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Holy Cow! Gamestop to buy EB

I always thought EB was the bigger of the two ;_; I love me EBs~~~~the Gamestop "near" me is pretty bland by comparison. I hope they don't shutdown the really cool extra good EB I normally go to.

Drinky Crow said:
SUPPORT GAMECRAZY
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There isn't any of them even remotely near me~looks like I'll have to go crawling back to Microplay o.o?
 
Suikoguy said:
Its more then likely they will be closing stores they are directly "competing" against each other (IE in the same building or strip).
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You'd be surprised. I can stand at one gamestop and see another one around here, and as stated earlier, both stores stay open. And do well. It's the Starbucks Effect - where saturation doesn't hurt you but it helps you.
 
YMMV, but Gamestops in my area suck balls. They NEVER get games on release day, even though the EB 10 minutes away gets them on time. Also, they tend to hire the most ignorant of people, who still push the PSP as a DVD player. There's a Gamestop literally across the street from my house and I make the extra 10 minite trip to avoid them at all costs.
 
Ok ok here is some updated news on this story.

my buddy just got off a conf call with all the DM's and RM's and corp. Here is what is known so far.

Its not a buyout, more of a merger. EB will keep its name. Electronics Boutique Corp will now become Gamestop Corp. If you are an employee of EB out in the field, you dont have to worry about job layoffs or anything like that, at least not for now, or in the forseeable future. If you work at the home office, then you need to worry. Also, Gamestop is opening a Corp. office in Europe, and it is said that most of the higher ups at EB are going to be shipped out there.

Thats all I know so far. Its basically gonna be where EB keeps its brand name on all retail and online stores, but whatever revenue is generated goes to Gamestop Corp.
 
Hey aparisi, you might want to edit out the information fingering your buddy. GS higher ups do browse these forums and don't like sensitive info being "leaked".
 
Phoenix said:
If the words "Intellectual property" don't mean anything to you, then yeah, you would think this.
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MS is better off having Apple being independant like I already said. That way, they can steal their ideas :D

There isn't much IP worth owning beyond the iPod IMO either. The OS market is locked by MS still.
 
*YAWN*---

Nothing new here.

Been through this many times (Gamestop side)...

Started at Software Etc ...
Merged (bought out) Babbage's ...
then became Neostar ...
then became Babbage's Etc ...
Then merged (bought out) Funcoland ...
then became Gamestop...

I will offer plenty of insight later on since I have been through this now (over 10 years - and coutring) .. I am busy making a bunch of money off my 3000+ options from Gamestop...

Wish I had EB stock as well...
 
Yea, I remember when the reverse was happening (When EB made a bid for Gamestop back in early 90's) - I forget. Shelves were completely empty ....

Ahh those were the days....
 
dskillzhtown said:
If the government knew anything about videogames, they wouldn't let this happen. Talk about monopolies. EB and GS are he only gamign specialty shops in the US!!! As far as stores not closing, I doubt it will be like that in Houston were there is a GS within a mile of every EB it seems. Can't see them keeping all those stores open.
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Be that as it may, the fact remains that when merged, Wal-Mart will still be ahead of them in the sales.
 
ManDudeChild said:
Be that as it may, the fact remains that when merged, Wal-Mart will still be ahead of them in the sales.
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Wal-Mart has been losing market share for two years in a row. Expect them to drop a bit more until they decide they actually want to compete with everyone else on price. If they didn't have monopolies in smaller towns, they'd be in real trouble (it's also why they don't have sales often)
 
sp0rsk said:
anyway gamestop is better than EB in alot of ways but i hope we get the best of both.

and maybe a pay raise.
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HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHA. Not going to happen.

I've seen it myself and talked about it in the Gamestop thread a couple of weeks ago. Gamestop has gotten cheap. Lowering the discount, only giving raises once a year and rarely giving out the maximum amount (a whole forty cents!)

With GS purchasing EB, expect to see this happen: EB's will now use the GameStop P.O.S. which really is a piece of shit, but since they've used it since 1997, don't expect them to get rid of it. Funcoland used to run a Windows based P.O.S. now, they don't. Expect the discount to drop to 10%, probably not right away though. They'll keep it at 15% for a little while, compensating for the paycut that will happen to new employees coming into EB stores. EB pays more than GameStop, GS is a greedy company, so they aren't going to change their ways.

This just makes my brain hurt, and it makes me glad that I don't work for GS anymore.
 
FYI - this will result in an assload of either EB stores Gamestop stores closing... In recent years they have been opening stores blocks away from each other in a fervent attempt to compete.
 
Lindsay said:
I always thought EB was the bigger of the two ;_; I love me EBs~~~~the Gamestop "near" me is pretty bland by comparison. I hope they don't shutdown the really cool extra good EB I normally go to.



There isn't any of them even remotely near me~looks like I'll have to go crawling back to Microplay o.o?
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The problem with Microplay is they are lousy with updating their prices. ThereÂ’s 3 in the general area where I live, and all are the same way. They are REALLY good for pre-owned NEW games, because they will routinely sell them for $44-$49 CAD, when they are still going for $69 new at EB. However, they are pretty bad for old games... I cant count the number of times I've gone in and seen pre-owned games for $36 CAD, and I'm thinking to myself "Ok, this thing is $29 NEW now..." and they will literally leave 15 games piled up at that price for MONTHS.

BUT, unlike EB, they actually give respectable trade-in values for store credit.
 
>>>Ah...then comes the inevitable store closings, mass lay-offs, etc., etc. Lame news.<<<

Expect a purge of EB store managers, like what happened to all the Funcoland managers.
 
A lot of you overestimate these companies' influence on the market at large. Here's a simple analogy to put things in perspective:

Gamestop merging with EB : monopoly on video game retail

as

Krystal merging with Checkers : monopoly on fast food industry
 
^ ADOBE and Macromedia. NOT Apple.

Shig said:
A lot of you overestimate these companies' influence on the market at large. Here's a simple analogy to put things in perspective:

Gamestop merging with EB : monopoly on video game retail

as

Krystal merging with Checkers : monopoly on fast food industry
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I've never heard of Krystal or Checkers. What the hell?
 
M3wThr33 said:
I've never heard of Krystal or Checkers. What the hell?
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Ah, right. Handy key for those in other regions:

Krystal = White Castle
Checkers = Rally or Sonic
 
Shig said:
White Castle and Sonic are interchangable with the above.
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Those two aren't on the West Coast, either, but at least I've heard of them.
Jesus, you people with your crappy fast food.
Del Taco and In N Out for life!
 
Gamestop and EB merging was a natural progression because of the increasing influence and emergence of other chains starting to sell games far more seriously. There's no way that EB or GS on their own could hope to compete with the big electronic stores and the rental chains since they have other sources of revenue other than games.
 
Shig said:
Ah, right. Handy key for those in other regions:

Krystal = White Castle
Checkers = Rally or Sonic
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:lol I think the problem with this analogy is you're talking about regional companies while at least EB is anything but. Everyone on this forum knows who EB is no matter where they live, while the only place I've heard of ANY of the fast food places you've mentioned is on this forum.
 
Oracle Dragon said:
The problem with Microplay is they are lousy with updating their prices. ThereÂ’s 3 in the general area where I live, and all are the same way. They are REALLY good for pre-owned NEW games, because they will routinely sell them for $44-$49 CAD, when they are still going for $69 new at EB. However, they are pretty bad for old games... I cant count the number of times I've gone in and seen pre-owned games for $36 CAD, and I'm thinking to myself "Ok, this thing is $29 NEW now..." and they will literally leave 15 games piled up at that price for MONTHS.

BUT, unlike EB, they actually give respectable trade-in values for store credit.
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Heh heh well I live in PA so mine is a US Microplay (rare huh?) !

I never much bought games from them but back in like '95 - '00 I'd rent games nearly every week from them pretty cheaply. That's another reason to go back~I never rent games anymore an I think its kinda possibly limiting what all I play and stuff.
 
Ah, that's interesting. Can't say that I care much about it, as I can't imagine any way it'd meaningfully affect me.
 
maharg said:
:lol I think the problem with this analogy is you're talking about regional companies while at least EB is anything but. Everyone on this forum knows who EB is no matter where they live, while the only place I've heard of ANY of the fast food places you've mentioned is on this forum.
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All right, hell, bump it up to 3rd string fast food joints like Arby's and Carl's Jr./Hardee's.

They still wouldn't make a dent in McDonald's if they combined.

My point was that people have a very tenuous grasp as to what a monopoly is. A monopoly is something where the competition stands no chance. Somehow I don't think this merger has Wal-Mart or Best Buy quaking. The only segment of the pie this could have much affect on is trade-in/used game prices, and Blockbuster's GameRush is large enough (and getting larger) to ensure continued competition there.
 
Woah if they are gonna move into Europe i bet they take over GAME which basically owns the whole UK market which has been available for a buy-out for about 3 months if they do no doubts ill see the red words Gamestop near my place very soon
 
Lindsay said:
Heh heh well I live in PA so mine is a US Microplay (rare huh?) !

I never much bought games from them but back in like '95 - '00 I'd rent games nearly every week from them pretty cheaply. That's another reason to go back~I never rent games anymore an I think its kinda possibly limiting what all I play and stuff.
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You're lucky, the Microplay in my area of PA moved or something. I have no idea where to find them now. :(
 
Bauer Action Hour said:
Gamestop better not get rid of things like unlimited 15% off of used games and free shipping online, as well as the 10% Edge card discount.
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That's what has me worried the most. New games there really isn't much difference between the two. Used games is fuckin' night and day. EB's prices are better. EB's selection is better. EB runs all kinds of sales. EB.com offers 15% off plus ANOTHER 10% off with the Edge card.

EB kicks ass for used games. If Gamestop messes with this I may start crying like a little girl. :(
 
Lindsay - I had no idea there were still Microplays around. The one in Centereach became *ANOTHER* GameStop and the one in Bethpage became like something totally random with nothing at all to do with games.

Drinky - Just curious, what makes GameCrazy so much better than EB/GS in your opinion? I like it cuz you can find some oldskool games... got a loose Light Crusader for like $3 the other week.

To any NYCers/LIers - Any place you can recommend for imports with a nice selection? Next time I go to the city I wanna hit up Chinatown.
 
Shig said:
The only segment of the pie this could have much affect on is trade-in/used game prices, and Blockbuster's GameRush is large enough (and getting larger) to ensure continued competition there.
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Please. There's not one GR in a 50 mile radius of me (sadly, that's all GR's site shows, but I'm fairly sure the only GRs in NY state are in NYC) and there are 13 GS/EBs around me.
 
Drinky Crow said:
SUPPORT GAMECRAZY
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Don't forget GameRush (inside of BlockBuster video). They have some awesome deals and they're the main reaosn I haven't purchased a new game form EB or Gamespot in the past two months. And I buy a lot of games!!
 
VALIS said:
That's what has me worried the most. New games there really isn't much difference between the two. Used games is fuckin' night and day. EB's prices are better. EB's selection is better. EB runs all kinds of sales. EB.com offers 15% off plus ANOTHER 10% off with the Edge card.

EB kicks ass for used games. If Gamestop messes with this I may start crying like a little girl. :(
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Expect trade-in prices to suffer greatly overall. Without the two stores competing for trade-ins, that removes 95%+ of the trade-in market competition. They'll be able to give you only $15, when they would have given $22 as you've got no place left to go (I know there's Gamecrazy or whatever the rental stores are, but they do such a pathetic amount of business relative to EB & GS).

You'll still see stuff when you trade-in towards specific games, but even that should suffer somewhat.
 
bobbyconover said:
Don't you live in Seattle? What is this shit. It's Dick's and Ivar's out here, poseur!
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I do, but I grew up in Los Angeles.
Ivar's is that seafood place. I hate seafood. I keep getting told to go to Dick's. Maybe I shall.
 
Roland Hood said:
SAY HELLO TO 60$ GAMES
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Naw, they still have nothing on Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy who will kill them for going too far in that direction. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if they start offering less for trade-ins.
 
You have to wonder if a chain like GameStop is going to stock games like EB did. I still haven't seen SpikeOut in a Software Etc. but EB had them in. If this buy out goes through then GameStop had better not become lazy and slack off with the rare games like SpikeOut. I personaly prefer the EB in my area to the 3 GameStops over here,they carry alot more games new and used plus they still have the buy 2 get the 3rd used game for free deal going in,whereas gameStop dropped it again.
 
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