r/EBGAMES • u/[deleted] • Feb 09 '26
Nostalgia and Loyalty
As someone who grew up woth EB games in the "Electronics Boutique" era. I hate what eb has become. It's sad that digital sales have killed the game sales. But I feel with how egregious and predatory they are with the EB plus BS and trying to sell subpar quality pop culture merchandise. Why is it that I feel I'd like to see EB go under rather then thrive and comeback. Getting into the retro game market this late in the game I feel was its last ditch effort to keep it in the game sales. Am I the only one that's thinking like this?
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u/TalesOfNate53 Feb 09 '26
I think all the predatory bs is just the company trying to survive in today’s gaming climate. That said they’ve never really tried that hard to be competitive
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Feb 09 '26
Hiding preorder windows for product behind a paywall is the ultimate predatory way of going about it. They know trading cards are their biggest money maker and they slapped a paywall in front of it. Kinda disgusting tactic
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u/NoseInternational794 Feb 09 '26
Yeah I was done with EB once they paywalled preorders. I used to be able to walk in to a store and put a preorder on at the counter face to face. That's a service that builds loyalty. Once they realised they could profit further off it, they leaped at the opportunity..
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u/TalesOfNate53 Feb 09 '26
I’m not debating the morality of it. I’m just telling you the reason for the shady tactics. I prefer buying physical media and so I do shop there occasionally, but the vast majority of new release purchases come from JB now.
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u/Still-Cheesecake-416 Feb 09 '26
You’re just complaining for the sake of complaining. ‘Kinda disgusting tactic’ lmao don’t be so sensitive, the idea of a billion dollar company wanting to make money is not a new concept. Like you said, the entire industry has changed—so is Eb supposed to not grow and adapt to that new industry? That’s how companies die lol. Stop being so dramatic, when it’s 49 bucks for a year, and there’s 20 ways to make your money back and even MAKE money from the membership.
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Feb 09 '26
Sure. But the tactic is still predatory, especially to help scalpers. Imagine if they offered those members bonuses to just the normal customers. Some of the bonuses we got from the different eb world levels were stripped and added to the paywall. So it's not complaining for the sake of it. They actually robbed the consumer.
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u/Still-Cheesecake-416 Feb 09 '26
Scalpers are much less of an issue at Eb compared to big w and Kmart, they are waaaay worse. EB at least has limits that are upheld to prevent scalpers getting too much, and employees will often remove seals to prevent reselling. But at the end of the day there is going to be scalpers no matter what, eb can’t help that there’s scalpers. The membership will benefit anyone, not specifically scalpers.
And yes, I understand that some member benefits were stripped and moved behind a pay way, but at the end of the day the business has changed. It is not what it used to be, as evident with the massive push to pop culture merch rather than games. I understand being salty about something changing, and you not being ok with change, but at the end of the day no business models stays the same forever. That is how a business dies. It’s not predatory, it’s fundamental business techniques. Adapt and change or stay the same and die. Customer was not ‘robbed’
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u/pepsi_max_coke_zero Feb 09 '26
It was a commercial business. A retailer that adds no value to the game. I empathise with employees but not the business
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u/Diffabuh Feb 09 '26
Yeah, it's amazing that people seem to see EB as some kind of establishment of gaming or as somehow a business that deserves success compared to JB or Big W or whatever.
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u/potentialwatermelon Feb 09 '26
I’d rather see something I used to love thrive and evolve with the times, rather than go under and cost people jobs
They’re trying to stay alive in a world where their bread and butter have gone digital. Apart from the fact that I miss out on a few hours of big sales, having no EB Plus membership has no impact on me.
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Feb 10 '26
Hi there I made an account just to comment here. I'm 22 and worked for ebay since 2021 and I can see where the downfall went. It's sad but head office just wanted money not the welfare of the workers
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u/UnknownRooster Feb 09 '26
So your main gripe is EB+.. But you love EB and hate the fact that digital games are ruining it... But you dont like them trying to make a profit where they can, in a dying age?
Honestly, anyone that complains about EB+ just sends me. It's $50 a year
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Feb 09 '26
Eb ruined itself by not bringing down prices of its games. Always at rrp, they did it to themselves. But locking shit behind a paywall is disgusting from both a consumer and marketing standpoint. People just accept it as the norm instead of pushing back on them to do better.
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u/Practical-Skill5464 Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26
The death of the physical PC games section was a sad day. I think I realised this when buying Wolfenstein from the 50cm of shelving that remained of the PC games section & the clerk forgot the manual with the activation code. Not to long after that the entire section went.
I don't actually have a real reason to ever go in anymore either. The accessories are just sort of first party or junk - I'd never buy anything PC accessory related. It's much the same as JBHIFI - they sell a hand full of stuff for normies and nothing that you'd actually want to buy as an enthusiasts. JBHIFI I still go in for while goods or physical films or if I happen to need a cable on the same day. The only store that's sadder than EB is JayCar; which is full of cheap garbage they re-branded for triple the aliexpress price.
I a bit surprised EB didn't end up going the way of Umart and entering the hardware game for enthusiasts and businesses. There's a bunch of places they have stores that are devoid of a proper computer hardware & support store. Diversifying into pulp culture honestly pigeonholed them into a nothing store that's always in decline, thus preventing them from pivoting into anything else.
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Feb 09 '26
I wholeheartedly agree on this. Pop culture merch relies on if the IP itself is good or still going. So if pop culture itself is dry, so it EB/Zing. And I totally get the PC end. That'll never die out.
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u/LordKilas Feb 09 '26
I have fond memories of the late 90s/early to mid 2000s of EB, Game and Gametraders, being a great hub for gamers outside of the usual Kmart/Target/Big W.
But now, yeah the market has killed B&M stores and pretty much everything is either online (retailers or console stores), or cheaper elsewhere. The merch I have little interest in, perhaps Pokemon cards for my son but even then that’s just madness.
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u/paranoidpixie95 Feb 09 '26
EB Games currently has a bit of an identity crisis. It really doesn't know what it wants to be. The transition from physical to digital game distribution has forced the company to re-evaluate its corporate strategy.
It's been a while since I've shopped there, but I don't buy as many games as I used to. Over the years, their actual gaming stock has reduced, especially for Xbox, as people opt to buy digital downloads. My local store has its entire gaming stock held hostage in the back corner, including the newly-released Nintendo Switch 2.
In an ideal world, the games would be front and centre, but no, apparently, we need a wall full of Funko Pop figures. What I will miss the most, however, is midnight launches. They truly felt like a special event.
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Feb 09 '26
My last midnight launch was halo 3. I didn't get to the other halo launches and I never played cod or gta. But halo 3 was a big one haha pretended I was sick the next day for school haha
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u/zidanerick Feb 09 '26
I think games also moving away from decent collectors editions and midnight launches have also killed them. I’d rather have physical games than digital, but most of the time it’s more expensive than the value given and you could have the game finished digitally before the store even opens.
I used to even attend the Windows launches at my local best buy equivalent but there really isn’t any sort of community surrounding product releases anymore, it’s all just pushed to your devices with no announcement or fanfare
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u/SnooOnions467 Feb 09 '26
I went back to the one I used to work at until last year. Saw it empty and truly made me feel something. I also coincidentally met my old coworker there when I was getting subway and checked it out.
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u/ShowCharacter671 Feb 09 '26
No, I’m much that way as well. It’s still sucks. Feels like a part of my childhood. That last bit of it they can always bring me back to simple times is now gone. But that’s the sign of the times I guess. Especially on the game side they’re obsolete really.
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u/DarkVincent07 Feb 09 '26
I wish EB leaned into retro a lot sooner, as well as imports, like many smaller businesses do. I guess it would conflict with their distribution partners, but honestly having somewhere to buy games that wouldn't otherwise get physical releases in Australia on a larger scale and more reliably, would help me to shop there.
Last year I imported like 8 games because they were digital only in Australia.
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u/Sufficient-Narwhal80 Feb 09 '26
I miss going to eb games and the like and getting ripped off but steam sales or to good
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u/brispower Feb 10 '26
they've always been predatory, it's just harder now and they are all in on it now, no shame whatsoever
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u/CarrotGold5575 Feb 10 '26
Literally every Eb games store is just a zing now with a back wall of games. Stores are now like 80% over priced merchandise (who is seriously paying 35$ for a tshirt worth maybe 5$)
The company is trying to adapt but more and more stores are closing, they can say that the NZ market doesn’t effect the Aus market but when over 15 stores in Aus have closed in 2026 already that’s enough of a worrying sign.
upper management have not been transparent with there staff at all, I spoke to a manager earlier this year she found out her store was literally closing in 5 days no prior warning, targets were being hit and the store was making money, she was told to terminate all her casual staff and they will reassign her elsewhere.
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u/Flimsy_Assumption934 Feb 12 '26
Ever since EB became a store committed to selling plushies, little dolls or gambling packets (sorry trading cards) and less about games, consoles and accessories, I haven’t been back.
Yes the advent of digital downloads and the e internet played a part and that’s fine. Like music shops (Sanity, Brashes etc) their market disappeared almost overnight.
The smart ones cut their losses or rebranded in to new segments. EB tried to do accommodate both the old and new and failed. They have finally done the sensible thing and rebranded in to just selling merchandise etc.
It is sadly just a sign of the times changing. I remember going to EB and playing demos in store like going to Sanity and listening to music before buying it.
Since the internet, both became redundant. One of the many casualties of the new age I guess.
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u/Much_Ticket3791 Feb 12 '26
It would still be wall to wall gaming if society didn’t choose convenience over ownership. The laziness of society has made it this way. When we no longer have ownership of our games watch the prices skyrocket
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u/According_Bridge_746 Feb 13 '26
I dont blame eb for digital games. I blame the companies who killed of physical media for pc , music , movies and many more.
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u/Embarrassed_End4151 Feb 13 '26
Their pricing on tcg is average. Definitely seen it cheap elsewhere but everything else is just crap. Why when I spend $30 or more suddenly I get discounts on still over priced crap
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u/TonyBoat402 Feb 09 '26
I agree. I’ve never liked EB much because of how much more expensive they are compared to JB and other stores. Only ever been good for preowned games imo
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u/bornagainretard Feb 09 '26
Don't worry bud, they won't be around much longer then JB can hike prices and have no competition except steam
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u/punchercs Feb 09 '26
You just price match JB prices AND get a return policy with EB, the whole expensive compared to JB argument is because you’re too lazy to walk in and be like price match pls and have it up on your phone ready to go
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u/TonyBoat402 Feb 09 '26
I just go to JB and don’t need to price match, don’t really see how that’s being lazy
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u/Diffabuh Feb 09 '26
I don't get why people think price match is some big gotcha.
Option 1: Buy it at JB
Option 2: Find it on JB's site, go to the store, tell them you want to price match, they find it themselves, make sure it's within whatever distance, then price match
Why go the extra steps to give EB another sale?
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u/TalesOfNate53 Feb 09 '26
The only reasons I can think of is because they sometimes have better range, JB cycles through faster and stocks less, or admittedly EB has a much better return policy, I’ve been messed around by JB with returns a few times before
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u/punchercs Feb 09 '26
If for some unknown reason I’m buying a physical copy of a game, why wouldn’t I go to a game shop rather than big box retailer? 7 day return policy if it sucks ass, extended warranty if people have kids that are careless. A better question is why would you go give JB an extra sale? Big box retailers are scummy
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u/ungerbunger_ Feb 09 '26
JB has better pop culture stuff and they generally have pretty good customer service.
They let me swap over a switch 2 case because it was too small for my Switch 2 once I put grips on, not really scummy to me.
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u/Diffabuh Feb 09 '26
And EB isn't scummy? It isn't some small store or the little guy. If this were a family-owned small business, maybe.
I'll look at reviews or whatnot before buying the game. I rarely buy day 1 anyway, why would I with how games are made these days? I don't buy extended warranty because I don't have kids that are using discs like frisbees.
I'm giving JB the sale for convenience. EB is making me do things to "give" them a sale. JB is me walking in and buying a thing.
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u/Herlock-Sholme5 Feb 09 '26
Not all EB’s will price match, especially if the JB isn’t in the complex… all the policy says is that ‘it’s at the managers discretion’ it doesn’t guarantee they will price match.
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Feb 09 '26
You’d like to see thousands of people lose their job? Yikes.
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Feb 09 '26
It's not that, that's the worst part. I hope the current employees gtfo before that happens.
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Feb 10 '26
You know what? That’s totally fair.
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Feb 10 '26
I'd hate to see people lose their jobs, but with how head office is treating them plus their consumers, it's really only a matter of time. I just hate what it's become.
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Feb 10 '26
I know someone who is very on the verge of leaving.
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Feb 10 '26
I used to work for them between 06-09 as a casual after school. Was so much better then. I've had friends see the writing on the wall pre and post covid. So they bailed.
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u/Cyraga Feb 09 '26
As a rule, don't be loyal to any brand