Back in 2012, GameStop had begun hinting around about the chance of expanding its online store to include the sales of retro video game cartridges and disc for systems that they no longer support in their physical store locations, a practice that has been long gone. GameStop CEO Paul Raines had this statement to say during the very first GameStop Public Expo:
“We’ve got them. We think there’s a vintage sales opportunity, so we’re accumulating some inventory. It’s a big idea, and there’s a few problems with it. The first one is sourcing the product, the condition, the refurbishment, all that stuff. But there’s a customer for it. And we’re working on some stuff we haven’t announced yet. If you go to eBay and look at all of the gaming stuff that’s on there, it’s unbelievable. Collector’s stuff. We’ve got to be in that business. We will be. Our website is becoming unbelievably rich. We can’t just be trying to go head-to-head with Amazon, beating each other to death on delivery dates. We do plenty of that. But we’ve got to be a destination for gamers where, for cool stuff for gaming, you’ve got to go to GameStop.”
GameStop began the trade-in program for retro consoles in New York City and Birmingham this past April, with trades planned to be accepted at over 250 stores at a later date. Not only are games being accepted, but accessories, controllers and consoles are also being taken for trades. A spokesperson at GameStop stated that if the program is successful, that they may begin accepting retro video games at all of the retail stores within a year. The same spokesperson stated that they are planning to “bring all of the product back through the Refurbishment Operations Center for inspection, testing and repair.”
The online store opened at about noon eastern time today, as announced on their official Twitter feed. Their website currently offers games and consoles for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, Sony PlayStation and Sega Dreamcast. It appears that these games (especially the cartridge based media) are for the purchase of the cartridge only, with no box or manual. The CD-ROM based games appear to have some games complete, with others disc-only.
To compare some of the games that were found on the leaked documents this past April, the assumptions were completely correct. Take a look at the pictures below, where you can see that DuckTales for the NES, for instance, was scheduled to be sold for $19.99, and GameStop has the title at a retail price of the same amount, but available to PowerUp Rewards members for $2 less. Also, Castlevania IV for the SNES was reported to be sold for $44.99, ($40.49 for PowerUp Rewards members), which has been confirmed by the recently launched store.
Alphaomegasin ya saco un video quejandose y mostrando los precios de juegos, parece que es todo mas caro que ebay jajaa! Lo peor que podria pasar ahora es que otros vendedores tomen los precios de gamestop como referencia.
Don Drake Corleone. Capo Mafia del Family Game.
Family Game En Argentina. Espacio dedicado a documentar los cartuchos, modelos, publicidades y demas cosas que salieron del Family Game en Argentina en los 90s. http://familygameenargentina.blogspot.com.ar/
Que iban a estar más caros que en ebay se veía venir. Al ser una cadena, tenés una garantía, pero al pagar por un cartucho, parte de esa guita va a parar a sueldos y alquileres.
Si tomamos algún mercado fuera de lo que es retrogaming, se da que un producto comprado en una cadena es más caro que uno comprado por un particular. El tema es que acá está lleno de especuladores por cómo se fueron dando las cosas.
¿Sabes cual es el problema? Que los boludos no los venden en las tiendas sino que solo por internet. Es lo mismo que comprar por ebay pero mas caro porque si.
Don Drake Corleone. Capo Mafia del Family Game.
Family Game En Argentina. Espacio dedicado a documentar los cartuchos, modelos, publicidades y demas cosas que salieron del Family Game en Argentina en los 90s. http://familygameenargentina.blogspot.com.ar/
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