...And Now...since I've gotten myself started on the whole "Gamestop" thing again...even though I've already posted similar things on other boards & sites (Jobocan may well have seen me saying all of this shit before)...I feel like posting a few ideas/thoughts that I've had concerning Gamestop (and their practices) here and seeing/hearing what everyone here thinks:
1st I *TOTALLY* believe in & support the 'concept' of *OWNERSHIP*. If/When gaming & Consoles ever becomes completely "digital"/"Cloud"-based...I'll be done with it. I'll *NEVER* buy and/or support any company or console that does away w/ my right to own (and be able to hold/touch/feel, see on my shelf, loan, buy, sell, give, snap in half (if I wanted to), re-sell, trade, etc) the games/consoles that I spend my money on.
Since I *AM* such a staunch supporter of ownership...and...since I'm no big fan of encouraging and/or inviting the government in to regulate/be in control of anything else (they've already got Waaaaaaay too much SAY and *SWAY* & have inserted themselves into many more positions of power, authority, influence, monitoring, and enforcement than *I* think that they should be...this means...that I'd be a hypocrite to bitch about & defend *MY* ownership rights...and then, turn around & deny those exact same rights to Gamestop (much as I may & do *hate* them).
Which brings me to my other ideas, thoughts, and 'suggestions" (for Gamestop).
2nd Since, like I just said, I so strongly believe in & support ownership rights (and the right to buy, sell, and re-sell your property)...I have to say that Gamestop also has the right to buy, sell, and re-sell the their property that they've bought.
*However*, I also think that their wanton raping and parasitic effect on the developers (and producers) that actually *create* & *make* the games that we love & enjoy playing & collecting so much has been allowed to continue, un-checked, for far too long.
This (I'm sure) has contributed *Greatly* in said developers & producers now being at the point that they are now at regarding upcoming generation(s) of consoles & their ability to play/not play used games.
What I'd like to see (and think is fair)-and what I'd be thinking/doing if I were in Gamestop's shoes would be:
A). Personally, I'd like to see them agree to *only* selling used games from the *previous* gen (and even older gen's).
There's no doubt in my mind that they could easily make enough money doing this to remain a profitable business, while, at the same time, giving the devs/producers much more time to make their profits from selling their games as new (w/o worrying about/competing w/ *one* copy of a game they've been paid for being continously sold & re-sold countless times); usually right next to their *new* copy on the shelf...but for like $5 less.
B). More realistically, I think, that they should, at the least agree to, say, a "6 month window"-giving the game's creators at least 6 months to profit from sales of their new games.
C). Lastly, for now:) - I think that they should implement an electronic, "point-of-sale" system where (I'd say) 10% of the *Profit* from *used* game sales is credited to the relevant devs/pubs of the game.
I've seen (and been told) that very often, a game they buy for $5 ends up getting re-sold for $25.
They've just made $20.
At 10%; $2 of this would be credited to whoever it should be.
In this case, they've *still* *more than* *tripled* their initial investment...for most...more than tripling your initial investment would be amazing.
My points here are, mainly that, in this manner:
1). Gamestop could continue profiting into the future (while, once they've lost all of their used game revenue); I don't think that they could.
2). Devs/pubs would be thrilled w/ this continuous stream of residual income that they'd no longer have any reason to "do away w/ used games".
3). Which, in turn, only benefits us, as the consumers, the game creators, and the retail stores...everybody wins!
Thoughts?!