I miss physical video game stores that had video games and hardware, and wasn't 80% merchandise junk, blind bags or gift cards
Walking in and looking in a bumper to see if there was anything cheap and interesting was a great experience that just doesn't exist anymore, if you looked in the same bumper nowadays you would find 60% obsolete phone covers, 20% "surprise" items, 10% merchandise for the yearly release shooter, 5% items too expensive to be interesting and the rest is items with smashed packaging which content has been spread into the entire bumper

Chatting with the employees was always nice however, but sadly it closed together with the majority of GS stores

I created the tag video_game_(item) tag since there are an assortment of video game boxess on display, and because E621 complained about the video_games tag, feel free to tell me if you think that's wrong

Mortal Kombat...

bananfisk said:
I miss physical video game stores that had video games and hardware, and wasn't 80% merchandise junk, blind bags or gift cards
Walking in and looking in a bumper to see if there was anything cheap and interesting was a great experience that just doesn't exist anymore, if you looked in the same bumper nowadays you would find 60% obsolete phone covers, 20% "surprise" items, 10% merchandise for the yearly release shooter, 5% items too expensive to be interesting and the rest is items with smashed packaging which content has been spread into the entire bumper

Chatting with the employees was always nice however, but sadly it closed together with the majority of GS stores

Back before GameStop bought them, I loved our Babbage's, which was both a software and hardware store. Mostly games, all on shelves, and a few shelves towards the back with computer hardware. One side of the store was console games, the other PC games and a tiny (tiny haha!) section for Mac. A few bins in the middle for reduced games. And of course they had consoles and console accessories. Then GameStop bought them and converted all Babbage's/Software Etc. stores into GameStops. And for a few years it wasn't bad. But then of course it quickly went downhill. The last time I was in there (before that location closed) it was 95% used games AND hardware and slam full of merchandise like you're talking about.

GS is just straight-up evil, and it is mind-boggling why so many people keep selling them games for next to nothing so they can turn around and sell them for nearly or MORE than brand new. I've literally seen used copies priced $5 higher than a new one just because they think everyone's dumb and will go straight to the used games expecting them to be cheaper.

One time I saw a kid doing a trade-in to purchase a new game, back during the N64/PSX/Saturn days, and he had a literal stack of N64 carts a foot+ high, probably 15 in total and not junk ones either, stuff like Mario Kart, and a couple of PSX games ontop of them. He was trading them in for credit on a newly-released PSX game. I watched the employee ring them all up, then tell him afterwards that the remaining balance on the game he was buying was $45. WHAT?! FUCKING WHAT?! 15-20 games only got him $15 in credit?

Absolute scumbags.

Since no one else is talking about, I will.

MOMMA FOX!

drakkenfyre said:
Back before GameStop bought them, I loved our Babbage's, which was both a software and hardware store. Mostly games, all on shelves, and a few shelves towards the back with computer hardware. One side of the store was console games, the other PC games and a tiny (tiny haha!) section for Mac. A few bins in the middle for reduced games. And of course they had consoles and console accessories. Then GameStop bought them and converted all Babbage's/Software Etc. stores into GameStops. And for a few years it wasn't bad. But then of course it quickly went downhill. The last time I was in there (before that location closed) it was 95% used games AND hardware and slam full of merchandise like you're talking about.

GS is just straight-up evil, and it is mind-boggling why so many people keep selling them games for next to nothing so they can turn around and sell them for nearly or MORE than brand new. I've literally seen used copies priced $5 higher than a new one just because they think everyone's dumb and will go straight to the used games expecting them to be cheaper.

One time I saw a kid doing a trade-in to purchase a new game, back during the N64/PSX/Saturn days, and he had a literal stack of N64 carts a foot+ high, probably 15 in total and not junk ones either, stuff like Mario Kart, and a couple of PSX games ontop of them. He was trading them in for credit on a newly-released PSX game. I watched the employee ring them all up, then tell him afterwards that the remaining balance on the game he was buying was $45. WHAT?! FUCKING WHAT?! 15-20 games only got him $15 in credit?

Absolute scumbags.

I genuinely hate how much of modern retail is just assholes on top setting prices higher than they should be, and the store workers are just there to be run into the ground by stress

The good old Snes, so many memories xD <3

She's looking at the reason she'll be saving her allowance and birthday cash for the next six months.

TK City, the Sim City parody where the monster dragon Nora only terrorizes the students of TwoKinds High

her mom looks like a goddamn Karen and now I can't unsee it

the Modern AU's currency (G) is around 1/10 of a dollar.

One tenth of the numerical value, because the currency has ten times the monetary value of the dollar. Because economics has to be confusing like that, and it took me a minute to parse what Tom meant here.

Please tell me I'm not the only one.

And then Laura shoplifted Bonestorm and ruined Christmas.

I can recognize every single game box art in that window... Good lord I'm old.

lurkmore said:
One tenth of the numerical value, because the currency has ten times the monetary value of the dollar. Because economics has to be confusing like that, and it took me a minute to parse what Tom meant here.

Please tell me I'm not the only one.

I agree, Tom should have written it as "1 G is 10 USD" or similar demonstrated math

Before reading the description, I went "oh hey 2499!(~€333) that's the launch price of the WII" before realizing that this isn't a local post, and the price isn't in DKK

bananfisk said:
I genuinely hate how much of modern retail is just assholes on top setting prices higher than they should be, and the store workers are just there to be run into the ground by stress

Yeah, if you talk to pretty much any GS employee, they all have horror stories.

Towards the end of that location's life the store resembled a flea market. Tons and tons of used everything. Even consoles and accessories from 3-4 generations back (this was before retrogaming was huge, so it was weird) overflowing from bins. It was like they were just throwing anything they could find used into the store to make a buck. And of course that's basically what they were doing. GS loves used stuff because it's a much higher profit margin for them. They don't have to split profits with developers, publishers, or any other party. It's almost pure profit minus the miniscule amount of money they buy the stuff for. And the dev/publisher sees nothing from second-hand sales. In fact it costs them a sale for every copy bought used rather than new.

Which is why when the president of GS once announced his plan to take ALL store to ALL used, and carry absolutely nothing new anymore, the response by the industry was hilarious. As GS is the largest video game retailer in the US the news that they would be kicked in the balls and lose their largest physical retail channel was not taken kindly by the industry, to put it mildly. Announcements were made by big time players/companies that were just short of a veiled threat on the order of "We know where you live. We can't guarantee things won't happen to you if you go through with this" and not too long afterward he made another announcement that they would not be going used-only after all.

Laughed about that, hard.

i guess this suggests that in the modern AU Keidran have similar life spans as humans? the wonders of modern medicine~

bananfisk said:
I created the tag video_game_(item) tag since there are an assortment of video game boxess on display, and because E621 complained about the video_games tag, feel free to tell me if you think that's wrong

"game_cartridge" would be the tag you're looking, I think.

"Not sure why I chose an SNES. I was a 90's kid after all."

Dude, I'm a 90's kid as well, my first console was the SNES I went from jumping on goombas, to ripping and tearing demons with my bare hands. Been a gamer since I was three, first game was the SNES "Mario and Friends Preschool Fun."

bananfisk said:
I genuinely hate how much of modern retail is just assholes on top setting prices higher than they should be, and the store workers are just there to be run into the ground by stress

I remember going into a Babbages in the early 90's and the store having a Neo Geo console behind the counter on the highest shelf right in the middle of the display like a trophy being advertised for $999 USD. That same store had so few Neo Geo games that the "Neo Geo section" had 3 levels of empty shelves because they didn't have enough games to fill the space.

I know Gamestop is evil but fuck nostalgia.

kaiserwilhelmii343 said:
her mom looks like a g*dd*mn Karen and now I can't unsee it

Nah... She looks nowhere enraged enough or self righteously indignant for that.

iago1 said:
"game_cartridge" would be the tag you're looking, I think.

Game_cartridge doesn't really fit about the boxed games that i was talking about (and looking closer, there is one in the demo unit)
Video_game_(item) is a broader term that would cover game boxes, cartridges, disks, tapes etc.
On a second thought, perhaps the tag should be video_game_box which would then imply video_game_(item)

lurkmore said:
One tenth of the numerical value, because the currency has ten times the monetary value of the dollar. Because economics has to be confusing like that, and it took me a minute to parse what Tom meant here.

Please tell me I'm not the only one.

You aren’t.

This brings back memories of my childhood. But mine was the NES at the Nintendo store at the old Fox Hills mall back in Culver City. Man I loved that place.

bananfisk said:
I miss physical video game stores that had video games and hardware, and wasn't 80% merchandise junk, blind bags or gift cards
Walking in and looking in a bumper to see if there was anything cheap and interesting was a great experience that just doesn't exist anymore, if you looked in the same bumper nowadays you would find 60% obsolete phone covers, 20% "surprise" items, 10% merchandise for the yearly release shooter, 5% items too expensive to be interesting and the rest is items with smashed packaging which content has been spread into the entire bumper

Chatting with the employees was always nice however, but sadly it closed together with the majority of GS stores

I remember the nintendo store back in the eighties especially the one at my local mall. It was the Fox hill mall in Los Angeles Culver City. And there was a drive-through movie theater nearby and a GemCO as well.

HOLY SHITE!!!!!!! ARE YOU SEEING THIS?! Regular Gas for $0.22??????

This takes me back. 8o

Man, I miss that demo kiosk they had at WalMart back in the day...!