GameStop to Close 150 Stores

Megalith

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Due to the rising preference for digital sales, GameStop is getting hit hard and being forced to close more than a hundred of its stores. While it is sad to see retail staples flounder, it seems inevitable that some of these chains are going to disappear entirely. The video game retailer is trying to stay afloat with non-gaming businesses that include collectible stores.

Shares of GameStop slid more than 12% in afternoon trading Friday after the video game retailer reported a drop in fourth-quarter sales and announced plans to close at least 150 of its 7,500 stores worldwide. GameStop faces increased competition from retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart while more players purchase games digitally — whether on traditional gaming consoles or on their smartphones or tablets. The video game and consumer electronics retailer's woes are the latest example of a brick-and-mortar retailer impacted by consumers' rush to purchase products online.
 
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Years ago I bought a GeForce4 Ti4600 at a GameStop. The next time I went (around a decade ago) was to buy a wired 360 controller for my PC, and it looked like they stopped selling PC parts by that time. Not only that, but the employees were trying to get me to pre-order upcoming console games, even though I told them I game on PC. It was the last time I shopped there.
 
I call bullshit on some of that article. And I will use the latest mass effect game for my example. If I have a choice I prefer disk. But if you go in and buy the game on pc from a store right on the front it says "no disk inside, download code only" . So why would I go to Gamestop to buy a plastic case that has a download code when I will still have to log onto a digital store system and download the game? I miss well save the trip and pay the digital store I am downloadin the game from.

I can't speak for consoles, but on pc the industry is killing the stores, not the consumer base.
 
"New hardware sales plunged 29%, while new software sales dropped nearly 20%"

But didn't I recently see something about how GS was pressuring employees to sell used to the point that the employees were telling customers that new items weren't in-stock? That would be GS' own damn fault.
 
Years ago I bought a GeForce4 Ti4600 at a GameStop. The next time I went (around a decade ago) was to buy a wired 360 controller for my PC, and it looked like they stopped selling PC parts by that time. Not only that, but the employees were trying to get me to pre-order upcoming console games, even though I told them I game on PC. It was the last time I shopped there.
The TI4000 series of cards was probably near the end of when they stopped selling PC hardware. Didn't matter because it was over priced and lot they were slow to bring in newer cards while still selling the old ones overpriced.
 
"New hardware sales plunged 29%, while new software sales dropped nearly 20%"

But didn't I recently see something about how GS was pressuring employees to sell used to the point that the employees were telling customers that new items weren't in-stock? That would be GS' own damn fault.
Yup. I read that article too, GS is Shady AF when it comes to tactics like that. I rarely go in there anymore, just to really browse. Besides, I'm so out of touch with present gaming trends (I'm pretty much only gaming on PS3, Vita and PSP at the current) and refuse to spend more money on any gaming right now. So yeah, I won't be saddened to see them go.
 
I call bullshit on some of that article. And I will use the latest mass effect game for my example. If I have a choice I prefer disk. But if you go in and buy the game on pc from a store right on the front it says "no disk inside, download code only" . So why would I go to Gamestop to buy a plastic case that has a download code when I will still have to log onto a digital store system and download the game? I miss well save the trip and pay the digital store I am downloadin the game from.

I can't speak for consoles, but on pc the industry is killing the stores, not the consumer base.
It is for the people there just browsing. Trying to cash in on impulse purchasing. Still I wouldn't buy a plastic case on impulse. I would just go home and get it off steam or w/e. It be nice if they were more then just cheap plastic boxes with a insert and advertisements on the inside.
 
I call bullshit on some of that article. And I will use the latest mass effect game for my example. If I have a choice I prefer disk. But if you go in and buy the game on pc from a store right on the front it says "no disk inside, download code only" . So why would I go to Gamestop to buy a plastic case that has a download code when I will still have to log onto a digital store system and download the game? I miss well save the trip and pay the digital store I am downloadin the game from.

I can't speak for consoles, but on pc the industry is killing the stores, not the consumer base.

It is for the people there just browsing. Trying to cash in on impulse purchasing. Still I wouldn't buy a plastic case on impulse. I would just go home and get it off steam or w/e. It be nice if they were more then just cheap plastic boxes with a insert and advertisements on the inside.

or...... its for those kids who don't have credit/debit cards but have cash and their parents wont give them money to buy a steam card for fear that they will buy a game they don't approve of in the first place.
 
You know, I remember going to Electronics Boutique, Software Etc, Egghead, CompUSA, BestBuy, Microcenter....to be boxed software (guessing between the late 80's to sometime in early 2000?). Now, can't remember the last boxed copy of anything I bought. Times change. Companies adapt or disappear. When is the last time a milkman delivered to your house? I remember my neighbor across the street used to get this service when I was a kid. Long gone. (Although, could be making a bit of a comeback with home delivery groceries...)
 
Not sorry one bit. The whole store is dedicated to consoles and 2 shelves with crap PC games. No not biased at all. Good riddance. The sales people are ad-bots talking loud about how good the game was that they were currently playing (console of course). Yeah! Okay! GFY.
 
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or...... its for those kids who don't have credit/debit cards but have cash and their parents wont give them money to buy a steam card for fear that they will buy a game they don't approve of in the first place.
And I stand by they could just put a disk in there. I don't understand why they can't do it, if they are going through the process and putting the DVD looking package together with the codes and everything then just put install disks in. And the whole game too, not the first 5 gigs of the game like some companies started doing which is asinine. Do multiple disks if you have to, but either do it all the way or don't bother at all.

For the kid that needs to buy because he only has cash, he could buy the steam card and use that to buy the game from steam instead of this misleading looking case that makes you think it's in there and it's not.

I am not defending Gamestop here, they have serious base design issues and they are finally getting what's they deserve for it. I am just saying it's not "because people prefer digital". There is a lot more to it then than.
 
The first and last time I went to Gamestop was when Quake 4 came out. I asked for it, and the guy behind the desk pulled the disk out from behind the counter and put it in a cd sleeve then stuck it in the game box. I walked out.
 
Game slop had this coming for years. Push preorders too hard? Anyone with any intelligence isn't going to stand for that.
 
I don't mean to brag, but I don't recall ever setting foot in a Game Stop
You haven't missed much. My least favorite part of GameStop has always been the employees. Nothing worse than elitist minimum wage employees that think they're better than you.
 
You haven't missed much. My least favorite part of GameStop has always been the employees. Nothing worse than elitist minimum wage employees that think they're better than you.

That sounds pretty annoying.

I grew up in Europe. When I was a kid, before I knew better i swapped floppies with the best of them. Occasionally I got a legit game or two as gifts from my parents, but that was about it.

My piracy years continued through college, but about the time I graduated, Steam came out, and I haven't bought (or otherwise acquired) a game outside of Steam since it launched. I'm 100% Steam and pay with Paypal.

So, I've never really had a reason to visit Game Stop.
 
That sounds pretty annoying.

I grew up in Europe. When I was a kid, before I knew better i swapped floppies with the best of them. Occasionally I got a legit game or two as gifts from my parents, but that was about it.

My piracy years continued through college, but about the time I graduated, Steam came out, and I haven't bought (or otherwise acquired) a game outside of Steam since it launched. I'm 100% Steam and pay with Paypal.

So, I've never really had a reason to visit Game Stop.
It is. I've been moving over to Steam as well and I'm getting gigabit fiber soon, so I really don't have a reason to buy any physical games ever again. Even with consoles now you can download the entire game to the drive.
 
Not that surprising really. They face ever increasing competition from online stores and downloads, in addition to the big retailers they were already competing against. The main thing setting them apart now is that they sell used/pre-owned games/consoles, but you can generally find better deals online for used stuff too, or even at pawn shops.
 
Oh but their scammy technique of selling used stuff as new and lowballing the hell out of trade in value... surely that has nothing to do with anything.

I don't think I've set foot in one for at least a decade. They charge the same or more (and for used stuff) than Target/WM/BB/Fry's does. And let's not even talk about online/Amazon.

Gamestop and Radio Shack are two things I keep seeing in dumpy strip malls/shopping centers that I have no idea how they stay in business.
 
I do quite a bit @ GS, but that's simply for the Vita physical games that pretty much all other B&M stores have already dropped. I always comparison shop vs Ebay/Amazon & on the games I want GS manages to have an edge price-wise. But I realize that's niche games for a niche console.

So it'll make me feel a little sad to cut my already meager selection & I always feel sorry for the employees in this situation, they're the ones who always feel the pain of Corporate deciding they want more money.
 
I do quite a bit @ GS, but that's simply for the Vita physical games that pretty much all other B&M stores have already dropped. I always comparison shop vs Ebay/Amazon & on the games I want GS manages to have an edge price-wise. But I realize that's niche games for a niche console.

So it'll make me feel a little sad to cut my already meager selection & I always feel sorry for the employees in this situation, they're the ones who always feel the pain of Corporate deciding they want more money.

Most of the GS I go to have about 2 linear feet of Vita games, it's very sad but you're right about finding games nobody else carries. I wouldn't mind buying used vita games, but half of them are missing the cover or are in crap condition because GS accepts crap condition games for trade-in so people don't have an incentive to keep things minty.

I kind of wish GS was more like the Japanese Softmap chain, the used games look almost identical to the new ones, there's also an analysis on the condition of the media, the booklet, and if any DLC is missing. The shops are clean+brightly lit, and the clerks don't push me to join a points club, force me to buy accessories, or give me any attitude about my selections. I'm also not forced to buy multiples just in order to get a good price (most of the time I can't find additional titles I want to get the discount so I just give up at GS, and figure i'll try again another time. It's a mind game that GS is losing whenever I play since I know what I want, I'm not there to browse, and I don't have a lot of free time for that second or third games on a whim. After all, it's the working stiffs with the disposable income and not much free time). Then when you do buy new, you get nice exclusive posters and other free physical gifts with the new releases that you wouldn't get from say Amazon. The used gameshop model does work, but GS does such a piss poor job of it.
 
Not sorry one bit. The whole store is dedicated to consoles and 2 shelves with crap PC games. No not biased at all. Good riddance. The sales people are ad-bots talking loud about how good the game was that they were currently playing (console of course). Yeah! Okay! GFY.


must be where you live. One's here will give you the honest opinion, if they played it or not and what they thought.

Sure mainly a console gamer store. I'll agree, but you can still buy PC games there to. Most receive a few copies depending on if people actually buy PC games there or not. Chances are, if yours doesn't carry PC games the local market has told HQ not to send any because no one buys them.
 
must be where you live. One's here will give you the honest opinion, if they played it or not and what they thought.

Sure mainly a console gamer store. I'll agree, but you can still buy PC games there to. Most receive a few copies depending on if people actually buy PC games there or not. Chances are, if yours doesn't carry PC games the local market has told HQ not to send any because no one buys them.

The ones over here do carry PC games, but not on the shelf, they're all pre-orders held behind the counter for people who want to pick up their copy on launch day during lunch break. Actually now that I think about it, shopping at the local game shop (not necessarily GS) does have one really important function over buying from Steam/Amazon; you can sometimes get the clerk to break the street date since they always get their copies early. That just never happens with Steam/Amazon, and occasionally Amazon misses its delivery date.
 
Did anybody think that maybe it's because most GameStop stores are practically within walking distance of each other? Maybe with stores that close they're cannibalizing their own sales.
 
Did anybody think that maybe it's because most GameStop stores are practically within walking distance of each other? Maybe with stores that close they're cannibalizing their own sales.
There are 3 Game stops in a mall near me lol. They were all different stores at one point til they got bought out and just kept them there.
 
We have 3 game stops within walking distance. Willing to bet the one at the mall will get the axe since the mall is dying here.
 
Too bad they don't have deals for store closures, they just ship product around.
 
My local GameStop closed a few months ago, and is now replaced by a "Paris Baguette" bakery/cafe. Employees always seemed pretty friendly, and when I picked up my Fallout 4 preorder from there during the F4 release, the guy manning the desk seemed pretty happy (apparently he was a Fallout fan).
 
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