GameStop Releases Its Own Game

GameStop has fulfilled its terrifying promise to break into the game industry by releasing its own game starring its mascot, Buck.

The U.S. game retail chain GameStop has long said that it wanted to get into actually making games instead of just selling them. They started that journey this summer by acquiring Kongregate, the browser-based game portal that boasts 10-million users. That journey to the dark side is complete with the release of Buck and the Coin of Destiny on the Apple iTunes App store. Play the 2D side-scrolling platformer starring the company’s mascot, Buck the Bunny, for only $.99. Raise your hand if you knew that GameStop had a anthropomorphic rabbit as its mascot. That’s what I thought.

Now I don’t want to judge a book by its cover, but the screenshot is quite uninspiring. Yeah, it’s safe to say that I won’t be playing Buck and the Coin of Destiny anytime soon.

At least GameStop is trying to appear philanthropic. If you buy the game before Oct. 31st, 10 percent of your purchase will go towards “animal rescue and rehabilitation efforts.” GameStop did cap the possible donation at $5,000, which by my quick calculation would come from 50,000 downloads.

Perhaps I’m being too cynical, but I doubt that this game will reach that number in the next few weeks.

To hear more about what it’s like working in a New York area Gamestop, check out the series of articles in The Escapist Magazine by Scott Jones – Confessions of a GameStop Employee.