"GameStop may need a new start. The videogame retailer released details about its holiday sales Friday, and they weren’t pretty. It’s yet another sign of the eroding business for physical games.
Sales at GameStop fell 16.4% in the last nine weeks of 2016, the company said, compared with the same period a year earlier. Shares of GameStop tumbled 9% on the news, to $22.50.
All sides of the gaming business contributed to the decline. Even the hot new Nintendo NES Classic device couldn’t make up for big drops in Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One console sales.
And the company struggled to sell new video games “due to difficult comparisons to titles launched a year ago,” according to a press release. But it’s not just that some big 2015 games did well. The 2016 versions -- like Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, released in November -- did particularly poorly.
GameStop shares are down 16% in the last 12 months. Investors are paying just six times estimated earnings for the stock. That price-to-earnings ratio is 66% less than what the typical big stock gets."
Lol good riddance GameStop. That place is a rip off so it would be great to watch it burn. (please log in to view the image)
Oh, is about the recent GameStop BS with the circle of blight/strife program? GS always had its flaws, but it kinda grew on me over time. However, this year was a new low for them. I feel most bad for the employees, who basically have to lie just to keep their jobs. I was once considered to work there by a manager or representative (forgot which), but glad it didn't happen now. They're becoming the next Blockbuster at the rate they're going. Doesn't help that physical media's slowly been dying for awhile with the ability to buy anything digitally, but GameStop went the corporate BS route to fight a losing battle to desperately try and get their used games and stuff off the shelves. lmao
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Last edited by Ridley_Prime on Feb 18th, 2017 at 10:19 PM
The problem is that if physical media dies, it will be impossible to trade in games.
I understand the frustration with their model but it's always nice to purchase a game and be able to get some cash back from it.
Also, I think in the Internet, big data and huge bandwidth area, people are forgetting how awesome it was to rent a game for a week for 6-10 bucks. I still have a store near by and I have rented numerous games for 90% less than sale price and be able to complete it in that week. It's awesome.
Yeah, there will always be a place for getting games physically for me, as nice as the digital option is, which is why I'm hoping there'll be some other mainstream local modern game store/business if GameStop ultimately goes down under. Hell, I always wished GS had some competitor in that sense.
If GameStop/EB Games fail, it won't be replaced by something else. It will work similarly to when Blockbuster failed. It's more a sign of the times than failed business practices.
There is a reason why the company pushes used game sales. Less money in new titles.
For console, I try too but there has sometimes good enough deals for me to buy online through the Xbox store. If the game is something I will play multiple times (RE7) then I don't have a problem.
It had an overdramatic title but something relevant like "GameStop shares are down" is fine with me. I appreciate it!
And I agree on physical copies. That said, you can usually find good deals on them elsewhere. For example, if you or a friend has prime, you can get the next Mass Effect for $48 as opposed to $65 from GameStop.
I believe a majority of GameStop's problems come from it's business model. People have no problem with physical games. For example, if you have the disc you don't need to lug your system around to play the game. You can just take the disc to your friends house and play it there.
The problem is that GameStop for example sells an A+ title for the standard price of $59.99 = $64.19(I used to work there). That same game used is 49.99 which comes out to about 55 bucks.
If you buy a brand new game, and trade it back in the next day, you're lucky to get 30$ for it. It's actually closer to 20-25. But then GS will sell it back out for 55 bucks. So to trade it in you get less than half it's value, but GS has made 110$.
The company ripping people off for years is the problem, not physical games.
It's a service they provide and if you want to partake in it then you know what you are getting into. You can sell the game by other means so you are not forced to trade it in at GameStop.
I think shares/sales going down is because online sales are increasing.
That's how the resale market works for everything. The re-seller is a business and that's how they make a profit, it sounds kind of shitty to do to people on paper, but the entire resale industry wouldn't exist if they didn't do that.
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Besieged by countless foes, his eyes they are aglow, longing for the fight. He stands upon a mound, doesn't aim the throw, just lets the hammer fly!
I actually worked at a Gamestop for a while. Mostly because I wanted to take advantage of their employee discount. This was back when the Xbox 360 first came out.
Their prices on brand new games are not any different than any other larger retailer like Best Buy, etc. What I loved about them was their used game selection. I found many hidden gems in their used games section.
The larger stores like Best Buy have a very pitiful used game section. So I'm sad to see Gamestop go because of that. I am lucky though, I have a store called "Disc Replay" within 40 minutes of me. There are only 3-4 in the country, mostly in illinois and indiana, but yeah..tons of used games, even for NES, SNES, Sega, etc. But not every gamer has a store like that near them.
__________________ Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you? You don't act like the other chickens do. You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man you're a Chicken Boo.
Last edited by Surtur on Feb 20th, 2017 at 11:07 PM
Why would you buy a game and trade it in the next day? You could just return it or exchange it, assuming you kept the receipt. I worked there as well, and of course the price they charge for the games you sell to them will be higher than what they paid you for them, otherwise where is the profit?
As for your comment about lugging your console around to a friends because you don't have a physical copy, I feel the future of gaming will be like Steam. You have an account and you can sign into it on any console. Now you might have to download the game onto your friends console if they do not own it, but it's hardly going to be lugging the system around, at least IMO.
__________________ Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you? You don't act like the other chickens do. You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man you're a Chicken Boo.