Grade-grubbing GameStop manager gets suspended

let me be the first to say screw those idiots at gamestop.

As a kid I would hate that policy but I think as a whole it could be good for gamings image to parents. It could be good PR. Denying a game to a kid is a tad crazy but I bet it wouldn't hurt as a corporate policy to give a 1 time discount per report card for good grades.

Oh shit... the Mr. Thompson symptom is propagating faster then I thought.

Maybe he should be more concerned with his grades....maybe he wouldn't ended up as a Gamestop/EB manager.

IMO, the man should not have been suspended. These kids today are dumb as heck and pnly think about games. Parents should commend him for this move.

Let the parents do the parenting. I would think that many parents already reward their kids who do well in school.

That's a cool guy right there, unfortunately his policy should be taken up by parents, not him. And even then, kids find ways to buy shit anyway. Witness comic books, weed, and guns. Well, too bad there's no way to really enforce such a policy, but kids that would rather play Madden than educate themselves will only find themselves ass-out later in life.

Or maybe they can join that Video Game League... Oh wait - that went under last week.

Please... think of the retardos.

Unfortunately for him, good intentions and good business do not mix.

Totally bad business.

But an incentive program for students who make good grades (as opposed to against bad grades) would make more sense. But I expect GameStop to do something entirely token and insincere.

"Get $1 extra back when you trade in 20 games at once, valued at $30 dollars each... and have straight A's."

they should inforce this policy, seriously, im sick of idiotic children running around. before anyone starts to say it should be the parents job, well there are some parents whose choice of "parenting" is turning on the tv and placing their kids in front of it, while they go drink with their friends (ive seen it happen). like many people know younger and younger people are becoming parents, so the situation looks dire.

I dont like gamestop, but I think he has a valid point. Its a shame that parents would let their kids play video games while they fail in school. What message are you sending to your child when you reward for an unsatisfactory performance? I understand that you shouldnt push your children too hard, but he isnt demanding excellent grades, he only requires "good" grades( I assume "B"s or higher). Thats not a lot to ask.

Way to go gamestop Dude! Set an example for piss poor parents everywhere.

btw, I am aware that what he's doing is probably illegal, but its still a good idea.

As a former straight A student I endorse this policy as it would have made me a popular software pirate had it been in effect in my youth.

Turning away customers is a bad business plan. I do like the suspended managers ideology though...

Why don't they just offer discounts on games for students that can provide proof of their good grades (better discounts/trade-in-value for better grades)? It rewards the students that strive for good grades and gives those students with lower grades something to aim towards.

The guy has the right idea, and hopefully some version of his idea will appear not only in GameStop stores but all video game retailers.

He has a point; there is no reason why a child should be allowed any form of entertainment when they can't make the grade.

Guy is a moron to begin with, you can't deny someone from buying a game. If he would've offered an in-store discount as an incentive to bring in a good report card, that would've been way better than outright refusing to sell a game to "kids". It'd be one thing if he was the owner of a private business, this is GameStop. As though they'd let profits dip because of some dumb shmuck manager who thought he'd make a point by doing this.

What a tard.

WTF! i may be failing some clases but tat dont mean im dumb
i can do grammer good so i shuld be abel to by madden with my own money

"But even stupid kids deserve entertainment"

We're talking about games costing $50-60 and consoles costing at least $250, often much more. Nobody "deserves" anything so expensive. Games can be very addicting, and someone does need to keep kids from spending all their time on them to the detriment of everything else.

Yes, of course parents should be doing that, but most parents are pretty lazy about that. If they're rich, they just get the kid a private tutor who does the kid's homework for him. If they're poor, they just ignore it and hope the kid at least stays out of trouble.

It's always difficult to legislate morality, and the guy has to do what his corporate bosses tell him. But if he had his own shop, I think it would be a great idea. (Though since you're losing money two ways, first by not selling games to some people and second by giving some games away, I'm not sure how you stay in business.)

Though I think his heart is in the right place, it is unfortunate that this GameStop employee seems to have bought into the notion that games do not have any educational value, as revealed by his comment, "He needs to be reading a book."

I think that reading books is a noble goal for any child, but in my humble opinion, the interactive nature of games can lend them the ability to teach some concepts even more effectively than a book can. Games can reward the curiosity to see how things work and can inspire confidence in one's ability to learn new concepts. These are lessons that will serve gamers well throughout their life, alongside things like learning their ABCs and 123s.

As the article suggests, perhaps a much more effective way to encourage learning would be to offer discounts to those who have done well in school, while not penalizing those who are struggling by removing yet another means for learning.

That's pretty awesome. I'd probably be a doctor now if they'd had something like that around 15 years ago.

When I first read this story I was angry, but I calmed down and I have a simple solution. He thinks he is helping society but really he is sugar coating a bigger problem and that is what offends me about him. He should get to keep his job under conditions.

I believe those children who were denied games their parents should file a law suit, he denied people service for his own discriminatory reasons, I will leave it at that. In the suit the money should be obscene in the amount they go after him for, in return he can escape all damages if he is willing to take a series of college level exams in which he must pass each test with straight A's the same quota he was holding for the children.

If he passes he incurs no fines and doesn't have to pay damages, if he fails, he isn't allowed any extra curricular activity, beyond studying, home, and work for the next two years. If he refuses he pays the obscene amount of money, which will be taken out of his pay check. If he is going to be elitist against children he can hold that standard for himself as an adult.

I am fed up with loud mouths attacking children for societies problems it is time to make an example of somebody. He knows nothing of their home or school life, yet has the nerve to say he is doing this for their good to show he "cares" yeah I bet. He should put his money where his mouth is, he doesn't care about losing a job because he feels like a hero. Let him now earn the publicity, and good P.R. he got for his little sanctimonious show.