Eb Games

I am not by any means a big EB games fan but when I do want to get my hands on a new release title this is my store of choice. The staff here are wonderful as well as the manager. There is one young lady who works there who remembers my face as well as the genre of games I like to play which i’m pretty impressed with as they likely see dozens of customers every day.
Their new and used collection of PS3 and Xbox is pretty darn impressive considering the size of the store. I think they lack a little in the Wii and Wii U offerings. I am really not impressed at all with their DS and 3DS collection. If you shop at Play N Trade at Namao you will find a MUCH larger collection of 3DS and DS games to choose from.
As mentioned in prior reviews there are a lot of issues with their trade in system but that’s a head office issue that can not be blamed on the store itself. Resist the urge to bring your used titles here as you will not get much bang for your buck but don’t dismiss this EB altogether when looking to add new titles to your gaming library.

I find that EB Games is hit and miss. The new games that they sell are fairly priced, but the problems lie in their used game prices and other policies.
There have been times when I’ve gone in and found that the used price is higher than the new price or just $ 5-​$ 10 less than the new price. I understand that EB Games have to get their profits primarily through the used game market since there’s almost next to no room for a markup on new titles. The trade in deals are not great either. It’s common to get about $ 5 on a trade in value for a game you paid $ 30+ on. This is unacceptable.
Additionally, i talked to enough people who worked at EB Games/​Gamestop to know that they have a rental policy in place for employees where they can «rent» a game of their choice for a week. Now, I wouldn’t have a problem with this if the games were put out as used. But commonly, these games often get mixed in with new product and get sold as new. This is something that’s easy to avoid though. If the game isn’t factory shrink wrapped sealed, you know it’s been opened for the employee rental or for the game case display. Always ask for a sealed copy when purchasing games.
Unfortunately, I don’t think these are problems that can be resolved at the store level and has to go through head office.
A minor nitpick at the store level. For those of you who are unfamiliar with today’s gaming consoles, the new Nintendo 3DS has a cool feature called Street Pass where you can customize a Mii (personal caricature) and use it to «street pass» people who also have 3DS systems. The consoles’ wireless signals will communicate with one another, where Mii’s can be delivered. You have the option to send personal messages when you street pass the same person more than once.
As a regular at this particular EB Games location, I have streetpassed the demo system many times. Most of the messages I received were fine, but one of the last messages I got was extremely offensive and vulgar.
Unfortunately due to the stupidity of some of the customers like what I described above, this calls for the need for the demo systems to be monitored to ensure that offensive messages can’t be sent out.
To balance out this review, I know all the employees and the manager who works this location. They’re completely chill and I’ve never had a problem with them. They’re very friendly and approachable.
I like this location much better than Southgate because they only get a fraction of the traffic that Southgate does.
I want to reiterate that prices on new games here are reasonable and fair. Sometimes, you can even get preorder bonuses that you can’t get anywhere else.

If you’re shopping in Edmonton City Centre, this should be your primary destination for your video game needs. That being said, this location is smaller and does not carry a wide selection as other EB Games. I found the selection of pre-​owned games to be also small. When there are a lot of customers in the store, the small store size becomes more apparent.
That being said, if you are looking for new games, this location tends to have a larger supply of games, due to a lower volume of downtown shoppers. The staff are very friendly, yet there seem to be only 2 present at a time, making it difficult to get a hold of something when the store is busy. Regardless, they will help you search for whatever you are looking for. For example, I was looking around for a Playstation 3 bundle, and although they did not have it, they were willing to phone every other EBgames in town until it was found.