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GameStop scams Killzone 2 fans
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Photo courtesy of Sarcastic Gamer
After strolling by 26 preowned copies of Killzone 2 at my local GameStop yesterday during my "totally made-up story", I decided to head back to the same store on the official launch day of Killzone 2 to see how things were faring.
I put on my detective hat and approached the counter, asking if I could get a copy of Killzone 2. They asked if I preordered, which I didn't (because I wasn't really going to buy the game), and they directed me to the preowned section where there were still 2 copies left waiting to be resold. I told them "no thanks" and continued to hang around the store.
After 15 minutes or so, I overheard another customer asking for Killzone 2. This customer did preorder and picked up his copy on Tuesday, which "didn't work" so he brought it back. He was now told that there aren't any more new copies of the game, but he could still get the game preowned if he wants it that badly. Somehow, this just wasn't adding up.
I approached this customer and struck up a conversation. Derek, he tells me his name is, received a call from the store on Tuesday telling him he could pick up his preorder of Killzone 2. Wanting the game as soon as possible, he didn't ask why it was being sold early in case the GameStop employees just didn't know any better and made a mistake to his benefit. Derek rushed to the store with a friend of his (who also preordered) to pick up his game.
The guys take their games home, excited to be able to play Killzone 2 a few days early. After a brief time with singleplayer, they decide to jump into the multiplayer and see what's new (Derek claims he participated in the beta). Unfortunately, Derek is unable to connect to any other players. They thought maybe it was the disc and tried Derek's friend's disc, but it gave them the same result. The guys decided maybe it was an Internet issue or maybe a problem with the PS3, so they take their games to Derek's friend's house, but again end up with the same result.
Derek, for some reason, believes there is something wrong with the discs and decides to take his game back to GameStop. His friend actually (correctly) assumed that they couldn't connect to anyone yet because they got the game early, but Derek didn't believe that since "the servers were up during the beta". Kids these days...
Derek returns to GameStop the next day (Wednesday) to exchange his disc. After explaining why he wants an exchange, the cashier tells Derek that an Internet connection issue has nothing to do with the disc and that it's likely a problem with the PS3 or his Internet Service Provider. Derek explains that it didn't work on his friend's PS3 either, which the GameStop employee called "a coincidence".
Derek is told that the only thing they can do since the game is opened and is, from their judgment, not defective is to buy it back. They weren't offering any replacements unless he wanted to wait an extra week for their next shipment. Derek's choices are to keep the game or sell it back to GameStop. Believing the game to be broken and not wanting to wait, he sells the game back.
Derek's friend kept his game, which magically started working the day of the official launch. Derek hoped he could get his game back from GameStop after he explained the situation, but they just weren't having it. GameStop's stance was that Derek already picked up his preorder, so all of the new copies they had that were reserved for preorders were untouchable. Derek's choices then were to wait, again, for a new shipment or to buy a preowned copy, one of which actually used to be his.
After seeing 26 preowned copies of the game yesterday, I knew that Derek's case was not a isolated incident. This GameStop store, knowingly or not, sold the game early and then banked on all of the returns because the game "didn't work" yet. You could call it dickishness or ineptitude on GameStop's part, or maybe you'd just blame the customers for somewhat stupidly selling the games back. Either way, the situation stinks and certainly doesn't do much to help GameStop's image as an evil corporation.
I hope I got your story out there, Derek, and sorry if I somewhat insulted you in the process. It certainly wasn't a smart decision on your part, but that doesn't excuse GameStop's mishandling of the situation.
What do you think? Is GameStop evil, or are there simply a lot of kids making poor decisions? Maybe a combination of the two? I can't help but feel that, either way, GameStop is certainly taking advantage of the situation.
Note: This isn't ALL GameStops, just this local store that I went to. I don't think that you can really hold the entire chain responsible for something like this, even though I'm not particularly fond of GameStop to start with. This also assumes Derek isn't exaggerating the misdeeds of the store just because he happened to get burned.
And to make it explicity clear since some people may have missed it, I am well aware that the servers didn't go live until launch. That's half the point of the entire article!
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