Walmart and PC Games

[Edge1]

Y'all may be surprised by the selection at your local Target store. I was. Best Buy has shrunk but is still respectable.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Markbnj

Originally posted by: dph1077
While I like being able to buy my game 24/7 online from a place like Steam, sometimes I enjoy just being able to look at the boxes, flip them over, and look at them in a store. It's getting harder here too as Gamestop and Bestbuy are almost blank of pc games and Walmart's selection here has shrunk roughly 50% to about 10' of space.

That's me as well. I used to really enjoy wandering through the games section just checking things out and deciding what to buy.

it's not really feasible to do that any more. it used to be you could look at games based on their box info and you'd usually get a good game. these days, you have to read like 50 reviews before even deciding to make a purchase because the games are so shitty - even the big budget, hyped up games.

 

[thujone]

Originally posted by: novasatori
our best buy has a massive collection that i haven't seen since the old days of babbages/software etc

that brings back memories.




i remember being a kid growing up in the country with little access to video games. the first time i walked into a babbages i nearly crapped myself.

 

[Kalmah]

I have noticed this at Wal-Mart as well. There are maybe 4 or 5 high-end titles and then about 15 budget games at my walmart.

 

[lupi]

That is a strange thing about them; the discount kings and what not yet pc games pretty much sit on the shelf at msrp.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: lupi
That is a strange thing about them; the discount kings and what not yet pc games pretty much sit on the shelf at msrp.

Yes, it is very odd. In contrast, Target seems to clearance their stuff a week after the games are released. The Target Clearance rack often has some goodies in it.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

It could be that Steam did kill the instore sales. So now you aren't paying for the overhead of a store like walmart or Best Buy, you are paying Steam; which oddly is an equilateral buy. What the heck are we paying for if it is not BS overhead then (aside for the game itself) ??? there probably is some overhead involved that I just haven't thought of yet

EDIT: i won't even buy the games I love off of Steam anymore for this and other reasons

 

[Markbnj]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
It could be that Steam did kill the instore sales. So now you aren't paying for the overhead of a store like walmart or Best Buy, you are paying Steam; which oddly is an equilateral buy. What the heck are we paying for if it is not BS overhead then (aside for the game itself) ??? there probably is some overhead involved that I just haven't thought of yet

EDIT: i won't even buy the games I love off of Steam anymore for this and other reasons

I wouldn't be surprised if the deal that publishers make with Steam is influenced by contract provisions with big box retailers who wouldn't want to be undercut by an e-tailer. If you want shelf-space at Target or Wallmart then you have to play the game their way.

 

[Aikouka]

The Wal-Mart near me has a relatively decent-sized PC game section... it's as large or larger than the section for the PS3 or XBOX 360 (excluding the large space required for stuff like Rock Band or Guitar Hero).

 

[dfuze]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Markbnj

Originally posted by: dph1077
While I like being able to buy my game 24/7 online from a place like Steam, sometimes I enjoy just being able to look at the boxes, flip them over, and look at them in a store. It's getting harder here too as Gamestop and Bestbuy are almost blank of pc games and Walmart's selection here has shrunk roughly 50% to about 10' of space.

That's me as well. I used to really enjoy wandering through the games section just checking things out and deciding what to buy.

it's not really feasible to do that any more. it used to be you could look at games based on their box info and you'd usually get a good game. these days, you have to read like 50 reviews before even deciding to make a purchase because the games are so shitty - even the big budget, hyped up games.

That's true. I do read reviews from sites before purchasing games now, but I still like looking at the box art/screen shots as well. I usually see one that looks good, write it down, then research it when I get home.

 

[JoshGuru7]

I haven't bought a PC game from a B&M store in years. All my purchases are from Steam, GoGamer or GameStop (online). People with the horsepower to run today's games are going to be pretty tightly correlated with people who like to do their shopping online...

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

GoGamer is a really good place to start buying games if you don't see them on the shelf!

 

[Modular]

The same thing happened at one of the Walmarts near me.