Bad experience at a Gamestop make's me think about the modern gamer..

[Warriorisabouttodie]

I usually have a pretty good experience visiting Gamestop. I live within a couple miles of 2 stores and the guys that work in them are really nice and they know me because I am the only person who always calls to ask if they have a particular game "with the original case." Often I will discuss gaming stuff with them and they are always friendly and helpful when they see me, so I have nothing against anyone that works in those shops. Anyway I was out by the local mall and stopped at a different gamestop today. I asked the manager a question about something I was looking for and he went off on me, he was saying how I was asking about an old system (the PS2) and that if I had a PS3 he could order what I wanted... meanwhile he is going off how PS2 users that still use such an "old" system (I felt like telling him I had a 2600 at home but I bit my tongue) were simply "casual" users (and he said it a couple times like a casual gamer is a loser or something) then he went on how they wouldn't carry such an old system in "my store" if it weren't for these "casual users" and so on... meanwhile all I asked the guy is if he ever see's any old logitech wireless controllers come in since I would like to buy a backup for mine before they disappear or become collectible. I know it sound's tame the way I am describing it but this guy was really obnoxious... the funny thing is he wasn't some kid, he was some guy in his early 30's, maybe a bit younger.

 

I could of said a lot to this guy, like geesh why is a guy in his 30's working full time at a place like this? I know from the other guys (mostly high school/college age) that they pay poorly slightly above min wage or I could of been a real geek and told him how the PS2 is far from old in the grand scheme of things or how the PS2 is far from a casual gamer system... or I could of just told him the truth he is an obnoxious jerk who is trying to make me feel bad for asking him a simple question. Instead I just left... I guess I have matured (alittle) in my old age.

 

The thing that made me think is that nowadays you see a lot of gamers who just started out in their 30's or late 20's. There are much more gamers overall than during the 8 bit and 16 bit generations that I cut my teeth on growing up. Has this mainstreaming of gaming made gaming itself more homongenous sort of like pop music where it becomes disposable instead of a cherished hobby you still enjoy? 10 or 20 years from now will these new gamers (now old) not give a crap about the PS2/GC/XBOX era? Will it just seem old and junky to them like an 8 track tape compared to a blu-ray (granted some poeple collect 8tracks, but not like videogames are collected)? Are we as the people that came up in the golden age of videogames the last generation to look at these machines with awe and collect for retro systems (at least for the most part)?

 

Maybe I'm just getting old, but I think we might be seeing an end of an era with the end of our generation.

Edited July 8, 2009 by Warriorisabouttodie

[HammR25]

Things are more normal now than ever before.

[shadow460]

I think it's like any other hobby. I don't know ten people who couldn't care less about AFX slot racers or old PC hardware...except me.

 

I think we see video games through rose colored glasses, though. I think we've got it in our minds that video games are a larger part of life than what they really are to most folks. That's why we're here on AtariAge, and making posts over at maybe DP, CTCW, SegaExtreme, and whatnot.

 

That said, though, that GaymeStop manager should be slapped.

[cimerians]

Stop giving them your business. Don't buy anything from Gamestop. Nothing. Dont even acknowledge they exist. Trust me it works. There's tons of other places you can get your games and its not that hard to wait if you have to.

Edited July 9, 2009 by cimerians

[xg4bx]

most modern gamers dont give a crap about the current games theyre playing. look at n4g or gamefaqs and scroll through some posts. kids these days play sales figures, marketing lingo and reviews, not games, and are unpaid console evangelists.

 

try recommending a non-mainstream game. "ewww it only got a 7.6 on metacritic, why are you playing that crap?" they have absolutely no mind or opinion of their own.

 

i know money is tight and $60 is alot of money but whatever happened to buying a game simply because it appealed to you? there really aren't games out there anymore that are utter s**t, development simply costs too much. take a chance. i couldn't imagine living my life by other peoples opinions.

 

i fed myself on a steady diet of gamefaqs and i'll tell you man, it KILLS your enjoyment of the hobby.

 

overall, yes, mainstreaming of the hobby has brought a ton of unsavory elements into it and has wrecked my personal enjoyment.

 

the people on this site are the only true gamers ive seen in ages. btw, ps2, next to the 2600, is the greatest system of all time.

[yuppicide]

I looooooooooooooove slot cars.

 

My first memory of them is probably the 70's. My Dad and Uncle had some at my Grandmother's house on that side of the family. The cars didn't work though. My Dad and Uncle used to tweak them and something caught fire once.

 

That was back in the day when chemistry sets from Toys R Us were actually good lol.

 

There's an HO track about an hour or so away from me. It's a 1960's Aurora Commercial track that is 6 lanes I believe. They race a bunch of classes there. Those $200 super modified cars are sure fast!

 

I prefer 1/24th scale myself.

 

I think it's like any other hobby. I don't know ten people who couldn't care less about AFX slot racers or old PC hardware...except me.

 

I think we see video games through rose colored glasses, though. I think we've got it in our minds that video games are a larger part of life than what they really are to most folks. That's why we're here on AtariAge, and making posts over at maybe DP, CTCW, SegaExtreme, and whatnot.

 

That said, though, that GaymeStop manager should be slapped.

[+Yurkie]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

 

I have been to Gamestop a couple times in the last year or 2. I too was looking for older stuff. The people I dealt with there act like F@#king know it all snobs. I would think a person that chose to work in a video game store would realize, that its not just about sh%t that came out in the last month.

 

I almost feel like going into one tomorrow and asking if they have any Coleco Vision Carts, just to F$%k with them and waste their time. Bunch of Jackasses in my opinion.

[2600Lives]

I've forgotten more about games than most GS employees will ever know.

 

The GameStops around here are hit or miss. One has really cool guys that don't hassle you, let you look around, and rarely do any stupid suggesting. One, however, had this guy that WOULD NOT SHUT UP. I kept telling him, "Dude, I'm just looking, I'm probably not even going to buy anything, ok?", but no, he just over and over would suggest this or that...as if I didn't already KNOW! Stuff like "Oh, you gotta get Diablo 2, best PC game ever." Yeah, spent 3 years playing it, thanks. I finally just got so fed up that I walked out.

 

Of course, one GS has a manager who shall remain nameless that's the biggest prick I've ever met, and if I wasn't sure his jelly jiggling ass wouldn't sue me, I'd show him what it's like to be a human pretzel.

[the.golden.ax]

Gamestop.... hard to find the right words for the feelings of hate...

 

AX

[tisaperfectdayelise]

I really don't think it's viewed as a disposable hobby. Even in those 8 and 16-bit days, I remember some things:

 

1) Funcoland wouldn't buy Atari stuff in the early 1990s. Anything they had was almost free, and I remember being told that I should just buy a Genesis. Fast forward to now. Even the local Goodwill stores sell Atari items at a premium.

 

2) In the Playstaion/Saturn/N64 days, NES games and decks had the same sort of sentiment. Now, the prices and value of that have gone up significantly.

 

So, I really don't think it's going to be disposable...ever....

 

Plus, I think that guy was just a jerk-off, and I don't think he's the norm, as far as modern gamers are concerned.

[Osbo]

Gamestop blows.

[S1500]

Contact the regional manager and explain the situation to him. See if you can get the guy fired.

[rxd]

The odd thing about this is that the ps2 is still being sold so it really isn't as if you were asking about a really old system at all...

[Warriorisabouttodie]

Contact the regional manager and explain the situation to him. See if you can get the guy fired.

 

 

The guy was a dick, but I wouldn't want to take his paycheck away. Like a friend told me yesterday when I explained what happened, the guy could of just had a bad day and took it out on me for some reason. If he decided to devote his life to a career at Gamestop I have a feeling the clock is ticking on brick and mortar video game stores and they will go the way of the record store and video store soon enough...

 

Since gaming has become mainstream, the average gamer is a much different person than those of us who grew up in previous times. Sure, we are still out there and there are still kids like us coming up, but we are the minority in the gaming world now. The average console gamer these days is well, to put it bluntly a moron.

 

I'm not going to let some bitter manager at Gamestop or anyone else keep me from enjoying the PS2, retro gaming, or my upcoming purchase of a 360 or PS3 (still wavering). I just hope there will be enough of us left to influence game design in the coming generations, I want more than cooking games, fitness (my God fitness and videogames, that has got to be a sign of the apocalypse right there), or Tony Hawk/Madden/need for speed sequels to fill the store shelves or more likely virtual online stores in the future.

[carmel_andrews]

the problem with any sort of computer or gameshop is that they are full of people trained to sell something they probably have only 2 days sales training on...and were probably recruited as a result of their experience in places like walmart/k mart etc (i.e they probably know a little about retail selling but sod all about selling videogame or computing technology)

 

I yearn for the day that a videogame shop exists that is run by a addicted videogame fan for the benefit of videogame fans

 

back to sleep for me i guess

[Warriorisabouttodie]

the problem with any sort of computer or gameshop is that they are full of people trained to sell something they probably have only 2 days sales training on...and were probably recruited as a result of their experience in places like walmart/k mart etc (i.e they probably know a little about retail selling but sod all about selling videogame or computing technology)

 

I yearn for the day that a videogame shop exists that is run by a addicted videogame fan for the benefit of videogame fans

 

back to sleep for me i guess

 

 

Yea, here in the US (at least the east coast) all the old videogaming stores have gone the way of the do do and even alternate to Gamestop franchises were swallowed up by the Gamestop monopoly years ago. I remember stores like the one you are talking about. One of the Gamestops in my area at one time was a nElectronic's Boutique, turn the clock back 20 years and they had Atari 8bit and Amiga sections! There used to be a used game store when I was a kid that was only oopen a few hours every night, but they carried all platforms and did trade/buy/selling of quality stuff... but those days are long gone with eBay and Gamestop monopolizing the used gaming business (for now, until all games become downloadable..)

 

I don't think the problem is the sales assoc at Gamestop don't understand gaming or consoles they do to a point. The real problem is they think they know everything and they spread misinformation, but that used to happen back in the day too. You might get a few super knowlegeable people here and there, but at the low rate of pay they offer you aren't going to hold on to them for too long.

[classicgamingguy]

There's always a million stories about Gamestop, and it's employees. My local one has radically changed that I hardly recognize it when I walk in. The guys there are all decked out "Goth" style with lots of piercings. And this is acceptable dress for a working environment? I guess things really have changed!

 

Sorry to hear you had an aweful encounter. My recent "encounter" was nowhere near that bad. BUT, I should know better than to do trade ins at this place. You get almost nothing back and end up still having to pay out. I should have kept those games (sports titles and a racing game) but I just wanted them gone. They didn't fit the library of Gamecube games I'm currently acquiring.

 

The employee I was dealing with kept trying to get me to purchase the "Edge" card. Which I probably should have done, since I'll be stopping in there more often now to get used GC games, but he irritated me with the "over and over again" sales pitch. Just sell me the game I want and let me leave, would you??

 

-Steve

[S1500]

...and this is why I have no sympathy for any employees who get harassed about pre-ordering Battletoads.

[chrisbid]

...and this is why I have no sympathy for any employees who get harassed about pre-ordering Battletoads.

 

employees that do not sell enough pre-orders get fired, i let them say their speil and politely decline

 

you cant judge gamestop as one chain. judge individual stores and employees. the store has enough good deals and exclusives to be able to ignore them completely

[VectorGamer]

Contact the regional manager and explain the situation to him. See if you can get the guy fired.

 

 

The guy was a dick, but I wouldn't want to take his paycheck away. Like a friend told me yesterday when I explained what happened, the guy could of just had a bad day and took it out on me for some reason. If he decided to devote his life to a career at Gamestop I have a feeling the clock is ticking on brick and mortar video game stores and they will go the way of the record store and video store soon enough...

 

 

 

I agree. I would just not give them business and do word of mouth about the place.

 

If you shop at another GS and have the same experience, contact corporate and let them know about the incidents.

 

Yeah, sometimes you just let it ride and give them the "had a bad day pass." H3ll, the guy probably got laid off by a company like Tyco who buy companies in order to destroy them (AMP comes to mind).

[Warriorisabouttodie]

...and this is why I have no sympathy for any employees who get harassed about pre-ordering Battletoads.

 

employees that do not sell enough pre-orders get fired, i let them say their speil and politely decline

 

you cant judge gamestop as one chain. judge individual stores and employees. the store has enough good deals and exclusives to be able to ignore them completely

 

 

I've worked in retail, so I understand they need to push those edge cards (or service plans, extended warranties, useless accessories etc.. it's all the same scam with a different name and different stores). I stated in my original post the guys in the two local Gamestops near my house are exceptional. They are really friendly and will go the extra mile to help you out with anything, because like you said you can't judge a everyone by one jerk and yea you can find deals at Gamestop. I would still prefer there were competition out there and other alternatives.

[2600Lives]

I managed a GameXChange for several years, so I know what the GameStop guys are going through. My conclusion?

 

Gamers are assholes, plain and simple.

 

I was one of those "addicted gamers" that Carmel talked about, but I'll tell you, RARELY did I get to use any of my knowledge with an actual gamer. Who did I deal with mostly? Parents. Either that, or unbelievably fat housewives who can barely stop stuffing their faced with bonbons long enough to slip the controller into their sausage/fingers to actually play a game. They'd come in and ask for 'Tendo games. Yes, "Tendo", not even the common "Intendo", just 'Tendo. Seriously, there's nothing worse than trying to explain to someone who reeks of ass and chicken grease and has one tooth the reasons they would like Metroid. Then you'd get the wonderful super-geeks who had no friends and would come into the store to talk to YOU for hours on end about shit you could care less about. I had one guy that came in week after week and would spend literal HOURS explaining (and acting out) the intricate movements required for Goku to fire off his Kamehameha blast or whatever. Seriously. Collectors were a pain in the ass, too, as they'd want the original boxes, and we RARELY got the boxes in (much less the original instruction manual), and of course they'd want our display box, and I'd say no, and they'd complain, and I'd say no, ad infinitum.

 

Of course, there were the good moments. We had this little guy who used to come in that had some mental disabilities. He was SO nice. He had just bought himself a Saturn and damn if it wasn't the coolest thing in the world. He'd bring in games to trade every few days, and when he'd get tired of them, he'd bring them back. I never charged him to trade a game, either. As long as he was bringing me a game to replace the one he was taking, he never had to pay a trade fee. He never bothered us when we were busy, but if we weren't, I'd pop in any game he wanted to play so he could try it out. Hell, sometimes when we'd get a disc traded in with a system that didn't have a case (couldn't re-sell it), I'd just give it to him. We also had some regulars that were pretty cool. Overall, though, it was hell working there. Nonstop jerkoffs coming in one after the other. I fucking HATED it. If murder was legal, that place would have been the bloodiest place in the world, I tell you.

 

Still, the guys that GameStop hires are a pain in the butt sometimes, especially as I said before, they won't leave you alone to shop.

[Baloo]

After this bad experience at gamestop, I've stopped going to the one near me alltogether. I now go to a different one a couple of blocks farther away if I want to buy something:

 

Two days ago I went into Gamestop to see if they had Punch-out for wii in. I see an advertisement on a small poster on the counter for a tournament. So I'm waiting in line, and this lady is in front of me trading in a shitload of Gamecube stuff. So I'm waiting, the lady asks me if I'm in her way. I say no. The guy with her moves away from the counter, and I move up. They finally ring everything up and the trade-in total comes out to $112 or so dollars. So I'm waiting there, and the dude convinces her to get an edge card. She's buying a $17 USED game, and a $10 Wii accessories package. The wii accessories is on clearance for $9.99, and it rings up as $20. He fixes it The guy then gets flustered when the total comes out to $67 in trade-in after all the buying and the lady says "That's not right". So the guy calls out the manager from the backroom, who knows me because I'm a regular customer in there (not anymore). He says "where did you come from? Why don't you come back from where you came from?" I say "Why?" He says "Because you're annoying". The guy thought that because I told the lady they charged her $3 in refurbishing fees that I was instead saying that Gamestop was ripping them off. They then proceed to try and ring everything up again, and I leave out of not wanting to wait any longer.

 

We come back later to confront the guy about his rudeness (since I was pissed and ready to call up the regional manager and file a complaint) and the guy was like "oh, well I was just trying to get you away from the counter since you were telling the lady that Gamestop was ripping her off, this was her first time in Gamestop and it was taking a long time, you were making the employee near her nervous, blah blah blah." So I was like, eh, w/e. And that was that. The guy could've simply told me to just "back away from the counter please" and I would've been fine with that. The people in there are rude.

[kroogur]

The employees are simply doing what they are ordered to do like any other business Gameslop is simply there to turn a profit and one form of profit is pushing extras or warranties that folks don't need.

 

I'll use an example from my past. Years ago I worked at one -o- them nationally recognized tire and auto repair chain stores and the pressure to upsell both on the guys at the front counter but us techs in the shop were enormous, make the company a ton of money or you're fired was the simple premise and I didn't even last my 90 day probationary period there because I refused to upsell things the customer clearly did not need at that time.

 

My biggest grievance is the extended warranties, when I recently got my PS3 from Gameslop I asked about the extended warranty and was told it would be for 1 year ok cool! I asked when it took effect and the clerk said it would start at the time of purchase......um yeah nice try but the manufacturer gives a one year warranty as well so why the #@$% would I pay for something that runs concurrent with the factory warranty??? Does Gameslop really thing their customers are this mind numbingly stupid? The correct way is to have that extended warranty go into effect after the factory warranty expires.

 

Oh and as for the Gamestop clerks I had an interesting situation come up as well. I was waiting in line and the clerk was telling a customer about how the ET game for the Atari had a glitch that made it impossible to finish the game and thats why they wound up dumping them in this landfill in New Mexico. I informed the clerk that the game is completely playable and the instruction booklet is needed to be able to complete the game plus I suggested she check out AA for all it's vintage gaming goodness.

[Herbarius]

he was saying how I was asking about an old system (the PS2) and that if I had a PS3 he could order what I wanted... meanwhile he is going off how PS2 users that still use such an "old" system

 

That reminds me of something: Just a few days ago I saw a soccer match on television (or at least part of it), it was a match in the Netherlands... I don't care a lot about soccer, but what got my attention was one of the advertisments at the side of the court. I couldn't believe my eyes: "Playstation 2"

 

What's up, Sony? Giving up on your PS3 completely and advertising the PS2 again?

 

 

Another thing:

"casual" users (and he said it a couple times like a casual gamer is a loser or something)

I think that's the same kind of attitude like when you go into a computer store and the employee talks about how a one year old machine would be "enough for word-processing"... Yeah, really?

Edited July 12, 2009 by Herbarius