6 good reasons why GameStop needs to DIE

I am going to make this as relatively short and painless as I can. I don't like to dwell on sad subjects like this one. I have no love (or any real animosity) for GameStop, but I don't like people losing their jobs, either. That being said, there will be heavy use of memes and sarcasm. After all, would you expect anything less from an Ethnic Kekistani shitposter? :P

1.) GameStop has no direct competition as a gaming-focused retailer and often acts as monopolistic as you'd expect.

There only competition is...

• Other retailers that have gaming departments (Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, et al.) 
• The online retailer that's murdering them with a slow death of a 1,000 cuts... (Amazon)
• Retro game stores that get very little (if any) new items...
• Online auction sites like eBay & Craigslist...
• Digital download services like Steam, Nintendo eShop, PSN, XBOX Live, GOG.com, et al.

Most of these operations treat games as a secondary priority or an afterthought. And yet, I'd still rather go to one of them instead. Wal-Mart and Target have lower prices on new items than GameStop. More than once, I have found a new copy of a game at Wal-Mart that costed less than the used copy at a GameStop. The game in question is also usually something that was released at least 2 years ago, if not longer. How the hell does that happen?

And they don't care, either. They think they are untouchable. Or, they used to think that way before noticing a huge dip in profits. In 2007, they had a market value of 9.4 Billion Dollars. As of now in 2018, they are down to 1.42 Billion Dollars. Oh, if only you treated your customers better so that they would remain loyal to you during hard times... :P

2.) The trade-in policies suck.

You sell them a complete system with its original packaging, cables, controllers, pack-in games, etc. They give you $6 to $12 for the whole thing, depending on this week's edict from corporate headquarters. Then, they turn around and try to re-sell it for $60-80 to the general public. No, that is not an exaggeration.

Like I'd ever sell one of my consoles to these shitheads...

They do this kind of shady shit with the XBOX 360 right now.  The 360 gets this treatment because they have warehouses full of those consoles and don't want to add to the inventory. You'd think they would start selling the consoles at reduced prices in an inventory reduction/clearance sale, but that would require some corporate heads who know how to run a retail business. Also, I would not be surprised if they did this with a few other consoles over the years. They certainly were in a hurry to get rid of GameCube stock circa 2012 and 2013. And that system is really going up in value now.

Rick would give you a MUCH better deal than that...

I hope those idjits are kicking themselves in the ass for letting that great system and it's games go for next to nothing years ago. If the corporate suits would listen to the gamers that worked for them, they'd know the system would soon become a gold mine. ALL the old Nintendo systems, even shit like the Virtual Boy, eventually become a gold mine. And that leads us to...

3.) They have no respect for retro games...

Despite knowing that retro games = BIG bucks for the savvy retailer, GameStop historically refused to have anything to do with a game, system or accessory that is not currently supported. The excuse for this was that they didn't want to sell something they may not be able to replace with a new copy from the manufacturer. However, that never stopped them from having their employees act like used car salesmen. It also never stopped them from shamelessly promoting MadCatz products over the years while knowing damned good and well that they were absolute shit.

The only reason I have ANY of this company's products is because they were included with some package deals whenever I bought someone's old console with all the games, accessories, et al. Otherwise, I wouldn't take them.

That has recently changed somewhat with their new retro-gaming service where you can order some older games from them and have them shipped to your door/local store. However, the system has been fraught with problems. Everything from discs arriving to customers all scratched or broken, stores re-selling reproductions and fakes without knowing they were reproductions and fakes, etc. It did help a friend of mine get a copy of an old XBOX game that he loves... After they delivered it to his house about 2 weeks later. Beyond that though, I can't say anything good about this service. They were too lazy to ensure that they were NOT selling counterfeit merchandise. Hell, they are too lazy to even ensure that the game doesn't have a reproduction label.

4.) As hinted in the last talking point, the company forces their employees to act like Used Car salesmen.

This little story I made up based on my real-life experiences will illustrate the point I am trying to make here...

Gamestop Employee: And did you want to pre-order your copy of *insert upcoming title here*?

Me: No. It doesn't even have a release date yet.

Gamestop Employee: Well, they are gonna sell out pretty quick when they come out...

Me: I already said no, guy.

Gamestop Employee: OK, did you want to get a warranty on your disc just in case it gets damaged like this one? *Points to an intentionally destroyed disc taped to the wall.*

Me: *Getting indignant* I would never fuck up my disc like that, guy. I take care of my things. That's why I have old Atari-era consoles that are older than me AND STILL WORK.

Gamestop Employee: Alrighty then, I see your Power-up Rewards card expired back in 2012. Would you like to renew it today? You can save...

Me: *Aggravated and pissed off* Hell no! I just came in for some of those points cards for Steam and the Nintendo eShop. This is also the ONLY time I'm liable to be coming in here for the rest of the year! Why the FUCK would I want a damned rewards card with you, guy?!

Gamestop Employee: **Rapidly blinks eyes and makes funny noises**

Me: Are you OK, dude? You look like you're about to have a seizure or some shit... *Getting concerned*

Gamestop Employee: *Mouthing 'help me'*

Me: Whut!?

Gamestop Employee: *Hands me bag with merchandise while his hand shakes* Thank you for shopping at Gamestop, sir. Have a nice day.

And I could go on and on about how much they treat their employees like shit, but the internet has already done that for me. MANY times. Constantly trying to 'up sell' me is aggravating as shit. I wouldn't put up with that at a car lot if I had a choice. Unfortunately, those crooks got a lot of stupid franchise laws passed in the 1990's to protect their crummy business model. State governments went along with it because car dealerships tend to create lots of jobs and generate lots of tax dollars. There's no way in Hell that GameStop will ever be able to make that claim. Hell, they tend to flood a market with more locations than Subway does with sandwich shops!

5.) The Used Car lot vibe in those stores is about as strong as the Force is with Yoda.

And it makes me not want to go in there. I frequently hear people talking about how they like the convenience of a games retail store they can walk into and buy a game from right now. That is not enough justification for the store's existence to me. Convenience will not make up for shitty customer experiences that employees are forced to impose by corporate edict. Remember that scene in the AVGN movie where the nerd is working in the game store and his boss says 'Whatever is on that shelf, you get it sold! Sell! Sell! Sell!' despite the nerd telling him the new game is crap? Well, that's GameStop in a nutshell. The store employees know that the new *insert crappy new game title here* is awful, but they have to lie to customers and hock it anyway. They don't give a fuck, they're just in it to make a quick buck.

Why put up with the Used Car salesman shit and pay $60 for a new game (or $55 for the used game they paid out $20 in trade for) just to have it today? I don't mind ordering it from Amazon instead and having to wait 2-3 days for it to be delivered. Especially since Amazon was having a sale and sold the game to me for $47 brand new. No, I am not making that up. That happens quite frequently and it's why most of my new game purchases are done online. And that leads us to...

6.) Online sales are eating their lunch... and destroying their business model.

Not only has Amazon, et al. taken away much of their sales for new physical copies, the online services for the PC & consoles (Steam, GOG.com, Nintendo eShop, PSN, XBOX Live, etc.) have become a lot more popular. And if you don't care about having a physical copy of the game (assuming one was ever made), then why not use the eShop or Steam instead? That is far more convenient than actually leaving my house to go to a used car lot posing as a game store. Most gamers seem to agree since at least 70% of all game sales now are through downloads from these services. It's gotten to a point where many gamers are speculating that physical game media will be a thing of the past. I'm not jumping to conclusions on that issue, but I can see why some people see that as the likely future for the industry.

These days, if I do go into GameStop, it's just to buy points cards for Steam and the eShop. I don't like to use credit or debit cards for these things. Even worse for GameStop, I don't need to go to them for these cards. I can find them virtually anywhere. I have seen them in my local Best Buy, Home Depot, drug stores and my local neighborhood grocery store. They are going to cost exactly the same anywhere I buy them. So, why go to GameStop for these cards? I can just pick up a few when I go to buy groceries... Or tools and building materials at Home Depot... Or cold medicine from the drug store... They are literally like any kind of gift card for any kind of restaurant or store. Good luck fighting against that in the marketplace!

GameStop knows that the situation is bad. They knew this was going to go bad eventually too. That's why they try to squeeze every ounce of profit out of every little thing. That's also why they diversified their product line by buying out ThinkGeek and selling that brand's nerdy merchandise in the store. That could have helped if they treated customers well and didn't open too many locations. However, I think they are really just delaying the inevitable now. They are trying to find someone to buy them out right now. Even if that happened, I don't expect them to be around for long.

Some day pretty soon, they will start having liquidation sales and going out of business like Circuit City, Radio Shack and Toys'R'Us.

Unlike Circuit City, Radio Shack and Toys'R'Us, I don't know of a single person (myself included) who will miss them.

- Lord Publius

Thoughts on Nintendo's Direct video message for E3 2018

As anyone that reads this blog regularly can tell you, I LOVE video games. It's one of my few passions/obsessions in life. Of the 3 current hardware manufacturers, Nintendo is easily my favorite. Their presentation for this year's E3 though... Well, it wasn't the utter shitshow that their 2008 E3 presentation was, that's for sure! :P

All joking aside though, it could have been a little better. The video of the direct is here just below, courtesy of YouTube.

And now, my thoughts on what I saw...

1.) I'm liking what Nintendo has in store for the next Smash Bros., but I am VERY disappointed that there's still no details on Metroid Prime 4. And don't even get me started on the utter lack of F-ZERO titles in the last 14 years... :/

At least this new Smash game is going to be EPIC. Every character that ever appeared in the Smash Series are available in the game, along with several interesting new ones like an Inkling from Splatoon and Princess Daisy. This is going to be the best Smash since Melee on the GameCube!

2.) I'm a little curious about what exactly Fortnite is, let alone whether or not I want to play it... However, it is a free download on the Switch right now. So, I might give it a go.

3.) 'Killer Queen Black' is just a remake/update of the gameplay formula from the Arcade classic Joust. No, that is not necessarily a BAD thing to do in a new game from a small independent publisher. However, it's not all that creative, either. This new game does seem to have quite a few features that the Joust designers could have never pulled off back in 1982. That's something in their favor. I like the retro graphics style too. It reminds me of 2D titles on the SNES. I love the overabundance of great indie titles on the Switch. Nintendo was very smart to develop such good relationships with all of them back in the days of the Wii U console.

4.) Don't care at all about the new Xenoblade Chronicles, Fire Emblem and all the other RPG titles. Never liked RPG games. Not about to start now. To Hell with RPG's. They are the dumb blondes of video games to me. They get lots of attention, but they are just too demanding and overly dramatic for my taste.

And that's the only E3 blog post I'm doing this year. I don't care about the presentations from Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft or that disastrous shitshow from EA. They are all about games for the XBOX One, PlayStation 4 or PC games via Steam. The Steam games might be interesting, but not XB1 & PS4. I don't own those consoles and have no plans to purchase either of them.

I have spoken.

- Publius

ADDENDUM 26 Jun 2018

There's been word from Nintendo on why there was no mention of the next installments for the Animal Crossing and Metroid Prime series on the Switch. Nintendo decided to not say anything about them until they are closer to being done. Still no word on a new F-Zero title.

12 Tenets for a Free Society in the early 21st Century

After watching a rather lengthy video of Jordan Peterson called '12 principles for a 21st century conservatism', I decided to do my own take on what he suggested...

1.) The fundamental principles/goals of Western civilization are good, proper and valid.

I can't believe this even needs to be said. That depresses me.

2.) Peaceful socialization of free individuals is preferable to isolation and war. Consequently, it is just and proper to insist on some sacrifice of individual impulse and idiosyncrasy. 

i.e. Social norms will exist and will be enforced by society on its own without the Power of Law interfering in public affairs. We don't need a court ruling on whether or not a Christian baker should have to bake a cake for a gay wedding reception. That was a horrific abuse of government authority and should never have happened. The queer couple should have just went to another baker.

3.) Competence is most desirable in elected officials and should be promoted over mere Idealism. 

Skills always trump even the best of ideas. And that is why Barack Obama was such a horrific failure of a leader. He was all talk and no action, unless it was the obviously wrong action. He also made the classic Leftist mistake of approaching the world how he wanted it to be rather than how it actually is...

4.) Borders and control of immigration are reasonable and essential to maintaining a free society.

Not to mention a good way of preventing invasions... And NOT letting dirt poor neighboring countries dump their social problems on us. Yes, Mexico, I am talking about you. We are going to build that wall. You are going to pay for it with interest and it serves you right.

This is one construction job that I might actually want...

Consider yourself lucky that we have so much patience as a society, Mexico. If you had any other great military power as a neighbor and tried dumping your problems on them, you would have been invaded/conquered. Maybe even nuked...

That being said, I do like your cuisine and Tequila. Also Mexico, y'all do have some pretty good lookin' women. That could be an interesting thing to import...

Well, that's ONE way to get a Green Card... :P

5.) People should be paid so they're able and willing to perform socially useful and desirable duties as their method of employment.

Think it's unfair that you paid a repairman $100 for a task that took 5 minutes? Well, you're wrong. You aren't just paying for the materials and 5 minutes of labor. You are also paying for his time, training, knowledge and experience. If it was such an easy fix, maybe you should have done it yourself.

6.) Citizens have the inalienable right to benefit from the result of their own honest labor.

And the Feds should NOT be taxing people back into poverty the moment they finally get a job with a decent paycheck. We are trying to get people OUT of poverty, not put them right back into that sad lifestyle.

7.) All levels of government should leave people to their own devices as much as possible.

No government bureaucrat with a bad comb-over is ever going to know how to handle your life's problems better than you.

8.) There's no need to re-invent the wheel. Save innovation for something that will be an *actual* improvement to a method/process/product/service.

If something works well, don't be in such a rush to replace that thing. Sometimes, shiny and new is not as good as broken-in and reliable. Why buy a new car when your current one still runs well? Why buy a new computer when the current one can be upgraded?

9.) Radical changes to society should be viewed with a healthy amount of skepticism and suspicion.

For example, that little shit David Hogg. He just became eligible to vote in April of this year and he has ZERO real world experience. Yet, he seems to think that he knows what's best for society. Wow... And I thought that I was a pretty delusional teenager for thinking I might one day be able to become a Rock Star. :P

I don't care about his feelings on firearms or the fact that there was a shooting at his school, either. Guns are NOT going away. The guns were merely a tool misused by a psychopath that the system failed to catch. The deficient Mental Health resources in our society are to blame here, not firearms. Guns are the American people's liberty teeth, not to mention our only way to guarantee that our government doesn't become tyrannical. As such, they deserve to be venerated and given a place of honor in every American home. If you paid attention in your Civics class David, you might have learned that...

Arrogant child...

Also Davy, you might want to look into hiring a few cops with some fucking balls. That assclown that stood there while kids were being shot should (probably) be prosecuted for negligence resulting in a homicide. Also, your sheriff is a cuck. Replace him too.

10.) It is more noble to teach young people about responsibilities rather than just teaching them about their rights. 

Rights without responsibilities often become an enormous social and financial burden. Also, we don't need yet another generation of 'special snowflakes' who are growing up thinking that they're entitled to everything and responsible for nothing at all.

Annoying little shits...

Raising a generation of assholes like that is how we ended up with a fucking Commuinst turd like Obummer for a POTUS. Of course, it's not entirely the fault of these children that they are all such spoiled and retarded little jackasses. If their parents did their job, this new generation of youngsters might actually be more effective people. And that leads us to...

11.) Intact heterosexual two-parent nuclear families constitute the necessary bedrock for a stable and productive society. They are the best way to raise children to be effective adults.

Fathers matter. They are the parent that instills discipline and passes on essential life skills. They also teach boys how to be responsible men. No woman, no matter how good a mother she may be, can ever teach those things to her son. It's a concept that she will never fully understand, due to the biological differences between men and women. And yes, there are a LOT of differences between the sexes. Don't let the Radical Leftist SJW idjits confuse you on the basic fact of Human existence.

Men, do NOT let this be your son. He might grow up to be a school shooter.
Or, even worse, a fucking Beta CUCK...

Ladies, find yourselves a good man for a husband. Men, make yourselves into that good man that women would want for a husband. And most importantly ladies, you might actually want to act like ladies too. You're never going to attract the kind of good man you would want for a husband by acting like a THOT. All that will do is make men assume that you are not wife material. They won't be wrong in that assumption. Men want wives, not whores.

My first reaction whenever I meet a single mom/party girl that wants to 'chill' but says she doesn't need a man...

And dispense with that Fourth Wave Feminism BULLSHIT too. It doesn't help matters...

Which one looks more attractive and likable to you?
Which group of women here do you think is more likely to find a husband and keep him?

Also, don't pop out illegitimate kids and think you can still find a husband. The chances of that happening are not good and it's a bet you shouldn't take. Also, you not only ruin your own life when you become a single mother, you'll probably ruin the child's life too. For example...

And this is one of the more tragic things that happen when the father is not in his child's life...

12.) We should judge our political system in comparison to other actual political systems, not to any kind of hypothetical utopia. 

In other words, we should compare Free Republics in the Western tradition with Imperialism, Fascism and real-world Communism instead of the (supposedly) 'looks good on paper' version. Almost anything can be made to look good on paper. However, any idea that would require concentrating societal power into the hands of one or a small cabal of individuals is doomed to failure. No one is noble enough to keep that power from eventually corrupting them.

The numbers don't lie.

- Lord Publius