It's fair to criticize GameStop's policies. In some stores, it can feel like harassment or running some sort of unnecessary gauntlet once you get to the register. New vs used, PowerUp Card, disc replacement guarantee, pre-orders, ensuring the game given is the right one, etc. There's a location right near my home that's potentially the worst GS location on the planet and serves as an example of all that is wrong with the chain.
Having said that, any video game-specific store has to have the same used game sales focus as GameStop does. In my experience locally, many of the used game prices at non-GameStop stores are very similar to GameStop numbers. The margin that used games and these prices provide provides most of the revenue that keeps any of these stores in business. Usually the overall experience is better-- with fewer pressure sales tactics in place and a greater focus on customer service to secure repeat business-- but many other similarities remain.
I understand the push for online commerce, but I personally dislike it. I'm a dinosaur; I prefer going into a store, picking my item(s), and walking out to play same day. No shipping expenses or nightmares, no waiting three days for a return/replacement, zero chance of not getting an item because the seller flakes out or forgets.
The constant whining and griping by developers (and some publishers) over used games is unfortunate. Never saw it for decades. This past console generation really began this War on Used Games, and it's been weird seeing a part of the video game economy that I've taken part in since I was in grade school fall under attack. Perhaps developers and publishers only complained off the record before the proliferation of the World Wide Web and the explosion of gaming press, where there always has to be something new for "news" every day... but now it's prevalent. It's disconcerting, too. I never used to have questions about buying used games before the PS3/360 generation.
It's all unfortunate, and, honestly, it plays a role in why I won't be buying new consoles as this new generation gets underway. Being punished as a consumer because I don't always buy new and not liking this inexorable push towards digital content is enough for me to cash in my chips and retire to Retroland.
