How Wal-Mart controls your gaming

Unfortunately, Walmart is all we have around here... unless one travels 2 hours to an EB Games outlet.

since only 1 country in the world has Wal*Mart stores and (remeber this) America is not the world (i know it's shocking but say with it) I have to disagree with what this story has to say.

GTA is the best selling game of all time. Half-life2, HALO, MGS to name a few game that have "vulgarity" in it and they've done ok.

does anyone else find that face creepy?

Chris, there are more countries than the US that have Walmart stores. We have a ton of them here in Canada.

They have Wal-Marts in China. I've watched a show on it. They are customized with each culture in mind. Wal-mart has controlled a lot of things this way for a long time. CD covers are another thing. The music industry knows that even if they want their edited music in their stores they have to comply with their rules.

last year when i went to the penny arcade expo i attended a game developers panel, and all the speakers pleaded with the crowd to buy their video games at a video game specialty store (ie. gamestop, eb, etc.), not at a mega-chain (ie. wal-mart, target, etc.). apparently, wal-mart also has a habit of saying "so, mr. game developer/publisher, you are charging $30 for your game? we will only pay you $20. don't like it? fine. we won't carry it". as if it needs saying, wal-mart is evil evil evil.

Jaemz has got a good point..But I honestly find that this corporate control to keep that 'walmart family' image is nothing but bad news for the industry.

This news doesnt come as too much of a shock though..I mean, they're the guys that banned the phrase 'merry christmas' from their stores, while still deciding to sell religious items to customers.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/15394/walmart_bans_merry_christmas.html

Marvellous. Yet ANOTHER reason to despise Wal*Mart. As if I didn't hav enough reasons as it is...

Wal-mart is only evil if your a small business owner in a town with one being planned to be built. However, if your not, and one is built close to you then it's like everyone in that town just got a raise. Your money goes further than it did before if you shop there. I know their tactics are borderline satanic, however if it wasn't for them and their tactics inflation would have grown at a much more alarming rate than it has. I try not to go there, but it's not like you can avoid it very easily.

Todd,

I would respectfully disagree with your previous post. When Wal-Mart comes to town, everyone gets a pay cut. Sure they can now go buy twice as much toilet paper as they previously could, but studies have shown that the introduction of Wal-Mart stores into a new market tends to slowly upset the local economy. The property values and average incomes of community members generally plunge when Wally sets up shop.

So in theory, people can buy more for less... but after they lose their job at the local grocery and have to take a $2.00/hr. paycut, they generally have less to buy with. Maybe it just all averages out in the end.

(Disclaimer: All of the above assumptions are based on various books, documentaries, etc. I've read or viewed. If my logic or facts are inaccurate, please correct me.)

No.2 I agree, I read the article this week, and it reads like WM think their the Forest Gump of gaming.

Especially the part about the big game boxes being pulled for their sake. I was working in retail at the time and I'd heard the reason for this was the large price rises in paper that year and the need to keep manufacturing costs down meant switching to DVD style cases, nothing to do with WM.
I'm sure if you actually go through the whole article and contact people in the know, most of it could be debunked quite quickly.

I have only bought a couple of games at Wal-Mart throughout my life. I usually make my game related purchases at a Best Buy (and sometimes at GameStop), but I have noticed this policy in effect before.

For instance, I went to Wal-Mart last year to buy a new Nine Inch Nails CD only to find out from an employee that they don't carry it because of the content (explicit lyrics), and he suggested that I check with Best Buy or Circuit City, so I did and Wal-Mart lost a sale. I don't see why Wal-Mart would have that large of an impact on gaming sales, when I'd guess that most consumers will find a way to buy an item they want, whether Wal-Mart carries it or not. Wal-Mart may be convenient (it's much closer to my place than Best Buy anyway), but it definitely doesn't seem to give any fantastic deals on games that I have noticed.

Another funny observation I've noticed is that even though Wal-mart is anti-violence, nudity, explicit language, etc, I know that I have seen God of War for sale on their shelves and it contains all three.

#11:

I agree with your assumption that manufacturers did not switch to smaller DVD-style boxes because Wal-mart needed additional shelf space. (It may partly be a space issue... but that would aid all retail stores, not just Wal-mart.)

But when you mentioned the need to lower manufacturing costs, one could argue that Wal-mart had much more to do with that. What I consider the most negative aspect of the Wal-mart effect would be the pressure the company is able to place on manufacturers. In olden days, the manufacturing company set the price point of a product. Wal-mart broke that tradition. Now they are constantly pressuring their suppliers and affiliated companies to reduce costs. One of the most significant consequences of this pressure has been the large number of American companies that have been forced to outsource their production plants and staff members to foreign countries.

Another reason to not shop at Wal-Mart.

"Our favorite anecdote is the story of Deer Hunter, a game designed with the average Wal-Mart shopper in mind"

HAHAHAAHA wow lmfao (redneck reference)...the best laugh i've had all day, but anyway we can't blame a retail store as large as Walmart to not watch their back. Gamers' perferences in video games are way too specialized for a chain that large. They have a key demographic to cater to. So does EB/Gamestop. That's just how the cookie crumbles.

Apparently Wal-mart really bent Sony over a rail on God of War. They were forced to take out just about all of the nudity, ultra-violence, and nasty language. Completely neutered that game.

Oh wait, that was in the other universe where Wal-mart has mysterious dictatorial powers and nobody can simply say 'NO.' In this universe, vendors posessed of functional gonads take their business elsewhere or say 'take it or leave it.' If the product is good it prospers in other outlets or Wal-mart carries it anyways. Does anyone really believe the Wal-mart video game buyer didn't know what was in GoW before he place a nice big order for the anticipated hit?

As for Wal-mart upsetting local economies, apply some reality. The people affected are those already in the lowest tax brackets where the slightest change can loom large in their lives. They already make lousy wages, don't get employer provided health insurance. They work for place that have nothing distinguishing their products from the generica within Wal-mart. Those kinds of businesses just scrape by in small towns where they have no competition. (Tandy/Radio Shack computers got much of their market from sales in regions where no other outlet but Radio Shack sold computers.) Long before Wal-mart entered the Southern California market the same kind of collapse of Mom & Pop stores with nothing else going for them but a captive audience happened over and over as development brought competition to the market. Many of those competitors from those days came and went before they ever co-existed in any market with Wal-mart. Someone else always stepped in pick up the slack.

I saw this firsthand growing up in a dinky town north of Los Angeles. The local stores sucked but the alternative was spending the better part of an hour driving, so serious shopping was reserved for day-long outing. Once development brought some major brands into town the ability to get what you really wanted on short notice greatly improved. And guess what? Property values increased. People once bought home in the area for lack of ability to afford a place in LA. Now they pay high to get a place that lets them escape LA without giving up the creature comforts.

Recently, I got a great laugh from talking to people who both hated Wal-mart for its wage rates but also saw nothing wrong with illegal aliens flooding the local labor markets and reducing the value of low skill workers. Apparently having an underclass of people working for peanuts was OK so long as they aren't people who look like them.

If you are a gamer, and you shop at walmart, you fail. Gamestores are the only places to go, because theya re the only places where you can find any game release. other stores just pick the most popular or the bigest names.

the end

I have no problem with walmart doing this, because most games sold there are parents getting games for their whining kids.

Worst part? Tell me how many parents go to Wal Mart to shop simply because they know their kids won't be able to get a violent game or dirty music. Stores like Wal Mart, Kmart, and Toys R Us lose gaming sales for the sole reason is that under 18 games can't pick up 18+ games. Their stand on it does not prevent the sale, but just gives money back to Gamestop/EB/Best Buy or other store. With all these stores not carrying a lot of the games, the industry just gets worse and worse. Stores like Gamestop and EBGames can charge whatever they want because 1, they are the only place that may allow them to purchase the game. 2, they are guaranteed to have it. You look at Kmart's gaming zone now, and they have virtually nothing because they don't sell anything. Same with Wal Mart. Because few stores carry certain games, the stores don't need to make lucrative deals for the customer to go to their store to purchase the game, they just need to advertise they have it. This causes less games being purchased either because the prices are too steep or gamers can't get ahold of certain games.

#16

That theory doesn't hold up outside of small towns with captive audiences. Where I live there is an EB Games, Game Rush, Game Crazy, a few independents, and others in such profusion a deal is always to be found for those willing to do the footwork. There is plenty of competition among stores selling games that cater to more demanding gamers than the parents shopping at the department stores. Likewise, the more game oriented venues handles used games that allow people to find non-megahit titles that have long since passed from the shelves of a Target or Wal-mart.

If all of those game stores disappeared tomorrow the section at K-mart would still be horrible a year later. This is because K-mart in general is horrible. They have been for decades and began to collapse the minute they came up against better run companies. But that doesn't make K-mart useless. Because so many avoid it like the plague there are great blowout sales that only force one to go inside every few months. Picking up XenoSaga for $5 (among many others) made it worth enduring the place for a while.

Take down the man!

#17 I don't know what you're talking about when you say you can't get any violent games at Wal-Mart, K Mart, and Toys R' Us. I have gone to all of those stores and they all sell violent M rated games. I can admit that only the most popular games are sold at Wal-Mart, but this includes the mature ones since they are pretty popular. Why do you think Wal-Mart took away GTA San Andreas when Hot Coffe came out? Its because they had it.

#18 I agree with you. Some of those out of place sellers like K mart can be good for sales if you are willing to wait. I was able to get Xenosaga II for $10 and my brother was able to get the Gold Zelda Ocarina of time when everyone else was sold out.

On Wal-Mart being the evil corporation, yes we all know it is one. But I must admit I shop there. Not for videogames or well anything other than food. You see when you are on a limited budget, and in college, you have to have a stiff upper lip so you can survive the next day. I rarely but games from them since I would see a sale at a game store and Wal-Mart would be charging full price. Its only on rare occasions where I see good sales there but you have to look long and hard and be very patient.

In perfect world game companies would say "forget it we'll as much nudity and violence in our games (and music) as we want and sell our game elsewhere." But game companies are run by business men the same executives that have screwed up EA and every other game company would rather make the developer compromrise their vision than say no to walmart.

across large tracts of rural America walmart has long since driven all competition out of business with vast supercenters that carry nearly everything you'd find in a mall. If your product isn't on those shelves your your losing potantial customers.

Though i've heard of some stories of vendors saying no to walmart under special circumstances, most of the time saying no to walmart is saying no to 50% of your sales. so if walmart tells you to knock 20% off your price you close up the factory send your workers home and start up the operation in china.

For a very entertaining musical demonstration of how it works check our www.jibjab.com and click "big boxmart".

Listen to Gaming Steve episode 47, he talks about this. www.gamingsteve.com

Sheesh, all this stuff about Wal-Mart being evil and all that crap, its just peopel whining becasue they cant find exactly what they want... So what if they only supply the popular games that they know are gonna sell? They're in it for the money, not for you're enjoyment. And if they can sell more with a few really popular then with alota random ones, then they will. And really, once you're past 12, you shop at differnt places for games, last time I got a game at Wal-mart was back in december 2004, Super Mario 64 DS and Feel the magic, Its not like the EB games across the street (which had no DS games) burst into flames when I did it.
But really, Wal-mart is a great place, like, simply just for little things when it costs $3.50 for it at Bashes or whatever other stores I go to, I can get it for $2.50 or so at Wal-mart, so Of course I go there more for that kidna stuff... though I live next to a Neighborhood wal-mart, which is differnt, its just food and stuff, like a nice big grocery store.

Kaemon, you mentioned Bashas' (Or at least, I think "Bashes" is a typo of that), which operates mostly in Arizona... If that is the case, something you should know about Wal*Mart in Arizona is that they don't pay property taxes here (even though, all businesses and homeowners are supposed to). Properties taxes, in part, pay for the education system in Arizona. And since Wal*Mart isn't pay their fair share, other businesses have to cover their slack.

Granted, no big business is 100% ethical (not even everyone's favorite Nintendo). But Wal*Mart's business pratices are so unethical, it makes all other companies look like they were ran by saints, angels, etc.

Wal-Mart's puritanical zeal is absurd. They recently started wrapping women's magazines like Cosmo in plastic like they were porn magazines because of the "objectionable" cover art and teasers like, "100 ways to please your man," or whatever.

And anyone who thinks the anti-Wal-mart spiel boils down to its effects on job markets, it goes way beyond that. Wal-mart provides its workers with such mediocre benefits and health insurance that states frequently have to step in to provide for people who are employed by the world's largest retailer. There's even been testimony in court that said that Wal-Mart won't provide its employees with adequate benefits, but it'll make sure that workers know how to hit up the state for taxpayer subsidized aid.

Of course, this says nothing with the numerous lawsuits brought against the company by employees forced to work off the clock or skip breaks. Or those brought by qualified women who were repeatedly passed over for promotions.

So yeah, I don't shop at Wal-Mart. What's sad, though, is that people with less money in rural or poor areas often have to choose between shopping at Wal-Mart or not shopping at all.

I am usually adverse to shopping at Wal-Mart, for many reasons alluded-to here in this thread, and for other reasons. But since November of 2004, I've taken a different view of the store: if the American people want to screw themselves over, I'm going to do everything to help them hurry-along the process.

Considering I've never shopped at Wal-Mart, and the closest Wal-Mart is about an hour away, I could care less about Wal-Mart. And they hardly affect me and my buying decisions.

However, there are at least 8 EB/Gamestops, 2 CompUSA's and 4 Best Buys within 30 min. of me, at least that I know of. Oh, and at least 2 independent game stores that cater to import consoles. The closest EB is 3 min. away. So guess where I shop for videogames...

You don't like Wal-Mart and how they do business? Don't shop there.

I would rather not buy there, but:
a.) I work the graveyard shift, so they're the only place open when I'm awake on my days off; and,
b.) Their stance against "vulgarity" apparently doesn't include hyperviolence, as I purchased Resident Evil 4 and COD2 there. Both were prominently on display. You gotta love an ethos with lots of holes in it!

"You don't like Wal-Mart and how they do business? Don't shop there."

It's hard to say that when the competition is closing up due to the fact that they can't stay in buisness. What am I suppose to do? Starve?

Whats Walmart? I doubt they have any power over the UK.

I would urge everyone to try to watch the special reports on Wal-Mart done by 60 Minutes and 20/20. There's been reports that analyze the local and international effects of Wal-Mart's stingy, unfair business practices to cut costs to below-cost prices by bullying suppliers, and evade simple obligations like taxes and employee benefits. Did you know that they pay thousands of people in the Middle East less than 0.5 cents per hour for 7 hours a day, and force them to work 12-15 hours per day or else they'll lose their jobs? Local labor laws require that these sweatshops close up before a specific time, but it's been documented that they stay open at least 4 hours past that time. Wal-Mart employees in America complain about the lack of healthcare and low wages, imagine surviving on less than 4 cents per day for 15 hours of work.

So yeah, it goes beyond video games, people, so do some reading. I never shop at Wal-Mart, even for food or toiletries. Have you ever seen a stockroom or warehouse for a supermarket? I can't even imagine what the stock rooms at Wal-Mart must look like. I don't think I need soda and cereal that was covered in rat poo. And even if there wasn't any other place to buy video games, you can always buy them online. Don't make excuses, just boycot.

The Wal-Mart thing is old news. Ever read "No Logo" by Naomi Klein? "Big box" stores like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc. control what gets marketed. They have a very strong influence on the industries of the respective goods that they sell.

I've been boycotting Walmart for years. I can't even go inside one any more. Anyone with a social conscience should avoid Walmart (and as many big-box stores) as possible.

Putting too much money into a single corporation gives them too much power. Walmart controls 10% of the ENTIRE US retail market, including roughly 25% of video game, movie and music sales. If they deem something offensive, it has to be changed to be sold there. They're policing what we play, watch and hear.

They have far too much power and influence. If you're still shopping there, please read the following page at www.wakeupwalmart.com and decide if you still feel the same afterwards.

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/facts/

Economists can easily argue that walmart is a monopsony on the local supply chain (think monopoly but with only one customer and many suppliers). When they come to a town they will outcompete other competition, which will allow them to drive down suppliers prices and employee wages even more. In bigger cities/towns this effect will be hardly noticable due to competition, but in smaller towns that is definitely a problem.

All this is more evident as walmart becomes more vertically integrated, from retail to supermarket to drug store to other industries. It's not surprising that Walmart is aiming the banking industry as its next target. As with any great company (Bell, Microsoft) who became so competitive that it has killed enough competition to make the market uncompetitive, Walmart has gone from being pro-consumer choice to anti-consumer choice. The hope here is that some other gaint retail will take on Walmart and keep the market (both supply and demand chain) competitive. Target is an example, although Target's labor practice isn't much better than Walmarts.

Since I work for a game company, I see the influence that Walmart has all the time. I can't tell you how many times we've cut back or toned down content to satisfy Walmart. The sad truth is that it's hard to have a profitable title without getting into Walmart.

Alot of that isnt much worse than the usual wrangling to get the rating you want- M,T, etc or what movies go through to achieve the rating they want.

dude they freakin only carry censored music too, they
are run by crazy people. I don't shopt there. i hate that place. never never never in a million years would i go there for anything i'd travel out of the city if i had to, they are never getting my money.

oh and for everybody who says they have no options, just buy online.

I have this horrible feeling that when we're all old and we look back at the fascist state America fell into beginning with this century, we'll be forced to thank WaLockheed*Mart, Wal*iburton or Hali*Mart (whatever the ultimate monopoly ends up being) on their self appointed holiday; which will probably replace labor day.
Don't look at me.
I live in NYC so I have never shopped at walmart in my life. Not even when I travel.

Online is obvious the way to go here. I don't about you, but I refuse to get my games froma same place where my grandmother gets her undies.

.......aaahhhhhh my brain is melting....

*I*, for one, LOVE Wal-Mart. it's totally the anything-you-want store. the prices are fair, the people are (usually) nice and helpful, they participate heavily funding for local charities and organizations..

if you want ot avoid a store, why not avoid GameStop? i probably shouldn't even get started on what i think about their disgusting practices..

At the local level, Wal*Mart is a great place to shop. You can generally find what you are looking for or at least something comparable, and the price is generally affordable. The local stores employee hundreds of workers and contribute greatly to the local economy and community.

But the corporate/parent side of Wal*Mart is a monster of our own creation. In Wal*Mart, we have created a universal voice to speak for the consumer to manfacturers in almost every industry all across this country. And when our own American manufacturers couldn't provide the answers that we, ourselves wanted...our monster started moving jobs and money overseas.

Wal*Mart's biggest customer is the middle class American. And if we took steps to pull the teeth from the monster that we have created, the first people to get bit would be the middle class Americans that are feeding it.

The only way to tame this monster now is by supporting smaller stores whenever possible. If you can afford to spend an extra few dollars to support the little guy then you should. Let's face it, we're talking about games and entertainment here...not neccessities. So if you can afford to buy a $30 game in the first place then you can afford to spend your money in a store of your own choosing.

That's my 2cents.

One thing I'd like to add that everyone point to with walmart is that the pay/benefits are terrible. But in the 3 wal-marts around here (nor-cal) they employ mostly people who wouldnt have much chance working anywhere better (minimum wage is minimum wage wethier flipping fries or stocking shelfs). I've seen quite a few very old people (think 60+), retarted, and non-english speaking people working there. I highly doubt these people would get better pay anywhere else, in fact if wal-mart didnt try to higher some of these kinds of people, they wouldnt even have jobs. if the pay is an issue, raise minimum wage. Its not like wal-mart can pay anyone below that....why has no one complained about mcdonalds for low wages/poor benefits? Its a bunch of BS, the poor stay poor and the rich get richer. Well at least walmart helps the poor afford food and supplies.

Truthfully, I haven't been as against Wal Mart as anyone else I meet, it seems, for most of their "controversial spree", when the rumor came out that they employed illegals in sweatshops.

However, I haven't been buying games from them if I can help it, either, because their selection for Nintendo games is just SHAMEFUL. So recently I've had more ill will against Wal Mart, but I don't hate big retail stores in general.

For example: Fred Meyers has recently (in my area) completely revamped their electronics section, with a good selection of games for decent prices. So that's where I go for games nowadays. But to each his own, I guess.

MrTroy:

Hate to say it, but its sort of "you made your bed, now lay in it."

Wal-Mart didn't close the competition, you and your neighbors did, by choosing to shop at Wal-Mart instead of the smaller shops. You (and your neighbors) placed personal well being (saving some money) over the well being of your neighbors (who owned/worked in local shops) and your community.

However, you still have options.

Depending on your age and/or drive, you can get a higher income job (usually by getting an education/skills). Then Wal-Mart pricing becomes less of an issue.

You can move to an area that has and can support more competition.

There isn't a Wal-Mart around me because it would probably fail. Why? Because people around here are generally well educated (as in aware of Wal-Mart business practices) and are relatively wealthy (partly due to being educated), at least compared to rural America. On top of that, there is a lot of competition that isn't going to roll over for Wal-Mart.

Funny thing though, there are plenty of Targets and Costco around here, and they do pretty well. Maybe its because even though they serve a similar economic demographic, they don't serve the same intellectual demographic. There is a big difference between being price sensitive because your a student or recent college grad and being price sensitive because your a high school dropout. Everyone likes to save a buck, but some people would still rather have what they really want even if it costs a bit more. Or are willing to pay a little extra for quality or convenience.

btw, if my post seems harsh, I don't mean it to. Unfortunately, when talking about Wal-Mart, you have to talk about the economics of their customers, since their business model is largely based on cost efficiency.

Simply put, if you make enough money, you become less price sensitive and have greater flexibility and options when it comes to purchases. And that doesn't mean just a person, it also applies for a town.

Never got a game or a music cd from wal-mart because of their guidelines.

Wal-Mart refuses to carry "any software with vulgarity or nudity > This is not true as I bought Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas at Walmart and everyone I thought new how Vulgar and filthy this game is , Walmart Sucks.

@ Rare Hair -- #41

Of course Wal-Mart gives to charity. So does the cigarette companies. It's called a "Red Herring", Duh! Go ahead and spend yourself right out of a job. You call yourself a gamer and you buy from Wal-Mart? Your the reason that this Pissy-ass, discount, hillbilly, store has SO much power over the gaming industry. THANKS. Support you local smaller retail stores in the city, like the rest of us.

I'm sorry to come off like an A__hole, but you NEED to know the facts. You know Wal-mart's track record. You know what they do when they come to a small town. If you know all these facts and you STILL shop a Wal-Mart, than you get what you deserve.

This is ridiculous!!!!!!!! Wal-Mart is taking the responsibility of gaming content shown to kids off the parents and assuming the responsiblity for everyone. I am 31 years old and I have been gaming since Atari, Coleco Vision, and Vectrex. I have watched the games and systems develop as we all have. As our times change and the violence and sexuality grows with each decade so does the intelligence level of our children. These games like GTA, Dead to rights, True crimes, etc with all the violence and nudity totally matches whats going on in the real world. I mean hell watch the news for a week and then play one of those games. To be honest you cant tell the difference
between reality and the game, other than the graphics. If a young teen decides to play the video game doom(I have written a paper on video games and violence for a class in college the columbine boys did get their idea from the game doom) and then goes out and kills his classmates like the columbine duo who's fault is it. Is it the game makers, is it Wal-Marts for selling it? It is the damn parents fault. Any child who blurs the reality of right and wrong because of a video game should have their parents head examined. Game makers have a certain target demographic and in these types of games its the MALE 18-34 demographic. If a 13 year old boy buys a game intended for an 18-34 year old whose fault is it. The games are even rated just like a damn movie. So if your under 18 and cant get in to see American Pie becuase its rated R then you shouldnt be able to buy a game that has the equivalent rating. Why wont Wal-Mart just ask for an ID when purchasing games of a R rating. Ill tell you why because then they would lose the sale and possibly the customer because the child was angry and mommy doesnt like Wal-Mart anymore. I religiously play these games and just this weekend I spent 7 hours on Need for speed Most Wanted but I did not go outside jump in my fast camaro(yes i own a camaro) and try to ourtun police. Take my word for it I am a die hard gamer and in 20 some odd years I have easliy beaten over 100 games on all systems including dreamcast,playstation, xbox, nintendo, n64, atari etc. Lets put more reponsibility on the moms and dads of the world not Wal-mart and game makers
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More than a few years ago now, I learned that WalMart only sells censored music when a disgruntled WalMart employee made signs and posted them througout the music department. Since then, I stopped purchasing any type of media, be it music, movies, games or books from WalMart. I did this for numerous reasons, not the the least of which was the fact that I felt if they were going to censor the music sold there and not openly tell their customers about this, they were probably willing to censor all types of media.

Most recently I have enaged in an all out ban of WalMart, including going as far to write polite little note to famiy and friends asking that they refrain from purchasing anyone in my home a gift or giftcard from WalMart. Why? In addition to all the negative information I already posessed about the company, my bestfriend's 13 year old daugher proved that the company's return policy is bigoted. With her own money she went to WalMart and purchased a pair of shorts that cost $10.00, she took the shorts to the cashier who rang the purchase up and willingly took her money. Within a week or two the girl realized she picked up the wrong size and took them back to WalMart to exchange them for the correct size. Although she did not have her receipt, the price tag was still attached to the shorts and it was clear a WalMart brand with a WalMart price tag. WalMart REFUSED to exchange the shorts without receipt because the item was over $10.00 in value and the girl had no ID other than her school ID which they would not accept. She didn't need an ID to purchase the item, she was not looking to get her money back and no one in the store's management was willing to say anything other than "we're sorry that's company policy". When I attempted to use my ID to exchange the shorts for her they wouldn't let me because she had already tried to exchange the shorts on her own. How's that for lousy?
WalMart is no friend to any community that it infects. The quality of their products has significantly gone down hill over the years. The employees are rude and while I probably would be too if I worked for such a lousy company, it's still no excuse for poor customer service.
I live in an area where we have multiple choices for shopping, everything from Target to Kohls and Sears to Best Buy. There is no longer a need for me to shop at WalMart. And while I may pay a bit more, I'm willing to give Joe's Hardware on the corner an extra $0.25 for whatever I need just to keep him in business.
Buy games at WalMart? Never ... they don't carry most of the titles I am looking for anyway.