Broken promises, or 'How GameStop's error cost Stardock a vacation'

Is it the studio/publisher's job or the retailer's job to put a warning on the box, or at the very least on their system?

It is Game Stop's responsibility to honor the street date. If that responsibility isn't passed down to the storefront employees, it was a failing at a higher up level. It's not like it is Stardock who enters the street date into Game Stop's computer system.

@ Nought: See, but that's the problem...If a higher up screwed up, then they should be blamed for it. It always just hits the employees in the face on the net because everyone is like "OMG GAMESTOP EMPLOYEES ARE DUMB LOLOL' rather than blaming the higher ups.

Uh, please, show me where we have been exclusively complaining about the GS employees?

We are complaining about the whole company, there might be some people that do a great job, but it seems that you guys are the minority

@cheeky: "I work at GameStop, and there was NO Street Date warning either on the packaging, or in our system."

That's bullshit man. I work for Stardock and saw the boxes that contained the games we shipped out. They were clearly marked with a street date and a "DO NOT OPEN until Street Date" sticker.

If those boxes of games go to some corporate Gamestop HQ and then divided out and sent to the stores, then it should be corporate Gamestop that inputs the street date if it's not already in the system.

""OMG GAMESTOP EMPLOYEES ARE DUMB LOLOL' rather than blaming the higher ups"
They are gamestop employees, right?

But 1/2 of gamestop employees are people who know something about video games and actually try to do a good job as a retailer. The other 1/2 are people who really don't know much about video games other than what they read from Game Informer that morning, if that. And they just strictly follow the stupid policies of the Gamestopo.
That company is the enemy of video games, you just gotta know that if you work there.

@Crazy

I was sent 1 copy. There was nothing on that copy saying street dated. I was just saying that there was nothing on the store level that say DO NOT SELL. That is all.

We do? Not that I've ever seen or really read about. We're threatened with termination for breaking some street dates...so I don't know where you get "all the time" from.

I've seen PLENTY of instances...hell it was plenty of people that got LBP from Gamestop when they recalled it and pushed the date back. Threats of termination mean nothing to a greedy few

Yeah...Ummmm...I'm not losing my job for breaking street date. I have people come in and say. 'They were sold out at Wal-mart, blah blah, can I buy it here?' And we're like 'Ummmmm, no, it doesn't come out for a week.'

There was no label, nothing on these boxes. There is on EVERY OTHER STREET DATED PRODUCT. EVEN THE FREAKIN' HANNAH MONTANA AND DBZ EVOLUTION.

Oh, and I bought the retail CE from GameStop yesterday...

Explain to me how that one instance (LBP) multiplies into all the time.

Also, LBP was a huge clusterfuck of broken street date, not only GameStop. Oh, and my store didn't break it because...we are in fact not stupid...

Also... Greedy Few =/= Entire GameStop work force

you may not want to lose your Job over street date breaking but there are PLENTY that don't care. trust and believe. I will applaud that Gamestop isnt as bad as wal-mart and others when getting new merchandise. Wal-mart may get something a week in advance and put it out right then GS may not get it til a few days before, and in the right hands it wont be put out or sold. I know 3 or 4 guys that worked at gamestop and purposely broke dates...I'm pretty damn sure they arent the only ones.

So the publishers put street date stickers onto the boxes and ship them to every individual retailer? I would have thought that the publishers send large shipments to the Game Stop headquarters where it is their responsibility to enforce the street date with stickers and ship it out to their individual stores.

Konstantine,

I would have thought that it was GameStop's job to put the release date on THEIR system, shame on Stardock for not updating GameStop's system.

As for the labels, I could have sworn that it was the retailer's job to put the street date label, or at least that's what a friend at Target told me.

Anyway, as for GameStop complaints, I dislike them for their lousy job, and their lack of general video game knowledge, hell, out of 3 stores that I went to, none of them knew that Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon had been released, they were looking on their system for over 10 mins, and I just left because it is unacceptable for a video game store to don't know shit about a well known franchise, more so when they have a whole fucking stack of strategy guides of it right in from of them.

Oh, and there was the time in which I asked for Space Invaders Extreme for PSP, they took 5 minutes to look it up, about 20 minutes to find me a copy, and guess what? he brought me the DS version instead of the PSP one that I had asked for.

@ Nosh:

I'd just like to say that I hate most GameStop employees for lack of knowledge as well...I'm REALLY glad I got hired at the store I did...Everyone there knows what they're doing for the most part. We know what to warn people about, we know what's getting released, etc. I realize that my store is in a minority among GameStops (God I know, the guys across the highway from us don't know ANYTHING), but I'm sick of hearing that EVERYONE at EVERY GameStop is an idiot.

I needed a job, and gaming is what I do, so I applied. If I didn't know anything about video games, I'd work at Wal-mart...

"Explain to me how that one instance (LBP) multiplies into all the time."

There is this thing called an "example." People use "examples" to back up and clarify more generalized statements that they make. When one states an example, one doesn't actually think that that single example alone causes the original generalized statement.

Acting as if whoever made the example does think like that is both pointless and annoying. If you don't believe him, requesting a few more examples would be a better use of your time.

There are already two stated instances now of breaking street date- LBP, and demigod. Only a few more are really necessary to prove that you are in fact wrong, and the gamestop you work at is an anomaly.

@konstantine I really wish more employees were like you. Just yesterday a gamestop employee had no idea what Castlevania was, which might be a bit worse than Fire Emblem considering it's been an important gaming franchise since the NES.

@ Doctor:

It was more of a 'I knew that was coming' comment rather than I didn't get that it was an example.

And yes, 2 for sure instances of GameStop breaking street date. Wal-mart, Best Buy, Game Crazy, Target...those places never make street date mistakes, right?

I hear about those ALOT more than GameStop related street date mistakes. I actually see it happen everyday.

'Hey, do you guys have *insert game*.'
'Yes we do'
'Can I buy it?'
'No it's street dated'
'Fine, I'll just go to Wal-mart.'

*man walks buy 30 minutes later with Wal-mart bag waving his new game in our faces*

Yeah, you're right. Again, please forgive my being such a jerk.

Please see my post below and accept my apologies iff I was a little prone to rage today.

yeah...

I downloaded it because a friend said it was like DOTA

played it for like 2 hours before I was hooked

got that shit on Impulse ASAP

No offense, Sam, but I think you're one of the few honorable pirates (if that adjective can be applied) that is an exception rather than a true representation of those who download/pirate games and other media.

I'm not saying that people don't purchase after trying the game, but I just don't think it's in the same volume as those that just download and think nothing of it.

Still, kudos to you for supporting Gas Powered -- I'd love to give this game a try, I just don't have the rig to support it.

Downloaded the game...hated it, but kept playing until I beat it otherwise it's like only stealing a bit of it...took my scurvy shot...made some hornswagglers walk the plank...not really to any of that.

Joshua: this DotA?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OzWIFX8M-Y

"Goes to show if people like your game, they're going to buy it."

Unfortunately you are in a very small minority of "pirates".

Personally I think that if someone doesn't buy something like Demigod, but downloads it instead and doesn't buy it after playing it a bit than they were never going to buy it anyways. Demigod's a great game and if you like it you will end up buying it.

HURR DURR I hate GameStop because the internet tells me to.

Yes Konstantine, because if someone else's experience differs from your own, they *must* be simply following the herd and not actually thinking for themselves.

Personally, almost every time I enter my local gamestop I have a horrible experience. There are some decent ones further away, but the money I spend on gas could just as easily be spent on shipping and handling from buying online.

I used to love Game Stop...back when they called themselves EB Games.

See Doctor, that's something I can actually respond to. I assumed he was part of the herd from the trollish tone of the post, not just because he hated GameStop.

@Konstantine

I have no idea why I'm being such a sarcastic jerk today. I'm sorry for both of my snarky responses to you.

@ Doctor: (And anyone else I've made jerk-ish comments to)

Well, I was in kind of a rage mode today too. I'm sorry as well.

My new rig gets here today and my hands have been shaking wildly from excitement, so I'm a little on edge today.

Because noone else does that ever.

Oh wait...And most dealers sure as hell charge more than $5 over MSRP. Gimme a break.

The S means suggested. If it was MORP (ordered), which can't happen, then you could have some argument. The pricing isn't a problem as it's clear that customers value the item more than the pieces of paper traded for it.

Yeah. It was a single item, the Wii Zapper, and Best Buy as well as Circuit City priced it at $25. Walmart was pretty much the only place I saw it at $20.

So will Target/BB do it for WiiMotion Plus as well?
http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2009/04/14/gamestop-demonstrates-1-1-gouging-motion-for-motionplus/

I've been an avid reader (and by that I mean they're always open in my browser, on a 30 minute refresh) of Kotaku and Joystiq (my favorite) for a long time now. I also subscribe to many a gaming podcast, etc.

I work at GameStop. If any of you are ever in Austin, Texas please come to my store and I hope you can have a better experience than you've had so far.

There is always a gamestop employee here and there on Joystiq. I think they all get bad treatment because of some of our experiences in stores, but often don't deserve it. People are too quick to be bitter and angry on the internet because everyone is faceless, and in a similar way retail shoppers are too quick to be angered at stores because they don't see humanity in those working there.

Everyone has a first day at a job, a bad day, a headache, etc. You can't expect to walk into a gamestop at any given moment and get some walking encyclopedia on games to be standing there. I have been gaming constantly for a long time, and I don't know every damn game out there. Yet, if I were to work at a game store, I would have to do my best to give my opinions on the games I do know and find the games I don't know for people. Yet, I see comments in here that that isn't good enough. That's bs.

If you go to a Home Depot right now to buy a pipe, the fact is that the guy selling it to you is not a plumber and may never have touched a pipe before. They hire part time employees mostly now and don't hire experts in the fields, because that would drive prices too high. It is often just average Joe who wants to make a few extra dollars. So maybe we should lighten up on the gamestop employees knowing that they aren't so adverse to the norm of retail employees.

but, but,...... death to gamestop? Damn you Duke and your filthy logic.

Dirty, you know you love my logic buddy!

@Duke

... I love you?

Duke,

Everyone does have a first day at work and/or sick days, the problem lies on the fact that this is a retail job, if this is your first day, then you should have someone with more experience to support you, if there is a sick day, try to do your best to help the customer, if unbearable, then why would you go to work?

No one is asking them to be encyclopedias, but at least have a general knowledge about upcoming games of known franchises, like I mentioned, the worst part is that there was a stack of strategy guides for it right in front... Not only that, but seriously, 10 minutes to look up for a game on the system? that would be unacceptable on any retail establishment.

And your Home Depot logic, well, thing is, they might not have worked with the product, they actually do get educated, they have to take lessons a few times a year and/or whenever a new product is brought. Not only that, but they have a designated person per aisle. And that information is just based on what I was able to gather from helping a friend who was a regional manager for Home Depot. That's not to say that there aren't bad employees, there are, but they tend to be the minority, and that's where the problem seems to be with GameStop, or at least that's what many think.

B-B-B-B-B-but you're telling me when I buy my pipes from Home Depot they're not from an AUTHENTIC PIPE EXPERT! BAH! Wha, wha, oh my, bem, bah, gah, *eyes water* FROM NOW ON I'M GOING TO PIPESTOP

Nosh, you have some valid points as well. My point is generally to give them a break. The employees are not the root of the problems - it’s the structure. (BTW - the sick comment I made was an example of seeing they are human, not analyzing whether they should be home sick or working.)

The fact is that gamers are generally a complaint driven group and if you can’t see that then I’m shocked. Look at all the whiney bs we see around here. Gamestop is not nearly as bad as everyone likes to moan about and we all know if even if we don’t want to admit it. I don't like that each time I go I get grief about them not being able to find my membership discount on the computer - its annoying, but surely isn't a big enough deal for me to cry about it on the internet each time they are discussed.

Now, as far as Home Depot, I worked at one during law school during the weekend evenings (while also working another job and sleeping very little). Don't tell me there were people who knew wtf they were talking about assigned to the isles. That was not the way it worked. They explained that we were all to cover the entire store and become knowledgeable in our sections, but still be ready to assist customers in every isle at any time. There were some training sessions on certain topics done, but no- they did not have training or expertise to the degree that would render my analogy moot. Sorry - I saw it first hand from the inside. I also was in orientation when they explained why they don’t hire people with more expertise to handle many areas that would benefit from it – because it just doesn’t make financial sense to do so. Just like it doesn't make sense to train all the employees on every new product as it is released - imagine how many products that is.