free or apolitical, your best bet is probably something like Tetris or Pong. But I'm guessing by agenda-free Gibson means games can still have political themes as long as they fit his political views or don't make him think about it? But even then, in most cases you can either just not buy games you don't like, or even play games with political messages and ignore the message. You can fully play, let's say Helldivers as a simple shooter and ignore all of the lore and politics. And Gibson very clearly does that if he considers his example franchises agenda-free.

agreed, but i feel it comes down to character writing.

a good written character can still have a certain agenda attached to them. if u write them to be this one thing and one thing only, thats what i personally dont like

There is a fundamental difference to how certain representations are done in games like Baldur's Gate 3 and how woke-slops do it.

Nobody gives a damn about progressive messaging if its done right, but if there is a certain pattern (like Sony cant make a single-player female character without turning them gay in sequels or dlc) or adding diverse characters just for the sake of ...diversity... you are damn right people will stop buying your products. (and this is just one example)

Just sticking to SONY alone, all recent sequels, like TLOU2, Ghost of Yotei, Spiderman 2, God of War Ragnarok... are lagging behind their predecessors. Is it the main reason why people are not buying those games? No, ofc not. But it certainly played a role.

I am also glad that people started calling out the racists practices like DEI aswell (not only in gaming industry) and "consultant companies" like Sweet Baby Inc.

"Dont like it, dont buy it."

Well, the gamers are doing that more and more. Thats why we are seeing such management shift in the likes of Square Enix (i.e cleaning house) and thats why the Asian market are starting to have an increase in appeal from the western consumers... or Ubisoft (which is self explanatory).

Also to people that are being emotionally blackmailed (they are trying to use your principals against you) by usual suspects here ... "You just dont like diversity and representation" or are calling you the usual names that have lost value... dont give them a second of attention. Just because they missed their anxiety-relief dose, does not mean you should pay the price.

The point is to get triggered by things and call it an agenda. I have seem people ignoring 90% of a game and only focusing on the one optional mission with a gay or trans person. At the end of the day, nothing is forced. Older games and movies had a lot of politics and if you were to release them today, half the people referring to them would be crying about an agenda. Just imagine that's the iconic line spoken by Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings to the Witch-king of Angmar, about how no man can defeat him, but got killed by a woman. Can anyone tell me all the anti-woke snowflakes wouldn't be post numerous videos about how this is woke, an agenda or attacking men? How about HIM from powerpuff girls? Looney tunes characters constantly dressing up as a different gender, flirting and kissing other characters? There is only an agenda when you want to see one.

The best way is to let creators tell the stories they want to tell. If you don't like the message, good for you, don't support it. There are a lot of movies that have messaging I don't agree with, but I fully support their creations. A lot of the IPs people love today wouldn't exist if creators couldn't tell stories that had politics or groups of people you didn't like.

Also isn't this guy making a Christian-based game? I'm sure a game based on playing through the Bible doesn't have any agenda at all. I'm also sure that majority will be rushing to support this game. At the end of the day, he is only against things "agenda" he doesn't like, while working on a game with agenda that he supports. Seems about right.

This guy goes off about games having too much of a political agenda, and then goes on to talk about his new “faith based” religious game lmao.

These people crack me up.