Talk:EB Games

Trades

Under the trades heading it states that as of June 1st, EB no longer takes N64 or PS1 games. This statement is false. I work at an EB games in Toronto and we still take N64 and PS1 games.

Really? I work at an EB and a Gamestop in Wisconsin, and our district has stopped taking N64 and PS1. Maybe it's different in Canada?

Is "Locations such as those in Phoenix, Arizona have recently cracked down on enforcing this policy, whereas before all ages were permitted to sell games. Small stores with policies as these have often undergone several management changes, many of which have continually lost stores much money. Smaller stores, much like the one in Phoenix, are predicted to continually slide downhill and eventually give way to bigger stores such as Best Buy, " from a reliable source? It sounds like obvious bias to me.

I added a verify source marker for reference.

- Vyxx Sep 20th '06

Electronics Boutique Australia is currently accepting PS1 and N64 games in a promotion called "Retro Fiesta"

Yeah I work in an EB Games in Australia and we still accept PS1 games for $1 each with the trade in of a PSX or PSone. Beelzebub101 11:19, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

In my personal experience I witnessed underage sellers allowed to trade in their games without a parent present, although this was neither encouraged, nor practiced officially. Policy dictated that a seller had to be an adult according to Provincial rules.Coloneldoctor (talk) 00:47, 7 June 2008 (UTC)ColonelDoctor

Deleted Ads

Please refrain from turning this into an advertisement page!

Someone wrote "EBX is like the older Electronic Boutiques." I don't know if this is true. I've been to an EBX that looked more like an EB Kids or EB Games. They sold only console games, no PC or Mac games, and nothing else. They also seem to have a more kid-friendly appearance than EB Games. Does anyone have an EBX near them or know if the description of EBX is correct? Also, what exactly were the older "Electronics Boutiques" like? Hyad 05:46, 28 May 2005 (UTC)

EBX was a higher-end store-- there was a lot of glass and light wood. It was for the "higher end mall" areas.

Stop N Save was another type of design. These were primarily red & black and had a lot of budget games.

Electronics Boutique was their original name. They changed over because (I believe) it was a mouthful to say.

EB Games is what the company was striving for for all of their stores before GameStop bought them out (ah hem-- merged with them.) They were hoping to have all the US stores rebranded by 2006. GameStop plans on keeping the Electronics Boutique/EB Games name for their international stores (Canada, mostly) for name recognition reasons for the time being. All new stores were being built along the "EB Games" style, with all older stores being remodeled with this style as well. Nothing has been discussed about the merger plans for these stores.

65.202.11.7 17:35, 8 September 2005 (UTC)an employee

Anyone know how they employ staff?

Someone put a picture tha was An "EB Games" next door to a "Source by Circuit City" store at a retail strip mall. This store is located in Brandon, MB, Canada, with this pic:[[1]]

Im pretty sure someone from curcuit city did this.

Electronics Boutique was their original name. They changed over because (I believe) it was a mouthful to say.

They changed the name to stop confusion, and bring it inline with what they actually sold.Biasia (talk) 13:54, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

In my experience high school students were targeted for employment, probably for the same reasons McDonalds etc use them. I didn't see anything explicitly wrong in how people were hired. My area of interest is in how people were treated according to local and Provincial labour laws, and in general across the EB Games international presence. I believe it is an important educational element to compare EB Games' track record on labour with other giant companies. My concern is that they will just pop in and erase my additions again.Coloneldoctor (talk) 23:52, 6 June 2008 (UTC)ColonelDoctor

Written by emplyees?

This whole thing starts off good then starts reeking of an advertisment. i already removed the line "Let’s not forget about pre-played hardware either." but there are still problems, expecially with the last paragraph, its not even really nessecery, and the specific deals available make it sound like a catalog. they are very specific and dont apply to most or even a great majority of readers. they also change every month or more. I think the lower half of the article needs to be redone but i dont really have the knowledge to do it. i wont remove the problem parts at the moment cause it would leave the article very bare.

-Theres another problem, they accept next to nothing for tradeins now and they offer store credit for WAY less than they sell a game for. a 30 dollar used game gets maybe a dollar in store credit.

Dude thats why if you talk to them about trades they'll tend to mention that the faster you trade the more you save, Dont winge because you were stupid enough to hold onto old games or ones that everyone else has already traded.

Removed text

I removed the following text from the end of the "International" section:

In April 2006, EB came in line with Gamestop policies, dramatically raising shipping costs to international customers, while reducing the quality of service. The EB Gamestop merger took most competition out of the online videogame retail industry, creating a practically undisputed monopoly, and removing choice from customers.

I don't know whether the first part of this (about the shipping costs) is true or not, but the rest is completely POV, so I've removed it. Loganberry (Talk) 02:30, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

While it seem POV, it is completely true. Being that the truth/facts is/are more important than the way something is written, you are in the wrong having removed the information. If you can't see that then you are either: a) fucking blind, or b) an employee. And moreso than the online retail industry, how many other videogame stores/chains are there? Those two are about it, and they're the only stores widespread enough to know that you can likely find one even if you go from one side of the country to the other. Finally, it should be noted that the poster above you mentioned something that anyone who has been to the store notices: they make a fucking killing on trade-ins while raping you royally. Dudewhiterussian 22:11, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

I agree with the removal. The previous comment is irrelevant. The removal citied mentioned the online industry which deals almost exclusively with credit transactions. GameStop only took over 50% of the market in late 2007. Even then it was still less than 60%. Wal-Mart is its largest competitor. A quick news flash to those who bitch about trade prices. That coach purse you bought your wife had a mark up of well over 1000%. The mark-up on used games is about 150%. Clothes in Wal-Mart have about a 200% mark-up. I'd say GameStop is fair. Bottom-line. They are a business who needs to make money to survive. Deal with it.

It's not irrelevant if it helps the student put the company's history in perspective, and I disagree that the essential information contained in it should be removed. That being said, the removed text seemed a little subjective. There's no reason a re-written version should be excluded, although in the interests of educational value it would be wise to compare EB's policy changes with other large corporations, to better enable the student to decide for themselves whether any of their business practices can be determined to be ethically questionable.Coloneldoctor (talk) 02:21, 9 June 2008 (UTC)ColonelDoctor

Questions

I used to work in Electronics Boutique in 1995 in the UK and the name of the stores it took over was "Future Zone" (quite snazzy as some sotres had a virtual reality machine in the back. Anyhoo, can someone add the name of the store somewhere? I'm not advertising, it was a a s**t job, awful pay, Managment who clearly knew nothing about games (for instance they demanded that we give the majority of floor space to "edutainment" PC titles which never sold)

Is Gamestop in the UK? I have yet to see anything in the UK related to the GameStop brand in any form.

Labour Practices

To my recollection the Wikipedia is an educational resource, not a marketing tool, nor a place for companies to hang up their hagiographies to themselves. My first entry which touched upon this company's questionable labour practices has simply disappeared without comment. I have reinserted the entry, using citations of well known instances, in order to let the student judge their merit.

If it should be so simple for a company to merely erase what they don't like in their entry, then I despair for the ratio esse of our dear Wikipedia. Coloneldoctor (talk) 23:35, 6 June 2008 (UTC)ColonelDoctor

1230?

From the article:

"In early 1230, Electronics Boutique's UK entity merged with Game Group Plc and the "GAME" brand replaced the EB name at all former EB stores in the UK and Ireland. The new company was the biggest video game retailer in the United Kingdom. However, GameStop Corp. is once again operating in Ireland under the GameStop brand."

Something tells me that that year is a bit off... --Dragon of the Pants 21:28, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

wow ya think. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.19.46.27 (talk) 00:02, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

PC Games?

It is mentioned that trades ARE accepted for PC games, although the store I work for does not allow trade-in on any PC Games whatsoever regardless of condition, due to piracy, cd-key stealing, ect. Whoever added this, because I am interested: which store do you visit/work for that allows PC software trade in?

The store I work for also does not accept PC games as a valid trade, due to serial key theft mostly. I am also interested where this statement came from? --HarroSIN 03:36, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Trading PC Games? No. Never have. As for the future...unlikely I doubt you'd even find PO SKU's for PC games. Biasia (talk) 13:55, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

The Orillia, Ontario, Canada EB Games store regularly traded PC games. I find it difficult to believe claims that PO SKUs were hard to find, as our computers were all connected to the same source. The search capabilities were instinctive, and the daily perpetuals were fairly exhaustive.Coloneldoctor (talk) 23:44, 6 June 2008 (UTC)ColonelDoctor

James started it, he used funds from his first company Amkor Electronics Inc., a Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based semiconductor assembly company affiliated with the Seoul-based company, Anam Industrial Co. Ltd., run by his father.

GameStop took its last PC trade-ins in Feb. 2006, shortly after the merger. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.204.150.244 (talk) 01:46, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Re: name changing to GameStop

Article states "It is believed that this is the same reason that GameStop has not commenced renaming EB Games stores to GameStop, even though the companies have been operating as one since early 2006." Yet, this seems like pure speculation and is not supported by a citation that indicates who "believes" this. My personal experience is that indeed EB Games stores are being renamed to GameStop, at least in the DFW area. Oswald Glinkmeyer 17:20, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

All of the EB stores in my area still have their original names... Alabasterchinchilla 05:10, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

Most stores have one to three year lease agreements with the mall management company. Part of the renewal terms usually includes remodeling the storefront to the company's latest design. It is at this time that most stores are rebranded with the new name. This also allows the company to spread out the costs of rebranding over several years.

They wont rebrand the EB Games stores in Australia, the company is called Electronics Boutique Australia Pty Ltd. It only Trades under the name of EB Games since the American company got its name change.

Since the least to the name has ran out, all U.S. EB Games video game stores have now officially been re-named "GameStop". Merging should be taken more seriously at this point. Redsox04 23:48, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

Merger

If these articles are to be merged, what conditions would be made to go through the rather different corporate histories pre-merger? It's important that this information remain clear in a potential merged article, which I can see as a potential problem. It might be valuable to keep this article as a fork of GameStop so that this aspect isn't lost. matt91486 18:43, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

Merge-EB is now Gamestop. The history of EB should be included in the article though. --DreamsAreMadeOf 03:30, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Dont merge - EB is now Gamestop in the US. Gamestop still trades under the titles Electronics Boutique, EB Games, EBX etc. in every other country. If you want to merge it fair enough, but i will have to create a whole new page to cover the companies outside the US that still trade or operate under the title EB Games. Biasia (talk) 13:59, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Don't merge - EB and Gamestop both have two different histories that really shouldn't need to be combined. True the companies are merged and names to the moajority of EB stores have been changed to "Gamestop", but I truly believe that the pages should both be a separate entity and should only include a page to refer to the merging of both companies. Venomscarnage (talk) 20:25, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Within the next two years, all EBgames worldwide will be rebranded as GameStop. Saevurr (talk) 06:16, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Don't merge. I've never seen a GameStop store in Canada. EBGames, however, are everywhere. Since the english wiki isn't only USA-centric, I say we must keep this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.191.22.226 (talk) 19:15, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

Merge. Gamestop has acquired EB Games, and adding the history to the Gamestop page with a redirect would keep the same information in the parent companies page. Brinlong (talk) 20:25, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Don't merge. Even if EB Games was wiped tomorrow completely off the planet, I would rather have two pages for historical accuracy. i.e. "Eb games was a store until year 2006 when it was merged with Gamestop"... or something. I really would not like the pages merged, because this while destroy this accuracy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.222.37.20 (talk) 20:15, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Support: I've been an employee for EBgames since before the merger with GameStop, Inc and was hired as an EB employee. While I never really liked it, now that the company is called GameStop Corp. and all the EBgames and EBX's are being rebranded as GameStop, it would be correct to merge the two pages. Saevurr (talk) 06:15, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Support 2: I too have been an employee since pre-merger and agree that since all stores are funded from one company with central operations in Grapevine, TX (including international locations), the two pages should be merged provided that a section be dedicated to EB History from Electronic's Boutique to merger. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.204.150.244 (talk) 01:43, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Oppose (don't merge). Just because they're now one entity doesn't mean their articles should be merged. Compaq, for example, still has its own Wikipedia page containing its history, even though it was acquired by HP. --Alexc3 ^(talk) 02:55, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Very Strong Oppose - There are many EBGames stores in Canada and I've never seen a Gamestop here. Just because it's Gamestop in the US doesn't mean it's Gamestop everywhere. ~NeonFire372~ (talk) 21:26, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Oppose - Until re-branding is complete and all stores are operating under one name, the article should remain. Until then, EBGames is still a brand of stores operating under a different name than its parent corporation. Many articles in wikipedia remain active in this capacity. Once re-branding is complete, the articles should be merged. The only reason (normally) that the then-defunct absorbed company would continue to warrant a separate page is when the history of that company is substantially different from the currently-operating company AND is too lengthy to be summarized into the current company's article, such as the new "AT&T" and the old "American Telephone and Telegraph". Awhit003 (talk) 01:14, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Merge - EB Games is just a subsidary of GameStop. Most stores have been re-branded, so I guess both should share the same article. OfficerPhil (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 00:25, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Don't merge. The fact that there was a company called EB Games is not under dispute. This article should chronicle the history of EB Games. Even the introduction says EB Games is just a subsidiary of GameStop. Warner Bros. is a subsidiary of Time Warner yet we still have a Warner Bros. article. Mobil merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil but we still have a Mobil article. --Pixelface (talk) 15:21, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

Don't merge. Gamestop is its own just as Eb is its own, please don't mess-up another page like the others.--Lbrun12415 03:41, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

I support the merge because I haven't seen a single EB Games anywhere I've been, but I also oppose it because there are still EB Games outside of the U.S. SAVIOR_SELF.777 03:18, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Don't merge. This company exists as EB Games in Canada and other international countries. Merging will potentially compromise what educational value exists, and numerous concerns listed about this article have shown the potential for it to be rebooted as a saintsong/marketing tool.Coloneldoctor (talk) 00:52, 7 June 2008 (UTC)ColonelDoctor

Don't Merge for the reasons of there still are EB Game locations. Tabor (talk) 02:23, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Don't Merge, so we have a historical picture when we all die the aliens will know about it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ronjohn (talk • contribs) 10:43, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Don't Merge Actually, i don't think EB Games and Gamestop should be merged.

Oppose, EBGames still exists internationally without GameStop stores. - Cheers, Vicer ^{Userpage | Talk} 11:35, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

Don't Merge - as others have said, until there's no more EB Games stores or any of the other names, it's still a valid article. After they've all been rebranded, I think it would be a better choice. Corath (talk) 16:12, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Don't Merge: EB Games is a separate company with its own history, despite many stores being sold to GameStop. You wouldn't merge Bamberger's, Foley's, Strawbridge's, Filene's, Marshall Field's, and Kaufmann's into Macy's, would you? TheListUpdater (talk) 14:53, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Don't Merge' -Some good points are presented here. At the current time I would have to say that there is no NEE to merge the two articles, as long as it is mentioned that EB is wholey owned as operated by Game Stop. Who are employees employed by? Sephiroth storm (talk) 04:04, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Don't Merge' - Employees of the original EBGAMES. Those's who were in the Manager - Assistant Manager positions never wanted the Merger with Gamestop. Gamestop themselves have terrible policies that Former EB employers disagree with. Don't put both histories together. 10 September 2008 (ETC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.89.228.157 (talk) 15:38, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Merge' - When you look up FuncoLand, Software Etc., and Babbage's you are brought to GameStop. Why would you not bring them all together. And YES, there are still stores named Software ETC, Babbage's and Funcoland. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.194.199.117 (talk) 19:36, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Merge! - Why is everyone bagging on this? EBGames does still trade and exist, but let's go through this. 1; EBGames is part of Gamestop. 2; The stores are, in fact, going to be rebranded in the next year or two, despite denial. It's happening in the US, why wouldn't it happen in Canada or other places? But we can still represent the stores. Like, by making an EBGames section in the Gamestop article. It's honestly not that hard. —Preceding unsigned comment added by StarfoxRoy (talk • contribs) 21:50, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

Don't merge - As many others have said, EBgames is a company that existed in the past, and still exists as a store outside the US. If you do merge them, I expect all other stores that have been merged into another, even if only in their home nation, to be merged as well, after all, we have to be fair don't we. (that was sarcasm if you could not tell) --Alphamone (talk) 13:45, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Don't merge - EB Games are still trading as EB Games! Let it go at least until the re-brand has gone through. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.49.158.125 (talk) 00:30, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Merge' - EBGames is GameStop. Those who are against the merge have yet to provide a decent argument.

Don't merge There are still plenty of EB Games storefronts that have no timetable on a change over. Also there are plenty of markets that have yet to see as single Gamestop. There are plenty of articles where a different brand within the same company has a separate article. Geek Squad isn't just a redirect to Best Buy for example. The only rational for merging is the idea by some people that “Well since all the ones in MY area have changed over this must reflect the rest of the world.” That and GameStop fanboy behavior. PeRshGo (talk) 06:20, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

Canada

EB Games locations in Canada that have before changed to Gamestop are reverting back to the EB Games format, no source so I didn't edit the article. The only source I have is the EB games in Saint John, NB renovated last year into a Gamestop. But when I went in today the sign had changed back to EB Games, no mention of "Gamestop" was found. Maybe changing the name resulted in lost profits?--Ech064 (talk) 00:40, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

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