Gamestop sells porn-packed used MemoryStick
Dallas' NBC 5 News has the story of a Fort Worth mother who bought a "refurbished" PlayStation Portable MemoryStick from Gamestop only to find it filled with pornographic videos and photos. Sandra Hemm bought the stick as a birthday present for her son, whom she described as "pretty devastated" over the discovery. Frankly when we were his age we would have just been thrilled at our luck.
A Gamestop spokesman said the company was investigating the incident and that standard procedure is for used cards to be wiped clean before being sold. As a precaution, local reporter Scott Friedman recommends parents try out used MemorySticks for themselves before handing them over to the kids. Or, you know, you could just shell out the extra $5 for a new stick and not worry about it.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
silkylove @ Dec 8th 2006 4:52PM
Dont post this story on gamespot or you'll get banned...trust me.
Javi @ Dec 8th 2006 4:54PM
"Devastated" LOL!!
El Chino @ Dec 8th 2006 5:03PM
Devastated to find porn!!!!!! If that is true than that kid is hiding in the closet Hint!!! Hint!!!!
Mike @ Dec 8th 2006 5:03PM
pr0n get!!!
wizard poop @ Dec 8th 2006 5:06PM
I hope her son isn't "devastated" by the lack of quality games on the PSP.
Seriously though, what kid goes crying to Mommy after receiving a treasure such as this?
WhaleMenace @ Dec 8th 2006 5:07PM
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! oh sweet god.
HotShotX @ Dec 8th 2006 5:09PM
Hilarious.
~HotShotX
Tush @ Dec 8th 2006 5:11PM
you mean devastated when his mom took it back?
Dragon Warrior @ Dec 8th 2006 5:12PM
"Devastated" I'm sure he was. Or thats what the laywers will say in the law suit! LOL!!! Why wasn't I ever this lucky when I was a kid!
Avinash_Tyagi @ Dec 8th 2006 5:13PM
#2 Probably because she took it away from him
A.J. @ Dec 8th 2006 5:14PM
Geez I was happy to see a Sears catalog when i was a kid and he's "devastated"?
El Chino @ Dec 8th 2006 5:15PM
At his age I would have creamed my pants with that find. Why did the news reporter keep calling the memory stick a "game." A memory stick isn't a game but a freaking accessory.
JaySixz @ Dec 8th 2006 5:17PM
This Lil kid is gay seriously. Porn please i would've been hype. lmao what is this planet comin 2 a young man devestated by porn.
0m3g4 @ Dec 8th 2006 5:17PM
Im sure the boy was "pretty devastated" at seeing naked women... VERY devastated...
serb @ Dec 8th 2006 5:17PM
@ #5
good way to prove ur not an idiot
Dr.Funbags @ Dec 8th 2006 5:18PM
More likely the porn was his - and his mom caught him - so he said it was on it when she bought it.
Joshua @ Dec 8th 2006 5:19PM
She should know the PSP isn't for children in the first place!
Plus, how old is this kid? I would have kept it to myself and enjoyed the porn.
LuigiHann @ Dec 8th 2006 5:24PM
"standard procedure is for used cards to be wiped clean before being sold."
Every time someone I know has bought a used memory card (usually from Gamestop or EB), it has had save data already on it. I assume by "standard procedure" they mean "stuff we never actually do"
Claudius @ Dec 8th 2006 5:24PM
Maybe the kid wasn't thrilled about all the fist action, bukkake and the Paris Hilton video.
Now that's something to be devastated about.
otakucode @ Dec 8th 2006 5:29PM
No kid is 'devastated' at porn. If they're too young, they might be confused, uninterested, or intellectually curious. If they're near or in puberty, they have more intense curiousity. The worst thing that could happen is they watch it having no previous knowledge of sex and they get some wrong ideas and act out innappropriately (easily corrected by a halfway decent parent explaining social norms).
I am amazed that Gamestop doesn't format the memory sticks when they get them however. They put the things in a PSP to test that it works, it would take all of 4 extra seconds to format the thing. The mom should have just formatted the stick and went on with her life after having a talk with the kid and answering any questions he might have openly and honestly. Freaking out and blaming the store teaches all the wrong lessons.
JodyAnthony @ Dec 8th 2006 5:31PM
all I know is I loves me some sweet sweet pornography.
Leto @ Dec 8th 2006 5:35PM
"Devastated" LMAO. That kid is definitely gay.
JAC @ Dec 8th 2006 5:36PM
I'm sure the kid is "devastated" because his mom took away his porn loaded memory card, but then again, why the hell would you tell your mom???
samfish @ Dec 8th 2006 5:36PM
The real story here is that someone actually bought a PSP.
Still...what is WRONG with this kid?!
hmm...he's either gay or he found gay porn. That's the only way a kid could be "devestated" over finding a treasure trove of free porn.
...or maybe it was, like, fat chick porn or animal porn.
That stuff devestates me. "You sunk my battleship, Mr. Giraffe!"
djRom @ Dec 8th 2006 5:36PM
The kid probably got it, popped it in, and found the porn. The mom caught wind of it somehow, and took it, saw it and figured she could make a quick buck if she makes a big deal out of it. But, there is no way to prove it came that way.
Brian (the REAL Brian) @ Dec 8th 2006 5:38PM
One word:
Goatse
nofanboy @ Dec 8th 2006 5:39PM
Gamestop is so full of crap. They don't wipe memory cards. They don't test games. They don't try all the systems they take back.
All they do is tell you that if a used item doesn't work, you can return it for an exchange. That is how they get out of having to actually test used items. So the "guaranteed to work" policy just means "we didn't test it, so if it doesn't work, we will just keep giving you the same thing until it does".
Falcon @ Dec 8th 2006 5:40PM
1 million bonus points to the first person who can name the film and actress from the screenshot at the top of the post.
Spartacus @ Dec 8th 2006 5:40PM
Unfortunately, a quick glance at the comment section of this article confirms the stereo type that all gamers are antisocial perverts who have no life.
I mean come on. Is this what America has come to? A young child gets porn files on his handheld gaming device and everyone cheers and accuses the kid of being gay? Newsflash joystiq'ers: Not everyone enjoys pornographic images. Some people actually respect the opposite sex and have a greater sense of morality than the need to satiate sexual urges.
The fact is the mother was probably more upset than the kid was, but if that was his first viewing of such material, he could indeed be a little "devastated".
Turo @ Dec 8th 2006 5:41PM
"Or, you know, you could just shell out the extra $5 for a new stick and not worry about it."
yet again, orland bashes the used retail industry. sure it may not mean much to u, but there are people that value every dollar they make seeing as not all people in this world are up to their necks in it.
not only that, but for people like myself who shop that frequently, the 5 dollars here and there saved over a long course of time is well worth it.
bill pullman @ Dec 8th 2006 5:42PM
you guys said, "new stick".
Pete C @ Dec 8th 2006 5:44PM
I enjoyed the sarcasm responses, but any of you who actually think this kid was devastated or are calling him gay don't realize that the mother is the one making the report, not the kid. The Mom is not going to say:
"I found my son pleasuring himself to his PSP, and I though...Damn, this PSP thing must be good! Then I realized he was watching some sweet porn instead. Is there anything this PSP can't do? Thank you GameStop!!"
No, the Mom wants a story, and possibly a lawsuit so she will spin it however she wants.
Leto @ Dec 8th 2006 5:44PM
Spartacus, you may have not noticed but you're stereotyping as well by claiming that porn disrespects the opposite sex.
JodyAnthony @ Dec 8th 2006 5:49PM
Well you know what Spartacus? I respect the female gender, but I also have a hell of a time masturbating.
randomshagz @ Dec 8th 2006 5:50PM
I think it he saw pics of him mom and it went all downhill from there.
David @ Dec 8th 2006 5:55PM
It's about time Gamestop got caught. I bought a "new" game from them a while ago. When I turned it on I was surprised that one of the features of a New Super Mario Bros. is that it comes with 3 save files already on it. I guess it wasn't so new, huh? Well, I called them and they said they would give me five dollars because they just raised the used price of it or something and the used version is only 5 dollars cheaper. What a bunch of douches.
Ratchet the Lombax @ Dec 8th 2006 5:59PM
Hum, looks like someone is faking a lawsuit so they can get some free money at christmas time. I think I would pay the extra $5 because that isn't too much to pay for something that may break in a week. Heck I just spent $7 for a cup of coffee. As for not everyone liking porn I do watch it sometimes and I do respect the opposite sex but the way I see it those women get paid very well for what they do. It isn't like they are forced to do it it's their choice. I know if I was a kid I would be happy to find the stuff on my card. I think the "devastated" part is just to garner some sympathy in the hopes of getting money they did not earn.
Tucker @ Dec 8th 2006 6:00PM
Yeah... Maybe "devastated" that his mom freaked out and took it back. Or possibly so "devastated" when his mom discovered the porn he put on the memory stick that he told her it was already there.
Stories like this crop up here and there every few months, I always find it funny that people are apparently returning porn-filled cards all over the place - it always seems more plausible that someone is embarrasingly trying to cover their tracks rather than own up tho their own boobie collection.
Tito Monkey @ Dec 8th 2006 6:00PM
Spartacus seems a lil fruity in his own right. What has America come to? It takes a kid afraid of porn to ask that question?... When I was 7 and found porn, I didnt go ask what it was, I knew I wasnt supposed to be watching it though. But I did anyway.. Same way with the mags, knew I wasnt to be looking through them. But somehow I found myself looking at the picture, then snapping out of this amazed state, asking myself how did In here again...
pete @ Dec 8th 2006 6:19PM
ya know #29 needs to chill, c'mon serioulsy, when i was a kid i use to try and watch the scrambled playboy channel on the boob tube. and while not everybody enjoys watching a good porn flick the people that do in no way, form or shape are "antisocial perverts who have no life" and in no way are they degrading women, these chicks gets compesated what they think they are worth, and are willing particimants, i mean if anything feel bad for the poor joes and joetts, girls, that buy this stuff at smoetime 40 bucks and up at the local adult "book" store... or so i hear never been there myself ;)
polly @ Dec 8th 2006 6:21PM
It's five bucks cheaper AND comes loaded with porn? Sign me up.
Shibathedog @ Dec 8th 2006 6:24PM
am i the only one that sees what probably really happened here?
The kid probably downloaded porn onto it, then got caught, and then told his mom it was already there to avoid getting in trouble
Manu @ Dec 8th 2006 6:50PM
Nice picture you have there...
Manu / Pelikonepeijoonit.net
Evan @ Dec 8th 2006 6:54PM
Reminds me of a news story from years ago...
Someone bought a new copy of a childrens video on VHS, and discovered porn at the end of the tape! It was discovered that the manufacturer was re-recording over unsold videos.
Shane @ Dec 8th 2006 7:07PM
I actually worked at GameStop and this happened once before at my store, however the person that bought it wasn't angry.
jayntampa @ Dec 8th 2006 7:09PM
Yeah ... he was devastated. Devastated that she erased it.
Konchu @ Dec 8th 2006 7:12PM
Well the kid could have truely been distressed. I dont think it has been stated what kind of Porn this was. There is some pretty messed up stuff out there I think someone above mentioned Goatse I was a grown adult when I first saw that and Im still tramatized.
tack @ Dec 8th 2006 7:23PM
"standard procedure is for used cards to be wiped clean before being sold"
Keyword is "wiped" lol
GameStop Employee @ Dec 8th 2006 7:31PM
This explains why Thursday morning we had an email in the store saying we were shipping all used memory sticks back to the warehouse...
Oh, and prices were changed to $999.99 which the email said was to "discourage sales"
LOL, they tell employees nothing, aren't companies great?
McTendo @ Dec 8th 2006 7:44PM
I bought a NEW memory card for my GameCube from EB once.
It had Donkey Kong Bongo Jongo or whatever the hell it is and RE4 save data on it.