1up.com is reporting that a Gamestop Manager has informed them that his District Manager stated that Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, is going on sell tomorrow. The gamestop website is also stating that the item “Usually ships in 24 hours”–the same thing it says when the video game is out.

I didn’t pre-order it, yet. I figured I had the weekend to do so. But, I don’t see how this can be construed as anything but good news! At least Uncharted is going to go on sale on a day that isn’t ME-Day (that’s Mass Effect day). I think the only thing that makes me sad about Uncharted’s release is that it marks the end of PS3 release hype for me. Can you guys give me something to be hyped about this year?

Chufmoney

Gamestop will very likely be sold out almost completely of Bioshock by the time you read this. If you were planning on just picking it up, or you were going to pick it up in a couple of days, I suggest you call ahead prior to making a, er, Gamestop. Or you might try Circuit City, where it’s on sale for 50 dollars for the 360, and 40 dollars for the PC (and if you have a PC that can run it, I’d like to add that you can burn in hell). On that note, I’m off to Rapture. Hold my calls.

-Aegies

Today I received a phone call.  I suspect that many of you received a similar call, as I like to assume that most of you have pre-ordered Bioshock, because you know quality when you see it.  And like me, you probably noticed you were receiving a call from an unknown number and answered hoping that it was 1up offering you your dream job.

Alas, as you now know it was the video game harlot, otherwise known as GameStop.  And that lovely voice you were expecting to hear on the line when you answered with a polite, “hello, sir or mam, how are you on this fine day?” came back with a roboticized pre-recorded voice of someone who was stalking you.  Yes this pre-made voice automaton of GameStop’s had insider knowledge that you had pre-ordered Bioshock and just wanted to drop you a little insider’s clue that the Special Edition of the game was going to be available exclusively through EB and GameStop.

This dear reader is where your story and mine will differ.  Unlike you, who was probably delighted to be alerted to such news, I raged like the Hulk.  Only when I tried to tear my shirt I just spilt my coffee on my shirt and pants and then felt like I pissed myself for hours.

Why is it that GameStop gets exclusivity on something like the special edition of Bioshock?  That is almost enough to make me not purchase it (though the collector whore inside me will likely cave).   Furthermore I ask you am I the only one who is pissed that GameStop calls me on my phone even though I never gave them permission to?  I can’t even speak to a human so I can tell them to take me off their calling list for God’s sake.  I will probably have to go to my local EB and deal with Captain Douchetastic in order to get some sort of freedom from robotic audio terrorism.

In sum: Bioshock special edition=GameStop exclusive.  Chuf really wants to kill automatons.

Chufmoney  

So I ran into another little morsel of absurdity the other day. Apparently, Gamestop’s policy as of late is to open up new games before selling them to the customer, which effectively devalues the “new” product. I don’t have a Gamestop in my local area, so I honestly had no idea that this was actually a common occurrence.

So what’s the big deal? Why would it matter if they opened your shiny new product, if the plan is to rip it open when you get home anyway?

For one, this policy essentially lets Gamestop capitalize on the uninformed. For instance, what if your Grandmother bought you the Gamecube version of Hitman 2, instead of the Xbox 360 version? Well, then it looks like you’re screwed. The game has been opened before you even touched it, and now you can return it for maybe a fifth of its value. This practice essentially ensures that their teeth are still firmly implanted in the juicy buttock of the used game market, since Gamestop can now generate their own “used” titles for immediate markup. And like a bulldog, once their teeth are in, they don’t let go.

And if that isn’t enough, these actions invite personal corruption. Would it be difficult for an employee to switch a brand new copy of a title with their own used version? Absolutely not. Will there be those who take full advantage of this? Of course. At this rate, it’s just a question of when someone will have the brass luggers to sue Gamestop, not if.

-Bedlam-