When Previously-Played Games Are Sold as New

In the replies to an article over at NeoGAF, one of the commenters said that employees of a particular chain of stores can try the video games and then the store will still turn around and sell those games as brand new. The commenter said that GameStop/EB employees can “check out” new games whenever they want and then shrink wrap them when they’re done, and EB sells them as new. We’re not saying this claim is true or false, and this article won’t even try to guess.

But it’s a horrifying possibility to imagine. Gamers buy new games and expect them to be new. Wouldn’t it make you feel cheated when the game you just bought from a store already has somebody’s save file in it? After all, if somebody else has already tried it, then it really isn’t new, is it? This is what prompted the writer of the NeoGAF article to fill out a complaint form at the GameStop Feedback website.

But just to be the devil’s advocate about it, how about when you buy new clothes off the rack. You want your clothes to be new, too, but there’s no telling who else has tried on those clothes before you came along. And not all of us mind buying clothes off the rack (I don’t, but then again, I used to do all my shopping at Walmart).

Of course, there’s a difference between video games and clothes, between electronics and shoes. But consider this: in most good clothing stores, when you buy something, they don’t give you the thing hanging from the rack; they get a fresh one from the stock room. That’s honesty. Does your video game seller do that for you? When a good clothing store is out of stock, they will sell you the thing from the rack at a clearance or discounted price. Does your video game seller give you the display product for less?

Via NeoGAF

In the replies to an article over at NeoGAF, one of the commenters said that employees of a particular chain of stores can try the video games and then the store will still turn around and sell those games as brand new. The commenter said that GameStop/EB employees can “check out” new games whenever they want and then shrink wrap them when they’re done, and EB sells them as new. We’re not saying this claim is true or false, and this article won’t even try to guess.

But it’s a horrifying possibility to imagine. Gamers buy new games and expect them to be new. Wouldn’t it make you feel cheated when the game you just bought from a store already has somebody’s save file in it? After all, if somebody else has already tried it, then it really isn’t new, is it? This is what prompted the writer of the NeoGAF article to fill out a complaint form at the GameStop Feedback website.

But just to be the devil’s advocate about it, how about when you buy new clothes off the rack. You want your clothes to be new, too, but there’s no telling who else has tried on those clothes before you came along. And not all of us mind buying clothes off the rack (I don’t, but then again, I used to do all my shopping at Walmart).

Of course, there’s a difference between video games and clothes, between electronics and shoes. But consider this: in most good clothing stores, when you buy something, they don’t give you the thing hanging from the rack; they get a fresh one from the stock room. That’s honesty. Does your video game seller do that for you? When a good clothing store is out of stock, they will sell you the thing from the rack at a clearance or discounted price. Does your video game seller give you the display product for less?

Via NeoGAF