Video game stores

[thePlinko]

For those of you who like having physical copies of games, both new and old do you prefer shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or do you prefer to shop online? If you like shopping in person, do you tend to go to a big chain that specializes in games like GameStop? Or do you have a local store you like to go to?

Personally, I tend to prefer buying in person, particularly for older games since the condition is always up in the air. There are a few used game stores in my area, including the one I work at. For new games I usually either go to Walmart or Best Buy.

 

[Dizzi]

i prefer physical but cant really go to one so get otheres to buy them for bdays and xmas!!

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

As I get older, I love the convenience of digital.

But, I prefer to support local businesses, so when I buy physical, I try to find local stores and shops.

 

[Ganondorf]

Physical, if I can manage to find anything. Especially with retro junk where quality is hard to discern online, or people lie about condition & make it a task & a half to get it returned or replaced. Much easier to show up in person & show them what is wrong or have them test it in store, if they're any serious reseller with those things. That & I have been called a liar with condition with sellers online, which is extremely annoying when they clearly mailed me some coffee-stained label on a DS cartridge or something. Hard to call me a liar to my face when I show up to a store with it in my hand... and that shouldn't happen at all since I can check it before I buy it! That's the best!

I DO like digital, but also I just prefer to own a physical copy. Looks nice on a shelf, & I really truly own it. No disappearing on me. No delisting. Less likely to have corruption. I don't really like the trend of some games being digital-only (looking at you, Monster Rancher DX, though I own all the original discs). Or in the case of the Mario collection on Switch, I much prefer physical... given it's no longer available for no reason whatsoever.

 

[A Link In Time]

I tend to buy my physical games from either Best Buy or Amazon. If it's a preorder, I tend to go for Amazon, but if it's been out for a while, I prefer shopping at Best Buy.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

I pretty much exclusively buy online, not even sure when was the last time I bought something in store

 

[Turo602]

It depends on the situation. I really enjoy going to gaming stores, especially the retro ones, but the pricing and condition is always a deciding factor for me on whether to order online or buy in store. I typically don't buy new at Gamestop unless I'm pre-ordering because that's the only way to guarantee a new factory sealed copy and not the bullsh*t they pass off as new when you buy online or browse their stock. Target and Amazon are usually my go to for deals on new games, so I'll just order them online or do an in-store pick-up.

Retro games are also really expensive these days and I find that sometimes you can find certain games cheaper online and in equal condition to what you'll find in stores. Sometimes online is my only real option when I just can't find a specific game anywhere either. But I have mostly bought retro games in store than online in general.

 

[Jimmu]

I tend to buy games physically and from large chain stores like EB Games or JB Hi-Fi (depending on who has the best price or pre-order bonus item). There aren't really any small independent game stores in my area but if there were I'd certainly like to support them.

 

[BloodyKun]

Where I live I don’t like to have to go through traffic for anything considering how crazy other drivers are, but my brother in law recently had a package with a $100 item stolen because the delivery driver couldn’t be bothered to knock or ring the doorbell despite instructions to do so. It’s either risk one of these things or be forced into digital now unfortunately.

 

[Jinjo]

I buy new games in person. I would go to the mall and there is a GameStop and Target inside where I bought some of my games there. If I wanted to buy an old game I would have to order it from online.

 

[spookyheart]

online or in store we got gamez in ajax i highly reccomend

 

[Echolight]

I usually drop by GameStop. I bought my copy of splatoon 3 there back in 2022 hah, and they gave me a buunch of splatoon stickers too so that was awesome, have em on my waterbottle.

If they don't have the game I go to Walmart instead. Even if I order online I have to go and get an Amazon card anyways so

 

[Vanessa28]

I rather want a physical copy of a game but sometimes when I'm incredibly impatient I'll buy a digital copy. Most of my games I buy at local stores nearby.