Gamestop Steals Coupons from Deus Ex: Human Revolution Packages

GameStop Staff Told to Remove OnLive Coupon from DXHR

GameStop employees got a memo from management which told them to open each package of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and remove the free OnLive gaming coupon. (GameSpy didn't out the Field Operations Manager, but Ars Technica did: Josh Ivanoff.)

GameStop's PR team confirmed it: "Square Enix packed the competitor's coupon with our DX:HR product without our prior knowledge and we did pull and discard these coupons". Basically, to prevent the possibility of their customers using a competitor's online service, GameStop instructed its staff to steal material from the packages. Even though the customer will have just bought the game from GameStop to begin with. Shady? Yes.

• Deus Ex: Human Revolution Live-Action Trailer
  

Both OnLive and GameStop are selling DXHR for $50. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a hotly-anticipated title and has been getting very positive reviews. Brick-and-mortar sales will be competitive, sure, but we have no choice but to recommend that you buy from a store that is not pilfering from the packaging. Otherwise you're just paying the same price for a product of lesser value.

What was supposed to be a means of shoring up GameStop's profits on DXHR sales turned into a spectacular own-goal. Did management really think that they had no serious gaming fans in their staff? Did they not think that such a memo would get leaked? GameStop is chasing its own customers away, when all they had to do to maximize sales was... nothing.

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sourced by NowPublic Staff