As long as you're poo-pooing on gamestop's policies as a whole and not the guy actually doing the pushing, I'm with you. I haven't bought a game there in at least six months. I'll give money to Best Buy before I bother with Gamestop.

But the guy doing all the annoying stuff behind the register is just doing what they tell him to. If he doesn't, they fire him. Guy's gotta eat ya know?

Now now, Thin_J. I think we can all agree that anyone who's ever worked at a Gamestop or EB is a horrible monster deserving of no sympathy.

Yeah, GameStop started requiring employees to fill a "quota" of reserves and subscriptions a few years ago. If an employee doesn't pull their own weight in numbers, they will get written up. Gamestop was a pretty tolerable place to work until they started pulling that sh*t.

Complete BS and highly annoying. I know it, you know it and the person behind the counter knows it. But it's necessary.

There's absolutely nothing "Bullsh*t" about them saying you won't be able to get a copy without pre-ordering... AT GAMESTOP. To cut down on overstock, they seem to only order enough for pre-orders and MAYBE one or two extra copies. With "rare" games, if you don't pre-order, you'll probably never find a copy.

Sure, you can buy one at BB, or CC, or Wal-Mart, or Target... but why would the salesman direct someone to a different store?

Ultimately, if the customer pre-orders, what are they really "out"? They pay their $5, get the game at the same price as all the other retailers. Everyone's happy.

(I'm no big fan of Gamestop, as I think their used prices are a joke, but still...)

Purchasing games from a physical store? What a delightfully quaint concept.

Just gas burned at $4 a gallon.

No shipping cost with Amazon Prime either. You could make the argument that it's just prepaid shipping but for me it's about $1 an order. Not to mention the saved time by not going to some retail place, twice if you're a pre-order sucker.

I'll be honest and admit that I enjoy the hunt. I like browsing stores and just looking around. Sometimes it's just to kill my lunch hour and get out of the office.

I actually find Amazon to be less convenient in some ways. I can generally find what I'm looking for faster than they can ship it.

I'm not poo-poohing Amazon, they are a great resource. Seriously though, I live in Dallas. If you can't find something you're just not looking hard enough. We've got some pretty weird shops here. There is a shopping center about a half mile from my office that has a Spy Centre, Condom Sense, and Mongolian Grill all next door to each other.

I've never had any trouble finding anything for very long.

That said, it is still probably easier and smarter just to use on-line resources.

Thank you Chief Sitting Bull...

I rarely buy from Gamestop and only go because it's next to a few other shops that I frequent. I apologize if the following comes across as sexist but it's the truth. This particular Gamestop is run by two older women who have no f'ing idea what they're doing or what video games are about. I have no idea why they work there, how they got hired, or how they're surviving but it is what it is. I've witnessed on countless occassions where kids, teens, and parents have asked questions about games (some were pretty basic) and have gotten all different f'd up answers that confused these customers. In some instances, I jumped in and corrected them and tried to point these people in the right direction. As for me, I've asked simple questions like when is the release date for [insert popular game here] or how much to preorder the special edition of [insert name of game here]. I get a puzzled, frazzled look and then they fumble around with a bunch of papers, books, etc. to find what I'm looking for. The other thing that pisses me off is that everytime I preorder a game, they ask for the same name/address info. Why isn't this already in the computer when you enter my name? And why is is that every time I give this info, the PC either crashes or you f' up the entry and I have to give for a second or even third time? /end rant

I agree 99%, but there have been and will be occasions where games that have sold out across the board even in big cities. Most likely games with peripherals.

Most recent experience? Guitar Hero 3 was sold out EVERYWHERE in Ottawa at launch. Granted, it's not Dallas, but it's still 1 million people. I had a friend find some at Walmart at noon a week after launch. It was like scouting for Wii's.
On the other hand, the copy I pre-ordered for my friend for his birthday was there safe and sound for him at EB at launch.

The point? AAA game + Peripheral that requires production = limited availability = makes sense to pre-order.
Everything else = fine.

I am not averse to Gamestop, but only for two reasons:

1. It's the easiest place to pick up used titles. If I can find a used title cheaper on Amazon, I'll go with it, but most of the time, they beat those prices.
2. A little story to relate. It's launch day for Assassin's Creed. I decide at lunch time to go out and pick it up. I work in a small town in northwestern Pennsylvania, about an hour from where I live. I check K-Mart first, since most people aren't likely to look there for games, and it was a boon to me when I bought my 360, since I got my hands on an Elite more than a week before launch. Of course, this time around, they hadn't even heard of the title, and it wasn't in the case. So, I move on to Wal-Mart. Nothing. I check the local Gamestop, and they haven't gotten the shipment yet. Didn't stop the clerk from trying to get me to pre-order, but when I explained that I live an hour away, and was on my lunch break, he stopped. By that time, I was five minutes late back to work. I head home, first place I check is Best Buy. Then Circuit City. Then the Gamestop in the mall. Then Sears. Freaking Sears. That's how desperate I was. Then Target. Then Wal-Mart. Then I kick myself. I have a freaking cell-phone in my pocket, and Google 411 at my fingertips. Why am I wasting gas?

There's a Gamestop not 30 yards from the Wal-Mart whose parking lot I was sitting in. Certain that they wouldn't have it, but not wanting to leave behind an unexplored avenue, I instruct Google 411 to ring them up for me. Lo and Behold, they HAVE the game. And MORE than they got pre-orders for. Maybe it was a fluke, but it was the one place that I didn't get a sideways look from an employee, not having a clue what I was talking about. When I got in there, and the guy asked me if I wanted to pre-order Mass Effect, I was so frustrated at that point he probably could've gotten me to pre-order the entire '08 release lineup.

Ultimately, though, I've never had a bad experience from Gamestop. The guys in my local store recognize me, and know that I'm a gamer and lay off all of the typical upsell crap. Maybe their corporate manager in my area isn't a total moron. I don't know what makes it different. I only ever hear them ask, "Is there any game you'd like to preorder? Blah Blah 2 and Ultimate Blah 4 are coming out soon." If the customer says, "No, thanks," that's the end of it.

I agree that the push for pre-orders can be ridiculous, but I'm not sure how Best Buy is any better. I once had to ask a clerk if I were to punch him in the head, would he stop trying to talk me into extended warranty. I wasn't going to do anything, but the guy just wouldn't take no or anything else for an answer. I think he finally decided he was pushing me too far. I hate Best Buy WAY MORE than Gamestop. Locally, I've found GameCrazy to be far worse with the pressure. The Gamestops around here are pretty tame.

I buy games, or any other merchandise, based on convenience. Sometimes that means Gamestop, sometimes Best Buy, Circuit City, or Target is where I go. I've bought stuff from Amazon recently as well. I really don't see the point in making any of them that big of a deal.

But the sales guy wasn't exactly lying, it will be tough to find and if she doesn't preorder it she's not likely to be able to buy a copy at a Gamestop on launch... The intentionally ship only slightly more than their presold games on the first run.

Mystic: if by "few" you mean 5+ then yes, I worked at Software Etc (i.e. Gamestop) for quite a while before the mandatory reserves were being pushed... (actually at the time the big pushing item was warrantys on systems)

Thin_J: LOL I popped into a local Gamestop jsut the other day had to lend a helping hand when the customer was looking for Biohazard 5, I waited almost a minute before I mentioned to the employee that he was probably looking for resident Evil, as Biohazard was the Japanese name for the series

I will say this about Gamestop, when you plunk your $5 down, you
A) get the game
B) can get your money back if you change your mind or just plain get it soemwhere else

Best Buy is neither, I went to get my Zelda: TP that they never bothered contacting me about it havign arrived, then they refused to refund my $5 (I had bought the game at Gamestop where I had also reserved it and forgotten that I had, but they actually called me about it arriving), when I then asked to pick up my copy they were out. I was basically told I was out of luck becausae they were sold out, and they were not going to give me my $5 back that they had for the better part of a year. Not until I really pushed it did the girl at the counter finally relent and I used the refund to buy some crappy movie I wanted for my collection (Resident Evil, or Underworld or something) with a $5 credit.
I work goofy hours it's nice being able to just run in the next day to pick it up (like oh, WoW:BC CE the ones that I saw on eBay the same day marked way up and people bidding on them at that price...)

My old Best Buy had stacks of it on launch day and I don't think they ever ran out of stock. The funny thing is I went to the Future Shop behind me first (which is owned by the same company) and they only got 50 units that they sold out of right away. Never understood that.

I might be the exception and not the rule, but I'd rather pay five dollars more a game in a place that was like "Cheers" for dorks. I loathe Gamestop. I know it's just the man/woman behind the counter trying to pay his college tuition, but the corporate policy pre-order fear mongering sucks. Why can't game shops be more like comic book shops. My local comic / card shop knows everyone's name, is knowledgeable about all the product, and genuinely cares about making sure people are happy.

I once saw the guy stocking the shelves take a phone call from a customer asking for a rule judgment in D&D. He was so courteous and enthused to be working there, I won't go anywhere else for cards and comics. I drive an hour to get there from college.

Is it too much to ask for a video game shop that's similar? If my comic shop sold video games, I'd drive an hour there.

I'd thought about opening a game shop after law school as a side gig. That is, until I read the GWJ three-part inside the game retail shop article. Looks like it's dog-eat-dog out there, and soccer moms are driving the business. Le sigh!