Kotaku: Retail

How Will You Buy Your Vita Games, Retail or Download?

Mike Fahey — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST

With early start Vita bundle buyers picking up their systems this morning in the U.S., commenter bassguygt is curious to know how they'll be picking up games, and frankly so are we. More »

Local GameStop Says It'll Show a PS Vita to Anyone, Pre-Order or Not

Owen Good — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:47:41 EST

Yesterday, Kotaku published a story in which it was suggested, after to speaking to a local store here, that some GameStop stores would only be showcasing a demonstration model of the PlayStation Vita for those who had preordered the device. I've since been contacted by store representatives saying that's not the case. More »

GameStops Have PS Vita Demo Units, but Call Before You Head Over to Play One [Update]

Owen Good — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST

Game Informer (owned by GameStop) this weekend announced that more than 3,300 GameStop locations in North America have demonstration units of the PS Vita available for people to come by and play. I'd advise calling first to see if your local store is letting it out for everyone to handle. More »

My First PlayStation Vita Game, Courtesy of Walmart

Mike Fahey — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:30:00 EST

Just because the PS Vita isn't out for another ten days in North America doesn't mean you can't start picking up your launch games in advance. This poor little guy looked so out of place in Walmart's PlayStation section I just had to take him home. More »

Where Have all the Skylanders Gone, Uncle Activision?

Mike Fahey — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

Activision's action figure-driven Skylanders: Sypro's Adventure was a huge holiday hit last year, with parents buying up starter kits in droves. Now, with hundreds of thousands of children demanding additional figures, empty Skylanders displays have become an all-too-frequent frustration for haggard parents. More »

Wii-Owning President Obama Doesn't Care if the Xbox Version is Better

Owen Good — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:30:00 EST

Somewhere inside the Beltway today, copies of Just Dance 3 for the Wii and The Sims Plus Pets rode in a presidential caravan with the nuclear football. That, gang, is core game cred. More »

EA Sports Invites Some Old Pals to Play Golf in Tiger Woods 13

Owen Good — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:20:00 EST

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I had high hopes when EA Sports hinted a couple months ago that "figures recognizable to the sports world" would be playable golfers in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, due in March. That kind of longhand comment, as opposed to just saying "former sports stars" had me thinking the game might include some kind of celebrity pro-am event. More »

This GameStop Trolling Brought to You By Best Buy

Mike Fahey — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:40:00 EST

There are certain disadvantages to locating your game-centric retail store next to a big box electronics outfit, as this lovely Best Buy sign so aptly demonstrates. It's enough to make a guy trade in all his games for a refrigerator. More »

EB Games/GameStop Gets Rid of Used Games Section [Update]

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:00:00 EST

An employee of Canada's EB Games (read: GameStop) has let us know that, in one of the company's shittier moves in recent years, the distinction between "new" and "used" games (at least in Canada) is apparently going to be all but removed. More »

GameStop Employees Suing Over Unpaid Conditions

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:00:00 EST

Multinational retailer GameStop is facing a lawsuit from its own employees over security checks the company performs on them whenever they go for a break or clock off for the day. More »

GameStop Blames Poor Sales on Broke Customers Reneging on Preorders

Owen Good — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:00:00 EST

Despite the onslaught of desirable, highly anticipated titles, week after week this fall, GameStop's sales are "lower than expected," the dominant games retailer told investors, simply because there were too many good games out there for customers to buy, especially in a poor economy. More »

Black Friday Ads Already Leaking; See Them for Toys R' Us and GameStop [Updated]

Owen Good — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST

You can get a head start on your Black Friday plan of attack with the circulars for two games retailers featured prominently in The Moneysaver each week. GottaDeal.com has just posted the Black Friday ads for GameStop and Toys 'R Us. More »

A Rare Glimpse at Steam Sales Figures

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 07:00:00 EST

Sadly, Valve never releases sales figures for its Steam digital shopfront on the PC. So we never get an overall idea of how popular the platform is. Sometimes, though, figures slip out, and today is one of those days. More »

Kid Denied Pokémon Cards, Completely Freaks Out

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 03:30:00 EDT

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UPDATE - Video removed at request of persons involved. Some Yu-Gi-Oh fans were in their local Toys R' Us when they spotted a kid reacting...poorly to his mother's decision to not let him buy any Pokémon cards. More »

GoldenEye's Paintball Mode is Preorder DLC Only, Even Though It's on the Disc

Owen Good — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 23:30:00 EDT

GoldenEye's "paintball" multiplayer mode, something won at a hard cost on the Nintendo 64 original, is a pre-order downloadable content exclusive, GiantBomb reports. It is not unlockable without a code from GameStop, which will be given out only for preorders of GoldenEye 007:Reloaded on PS3 and Xbox 360. More »

A Sports Video Game Outsold Gears of War 3's Launch

Owen Good — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:00:00 EDT

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EA Sports' hot streak at retail continues to ride strong; FIFA 12 sold 3.2 million copies in its first week, the label reports, citing internal analysis. That means FIFA 12's launch was bigger than Gears of War 3's More »

"PSN Pass" Confirmed for Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Access

Owen Good — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 00:30:00 EDT

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As it did with Resistance 3, Sony plans to impose its "PSN Pass" on Uncharted 3, meaning multiplayer access to that game will be subject to a one-use code included with all retail copies. That's per Juan Jimenéz, Sony's software manager for Spain. More »

Proposed City Law Would Require Mugshot When You Sell Used Games

Owen Good — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EDT

In Oregon, when I trade my games in, I'm required to certify there is no lien against them, like the IRS wants my copy of NCAA Football 11. It's one of the many fun-filled ways in which local ordinances regulate the sale of used games. Madison, Wisc., is scheming up another. More »

GameStop Officially Wants Your iPhone, iPads, and iPods

Mike Fahey — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:40:00 EDT

Video game retailer GameStop officially gets into the Apple business today with the launch of its long-rumored iPhone, iPad, and iPod trade-in program. How much will they pay for your old Apple crap? More »

EA's $15 Million in 'Online Pass' Revenue Isn't 'Dramatic', but It Isn't a Failure

Owen Good — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:00:00 EDT

In comments yesterday, Electronic Arts' chief financial officer suggested that Online Pass—the program under which gamers who pick up a used copy of an EA Sports game typically shell out another $10 to EA if they want to activate multiplayer for it—has netted the company in the realm of $10 to $15 million since it was introduced in June 2010. That's a paltry sum to a publisher that size, but it doesn't mean the program's a failure. More »

Despite a Lockout and Disappointing Reviews, Madden Looks to One of Its Best Years Ever

Owen Good — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 22:00:00 EDT

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When the NFL lockout hovered over the release of EA Sports' Madden series earlier in the year, investors were told to expect lower sales of Madden NFL 12. Analysts pegged the potential losses at up to half of all sales. The label's exclusive pact with the league was renegotiated to terms that would help mitigate any harm. More »

A Look Inside the First EA Sports Retail Store

Owen Good — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:30:00 EDT

Back in June, EA Sports announced plans to open up three brick-and-mortar stores, appealing to sports fans' wallets with games and apparel. This is the first location, the month-old EA Sports store located just at the Concourse C entrance at Charlotte (N.C.) Douglas International Airport. More »

European Retailer Stops Selling Busted Old 360 Consoles

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 07:30:00 EDT

Two of Europe's biggest games retailers, Game and Gamestation (the latter owned by the former), have stopped selling old models of the Xbox 360, according to a report on Eurogamer. More »

Cumming Mom Vows Only to Buy New After Finding Dick Pic in Used Game

Owen Good — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT

From Georgia, uh, comes the most pernicious piece of anti-used games propaganda I've ever seen. A mother of two small children says she will from now on buy new games because she found a hand-drawn pornographic picture inserted in the case of a used one bought at GameStop. The kicker? This all went down on in a town called "Cumming." More »

Let's Go Shopping For Video Games! (In the 1980's and 1990's)

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Ah, paper catalogues. They still make them, but they're not what they used to be. What are now glossy prints highlighting only a select few items from a store used to be informational tomes, full of almost everything you could ever want. More »

Bonus NBA 2K12 Teams Don't Require Preorder, Will Be In All Retail Copies

Owen Good — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EDT

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Correcting an earlier misconception we reported: NBA 2K12 will offer codes for two classic teams, the 1990-91 Golden State Warriors and the 2001-2002 Sacramento Kings. These codes will be printed and inserted into all retail copies of the game, and will be available through all retail outlets, but there will be a limited supply of them. Once the codes run out, the game will ship copies without them. More »

Today, Canada Gets the World's Best Xbox 360 Bundle

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 04:30:00 EDT

Starting today, and for a limited time, an Xbox 360 bundle will go on sale in Canada that is, well, better than any other I've ever seen for the console. More »

GameStop Brings the Convenience of Digital PC Game Delivery to Retail

Mike Fahey — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:30:00 EDT

Not everyone that purchases downloadable PC games does it because they prefer shopping at home. Some of them just hate discs and boxes. Maybe it's an environmental thing. Perhaps their father was killed by a DVD. Whatever the case, GameStop's in-store digital PC game purchase method is perfect for those types. More »

The GameStop Versus Best Buy Argument Ends With a Shocking Twist

Mike Fahey — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:20:00 EDT

When Kotaku editorial director Joel Johnson and east coast reporter Michael Fahey launch into an argument over which video game retailer offers the superior shopping experience, one withholds a terrible secret that renders the other's argument moot. More »

GameStop's Online Store Becomes One with Impulse

Mike Fahey — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:00:00 EDT

GameStop's purchase of Steam rival Impulse comes to a head today, as the video game retail giant fully integrates the PC game digital download service into its online store. Now, instead of purchasing a downloadable PC game through GameStop.com, you can go to Steam instead, like you were doing already anyway. More »

Game Store Owner Sentenced To 290 Years in Prison for Making Child Porn

Mike Fahey — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:40:00 EDT

Leland Beasley, the 43-year-old owner of the Gamestation Sector 19 video game stores in St. Louis County, Missouri, has been sentenced to 290 years in prison for the possession and production of child pornography, videos he recording during all-night gaming sessions at his place of business. More »

Infamous 2 Waits a Whole Two Weeks Before Hitting PSN

Owen Good — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:30:00 EDT

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Two weeks after its release, Infamous 2 is already available as a full download over PlayStation Network, in what seems like a big ol' middle-fanger to retail. More »

What's in the New Call of Duty: Black Ops Limited Edition Re-release?

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:30:00 EDT

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Limited Edition hits Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next week at North American retailers, packing in one game and one token for "First Strike" downloadable content that originally hit in February. Cost? $59.99 USD. More »

According to Retailers, Perturbed PS3 Owners are Ditching the Platform, Migrating to 360

Drew Cohen — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:20:00 EDT

They're sick of waiting. And now some are crossing over to the other side. More »

Nintendo, Wary of Bargain-Binned Spirit Tracks, May Give Ocarina of Time a Small Shipment

Owen Good — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EDT

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When the DS's The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks showed up in bargain bins four months after release, for less than the price of lunch at McDonald's, it was rather embarrassing for Nintendo. Rumor has it the 3DS' Ocarina of Time will get a small shipment to avoid such a fate. More »

Best Buy Is Getting Its Own Video Game Clerks

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 06:40:00 EDT

Retail giant Best Buy revealed yesterday that it's looking to establish dedicated sales counters and staff just to manage the video games it sells. More »

Do You Love Dirt Enough To Spend $300 On It?

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 05:40:00 EDT

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You know, ridiculously expensive collectors editions have their place. There are certain franchises where there are enough loyal fans around who will spend hundreds on a box full of crap. I do not think Dirt is one of those franchises. More »

Indie Dev Pulls Game In Protest Over GameStop Takeover

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 01:30:00 EDT

Blind Mind Studios, the developers of indie space strategy game Star Ruler, is withdrawing the title from sale on the Impulse digital shopfront following its sale to multinational retailer GameStop. More »

Retailer Buys 3DS Units From Competitor, Then Marks Up The Price

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 04:40:00 EDT

Console launches are normally times for absurdity, but this report coming in from the UK - of GAME staff popping down to their local supermarket to buy 3DS units - is something else. More »

Report: Amazon Screws Up British 3DS Deliveries

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:30:00 EDT

There are some very unhappy Nintendo fans in the United Kingdom today, with mega-retailer Amazon reportedly failing to deliver 3DS consoles to many customers who paid extra for "expedited delivery". More »