well as an example (probably a poor one but w/e) collectors pay far more for a factory sealed edition of something than one that has been taken out of it's original packaging. guaranteed new vs potentially new vs obviously used. like a special edition of say Bioshock that's had the artbooks taken out for some reason. value has been lost.

o/t: understandable to a degree but yeah definately a dick move.

I've bought one game from them in the last year and a half. the product is new till it is used. That's the definition of the word 

I also got a "new" 3DS game from them last week that was already opened (Tom Clancy Shadow Wars). The display copy was the only "new" copy they had available and I didn't want to buy the $35 used one (I laughed "ha!" at the measly $5 reduction) so they just took a 3DS game card of the game that they had stored in a CD sleeve, put it inside the display case and sold it to me as new.  The 3DS section was rather pathetically small (that should tell you how well the 3DS is doing) so I'm not surprised that they had just the 1 "new" copy. I had returned this week and the second game I bought from there, also a 3DS game (Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked) was still sealed though (and it had that nasty brand new game smell as confirmation that it was really new). Before these two instances, I never bought stuff from GameStop before. And I only recently decided to start shopping there because there is a GameStop within walking distance from my workplace and shopping is a good way to kill time on lunch breaks.

The fact that Gamestop employees actually open the boxes makes me want to avoid GameStop and go back to ordering from Amazon and Best Buy. But it's in a convenient location. What can I say? lol. If I buy from Amazon, it takes a couple days for the shipment to arrive. And Best Buy, being a jack-of-all-trades big box retailer, doesn't have the selection of niche titles that GameStop has. And heading over to Best Buy would require me to ride the bus or burn gas. I like that I can walk to GameStop because I could use the exercise after sitting on my ass for most of the day in a cubicle. Amazon's selection however is usually pretty damn freakin good. But like I said, gotta wait a couple days. I would not buy a gutted game (game with coupons/online DLC/online passes/whatever removed) as "new" from GameStop though. That would be a total rip-off. It's bad enough that they unseal the games, put a sticker on the box (I'd imagine that's going to hurt the resale value of the game. If I take that sticker off, it's going to leave that sticky residue) and sell them as new.

Edit: seems I am mistaken, and Squeenix advertised it before the game was released. My original post in this thread still stands though. As well as what I said to Wagram 

And notice that squeenix is the one that is paying for this. They even issued a "no comment". Makes you wonder who was really at fault in all this

And how the heck do you know the product hasn't been used if it isn't sealed ?

For all you know they could put a used copy in it..

I am shocked and dismayed that some on these forums are trying to justify or excuse what they did to consumers. They had acceptable responses if they felt that the product was contrary to their best interests. Instead they opted to defraud the customer of a included entitlement. As a company that thrives on entitlements they should very well know better. It is neither excusable or defensible. They had choices, and they made the wrong choice. They simply wronged their customers, and that is bad business.

What I find most frustrating with this story isn't their underlying reason. What is frustrating is that their solution was to break rather then to mend. That speaks to a loathsome mindset. That customers are to be exploited period. It speaks to a company that doesn't care about return business. If you do not want to sell products with a coupon for a competitor included fine, but by taking it out you are decreasing the value of the purchase. Tell the public about your decision so they can make a informed choice, or dare I suggest it offer up a conciliatory compromise.

Why was there no consideration given to legitimate compensation. Your taking a free game out of the package. In regards to that a discount should have been offered on that product or a future purchase even. Maybe perhaps a free game from their online service to coincide with its launch. What about another item in the store. For all of their justifications. Did it not occur to the management that every problem can be turned into a blessing. Instead of turning this situation into them looking well meaning. All they did was break shit, and come off as if they think they should get away with doing that.

My tolerance for their shenanigans is wearing mighty thin. At this rate in a few years they aren't going to have any customers online or otherwise. I was thinking hard about reserving a few games through them this year, but things like this if they weren't already upsetting. Leave me distrustful of the products they would sell to me. I dislike the idea that someone is going to tamper with my purchases.

Well it is good that they are being returned to Square Enix

I don't see why GameStop would agree to support a competitor. It is more like giving Best Buy vouchers away with their game than anything else.

And they can easily contact them all, it is callled a mass email. They probably should have realised that this would cause contention with GameStop of all people, so should have made sure to warn them

And they will accept returns if people really want, but I am not sure how it is really reducing the value, as it is the same product twice effectively. I could see how this is annoying, but all it does it give them a code so that they can also play the game on OnLive, but as they don't use the same save file it is totally useless

For the record, I am getting this for console, so it doesn't affect me at all

Because you can only install a game once

Square accepted responsibility for not telling Gamestop but i'm sure Gamestop will take no responsibility in screwing those who has purchased the game before they recalled it.