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[Alex]

The slap in the face was more from the consumer end for being overpriced buttheads.

[Brentai]

Meh.  I could do without karma taking the form of a pissing match between corporate powers.

[Thad]

I don't really have a problem with the publishers starting a price war.  Seems to me that's how things are SUPPOSED to work -- honest competition.  (The problem, of course, is if they start running places like Blockbuster and GameStop out of business, but that's a pretty tricky thing to do to an industry that's pure profit.)

[Classic]

an industry that's pure profit

Say what now? I have no idea what you mean by that, because I don't know what technical definition you're using and the "commonsense" definition would mean you're Reaganomics-insane.

[Thad]

When you resell a used game, you pocket every penny.

I suppose "pure profit" an exaggeration since GameStop DOES in fact have to buy the games it then resells, it just buys them for next to nothing and then sells them for many times that price.

All right, and then there's the upkeep of the store and rental of the property and employee salaries and what have you.  But my point is that that's GameStop's money and they don't have to share it with anyone outside their company.

[Classic]

But by that logic no pawn shop should ever go under!

Whatever, I get the argument now. I'm clearly still pissed about everything and imagining that people are saying insane things when they're really not. Somehow it got in my head that you were claiming the resale and rental scene was some kind of sure-fire money machine.

[A²]

I would like to see GameStop get kicked in the ass, but not used games on the whole. Gamestop's wild success has made them fucking pricks. The problem, I see, is that you can't hammer Gamestop without hurting used games.

I'm not really sure how to phrase it beyond "They're pricks", but I can give an example of what I mean, from an Interview with the Penny Arcade guys about their game

Gabe: Robert said we could talk about that deal with GameStop.

We had a meeting with GameStop to talk about selling a boxed version of the game. Once we had a bunch of episodes together, we would collect them and put them in a box, you know? And GameStop said, oh, that's fantastic. We'd love to do it, we'd love to carry the game... but it's not going to be available anywhere else, is it?

And Robert said, well, we're going to digitally distribute it first.

They got really upset. And they said, no, you can't do that. We can't have it in our store if it's coming out digitally first. And he said, well, I'm sorry, that's the way it works. We're publishing our game and we can say where it goes. And so the deal that they tried to strike with Robert was okay, well, listen: If you cut us in on the profits from online distribution, and XBLA, and everything it comes out on, then we'll think about carrying it in the store. Just, what assholes.

[Brentai]

Theoretically makes sense, since they wouldn't want to have to stock and retail something that's freely available for electronic distribution with no markup.  Bullshit in practice, though.  I can guarantee you they've got copies of Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead stocked up the wazoo and aren't losing money on the deal.

The dynamic probably changes with the fact the the PA game is being distributed through XBLA, though.  GameStop keeps a low stock of PC games for a reason, and they're pretty much the exception to the rule: AAA titles that they're going to sell a couple of despite the fact that they can be downloaded, or MMORPGs which are odd in that they're more likely than offline games to require purchase of a hard copy.  Console games, on the other hand, almost always require purchase of a hard copy... except for PAA.  Which is, sorry, not an extremely high-profile title and is specifically targeted to a niche of internet-savvy consumers.  GameStop is therefore left trying to sell a box, and there's no indication that it's going to be a particularly nice box.

That said, I have no problem believing that they're being undue pricks about it, because that's just what that company does.

[A²]

It may be a low volume seller, but that doesn't really give them the right to demand a cut of every other single way the game is being sold.

[Mongrel]

Correct... they could have just said 'no thanks'. Instead they continue to grope futilely for an opportunity to suckle a teat that has already been withdrawn.

[Brentai]

Well, they're a company.  Best case scenario, they get free money.  Worst case scenario, PA says no and they end up looking like assholes, which they're used to.

[Mongrel]

See, it's a misnomer to think that that's the only way to operate a business.

[Guild]

See, it's a misnomer to think that that's the only way to operate a business.

I think in this case you mean misconception.

If a kazoo shop tried to expand into real estate, sure, that would be silly. Brentai's saying that, in this case, the company's grasping at every opportunity within their spectrum is actually expected. I'll take it one step further and say it's healthy.

[Brentai]

Not exactly healthy, no.  Shit publicity like this does not do a company good.

[Guild]

Stock brokers put less, er, stock in public opinion than you might think. A douche move might even draw the right attention and push some stock.


What?

It's a possibility.

[Norondor]

Doesn't hurt them in the slightest, as a result of the Games Workshop Effect.

A captive audience of hobbyists can't be driven away by anything.

[Arc]

They got really upset. And they said, no, you can't do that. We can't have it in our store if it's coming out digitally first.

Their fear. It is palpable.

[Mongrel]

You guys completely misunderstood.

Being a "Good" can be good for business too. "Evil" is just easier* (especially when an organization is concerned rather than an individual) and is therefore more prevalent.

Fuck, this shit isn't that hard, dammit. Anyone can benfit from this outlook. Businesses, trade groups, community organizations, and yes, political parties; all of these - really, any group of people working together.

Just ask your President-Elect. He got the fucking message at least.

_{*no 'Dark Side is quicker and more seductive' jokes, for the love of God.}

They got really upset. And they said, no, you can't do that. We can't have it in our store if it's coming out digitally first.

Their fear. It is palpable.

It's kind of like catching the smell of your own death in the cool breeze of dawn.

EDIT: Quotation marks added for the forum members still running with training wheels.

[McDohl]

I have nothing really meaningful to add to the conversation, but I was in a Gamestop the other day, and I saw two copies of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 going for $89.99 Used.

$89.99 Used.

$89.99 Used.

[Brentai]

$89.99 MILES PER HOURRRRRRRRRR