Gamestop Throws Away Used Nintendo DS Boxes And Manuals

I was in Gamestop (the greatest game store in the world) a couple of weeks back and I just happened to hear one of the employees talking to a customer about how the corporate office was pushing stores to get rid of used Nintendo DS game boxes and manuals. So basically, all you would get would be the cartridge itself. At the time I thought "Wow, that would be stupid", but kinda put it out of my mind.

Flash forward to yesterday and I was in another Gamestop and looking at their games. I saw the "New" Nintendo DS games on the wall, but couldn't find any of the used ones. When I asked the Gamestop dude where they were he pointed at a glass encased, locked cabinet containing only cartridges. He told me they're no longer keeping manuals or boxes for the used DS games. What was funny is that he said "They still work", like I needed reassurance as to their quality. I told him how stupid that was because I would have bought the first Rune Factory game IF it had come with the box and manual. Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, the employee agreed and said it was "the stupidest thing that had ever come down from corporate".

The most ludicrous thing about it all is that the Nintendo DS game boxes actually take up the LEAST room out of all the game systems. If you put them where just the spine is showing, you could probably fit them all on two small shelves. I will never buy a used Nintendo DS game from them again.

I don't know why they even accept games without manuals and boxes anyway. What that tells me is that the person that originally traded or sold it could give a fuck less about his/her games. There are some Gamestops that I walk into where 80% of their games are in generic boxes with no instructions. It makes the store look so cheap. It makes their merchandise look cheap with the overall effect being that of a flea market atmosphere. Other stores have 80% of the original box art/manuals. I wonder whether some managers are just less discriminating when people trade in games or something.

And while we're on it, let's talk a bit about the whole "new" thing. It's a sham. They're not new games. Employees open them and sometimes take them home to play. How many people would buy a "new" game at Gamestop and then give it as a present? A person would look at it and go "WTF? This is open! Somebody already played it!"

And I wonder if Gamestop is still going to charge full price for those cartridge only games? I mean, if it has a case and manual and was selling at $19.99, if it only has the cartridge, will they half the price or something? Yeah, right! Can somebody please offer an alternative to this shitty store?

I wonder if some day, they won't have any boxes at all for ANY of their games. You'll just go in there and get the disc in a little paper sleeve and be expected to count your blessings. I mean, why stop at just DS games, why not progress to PSP UMDs then get rid of all your 360/PS3 boxes and manuals as well. In fact, just get rid of all your stores and go out of business since physical reality is such a pain to you.