GameStop to start selling the "classic" games from their warehouse

[the.golden.ax]

This sort of thing did affect the market on the PS1 titles Persona 2 and Rhapsody about 6 or 7 some years back when they flooded each store with a few copies from warehouse inventory. They did eventually rebound, but I can recall getting as much as $100 - $200 for P2 and then not being able to get $20 for a while.

[Blazing Lazers]

I hope they don't do this too shortsightedly like they have before. The demand for collectible, CIB copies of games exists in large part because stores like Gamestop and they chains they bought out threw away the packaging and manuals for older games, something they still do with recent systes like Gamecube, PS2, and with the current 360 and Wiis.

[SlowCoder]

I hope they don't do this too shortsightedly like they have before. The demand for collectible, CIB copies of games exists in large part because stores like Gamestop and they chains they bought out threw away the packaging and manuals for older games, something they still do with recent systes like Gamecube, PS2, and with the current 360 and Wiis.

As I believe someone stated a few posts back, GS is likely not targeting collectors. I bet most, if not all, games people buy will be game-only, or maybe shrink wrapped with a manual if they're lucky. Boxes will have been tossed to save space, and because most buyers won't care anyway. That's what happened a couple years ago with their PS2 titles. Thousands of good CIB cases and manuals just tossed out back, or wherever they threw them, in the name of saving space.

[Blazing Lazers]

I hope they don't do this too shortsightedly like they have before. The demand for collectible, CIB copies of games exists in large part because stores like Gamestop and they chains they bought out threw away the packaging and manuals for older games, something they still do with recent systes like Gamecube, PS2, and with the current 360 and Wiis.

As I believe someone stated a few posts back, GS is likely not targeting collectors. I bet most, if not all, games people buy will be game-only, or maybe shrink wrapped with a manual if they're lucky. Boxes will have been tossed to save space, and because most buyers won't care anyway. That's what happened a couple years ago with their PS2 titles. Thousands of good CIB cases and manuals just tossed out back, or wherever they threw them, in the name of saving space.

 

They'll still be as destructively shortsighted as ever, but that may benefit the very same online sellers and collectors they're trying to compete with because the prices for items in quality condition will surely rise. Overall it would be bad for gamers and the supply of games, but those who've stocked up on good stuff (including quality CIB stuff from Gamestops that didn't trash stuff, ironically) stand to benefit from this. Now is definitely the time to be buying stuff up.

[icemanxp300]

They'll still be as destructively shortsighted as ever, but that may benefit the very same online sellers and collectors they're trying to compete with because the prices for items in quality condition will surely rise. Overall it would be bad for gamers and the supply of games, but those who've stocked up on good stuff (including quality CIB stuff from Gamestops that didn't trash stuff, ironically) stand to benefit from this. Now is definitely the time to be buying stuff up.

 

I disagree. This will only drive prices down. Basically we will still have the same amount of quality games but we will now have a much higher volume of the game overall. Demand drives the price up and since general gamers can just buy a cheapy that doesn't take away from the collector quality pool. That means less bidders for the quality games, therefore price will drop.

[HatefulGravey]

Most carts I buy I get loose anyway. I have many boxes, but the cart is the main thing I look for. If they have a good selection of loose games and reasonable prices I might snatch up the common stuff that I normally pass on for shipping reasons. Who knows, there is a very good chance they mismanage this thing and it ends up costing them more than they make.

[the.golden.ax]

Most carts I buy I get loose anyway. I have many boxes, but the cart is the main thing I look for. If they have a good selection of loose games and reasonable prices I might snatch up the common stuff that I normally pass on for shipping reasons. Who knows, there is a very good chance they mismanage this thing and it ends up costing them more than they make.

 

You said loose and then snatch.

 

 

AX (It's act like a 13 year old hour)

[Blazing Lazers]

They'll still be as destructively shortsighted as ever, but that may benefit the very same online sellers and collectors they're trying to compete with because the prices for items in quality condition will surely rise. Overall it would be bad for gamers and the supply of games, but those who've stocked up on good stuff (including quality CIB stuff from Gamestops that didn't trash stuff, ironically) stand to benefit from this. Now is definitely the time to be buying stuff up.

 

I disagree. This will only drive prices down. Basically we will still have the same amount of quality games but we will now have a much higher volume of the game overall. Demand drives the price up and since general gamers can just buy a cheapy that doesn't take away from the collector quality pool. That means less bidders for the quality games, therefore price will drop.

Theoretically. But if the supply of games remains the same while consumer awareness of the games and their desireability increases, then prices may end up spiking even with the increased accessibility of the available supply. And Gamestop may purposely try to drive up prices so as to increase the profits they make from reselling them.

 

Most carts I buy I get loose anyway. I have many boxes, but the cart is the main thing I look for. If they have a good selection of loose games and reasonable prices I might snatch up the common stuff that I normally pass on for shipping reasons. Who knows, there is a very good chance they mismanage this thing and it ends up costing them more than they make.

 

They'll mismanage this, that's for sure. The real concern is with how much damage do they do to the hobby and market before they once again stop trying to sell the classics. How much do they cause prices to rise due to increased consumer demand for items that have a finite and dwindling supply? Do they continue to destroy and throw out games/items to save shelf space? Do they cause other sellers to have to increase their prices to be able to stock games to compete with Gamestop? How does this impact the amount of games still in the wild that are just lying around unused? I don't beleive any real good will come from this for anyone in the long run.

[icemanxp300]

Trust me, Gamestop is not going to make the prices of these games increase. I get what your saying as to w/them advertising vintage games that you think it will increase visibility to many people. It's not like they are going to have on the homepage buy Chrono Trigger now! They may have a spot where it states "Vintage games now for sale" fact is pretty much the only people who are going to look them up are people who already look them up.

 

I'm going to use Final Fantasy 7 as a prime example. Back like 3 years ago this game was getting $50-$60 for Greatest hits versions. Then come FF7 on the Playstation network. Now all these people could get the game for like $10 and now Original copies of the game sell for like $30 all day.

 

I understand this is slightly different as Gamestop will charge an "actual" price instead of a virtual console price. The principle lies the same though. They flood the market w/extra copies and the demand isn't going to change that much. By having so many additional copies this will just force prices down in order to outsell your oponent.

[Blazing Lazers]

Trust me, Gamestop is not going to make the prices of these games increase. I get what your saying as to w/them advertising vintage games that you think it will increase visibility to many people. It's not like they are going to have on the homepage buy Chrono Trigger now! They may have a spot where it states "Vintage games now for sale" fact is pretty much the only people who are going to look them up are people who already look them up.

 

I'm going to use Final Fantasy 7 as a prime example. Back like 3 years ago this game was getting $50-$60 for Greatest hits versions. Then come FF7 on the Playstation network. Now all these people could get the game for like $10 and now Original copies of the game sell for like $30 all day.

 

I understand this is slightly different as Gamestop will charge an "actual" price instead of a virtual console price. The principle lies the same though. They flood the market w/extra copies and the demand isn't going to change that much. By having so many additional copies this will just force prices down in order to outsell your oponent.

 

Perhaps that will be what happens, but just how is Gamestop going to work this? What systems will they sell for? PS1 is a disc based system whose games can also work in a current PS3, as can PS2 games. And having new discs made could also be feasible if the demand is there. But what of older cart based systems, or disc systems that didn't get much market share, like the Saturn and Dreamcast? The most common discs (and carts?) may not see price increases, but the wider exposure of the common games may cause price increases on games that are less common and/or really good games that did not have high production runs originally. Every store may have several copies of Super Mario Bros, but how many would be able to stock Little Samson? And that's just games. The stores will need to keep hardware and accessories around too, which could also lead to price increases on those.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I remember back in the day buying up a crapton of old game carts at EB Games and elsewhere. Then Gamestop buys them out and all the cartridge-based games went to the wayside. They still sold old games online for a while, then stopped. But if they sell only online, they'll end up being just be another eStarland. There were tons of games I passed up back in the day that I would give a kidney to find in the wild again. Yeah, there's the local mom-n-pop stores that only deal used, but they've got games from past systems all the way back. Gamestop only goes one generation back. And cart collecting is a different world from disc collecting. Discs get damaged so much more easily than carts. That's why I insist on keeping all my disc games in their original cases. I don't care how much roach sh!t there is on an NES cart; you can clean it and pretty much know it will work with a little TLC, even if it looks like crap. Take a disc and use it as a beverage coaster or toss it around like a frisbee and see if it will still work. I never buy used disc games online unless they have an actual photo of both sides of the disc itself, something even few eBayers will do. Sure I can get the discs resurfaced, but most places charge money for that if you bring in a DVD or game from the outside, which is something they normally do for free with the used discs you find inside the store. And it's not cheap; it's like $3.50 per disc. But how many times can you scratch up a disc and resurface it before you sand off the entire wafer? And if you get a scratch through the label side of a CD or PS1 game here you can see pinpricks of light through it, your screwed.

[HatefulGravey]

I worry a lot about people getting these games, getting bored with them and just throwing them away or letting them rot somewhere. I dirve past places all the time and know there are classic games just rotting in there (mostly flea markets). I also have people tell me all the time they just threw an old NES out or something because they didn't know people still cared. It hurts my heart and is more than likely the reason I have so much extra right now. I feel the need to rescue these items from a certain death. Gamestop adding people to this hobby that aren't really into it can only do harm in this way.

[Protoplasym]

Considering so many of todays Current Gen Gamers are young and ignorant of the past, I don't think this is going to influence todays Retro prices nearly as much as y'all give credit for. I feel that Gamestop will attempt to sell off their leftovers (most likely loose, and in trashy condition overall I assume) at a premium... and todays youngins will not bite (because they're not into those Generations for the most part), Gamestop will end up lowering their prices, and selling everything off in huge discounted lots.

 

Resellers will buy up said lots, and 'clean 'em up' and sell 'em back to the public.

 

 

I see this as Gamestop being a Poser for all of 6 months before shutting the idea down internally.

[SlowCoder]

@HatefulGravey,

 

As it is, the games are rotting away in the GS warehouse(s). Back out in the wild, at least some of them will have a chance to find good homes. And you never know, some of them may be in excellent condition, worthy of addition to your collection.

[jmetal88]

Thing I hate about buying used games at Gamestop (at least the one in my home town) is they seem to have a habit of selling loose discs in paper envelopes for about the same price as they would if they were complete. They're loose discs, people! I'm not paying $20 for a loose disc on a last-generation console no matter how good the game is.

 

Loose carts, I'm slightly more apt to buy into than loose discs, since carts are more substantially tangible items than discs, but I'd still like them to be priced as loose.

[Greg2600]

@HatefulGravey,

 

As it is, the games are rotting away in the GS warehouse(s). Back out in the wild, at least some of them will have a chance to find good homes. And you never know, some of them may be in excellent condition, worthy of addition to your collection.

Well I remember the condition of those games when they stopped selling them, and they weren't super and all carts were loose. You can forget about boxes or manuals.

[the.golden.ax]

Thing I hate about buying used games at Gamestop (at least the one in my home town) is they seem to have a habit of selling loose discs in paper envelopes for about the same price as they would if they were complete. They're loose discs, people! I'm not paying $20 for a loose disc on a last-generation console no matter how good the game is.

 

Loose carts, I'm slightly more apt to buy into than loose discs, since carts are more substantially tangible items than discs, but I'd still like them to be priced as loose.

 

Agreed. That's why I'm only collecting CIB. With flash carts and CDRs there isn't really a reason to collect lose stuff if you can play a "copy" on original hardware. I'm not advocating piracy. The publishers of these games don't see a nickle from GS, just the same as my burning a cdr and waiting for or possessing a CIB copy.

[Schizophretard]

I have a prediction about how they are going to refurbish the carts. They are going to put giant GameStop stickers over all the other company's stickers on the labels. It will look like GameStop was the first to resell the carts and the first to destroy the labels. It will be magical.

[SlowCoder]

I have a prediction about how they are going to refurbish the carts. They are going to put giant GameStop stickers over all the other company's stickers on the labels. It will look like GameStop was the first to resell the carts and the first to destroy the labels. It will be magical.

I've not bought a game game from them that wasn't in a case. I don't remember them sticking stickers all over the discs or cases. When you get a used game, they'll often stick a price sticker on the upper right of the game's case, which could be removed easily enough. And they'd slide another sticker, but unstuck inside the case clear plastic. Never anything that would permanently hurt the original labels on the case or game.

 

Hopefully you're not right about how they manage this new system.

[Austin]

It would be funny if they had so much stocked up in their warehouses from when they used to sell retro games (EB, Funcoland, etc.), that when they unleash them to the public, the absurd average prices of older games drop as a result. I'd be okay with that.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I worry a lot about people getting these games, getting bored with them and just throwing them away or letting them rot somewhere. I dirve past places all the time and know there are classic games just rotting in there (mostly flea markets). I also have people tell me all the time they just threw an old NES out or something because they didn't know people still cared. It hurts my heart and is more than likely the reason I have so much extra right now. I feel the need to rescue these items from a certain death. Gamestop adding people to this hobby that aren't really into it can only do harm in this way.

I had a conversation once with a woman at Huddle House: She had a sister who had an old Atari and a bunch of games. The sister's kids finally broke both controllers being rough with it. Because she felt like the system was "worthless" without a working controller, she just threw away both the Atari and their entire collection of games in the trash. Idiot! I told the lady it was a travesty and she agreed with me. If anything, she might have wanted to take it off her sister's hands if she'd just thought to ask.

 

And there's no way of knowing how many systems just get tossed out whenever people take old game consoles to GameStop only to discover they can't get money for them, so they just "toss them out" with the garbage. If Gemestop does start selling retro systems, even if only online, they may well start accepting them at their retail locations to replenish stock. If that means fewer uninformed people throwing used games/systems in the trash because they don't know how/where to got to get money for them, then Gamestop will actually be doing future retro gamers/collectors a favor. Not to mention, many ignorant employees of used game stores probably toss out tons of games or systems that don't load, when the only issues preventing them from functioning may even be as simple as cleaning the cartridge connectors or replacing the power adapter. A little TLC goes a long way, folks!

[Greg2600]

It would be funny if they had so much stocked up in their warehouses from when they used to sell retro games (EB, Funcoland, etc.), that when they unleash them to the public, the absurd average prices of older games drop as a result. I'd be okay with that.

Me too, but how much you want to bet their warehouse is 99% EA Sports games?

[Austin]

It would be funny if they had so much stocked up in their warehouses from when they used to sell retro games (EB, Funcoland, etc.), that when they unleash them to the public, the absurd average prices of older games drop as a result. I'd be okay with that.

Me too, but how much you want to bet their warehouse is 99% EA Sports games?

 

There would be quite a bit of it, no doubt.

[the.golden.ax]

It would be funny if they had so much stocked up in their warehouses from when they used to sell retro games (EB, Funcoland, etc.), that when they unleash them to the public, the absurd average prices of older games drop as a result. I'd be okay with that.

Me too, but how much you want to bet their warehouse is 99% EA Sports games?

 

 

*booming voice*

 

E.... A... SPORTS...

 

It's in the warehouse!

[SlowCoder]

It would be funny if they had so much stocked up in their warehouses from when they used to sell retro games (EB, Funcoland, etc.), that when they unleash them to the public, the absurd average prices of older games drop as a result. I'd be okay with that.

Me too, but how much you want to bet their warehouse is 99% EA Sports games?

 

There would be quite a bit of it, no doubt.

In that case, there'd be a lot of pain for them when they try to sell all that crap no one wants.