GameStop Hyping Physical Games Angered A Lot of Gamers. Why?

As an adult, I still enjoy the occasional visits to GameStop and browsing their selection of games and accessories, even though half the time they never have the games I am looking for. It’s just a very nostalgic experience, one that I will always look fondly on. But alas, GameStop has pissed off gamers, yet again, and here’s the full story.

What Did GameStop Post?

The gaming industry is digitalizing way faster than was anticipated, and digital copies of games are significantly outperforming physical game copies. Apparently, they are joining the bandwagon of people who hate this future. On August 23, GameStop took to X to speak out on this changing trend in the industry, which pissed off a lot of people who claim GameStop had perpetuated this future by boosting prices of regular products and diminishing returns when trading in video games or other accessories.

Their post reads:

Pay $60 for digital game >It’s just a license >Can’t share the game or sell it >Servers shut down and left with nothing Remind me again how this is the future?

This post pokes at that all-digital future that would essentially put them out of business. However, their pro-physical games post had the opposite effect of what they were probably intending, and here’s what gamers have to say about it.

Gamers’ Response and Backlash

GameStop’s recent X post pisseed off a lot of gamers. Some have claimed that GameStop has actually accelerated this all-digital future that GameStop pokes fun at. Here are some of the comments:

“You guys accelerated this decline into digital gaming by having abysmally low trade-in rates for people who still wanted physical copies and used half the shelf space in your stores for Funko pops instead of games,”

“GameStop “NEW” -Get game in stock -GS employees take it home to play -shrink wrap removed, “New” game priced $89 -person buys it, doesnt play, reads review -“hi id like a refund, i heard its bad” -“its used, shrink warp is removed, best i can do is $2, or $2.50 store credit”

“Yall are part of the reason more people switched to digital. The $10 in store credit on a brand new game is insane.”

So many people are calling the out, since everyone is blaming the retailer for perpetuating an all-digital gaming future, something everyone is pretty much dreading. They have yet to respond to the backlash, though I don’t expect them to do so. What do you think about GameStop’s recent X post? Are people placing wrongful blame too easily, or does GameStop need to be more careful about its words, given its history as a video game retailer franchise?