GameStop Apologizes for Deus Ex Controversy, Offers $50 Gift Cards
by Craig Getting on August 26, 2011 5:49 PM ESTGameStop is attempting to make up for the Deus Ex: Human Revolution debacle by offering a $50 gift card and a “Buy 2 Get 1 Free Pre-owned Purchase” to those who bought boxed copies of the PC version in-store.
By first removing free game vouchers from boxed PC copies of Deus Ex and then removing the game from its shelves altogether, GameStop garnered a lot of negative press this week. Today, the retailer apologized – sort of.
GameStop CEO Paul Raines extended an olive branch to disgruntled customers via email:
“We regret the events surrounding this title’s release and that our customers were put in the middle of this issue between GameStop and Square Enix, the publisher of this game. And for this we are truly sorry.
For your inconvenience, we would like to offer you a free $50 GameStop gift card and a Buy 2 Get 1 Free pre-owned purchase. We want to earn back your trust and confidence in the GameStop experience. Please bring in this email and your store receipt or order confirmation from GameStop.com and present it to a Game Advisor.”
By focusing its mea culpa on the customer, GameStop avoids having to address its stance on Square Enix’s promotional deal with OnLive. GameStop's apology is a win for whoever bought Deus Ex on PC from a GameStop. For everyone else (that includes publishers), it’s simply evidence that GameStop’s only sorry it got caught.
Source: Joystiq
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piiman - Saturday, August 27, 2011 - link
So its ok to kill them because Hussein killed more? WOW your retarded. And no one was given bad intel they cherry picked what they wanted and fashioned it to fit their propose. they even took out revenge on our own CIA op for her husband denying Iraq tried to but yellow cake. And you back that shezzzzz? pathetic!SlyNine1 - Monday, August 29, 2011 - link
We are not there to kill the Iraqis. The reason we are there was because Saddam broke a treaty and our inspectors were not allowed in.Besides, Even if he did have weapons we may never find them, hell we have enough trouble finding drugs in our LA.
Saddam was an evil dictator and needed to go, I and many Iraqis are glad he is gone, despite bushes misuse of information.
The sad fact is you guys will never know the facts behind this, But like bandwagon riders you just flock to the most popular opinion.
This is my 2 cents, and if you don't agree I don't give a dam, because not me or you know enough to make an informed opinion.
Hrel - Friday, August 26, 2011 - link
I don't know how far they reach, but in Chicagoland we have a store called Plan N Trade. Like Gamestop but no evil and they still support NES through current. They have some game stations with HDTV's for every console. Better trade in pay out and better prices. If I go to an actual store, instead of newegg or amazon or the game devs site for direct download, I go there every time.Craig Getting - Saturday, August 27, 2011 - link
I like the phrase "Like GameStop but no evil."Watwatwat - Saturday, August 27, 2011 - link
By not selling the game they punish the game developer for gamestops wrong doing!! How is that right, if they continued to sell deux ex and refunded 50 dollars for every game back to the developer that they opened that would be a step in the right direction. But this sleazy move is just covering for the fact that they continued to punish a company for competing with their online gaming service, and only went further once caught.This isn't right, we have few good game developers bringing us awesome games, deux ex is one of the best games to come out recently so to treat them this way is wrong. People should stop giving gamestop their money all together.
This is the gamestop ex employee whistle blower video.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6wnow_zero-origi...
Done in the style of zero punctuation he goes down the list of the gamestops sleazy tactics, and even brings up the issue of them opening games and then selling them as new even years ago when this video was first made.
dayanth - Saturday, August 27, 2011 - link
Best Buy has empty boxes on their shelves which represent a preorder and is labeled for $5-10 of the game's price. It's no different for Gamestop. Just that I haven't preordered from a physical store since before 2000. I order online and still get my packages arrive on release date as well. I really don't care that much about midnight release "parties" that they host.It should be common gamer knowledge already that Gamestop opens packages to place the game disc(s) in a sleeved binder. If this is something you don't like, then don't shop there. Ever. Just stop it. You're just continuing the abuse by having Gamestop maintaining it's business from your ignorance. If there's a game you want and want it unopened and new, then order it online.
prophet001 - Saturday, August 27, 2011 - link
Why in the world would they want to sell their competitor's product? Not only that but why would the game manufacturer put something like that in the retail packaging? You don't go to McDonald's and expect to be given a certificate for Burger King.piiman - Saturday, August 27, 2011 - link
Its not even close to the same. Boxes have stuff (coupons) in them all the time and Gamestop has NO business opening them and removing items they don't agree with, Items that the buyers are expecting to be in them. If they don't want to promote a competing service then they should just not sell DX or give away a free copy themselves for their service, not steal the content in boxes. If their service was good they should be happy to compete with the other not hide the other by stealing their coupons.Jaybus - Tuesday, August 30, 2011 - link
Square Enix obviously tried to pull a fast one on GameStop by not telling them about the coupon prior to the launch. Had they told them, GameStop would likely have chosen not to sell the game. Well, it is well within their rights to choose which games they sell.However, GameStop totally mishandled the situation. They did stop selling the game, but only after getting caught attempting to sell the game sans the coupon. They have now pulled the game off the shelves, but they should have pulled the game immediately as soon as they found out about the coupon being slipped in on them.
As usual, two wrongs didn't make a right. Still, it was Square Enix's shady dealing that started the mess by putting GameStop in a no-win situation.