It's funny that you think of it as a reward for buying new, you get shit all extra for it, normally. All it is is punishment for second hand buyers, indeed punishment for you as well if you buy first hand, as your resale value just went down by 10 bucks.
Because it doesn't hurt Gamestop at all, all they do is adjust their prices, it hurts the people who try and sell to Gamestop (or anywhere else), it even punishes you for trading games with your buddies when you are done (and you're going to have a hard time convincing me that isn't a legit thing to do).
Amazon will buy back used games. For that matter, so will Toys 'R US if you want a brick and mortar retailer.

Dunno why most of the others in this thread are so down on Gamestop. 'Round here, they're probably the best place to shop if you wanna pick up something for the current systems, and they have the better service. Game Exchange is the only other big local place, and they will screw you over first chance you get. I took in MGS2 and MGS3 with all their original paperwork each and they tried to give me the trade in price of one for both together. Why? "Oh, these are part of a set. Sets go together." Not when the games are bought freaking separate they don't! Fricken' cheats.

OTOH, I have a Game Stop membership card, so stuff's usually not bad as far as pricing for me, and the guys there are awesome.

Gamestop around here has acceded to making things Gamestop.com did wrong right for me. This was extra work for them that they probably didn't have to do.

Are their used prices high? I think so, but there's other venues for used games these days so no big deal.

Maybe it isn't. All I know is that a few years ago you could buy games at lots of places but only trade them in at specialist places or sell them independently at car boots sales etc. Now you can trade in a game as easily as buying a new one. Whether there's a direct correlation I don't know but I do know it's difficult to buy new pc games on the high street except a chosen few.

I find going into Game a wasted experience as the majority of shelves are dedicated to second hand games. That's an honest first hand experience because I went a few days ago to see if they had a cover box for the upcoming Darkspore. They didn't and their Pc department was piss-poor. Coincidently (or not) they were all new games. The tiny selection had a shelf for 3 for £10/2 for £15 etc, games and one (smaller) with normal priced games. So I couldn't buy games even if I wanted to.

So my point is a second hand market is good but not if it's the primary market. If the publisher getting a cut means new games can be made then that has to be a good thing. TBH though the game shops on the highstreet can go fuck themselves. I used to buy all my games on the highstreet but if they won't sell them I can't buy them. They decided to become second hand console game shops well: I'm a pc gamer and if they don't want my cash there's plenty of (online) shops that do.

Tl;DR: I like GoG.

If I want used, or even new, games, I've got three options. 1) Game Stop. 2) Game Exchange, and they only sell used (and if Game Stop's prices are high, well, Game Exchange averages about five bucks higher per game. A used copy of Arkham Asylum, not even the 3D version, goes for about 40 bucks plus tax there,) or 3) I buy online. I tend to be antsy about ordering physical products online since I like to see things prior to purchasing them, so that pretty much leaves me with the first two options, of which Game Stop is by far superior.

On topic -- the Project 10$ thing? I don't have a problem with it, and I myself am evidence that it can work in a company's favor. When I recently went in to purchase a copy of Mass Effect 2, I purchased new rather than used specifically for the Cerberus Network code. Special content only being available to those who buy a new copy of a game is no more wrong to me than games giving special bonuses to those who preorder, or get special editions of games. Heck, in a lot of ways it's less objectionable, since preorders are a limited-time deal (except in the case of Duke Nukem Forever) and special editions are usually much more expensive than a vanilla copy of a title. If I'm buying a game, I don't need a metal case and a standing statuette of the hero and a dinner set for four. I need the game, and maybe instructions depending on the complexity. Everything else is just icing on the cake, and rewarding someone with non-critical in game goodies for purchasing new is a great idea.

Around here we have Toys 'R Us and Amazon.com online for the same.

I do have a problem with it, because it's an attempt to devalue a used copy, that doesn't just hurt the second hand buyer, it hurts me if I try and unload a turd of a game that I'll never play a again yet paid full price for. I don't want to sucker someone into buying The Force Unleashed 2, for example (and I don't think there is any code for that one), I assume if they buy it used they actually want to play it and have read reviews about its many shortcomings; I was merely unhappy with it so would like to get rid of it for something I would like. Instead I'm loaning it to every friend who expresses the mildest interest.

I don't mind merely cosmetic changes for pre-orders (ooh a special ring, or unique looking shield), but big parts of the content, such as backstory type quests, etc. is kind of a jerk thing to pull on people. This is my opinion and I can see why others feel differently. I just don't think the harm is limited to second hand buyers.

I can see that, and like I said, I'm okay with that kind of thing for NON-CRITICAL stuff. An extra character is cool, or new weapons, since neither are necessary to beat a game. In Mass Effect 2 the bonus Normandy mission was basically just a collect-a-thon with no real point if you didn't enjoy the first game and no real effect on the second one, so it wouldn't bother me especially since all of those are available for purchase even without the code, as I suspect the original "Alice" will be when the new game is released, both of which I will want desperately.

Frankly, things that could be considered essential to get the full experience of a game being downloadable extras at all irks me, so if that's gonna happen I just consider it craptacular regardless of the requirements.

you'll be able to buy alice if you got the game second hand, however from what i've heard you can only run it from in the menu of alice 2, so if you want to play the original, and for whatever reason dont like the sequel, youre stuck with it

If you've never played it then (assuming I'm not affected by nostalgia) Alice 1 is an amazing game. I liked the graphics, gameplay, atmosphere and story. It's one of the best games I've ever played and a true masterpiece.