I've been harsh on retailer GameStop in the past, but their latest act of corporate misbehavior has me just stunned beyond belief. The franchise has a history of running a yammering promo video on in-store televisions that show off upcoming releases and encourage customers to trade in used games. Annoying, yes, but we've been putting up with similar things from video stores and other places for years. It's all just part of the marketing. The problem comes when marketing goes too far, such as in the case of GameStop's latest video showing the ending of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii. Let me say that again just to reiterate: the video spoils the ending of a game. Moreover, there's word this kind of thing may be a new monthly video feature. What the hell, GameStop?
There's supposed to be a grace period when it comes to spoiling a game's dramatic moments. A cynical person (such as myself) might make the connection that GameStop is spoiling endings so that deflated players will feel that since the ending has been revealed there's no need to finish the game, so they might as well trade it back to GameStop. I've felt for a while now that the company will one day push gamers too far with anti-customer store policies, and while I don't believe that this latest act of uncaring foolishness will be the proverbial straw that broke the moblin's back, it's certainly another step towards customer revolt. I know I won't be patronizing any store that spoils game endings such as this, and I don't say that because I feel that one disgruntled customer can make a difference. I say it because I haven't finished Twilight Princess yet.
