Game Stop

[Shave A Buck]

Having just purchased a Wi this Christmas I am starting to use it a little more often now. I was at my local Game Stop here in Brick NJ last night about 7:00pm. I was surprised to see it filled like a mob scene. No games were being released, just everyday customers shopping. I picked up Call of Duty WW 2 and enjoy it so far.

The point of the thread being I remember driving past these Game Stop stores years past and snickering about who would shop in one of those. How many games could the guy sell to pay his rent and compete against the big boxes. Boy was I wrong. At 44 years old maybe it is hard to see these up and coming opportunities or whats going to be hot next. Gone are the video stores for entertainment and now it's gaming.

Gone are the hobby stores too, replaced by TV and electronic entertainment. Are we really better for all of this, I say no!

[Dave in the basement]

Killzone 3 dropped yesterday, so that would probably account for most of the mob scene.

Have fun with the Wii! I use mine multiple times per week (mostly for Wii Fit) and picked up a PS3 as a Black Friday gift to myself a few months ago. Yeah baby!

Dave :ihih:

[raisindot]

Gamestop and its ilk will, within 10 years, be as bankrupt as Blockbuster is today, and will be replaced either by Netflix clones like Gamefly or all games will be distributed solely via the web.

At the moment, it takes far too long to download large games to make this the default distribution standard. Once you're able to download a game in 2-3 minutes versus the several hours it can take today, the disk-based industry will be gone. Manuals will be downloaded from web sites.

All of the legacy disk games will be sold either through pawn shops, flea markets or Ebay.

[j19bill]

Gamestop and its ilk will, within 10 years, be as bankrupt as Blockbuster is today, and will be replaced either by Netflix clones like Gamefly or all games will be distributed solely via the web.

At the moment, it takes far too long to download large games to make this the default distribution standard. Once you're able to download a game in 2-3 minutes versus the several hours it can take today, the disk-based industry will be gone. Manuals will be downloaded from web sites.

All of the legacy disk games will be sold either through pawn shops, flea markets or Ebay.

Digital will be the only way in a few years. Just like with music, ask anybody with a ipod when was the last time they bought a CD. This generation probably looks at CD's like I look at 8 track tapes.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Gamestop and its ilk will, within 10 years, be as bankrupt as Blockbuster is today, and will be replaced either by Netflix clones like Gamefly or all games will be distributed solely via the web.

At the moment, it takes far too long to download large games to make this the default distribution standard. Once you're able to download a game in 2-3 minutes versus the several hours it can take today, the disk-based industry will be gone. Manuals will be downloaded from web sites.

All of the legacy disk games will be sold either through pawn shops, flea markets or Ebay.

Yep. All three current game systems have the option to download vintage games. PS3 has the option to download SOME of their recent PS3 games. For instance, you can download Mass Effect 2, which was released on PS3 this year.

As far as whether or not we're better off with video games supplanting traditional hobbies, I vote no, as well. I haven't read comprehensive studies, but, I believe, your brain essentially shuts down when you play video games. Even the games you'd think require some thought. Aside from the argument that they keep kids off the streets, you're really deriving no benefit from playing video games.

I blame video game addiction for a lot of my past and present problems. I pretty much dropped out of school to play video games. I avoided social interaction because of video games. This isn't the fault of the games, but I think this is a problem for lots of people. Even now, when things aren't going well, I escape into a video game and avoid the problem.

The thing is, compared to a lot of people, my addiction was very mild. I watched a documentary about kids in Japan or Korea who go to these video game parlors and just play all night. They eat while playing the games (and I'm sure you can guess that the quality of the food is awful), they don't sleep, they don't show up at school. When they're not actually playing the games, they're thinking about them - developing strategies, checking out new games, talking about them. It consumes them.

Video games have given me a lot of enjoyment, but I wish I had never discovered them.

[Groat]

At the moment, it takes far too long to download large games to make this the default distribution standard. Once you're able to download a game in 2-3 minutes versus the several hours it can take today, the disk-based industry will be gone. Manuals will be downloaded from web sites.

I would disagree there. Since last year, Steam (together with the smaller online distro houses) have sold far more PC games than have been bought in a retail store. Waiting an hour or two for a game to download is perfectly acceptable to many and it seems to be preferable to many as well.

[Amer]

My Gamestop has been a lot more crowded lately than it ever used to be. I think people like their used game prices and when you buy a video game it's more of an entertainment investment than going to the movies or buying a DVD or Blu-Ray you only watch every once in a while.

That said, I agree that we will probably be full digital distribution in the future. However, that ain't going to happen until prices come way down.

Right now with disc based games, I can trade it in or sell it and get money or credit for it, which I can put towards other things...namely games for me.

I can't sell my digital copy of a game. I can't trade it back in. It kind of stinks when you buy a bad game.

I bought Mafia II last fall the day it came out. I decided to get it via Steam since it came with the first Mafia game. It was $50 dollars for the digital download. Normal price for a new PC game in box.

I beat it in a weekend. This isn't uncommon with games these days. But then I began kicking myself. If I had got it for Xbox 360 or PS3, I could have easily sold it back the next day for $40 bucks. Recouping some of my investment and putting it back into more games. Instead it just sat on my hard drive until I deleted it. If I had bought a physical copy of the game I could have at least ebay'ed it.

After that I've made the commitment to only buy digital distribution games when the are on sale. This isn't hard for Steam. This past holiday I picked up several newish titles at 10 bucks or less. I'm not saying I think all downloadable games have to be $10 or less. But I'm not paying more than $30 dollars for a brand new, digital distribution game. It's really hard when Amazon continually sells console, physical copy games with $10-$20 credits and other incentives. It's like I buy one game at full price when it's new and suddenly every new release I'm getting the game for $40 or $50 with free shipping on the day of release (if I pre-order).

[franz]

As far as whether or not we're better off with video games supplanting traditional hobbies, I vote no, as well. I haven't read comprehensive studies, but, I believe, your brain essentially shuts down when you play video games. Even the games you'd think require some thought. Aside from the argument that they keep kids off the streets, you're really deriving no benefit from playing video games.

I blame video game addiction for a lot of my past and present problems. I pretty much dropped out of school to play video games. I avoided social interaction because of video games. This isn't the fault of the games, but I think this is a problem for lots of people. Even now, when things aren't going well, I escape into a video game and avoid the problem.

The thing is, compared to a lot of people, my addiction was very mild. I watched a documentary about kids in Japan or Korea who go to these video game parlors and just play all night. They eat while playing the games (and I'm sure you can guess that the quality of the food is awful), they don't sleep, they don't show up at school. When they're not actually playing the games, they're thinking about them - developing strategies, checking out new games, talking about them. It consumes them.

Video games have given me a lot of enjoyment, but I wish I had never discovered them.

Thanks for your honesty. I had a time when I used video games (one game in particular) as a destructive form of escapism. I would agree with you that the games themselves aren't the problem, but the underlying mindset. Some games play into that mindset more than others. For example, nearly everyone has heard those stories of WoW-addicted parents who neglect their children.

Sorry to wade off topic, carry on :thumbup1: