The New Zealand Story

That's a shame that the shops in NZ open the game.
What about Australia....you also can find some bargains over there.
I recently bought a sealed Guardians Crusade for about 12 Euro there...maybe you also have a look in the Australian ebay.

You would buy sealed games from shops? I think this is too expensive. Their prices are in 95% of all cases over the worth. But you're right, they should keep it sealed.

At least you have the luck to get easily Starcraft 64 and Snowboard Kids 2 as a PAL version, or am I wrong?

Oh yes, buying from gaming shops is the most expensive way to buy - even online gaming 'shops' in NZ charge the same high price.

Naturally there's TradeMe (NZ's answer to eBay) and the games sold on there are very cheap - but they're also 95% pre-loved. There're a couple of importers but they don't sell their games for much less than 'ordinary' shops, and they don't guarantee they're sealed.

I've not thought about 'shopping' in Aussie not only because their prices aren't that much different, but because eBay and my UK contact is much, MUCH, better.

Zephyr... from the VGMM? It is a small world after all!

That really stinks about the shops opening their games, by the way. GameStop stores here do that too... what a shame.

> jd-83 wrote:Zephyr... from the VGMM? It is a small world after all!
>
> That really stinks about the shops opening their games, by the way. GameStop stores here do that too... what a shame.

Yep, the very same. I wonder if we could bumpt into each other on other forums, lol.

Really? I didn't know that. I can't work out why the shops do it :?:

> Zephyr wrote:
> > jd-83 wrote:Zephyr... from the VGMM? It is a small world after all!
> >
> > That really stinks about the shops opening their games, by the way. GameStop stores here do that too... what a shame.
>
>
> Yep, the very same. I wonder if we could bumpt into each other on other forums, lol.
>
> Really? I didn't know that. I can't work out why the shops do it :?:
The guy speaks the truth. They open the seals and such and store it behind the counter as a security measure such is the case with most stores worldwide, I assume. Then they have the audacity to sell the open game as "Brand New". You most certainly won't see me go there. Unless I've preordered a game. (those remain sealed)

And here I was thinking only New Zealand had people stupid enough to [A] sell unsealed games as 'New' and [B] stupid enough to buy them as 'New'. Obviously not.

Its impossible to find game stores that sell sealed games unless you buy just released games that they have not opened yet, usually these games are behind the counter. I cant belive why EBGames and Game does this, its idiotic, seriously i sometimes think they just do it because they want to have something to do.

When Zelda TP was released me and my mate was waiting outside when they opened the store, the first thing we noticed was that they had a big paper box with the games, and 2 employees were picking up the games, unsealing them, taking the manual and disc and putting a rubber band around them then placing them in the stores lockers behind the desk. Now they did this with all copies, not only the showing ex.

So my guess is that they do it for their own personal pleasure. But it is also so that if Game only had sealed games, people would demand a sealed game when they bought the game, but if all games are unsealed it fits more with their "return" policy, you have 10 days to try the game, which i think is good unless your the one getting a pre played copy. Also, what are the games stores on NZ, are they chains or just private ones?

With smaller private stores and the geographical position of NZ one would think these stores would be very exotic, with a mix of Jap, NA and European games;P But i guess its not.

One reason I prefer sealed games (Even ones I want to open and play) is because I like to know that everything is inside the case that is supposed to be inside. The problem you usually get with shops is they replace broken cases with new spare ones. I've seen PS2 games for sale that are apparently "New" but clearly have had their cases swapped as the hologram is in the wrong place (Some games it's on the front, others it's on the back)

I can't see why the stores can't just haveone or a few empty caseson the shelf, and keep the rest behind the counter sealed. If I owned my own shop, I would totally do this and operate it in the same manner as a 1960's local shop, where the goods are kept behind the counter. I can't see why people need something physical to touch - All they need is a list of game titles and a pricelist to accompany it, and a tongue in their mouth to ask for a specific game. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I saw someone actually "Browsing" games of a particular genre in order to find something they might like to play (Eg, looking for a driving game or FPS and checking out the screenshots on the back of the covers and thinking "Hmm, this looks good, i'll try that one...") - I would say a majority of people who buy games these days know exactly which title they want when they enter the shop, and all that concerns them is the price

> Gemini-Phoenix wrote:I can't remember the last time I saw someone actually "Browsing" games of a particular genre in order to find something they might like to play (Eg, looking for a driving game or FPS and checking out the screenshots on the back of the covers and thinking "Hmm, this looks good, i'll try that one...") - I would say a majority of people who buy games these days know exactly which title they want when they enter the shop, and all that concerns them is the price

Brilliant^^

if I buy an opened game, I assume it's used no matter what.

Also, +1 about EB Games switching cases. I bought a gamecube game once and it came in a standard DVD case, an inch of extra radius where the disc went in the case and no memory card holder :S