"GameStop Enters Sellout Talks"

[digdugnate]

1 hour ago, Flojomojo said:

There's an unmet market demand for VR porn. GameStop should research that. Wouldn't be any worse than modern French Atari dabbling in casinos and blockchain. 

I'm not sure i want to see the 'testing booth' in the store for this sort of thing. ?

[JBerel]

They are sooooooo dead. Why do these kind of places circle the drain so long. Isn't there anyone around that can show the mercy to take them out back and shoot them?

[Flojomojo]

They tried to put themselves up for sale a few months ago, but no takers.

[+FujiSkunk]

I didn't see the articles myself, but I was told GameStop was in the news yesterday, with plans to close 200 stores.  My first reaction was, "And nothing of value will be lost."  Then I thought, well, I'd really rather not see people lose their jobs, but GameStop's problem is they're trying to occupy a place between the retro past and the digital future, and that place is rapidly ceasing to exist.  Supposedly they had looked into dealing more in older generations, and I see they do have stuff for all consoles on their website, but I've yet to see any of the local stores deal in anything older than the most recent previous generation.  Unless they change their strategy, they're going to go the way of Blockbuster.

[JBerel]

They already have....they're just waiting for the call.

[Flojomojo]

11 minutes ago, JBerel said:

They already have....they're just waiting for the call.

[Keatah]

6 hours ago, Flojomojo said:

That's news to me. Got link or quote? Seems like a tall order. 

 

Was part of the financial hour roundup on AM radio 780. All I know.

 

[Keatah]

15 hours ago, pacman000 said:

That'll only work if they can convince a significant number of developers to drop online requirements. It's pointless to buy a disk then spend hours downloading. ?

True enough.

 

Then again there's a lot of pointless activity surrounding the marketing, sales, and distribution of videogames themselves. You got stupid store points, rewards cards, achievement points, unlocked DLC, level-ups, and more.

Edited September 12, 2019 by Keatah

[Flojomojo]

...to say nothing of the games themselves ...?

[Keatah]

That's right.

 

3 hours ago, FujiSkunk said:

I didn't see the articles myself, but I was told GameStop was in the news yesterday, with plans to close 200 stores.  My first reaction was, "And nothing of value will be lost."  Then I thought, well, I'd really rather not see people lose their jobs, but GameStop's problem is they're trying to occupy a place between the retro past and the digital future, and that place is rapidly ceasing to exist.  Supposedly they had looked into dealing more in older generations, and I see they do have stuff for all consoles on their website, but I've yet to see any of the local stores deal in anything older than the most recent previous generation. Unless they change their strategy, they're going to go the way of Blockbuster.

 

That place doesn't exist. There simply is no demand for cartridges, complete games on discs, or any type of "sold in retail physical games" anymore.

 

Consider that 2 nearby Gamestops are prominently visible from 2 major roads they're located on. Traffic cannot help but see the shops. They're not far from a Wendy's or a Target or other name-brand establishments. Hundreds of thousands of potential patrons continually pass these 2 stores without ever stopping in - I rarely see anyone in there. The buying public simply doesn't associate videogames with physical media like discs & carts anymore.

 

If and when they do, it's in reference to older stuff and generic terms like "nintendo". WTF does "nintendo" mean?

 

When talking about a new game or simulation to anyone I'm usually asked where to download it from. NOT what store to buy it from. That speaks volumes of the mindset of today's consumer.

Edited September 12, 2019 by Keatah

[MrMaddog]

7 hours ago, FujiSkunk said:

I didn't see the articles myself, but I was told GameStop was in the news yesterday, with plans to close 200 stores.  My first reaction was, "And nothing of value will be lost."  Then I thought, well, I'd really rather not see people lose their jobs, but GameStop's problem is they're trying to occupy a place between the retro past and the digital future, and that place is rapidly ceasing to exist.  Supposedly they had looked into dealing more in older generations, and I see they do have stuff for all consoles on their website, but I've yet to see any of the local stores deal in anything older than the most recent previous generation.  Unless they change their strategy, they're going to go the way of Blockbuster.

This!

 

They chose to give up the entire PC gaming market to Steam and other digital storefronts and also to sell "pre-used" games for $50 and 100% profit...and now they're nothing more than a pawn shop instead of the geek hang out spot they used to be.  Not to mention the local used games stores not only have better trade-in prices but also "retro" games so GameStop lost the hardcore & retro gamers they need to stay in business.

 

Seriously, the only people I've seen in the GS stores are families who buy games for their kid's last-gen consoles because they couldn't afford the current systems from Best Buy.

 

Yeah people will morn the loss of GameStop like they did Blockbuster but don't forget Blockbuster drove away the mom & pop rental stores,  customers with excessive late fees and a chance to be Netflix.  And in this day & age people who lost their retail jobs will make more money working for Amazon distribution centers (and be treated like de-humanized robots).

 

[Flojomojo]

Did GameStop ever have a chance to be anything other than a middleman? I think that's the crux of why they're circling the drain. They don't make anything (except Game Informer Magazine, which is not long for this world), and it's hard to say how they add value. The console manufacturers have done an end run around them. 

[Cobra Kai]

I really think GS made a big chunk of their money from their pre-order policy. You could pre-order almost anything you wanted, as far in advance as you wanted, and people did it in droves. Gamestop got to collect a ton of pre-order monies and earn interest on it, sometimes for years.

[Flojomojo]

GameStop's Concept Stores Of The Future Are Very Sad

Quote

I get that the company needs to try new stuff, but this ain’t it, chief. You can install all the free gaming PCs and tabletop areas you want, but at the end of the day nobody is going to want to hang out in a GameStop. Everything that’s being offered here is already being offered somewhere else, somewhere people already do these things.

 

and 

Quote

The disconnect in their strategy between “these are things people like to do” and “these are things people will want to do in a gamestop” is mind-boggling.

 

[digdugnate]

anecdotal, again, but at least one store in the Springfield MO area has reduced their business hours to 11am-8pm.  The other stores now close at 8pm as well, I'm pretty sure.

[Magmavision2000]

So GameStop's trying to cash in on the "place where Karen drops off her kids" stereotype?

[Tempest]

43 minutes ago, digdugnate said:

anecdotal, again, but at least one store in the Springfield MO area has reduced their business hours to 11am-8pm.  The other stores now close at 8pm as well, I'm pretty sure.

Nothing good happens in a Gamestop past 8:00pm.

 

I like GS simply because I can waltz in and find what I need quickly without having to figure out where the games are in 'big box store' and hope that they have more than a copy or two.  Of course I buy more games off Amazon these days than at a store.

[Keatah]

30 minutes ago, Tempest said:

Nothing good happens in a Gamestop past 8:00pm.

The nearest GS is just a few miles away. And there affluent subdivisions in the area. AND GS is the only store to have metal bars across the windows. Go figure.

 

[Tempest]

28 minutes ago, Keatah said:

The nearest GS is just a few miles away. And there affluent subdivisions in the area. AND GS is the only store to have metal bars across the windows. Go figure.

 

Like I said, I've had nothing but good experiences in Gamestops, but I'm not in there that often and I do tend to visit the ones in nicer areas as they have the stuff I want.  I have a soft spot for them as I remember being one of those kids hanging out in the Funcoland playing with the Neo Geo display running Crossed Swords and not buying anything.  The guys who ran the store were pretty understanding and cool about it.  That was a looooong time ago though.

[Keatah]

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-02-24-gamestops-concept-stores-a-laboratory-not-a-hail-mary

 

"The experiment in Tulsa is: Do people want to experience in real life the same thing that they're experiencing virtually from a cultural and social standpoint with modern gaming?" Hamlin says. "I believe that they do. I believe there is a latent, innate human need based on what you see at E3 or ComicCon or PAX, where people want to consort in real life with other people that are doing this, and that is a much more powerful notion than doing it over your headset. That's a great way to do it to fill the gaps in between when you're with people, but if you can have a local place that you can do this together on a regular basis that's within reach, it seems to me a very worthy experience."

 

---

 

E3, ComicCon, and PAX - that's the wrong comparison. Wrong reasoning. Don't care how bad the suits want it to happen. it isn't. E, C, and P are grand industry events. They take months of planning and draw crowds from all over. And people go there for the ambiance, the dealers, information gathering, hands-on demos, to meet industry insiders. The appeal and attraction of those shows are magnitudes above and beyond what'll ever take place in a small local GameStop store. So, yeh, comparison invalid.

 

E, C, and P are events. Not something that can be done day in and out. Events like that are good for a week or so, absolute tops. Then it's time to go do something else. Once GS has cycled through the initial excitement and novelty, pfffthhtt, the store traffic winds down.

 

Most of my teen and young adult phase I always always always looked for ways to play arcade games and have the arcade experience at home. And part of that pursuit meant hanging out at the local computer store. It was awesome to have shelves and shelves of the newest hardware and software on display. I spent thousands of dollars over the yeas. Don't regret it. It was fun. It wasn't very social, but it became social as I would compare my "escapades" with my buddies' adventures. Sometimes we got together for trips there. We never had a desire to eat in the computer store, but, rather walk out with our merch and saunter over to the Portillo's next door.

 

I don't see GS offering the same allure, the same pull as the early computer stores did. Buying games at the computer store was something we did for years on end.

 

 

[Flojomojo]

Those early computer stores dried up decades ago, GameStop is lucky to have lasted this long. They need a unique draw (events seem like a cool way to do it), but they also need to bring in some money. What does GS offer that the box store doesn't? 

[Keatah]

I can see board games and D&D and other RPG stuff working in a community-store setting. Don't know what the revenue intake would be. The overhead wouldn't be much, table, chairs, walls & lighting, refreshments.

 

But for electronic games, you got all that + displays and PC boxes which have to be state-of-the-art. And that's costly.

 

IDK, maybe kids will go for that. But once I reached my late 20's and early 30's  I lost all interest in internet cafes and such.

[KeeperofLindblum]

I used to have a higher opinion of GameStop. Back when it was a relatively nicer gaming establishment... Heck, I didn't even mind they used to just do games and video. 

Ever since they picked up the collectible plastic/garbage heap, I've lost a lot of what little like/respect I may have had for the company.

 

Of course, back in the "good days" of Gamestop, they had a midnight release for nearly every game. However, as the smaller releases started getting NO business and some release windows got a larger group (like 3-4 games a Friday), they eventually just stopped doing them. I always disliked when they stopped doing it because they usually had a small event of sorts with the new games playable (if able) and maybe even a small tournament. I remember Mortal Kombat (reboot) came out, and my friend won a copy in a drawing. This compiled with employees who seemed to enjoy gaming and liked talking about made for an overall enjoyable experience.

 

Unfortunately, when the employees got shanked by the company (one way or another), you lost a lot of the heart of what they were doing. Then midnight releases basically got cancelled for anything that didn't sell hundreds of copies (I think they still do Call of Duty but nothing special). 

 

Then they picked up the "collectibles craze" with all the plastic garbage collectibles and toy loot boxes... I just don't care for them anymore. I never preorder anything there (what I usually want is either in enough supply to be fine or small enough that nobody wants it). I only go by when they have a decent sale and tend to look for the cheaper items I actually want. The last 2-3 times I stopped in I left empty handed. Heck, I remember getting into a disagreement (minor) with an employee how the place wasn't the same since they got all the crap. He argued back something about them being really profitable... which made me just disappointed. I understand they need profit to stay alive but... I just don't feel a need to go there with the multitude of other options that don't feel as big of a sellout. 

[Keatah]

I've never ever understood the concept of pre-ordering or waiting in line at 12:00am for a new release. Not even as a kid. Never had to get something on release day. Oh I'm sure I did some times, but it wouldn't be on purpose. No emotional build-up. No interest in having to be the first or any of those hollow pursuits. It's out when it's out. And believe me, the stress level is a lot lower when you can purchase or order on your own schedule and not when some marketing department dictates.

 

As far as the garbage heap of collectible plastic goes. Meh. It takes of valuable shelf space. It had no meaning or value to me. And I suspect even less (somehow) to others. This is shit you can buy on ebay.

 

Speaking of shelf space. Look at the wastage from duplicates and aesthetics. Believe me, I'm not interested in seeing 10 kinds of headsets. Just stock and display the best. Perhaps offer a cheap budget model too. But not 10 or 20 different kinds. And these boxes with stuffed plastics and plushies. Ughhh..

 

 

[MrMaddog]

Oh wow...playing PC & Xbox games over a wired LAN, I did that back in the 2000's when gaming cafes were around.  And you know what?  They closed down once broadband became available and affordable for everyone. (I've even looked into the possibility of opening one up with my friend only for it becoming less viable due to WiFi available at any public place.)

 

Serious, why is GS still chasing the dudebro gamer market?  Most of them have grown up and moved on and the ones who hadn't (the vocal ones online of course) aren't enough to substain a business that's still stuck in the past.  Who the hell still pre-orders a $60 game at midnight that still has to be downloaded even with a plastic disk inserted?

 

If you want to buy a used physical copy cause it's either cheaper or the digital version got delisted, then GS is just as good as any other used game store...  But for them to try to be something else is not going to end well.

 

(Ok, just read the article...)

 

I'm even more amazed that they would remove space for games to put in couches & PC desks and the revenue will be having a PowerUp membership just to play the friggin' games there.  Sure kids could hang out there to play Fortnite with each other, but don't they already do that on their phones?

 

 

 

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by MrMaddog