Gamestop Eyeballs the Vintage Videogame Market

[laurenhiya21]

Normally I would think that this is awesome (as I prefer to play games in their original format), but knowing Gamestop, they'll either price the games exceedingly high (like they generally do already), or they'll mess up in some other way :/
But I guess I'll just have to wait and see :/

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Too little too late for GS to think of this. Honestly with the downloadable versions of classics being commonplace, the shops that deal specifically in retro games (that DON'T overcharge), and the collections packs that get released, GS isn't going to make much money off this.

I assure you that they will, i work for a subsidiarity of GS, and we would make money doing this in Australia.

Still not seeing it happening that well abroad. I know here in North America that this idea won't work for GS because too many other specialty shops specifically for this market exists. That and I can't see GS beating Amazon/eBay's pricing for old school games worldwide. Their's too many alternatives here.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

We have gog.com for this, and it's one of the very best, if not the ultimate, game service.

Yes, I love GOG too, but GOG has two large failings:
First, the lack of non-PC games. Elitism aside, there are a large number of very good games that are simply unavailable (Or available only in lower quality) on the PC.

Second, GOG has to be able to obtain permission to sell the game. There are quite a few games that GOG doesn't have permission to sell. If Gamestop has older copies of them, those are still saleable. So Gamestop will be able to sell things GOG can't.

Of course, other stores provide the same service and probably do so more cheaply, but just because GOG exists doesn't mean Gamestop's plan is automatically redundant.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding Andy here, but this quote's making it sound like people only play a game for a little while then abandon it permanently. If that's the case, I call bullshit.

Yes, there are games that are classics that people tend to go back to replay, but for most people with most games, they will get tired of the game and likely not go back to it after a certain period of time. For instance, I loved Bastion. I loved it lots. But I'm unlikely to go back and play it again, and if I do I probably won't spend much time on it. Even sandboxes like Skyrim and GTA IV eventually grow stale and (most) people move on. Of course every game has its die-hard fans who have been playing since launch and will keep playing, but I'm sure those players have games they bought, played through once, and then stopped playing. (Assuming they aren't the sort of obsessives that believe they have found the One True Game and that all other games are unworthy of their attention)

Quite simply, the amount of free time people have is constant. As long as more games worth playing are being released, each player's options are to do one of three things: Split their time into increasingly smaller chunks for each game, stop buying any new games, or stop playing older games they've already beaten and/or gotten bored with. Most gamers chose the third option.

Um, that first quote about GOG wasn't from me. Might want to fix that.

Also; while I can't possibly know this for sure, I do believe that you underestimate how many gamers will either scroll through their game library and replay an oldie that they haven't touched in ages or will find a game they enjoy enough to consistently play through it every now and again. It's like with movies and television shows - you may have watched it several times before, but every now and then you'll just randomly get the urge to watch it again (play in the case of video games). Just because it's not your first time experiencing it doesn't mean you'll never want to do it again.

EDIT: Had more to say, specifically the paragraph above.

EDIT 2: Rereading what you said; I do think you have a point about GameStop being able to do what GOG can't (at least temporarily). Overall, I do think that this is a good idea from GameStop.

snip

Amen brother! (or sister, I'm not sexist. Honest)
Could not agree more, these days I simply don't trade stuff in, because I enjoy nothing more than going back to games I played way back in the day, safe in the security that I'll always have a copy to play. And personally I enjoy spending a looooong afternoon just flicking through my collection, reading the manuals and absorbing all the culture and awesomeness that we've gotten over the years (strongly suggest doing this with the Metal Gear Solid Manual). So far as I'm concerned, a game isn't a one-shot product, it's something I'll always have a use for. (even if that use is purely to deliberately start fun arguments with visiting friends)

"A game isn't a one-shot product"

You said it better than I did. Kudos to you, sir / mam.