Kotaku- Extreme GameStop Pricing (Xenoblade) Leaves Some Fans Calling Scam

highoffcoffee496

highoffcoffee496

CAGiversary!
Good to see the gaming media pick up on this...

"GameStop is charging a whopping $90 for used copies of a Wii game (Xenoblade)—and it's leading some fans to voice some serious suspicions about how it got back in stock."

"One GameStop source tells us the retailer printed a few thousand copies of the game with no shrink wrap in order to restock their inventory, then labeled them as pre-owned. Reached for comment, a GameStop rep told us they're looking into it. We'll update when they get back to us."

"Xenoblade is also now heavily promoted on GameStop's website, and the product listing has been updated with all sorts of new info about the game's characters and features."

Extreme GameStop Pricing Leaves Some Fans Calling Scam

UPDATE:

GameStop: $90 Xenoblade Is 'Based On Current Market Value'

"GameStop regularly receives feedback from our PowerUp members regarding old titles they would us like to bring back, such as vintage games like Xenoblade Chronicles. We were recently able to source a limited number of copies of this title to carry in our stores and online.

In fact, we have sourced several more vintage titles that we will be hitting stores in the coming months, including Metroid Prime Trilogy.

As always, our pricing for these games is competitive and is based on current market value driven by supply and demand. PowerUp Pro members always receive a 10% discount and earn PUR points on pre-owned purchases."

IGN has also released an article now- http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/08/14/xenoblade-and-metroid-prime-being-restocked-at-gamestop Thanks for pointing this out Tarskidx!

 
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If more copies were printed, wouldn't that imply that Nintendo is complicit with this?  Personally, it seems more likely they held back copies from retail with the knowledge that it was going to be rare.  While Gamestop selling reprints as used games isn't new, it would surprise me if Nintendo was doing it.  It really comes down to what was their agreement with Nintendo and whether this fits in with their agreement.

Also, this isn't a scam.  It might be unsavory business tactics, but no more unsavory than speculators who buy extra copies of a game and hope to profit from its rarity.

 
Copies just started showing up as in stock in my area, so it does seem this was a legitimate reprint of sorts (unless they hoarded copies, not sure on that though), especially since Kotaku reports were seeing like new copies with unused CN codes.  I know that $90 seems high, but after the many discounts they offer, getting a like new copy for $60-70 is a pretty good deal, and a good opportunity for those wanting a CIB copy for themselves.

Let's be honest, if they kept the price at $50-60, all they would be doing is spurring people to flip it, might as well get some of those profits for themselves from people who will actually play it.

 
TheLongshot said:
Also, this isn't a scam. It might be unsavory business tactics, but no more unsavory than speculators who buy extra copies of a game and hope to profit from its rarity.
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My impression (and maybe this is incorrect) was that retailers can sell used games for whatever price the market will bear, but are contractually obligated to sell new games for no higher than MSRP. So in this case, artificially "converting" new games to used would be the shady behavior.

 
Ryuukishi said:
My impression (and maybe this is incorrect) was that retailers can sell used games for whatever price the market will bear, but are contractually obligated to sell new games for no higher than MSRP. So in this case, artificially "converting" new games to used would be the shady behavior.
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I guess I should have clarified that if it is a scam, it is one against Nintendo, not against the consumers. To be honest, none of us know what the agreement was to be the exclusive B&M distributor of the game, nor should it really matter to us, for the most part.

 
Wow this is just so silly. Really, Kotaku? Really! 

Some clarification on who the GS source is - is it a part time sales person, manager or someone high up in the company - would be FANTASTIC. (The writer could say "a clerk" or "exec," for example.)

Take this for what it's worth. Just my two bits. 

A) I called my local gamestop prior to this post. The explanation is simple, at least according to the manager: Gamestop was offering $50 for this game. Couple that with extra bonuses and someone can get as much as $75 for this game. I know this because I bought Xenoblade Day 1 and I get emails from GS telling me how much I can trade my games in for. I recall getting my first email about 3-4 months ago, so to see it appear on sale now makes sense. 

It would be logical to assume that a lot of people traded their Xenoblade in - knowing what it was worth or not - and put it toward a new purchase. Yes, they could have gotten $20, $40 more if they tried selling it themselves. But have you ever watched Pawn Stars? Also, the company is selling the game lower than what eBay or Amazon is selling it for.

B) It would be INSANELY illegal for GS to reprint the game. Which, last time I checked, GS is a publicly traded company. Gamestop cannot *make* a copy of a game made by Monolith. The only thing I've seen that isn't legit is you get a different case that has a different logo punched in the inside of either "Wii" or "Nintendo." 

C) The demand for this game is not as high as people think. The number of people that want this game is not in the millions. Or hundreds of thousands. Not even tens of thousands, IMO. Is it really worth the effort and legal trouble to do this? 

D) The manager I spoke with said if I ordered the game online that it would likely come with the packaging. If it didn't, they would provide similar packaging to the customer. 

E) There have been NO reprints of this game. All the copies out there are from the first run. If there were, don't you think Monolith would say something about it? I mean, they do reprint games with different packaging - eg: Best Seller, Classic or Platinum Hits or something like that. 

As for stuff like the CN codes. A lot of people don't use them. I'm sure this community does and it makes a lot of sense why. But I'm a collector, gamer and have yet to use mine for my Wii U, 3DS or Xenoblade, Last Story, Fire Emblem, Mario 3DS. Maybe I should get on that. 

Just my two bits. I think it was really silly for Kotaku to post that article without attributing. 

I do not work at Gamestop or retail. 

 
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EvilChamp said:
Wow this is just so silly. Really, Kotaku? Really!

Some clarification on who the GS source is - is it a part time sales person, manager or someone high up in the company - would be FANTASTIC. (The writer could say "a clerk" or "exec," for example.)

Take this for what it's worth. Just my two bits.

A) I called my local gamestop prior to this post. The explanation is simple, at least according to the manager: Gamestop was offering $50 for this game. Couple that with extra bonuses and someone can get as much as $75 for this game. I know this because I bought Xenoblade Day 1 and I get emails from GS telling me how much I can trade my games in for. I recall getting my first email about 3-4 months ago, so to see it appear on sale now makes sense.

It would be logical to assume that a lot of people traded their Xenoblade in - knowing what it was worth or not - and put it toward a new purchase. Yes, they could have gotten $20, $40 more if they tried selling it themselves. But have you ever watched Pawn Stars? Also, the company is selling the game lower than what eBay or Amazon is selling it for.

B) It would be INSANELY illegal for GS to reprint the game. Which, last time I checked, GS is a publicly traded company. Gamestop cannot *make* a copy of a game made by Monolith. The only thing I've seen that isn't legit is you get a different case that has a different logo punched in the inside of either "Wii" or "Nintendo."

C) The demand for this game is not as high as people think. The number of people that want this game is not in the millions. Or hundreds of thousands. Not even tens of thousands, IMO. Is it really worth the effort and legal trouble to do this?

D) The manager I spoke with said if I ordered the game online that it would likely come with the packaging. If it didn't, they would provide similar packaging to the customer.

E) There have been NO reprints of this game. All the copies out there are from the first run. If there were, don't you think Monolith would say something about it? I mean, they do reprint games with different packaging - eg: Best Seller, Classic or Platinum Hits or something like that.

As for stuff like the CN codes. A lot of people don't use them. I'm sure this community does and it makes a lot of sense why. But I'm a collector, gamer and have yet to use mine for my Wii U, 3DS or Xenoblade, Last Story, Fire Emblem, Mario 3DS. Maybe I should get on that.

Just my two bits. I think it was really silly for Kotaku to post that article without a attributing.

I do not work at Gamestop or retail.
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I seriously stopped reading after your first bullet point...

The copies people are finding in store look new and have unused CN codes. Stop drinking the koolaid. 90% of Gamestop's used inventory looks like shit so it is too hard for me to believe that everyone who traded these copies in recently kept them in mint condition. People that take that good care of their games don't trade them back in---certainly not if they are rare and worth more on the open market.

Also it would be a logistics miracle for GS to be able to take in trades of thousands of copies of this game and then redistribute them evenly across all stores in such a short period of time.

And lastly if you don't think GS opens new games to resell them at a inflated used price (i.e. higher then the new MSRP) please explain Just Cause, L4D, L4D2, Portal, etc.

All those game can be found new at a variety of retailers yet American's largest gaming specialty chain can't get new copies from the manufacturer?

Yep... nothing at all going on.

 
@

GBAstar

Tell me this: How many people do think want to buy this game? Guesstimate.

I believe they hoarded* copies three months ago and have redistributed them to stores across the country. They did offer a good trade in deal. Please understand that in the business world, Gamestop cannot simply reprint copies of a game made by Monolith on the hush hush. And for what? $50K in profit? Maybe a $100K? This company is trading at $48 a share. They're a $6 BILLION company. 

183904fd122bd0e64b.jpg


Also, I never said anything about them not opening up the game and selling it as used. 

On a side note, I've purchased plenty of like new used games from GS. Minus the annoying sticker on the case - which Goo Gone takes care of - there's plenty of clean titles for sale. 90 percent. What a great number you pulled out of thin air - sorta like the sources Kotaku is citing. 

... lol. GS is such an easy target. 

*some clarification - by hoarding I mean they bought used copies and did not sell them immediately. I am not saying they kept new copies on standby at release because they were predicting the price to go up in the near future.

 
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EvilChamp said:
Tell me this: How many people do think want to buy this game? Guesstimate.

I believe they hoarded copies three months ago and have redistributed them to stores across the country. They did offer a good trade in deal. Please understand that in the business world, Gamestop cannot simply reprint copies of a game made by Monolith on the hush hush. And for what? $50K in profit? Maybe a $100K? This company is trading at $48 a share. They're a $6 BILLION company.

183904fd122bd0e64b.jpg


Also, I never said anything about them not opening up the game and selling it as used.

On a side note, I've purchased plenty of like new used games from GS. Minus the annoying sticker on the case - which Goo Gone takes care of - there's plenty of clean titles for sale. 90 percent. What a great number you pulled out of thin air - sorta like the sources Kotaku is citing.

... lol. GS is such an easy target.
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Right....

But (in your words) "I called my local gamestop prior to this post" so your information must be correct? Because Gamestop employees tend to know what they're talking about....

I never said it was a reprint (read my original post and try to find the word "reprint" in it) but it is just as, if not more of an undesirable business practice for them to manipulate their used game prices by taking new copies of game and opening them to resell at a higher then MSRP price.

You never addressed this but there are literally DOZENS of titles which are not hard to find new, are available at multiple retailers yet GS has had NOTHING but used copies for over a year.

It is offiicial that Metro 2033 has received a reprint. Do you think GS will get and carry new copies or will these reprint copies (Very easy to tell as they're not published by THQ) show up on store shelves as "used" for $20 more then a new copy?

 
I think they purposely hoarded new copies in order to make the game artificially rare. They could have never even put the copies on the shelves in order to hoard them to make the game rare when it first came out. They knew they had this game exclusively so they wanted to capitalize. Then opened them and sold them as used at an inflated price. Also a few days ago there were none in stock in my area now there are a few which is up from one copy in the whole area just a couple days ago, but its not at every store. I wonder how many copies each store has, if each store has 5 or more than its probably a reprint. If each store has one copy then its probably GS scamming in some way. There is no way they would be able to get enough copies to stock 5 in each store across the country through trade ins.

What I can't believe is that GS thought gamers were stupid enough to buy into this scam, well I know what's going on and I won't buy. Honestly I really don't care about the game, its the principle behind the companies actions that I am concerned about, I wouldn't care what game it was but if they are doing this with one game who knows if they are doing it with more. Glad to see it getting media attention. Really GS, you guys take trade ins for this game, then release the games all at once and expect gamers not to notice?


 
GBAstar said:
Right....

But (in your words) "I called my local gamestop prior to this post" so your information must be correct? Because Gamestop employees tend to know what they're talking about....
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I said take it for what it's worth and that it's just my two bits. Come on, man.

 
This is rather interesting... A ton of them just showed up at area retailers today. It  be kind of cool if they did a reprint and sold it for $50 or $60, but $90 is excessive especially for an unsealed game. I know people have sold them for a lot, but it's not worth that to me.

I'm still kicking myself for not buying it straight from Nintendo while I had the chance... I guess it's also possible that GameStop just bought all of Nintendo's stock.

 
I said take it for what it's worth and that it's just my two bits. Come on, man.



Also I would to point out that on Ebay and Amazon it's 3rd party sellers. Not the actual company.
 
I think the problem of opening sealed games and reselling them as used stems from individual store managers trying to make goal for the month (more revenue for the individual store). 

I highly doubt this is a GS directive coming from the top. 

With Deus Ex, they opened the game and took out a coupon, that, at the time, was viewed as an up and coming competitor. That came from the top because it's a big picture threat to the people running the show. 

Still, I believe there is no magical bundle of Xenoblade that fell into GS's lap. I think people traded the game in months ago because they got good, convenient money for it. 

 
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SaraAB said:
I think they purposely hoarded new copies in order to make the game artificially rare. They could have never even put the copies on the shelves in order to hoard them to make the game rare when it first came out. They knew they had this game exclusively so they wanted to capitalize. Then opened them and sold them as used at an inflated price. Also a few days ago there were none in stock in my area now there are a few which is up from one copy in the whole area just a couple days ago, but its not at every store. I wonder how many copies each store has, if each store has 5 or more than its probably a reprint. If each store has one copy then its probably GS scamming in some way. There is no way they would be able to get enough copies to stock 5 in each store across the country through trade ins.

What I can't believe is that GS thought gamers were stupid enough to buy into this scam, well I know what's going on and I won't buy. Honestly I really don't care about the game, its the principle behind the companies actions that I am concerned about, I wouldn't care what game it was but if they are doing this with one game who knows if they are doing it with more. Glad to see it getting media attention. Really GS, you guys take trade ins for this game, then release the games all at once and expect gamers not to notice?
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Again, how is hording copies a scam? I don't think that word means what you think it means.

The only way it is a scam is if they didn't abide by Nintendo's terms in selling new product, and if so, they scammed Nintendo. Somehow, I doubt they did that as a chain since the profit is miniscule. Certainly it is possible that individual operators did it, since it is in their history that individual stores can behave badly.

But hording product and selling them at a profit later? That isn't a scam, that's capitalism.

 
A few weeks ago, Xenoblade was completely oos in my area using the online search locator.  When the .com thread popped up last week, 2 were available within 20 miles from me.  Now as of today half of all the gamestops around me are at least carrying one copy.  So I can say for a fact that the company is currently restocking these stores as we speak and it doesn't look like it's done yet.  Sometimes retail stores will ship out their games to other stores in the area but a widespread restock seems a little off when you think about it logistically. 

Take for example a typical trade/sale within their used business practice.  You can trade in a game in person and within 3 minutes, that same associate that took your trade in will print the pre-owned sticker and tag the case to put it out on display if necessary.  They will sell a traded in copy immediately if the opportunity arises.  So if stores are getting thousands of these stocked simultaneously, that doesn't jive with other stores getting these copies traded in only to be redistributed.  If anything, these stores normally would have shown these copies to be in-stock at the time of the trade in (50% promo was a few weeks ago).  It just doesn't add up.  What's confusing is the reprint.  GS is a retailer not a publisher.  So Nintendo had to have been involved somewhere for GS to have gotten a mass restock.
 
I agree that this is extremely shady, especially given how quickly they raised the prices over the last month or two (it was $60 just a month or two back), before the reprint hit... I'm glad GS took a risk by investing for the exclusive rights to this game but this is still a dick-ish move. I'm guessing they've more than made up their investment from this game...

It's good to see this story being picked up, even if it's by a site as shoddy as Kotaku, and hopefully this'll force them to do some PR cleaning up. Everyone keep your receipts if you bought this game recently!

TheLongshot said:
I guess I should have clarified that if it is a scam, it is one against Nintendo, not against the consumers. To be honest, none of us know what the agreement was to be the exclusive B&M distributor of the game, nor should it really matter to us, for the most part.
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Retailers are not legally required to follow manufacturer's suggested prices. In theory, GS could sell new/sealed games for $90 if they wanted to. But obviously, if a store sold new games for much higher than other places, they'd lose their business fast.

 
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OK - 

I just did something that Kotaku could have easily done rather than calling some part time clerk. Sent the following email to Monolith's media department. If I get an answer, I'll be sure to follow up here and hopefully we can put to rest this reprint / none reprint debate. =D

Hello, my name is George ****. I am a journalist. You can read my bio here. 

 
I just have one simple question: Has there been a reprint of Xenoblade for the Nintendo Wii? There are a lot of rumors circulating and any information regarding a recent reproduction would be greatly appreciated. 
 
Thank you. I hope to hear from you soon. 
 
Best,
 
George
 
*For search engine reasons I've decided not to print my full name on this post. I'm fully aware that I've linked my bio.
 
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Donut2922 said:
A few weeks ago, Xenoblade was completely oos in my area using the online search locator. When the .com thread popped up last week, 2 were available within 20 miles from me. Now as of today half of all the gamestops around me are at least carrying one copy. So I can say for a fact that the company is currently restocking these stores as we speak and it doesn't look like it's done yet. Sometimes retail stores will ship out their games to other stores in the area but a widespread restock seems a little off when you think about it logistically.
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Just did a search myself. A week ago there was one store selling them in Chicagoland area. Now, there are about 30.

It would be really be interesting to get to the bottom of this.

 
It's a reprint.  They've done this multiple times in the past, going all the way back to the PS1.  Persona 2, Rhapsody and GH Xenogears say hi.  IIRC they did the same thing with Gitaroo Man to capitalize on the Guitar Hero/Rock Band craze but it backfired and left them with a shitload of copies no one wanted.

For those who say "the new cases don't matter!!1!"...of course they do.  They're using the same mold as the redesigned Wii U cases.  Don't believe me?  Find me another first-party Wii release case that has the Nintendo logo and not a Wii logo above the disc.  PROTIP: you won't.

 
Huh, well at least GameStop made it easy for collectors to tell the reprints from the first print. My favorite thing about Digital Distribution is that it makes it easy for developers to get rare or out of print titles to gamers who just want to play the title. This may very well be the last time GameStop will be able to these kind of reprints.

 
Every store near me has this in stock, but whatever. What Gamestop is doing isn't against the law. 

If nobody bought it or $90 then they'd lower the price, but that's not the case.

 
Went to my local GameStop today to check out their copy of Xenoblade; it was complete but I could tell it was clearly used based off the condition of the manual.

 
The game was sold exclusively at Gamestop in the first place. Perhaps there are some shenanigans afoot.

At the end of the day, however, the best course of action is to not shop at Gamestop.
 
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KillerRamen said:
Huh, well at least GameStop made it easy for collectors to tell the reprints from the first print. My favorite thing about Digital Distribution is that it makes it easy for developers to get rare or out of print titles to gamers who just want to play the title. This may very well be the last time GameStop will be able to these kind of reprints.
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If you're talking about the case, that's easily swapped out. Or is there some other distinction?

 
I don't know about these alleged reprints, but my friends that work at all my local GameStops told me their managers had them convert all new copies to used a while ago.

 
The newer copies come with different cases with a nintendo logo as someone has mentioned. No game has EVER come with that before on the wii. Explain that one to me you deniers.

 
ITT people up in arms about something they are not and didn't plan on buying.  Why does it matter?  Gamestop has a right to do that to an exclusive game all they want to.   Don't really understand why people are upset at this point, but that's just me.

 
Vinny said:
If you're talking about the case, that's easily swapped out. Or is there some other distinction?
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GameStop has never and will never replace game cases with a new system-specific case. If they do replace the case at all, it's with a generic black DVD case; go look at the Wii section of your local GS for proof. Also, there are no other games with a white Nintendo-branded case to swap with. These cases were produced from the new Wii U case molds specifically for this reprint. There is no other explanation.

 
MetalSlugger said:
GameStop has never and will never replace game cases with a new system-specific case. If they do replace the case at all, it's with a generic black DVD case; go look at the Wii section of your local GS for proof. Also, there are no other games with a white Nintendo-branded case to swap with. These cases were produced from the new Wii U case molds specifically for this reprint. There is no other explanation.
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My post was addressing KillerRamen's statement "at least GameStop made it easy for collectors to tell the reprints from the first print". I'm only pointing out how people could easily replace the reprint's case that has "Nintendo" on it to one with "Wii" on it, which would make originals/reprints identical.

In no way did what I say refute anything about this being reprinted. I already believed this was a reprint after the second time it came back in stock and stayed in stock for more than a few hours.

 
Vinny said:
My post was addressing KillerRamen's statement "at least GameStop made it easy for collectors to tell the reprints from the first print". I'm only pointing out how people could easily replace the reprint's case that has "Nintendo" on it to one with "Wii" on it, which would make originals/reprints identical.

In no way did what I say refute anything about this being reprinted. I already believed this was a reprint after the second time it came back in stock and stayed in stock for more than a few hours.
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My bad, coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

The only other incriminating features are unused CN codes, and I can't confirm this since I'm going off of the GAF picture but the disc art on the reprint looks shittier. If I get to a GS with a reprint I'll check it out. Maybe there are different serials on the inner ring of the disc?

 
Just got the two I ordered online in the mail; look brand new/never played. Both have all of the inserts too...they also have that "nintendo" logo on the inside of the case

 
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This is on the product page for Xenoblade on GameStop.com now:

970x66_vintagegames.jpg


http://www.gamestop.com/wii/games/xenoblade-chronicles-gamestop-exclusive/98535

Also, anyone remember this?

GameStop Planning "Vintage Game" Sales

"We think there's a vintage sales opportunity, so we're accumulating some inventory," Raines told Verge in a recent interview, specifically pointing towards GameStop's website as the destination for this new venture. "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."

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/30/gamestop-planning-vintage-game-sales

 
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highoffcoffee496 said:
Updated the OP with an official comment from GameStop:

GameStop: $90 Xenoblade Is 'Based On Current Market Value'
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Thank you for the link. And that's the story Kotaku should have published the first time around.

Gamestop said:

We were recently able to source a limited number of copies of this title to carry in our stores and online.

Does "source" mean reprint? That's what I'm getting from the article and most curious about. They did add that Trilogy will be hitting shelves soon, too. Not too happy about this, since it dilutes the market and slaps Day 1 buyers in the face. Put a sticker on there saying it's a "Vintage Classic" (That's really not vintage.)

 
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EvilChamp said:
Does "source" mean reprint? That's what I'm getting from the article and most curious about.
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That is exactly what I'm really curious about. Presumably it means reprint. But why not reprint them as sealed copies then? Why the song and dance about being used? I have to think it's to dodge some contractual obligation they have about selling new games above MSRP. What other reason could there be?

 
Ryuukishi said:
That is exactly what I'm really curious about. Presumably it means reprint. But why not reprint them as sealed copies then? Why the song and dance about being used? I have to think it's to dodge some contractual obligation they have about selling new games above MSRP. What other reason could there be?
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Maybe they'd have to pay somebody (Nintendo/Monolith Soft?) if they issued them as "new" copies? Used is 100% profits to them.

 
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This just confirms what most of us already know about GS.....

However if they're going to reprint games to make a vintage collection they better stick to Nintendo games as I don't actively collect those games like I do with the other two major consoles.

When they start reprinting things like AC2 CE, ME CE, TLOU PP Ed and other GS exclusives then I'll lose it

 
Nintendo declined to comment? If i were Monolith, I'd be getting my lawyers on the phone making sure I am getting paid. If you want to hit anyones facebook, it should be nintendo and monoliths.

What they fail to understand is that current market value goes down when more stock comes in. They can't make a million more copies and expect there to be a million more people who will pay that price.

 
Also if they are gonna get nintendo to reprint metroid, then I wonder if it will comes with the steelbook. I doubt it but the steelbook editions are about to become more sought after than ever if this reprint of that game happens.

Reprinting a limited edition is a sure fire way for nintendo to alienate their fanbase.

 
Ryuukishi said:
That is exactly what I'm really curious about. Presumably it means reprint. But why not reprint them as sealed copies then? Why the song and dance about being used? I have to think it's to dodge some contractual obligation they have about selling new games above MSRP. What other reason could there be?
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There is no legal requirement for businesses to sell games at MSRP. A retailer can sell their items for whatever they want (i.e., look at Arizona Ice Tea). Retailers also will not enter into price agreements with suppliers/distributors, since then they'd be accused of price fixing (something Apple is dealing with now).

The problem here is with what the general populace expects. Consumers know that new Wii games are usually $50 pretty much everywhere. If GS has a bunch of new copies for $90, people are going to be quicker to ask why it's so much more than other new games and they'll likely be accused of price gouging. But if they sell used copies at $90, they can say it's based on supply and demand, which isn't entirely inaccurate since copies on eBay are selling for roughly the same amount.

I agree this is shady as hell but they have every right to do this. If you guys don't like it, then don't buy it and they'll be forced to reduce the price. But from what I'm seeing, most people are buying from GS since, after coupons and the B2G1F sale, it's much cheaper than eBay.

 
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Vinny said:
There is no legal requirement for businesses to sell games at MSRP. A retailer can sell their items for whatever they want (i.e., look at Arizona Ice Tea). Retailers also will not enter into price agreements with suppliers/distributors, since then they'd be accused of price fixing (something Apple is dealing with now).

The problem here is with what the general populace expects. Consumers know that new Wii games are usually $50 pretty much everywhere. If GS has a bunch of new copies for $90, people are going to be quicker to ask why it's so much more than other new games and they'll likely be accused of price gouging. But if they sell used copies at $90, they can say it's based on supply and demand, which isn't entirely inaccurate since copies on eBay are selling for roughly the same amount.

I agree this is shady as hell but they have every right to do this. If you guys don't like it, then don't buy it and they'll be forced to reduce the price. But from what I'm seeing, most people are buying from GS since, after coupons and the B2G1F sale, it's much cheaper than eBay.
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I'm pretty sure certain publishers put strict guidelines in place as to what there games can be sold for. I know activision won't allow retailers to do a straight up discount on any COD game for a few weeks after it releases and that is why you see GC and points deals.

 
I don't see anybody complaining when they convert collectors editions from new to used in this thread. >_< If they did do this it just happens to work in there favor this time around.

 
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When Gamestop is discussing MPT in the same Vintage line as Xenoblade, this points moreso to them hoarding used copies from offering higher TIV than an actual reprint.  Xenoblade may be in some sort of gray area that we do not know the full distributor details, but MPT is pretty cut and dry.  Nintendo has repeatedly announced no reprints of MPT, so I doubt that four years later they would finally cave, and exclusively to one retailer.

Gamestop has raised the price silently from $60 to $85 in the past couple of months on MPT, which usually coincides with the higher TIVs offered.  They are doing the same thing with FE Radiant Dawn, I always get emails to trade in my copy, buffered by the current $65 used price now.

Also reports of people seeing copies of Xenoblade in-store that have less than perfect manuals (or even missing manuals) adds to this fact.  The only X factor are the CN codes being unused, but honestly, 90% (if even 99%) of Nintendo owners don't even know about the program.  As far as I see it, the only things they are "reprinting" are the cover arts and cases if they have to.

I guess I'll have to swing by a couple local GS that have Xenoblade stock to check this out for myself.

 
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