Games may provide the same pieces to everyone who plays, but the experience every individual person gets is slightly different. That’s the feeling that make games great. Another feeling that make games great is opening a brand new game. Taking off that annoying cellophane, and the stupid little sticker along the opening of the game’s case. Then opening the case, looking at the disc, checking out the artwork, (what’s left) of a manual, and just other things that went into presenting this game.
While the cellophane and sticker are a pain, they provide one key feeling, comfort. If you are unwrapping the cellophane and removing that sticker, you are the first person to open that game. It is YOUR game, it was NEVER anyone else’s. When a company like Gamestop takes that away from you, it is disheartening. On top of taking that experience away from potential buyers, they also slap their ugly stickers all over a case. Completely demeaning what the developer and publisher intended to be viewed as part of the ‘experience’.
Once a case has been opened, it is used. Even if the game has never been played, and the case sits in a cabinet, it is no longer new. Like New, sure, but not new. Despite the like new condition, Gamestop still sells the game as BRAND NEW, at BRAND NEW (full) price.
Not only does Gamestop open games then sell them as New, they also remove items from a game, and still sell them as new. Case in point, Deus Ex. A Square Enix developed game that included a code for a free copy of the game through OnLive. Gamestop saw OnLive as competition to their own Impulse Driven (games on demand service), so they decided to remove the OnLive code from EVERY copy they were going to sell. Then repackage all of the copies and sell them for the original full price. Here’s a statement from Gamestop:
Regarding the Deus Ex: Human Revolution OnLive Codes: We don’t make a habit of promoting competitive services without a formal partnership. Square Enix packed the competitor’s coupon with our DXHR product without our prior knowledge and we did pull these coupons. While the new products may be opened, we fully guarantee the condition of the discs to be new. If you find this to not be the case, please contact the store where the game was purchased and they will further assist.
New discs are not equal to a completely new package. Gamestop stole value from the package and played it off like they did nothing wrong. SHAME!
Below are pics of what they did to my copy of Lollipop Chainsaw, which is what spawned the motivation for this post. I wouldn’t have purchased Lollipop Chinsaw from Gamestop, but I had a gift card, and it matched the Amazon price at the time I bought it.
