GameStop Deathwatch -

[Marissa Moira]

Well it's black friday. Which means it's make or break for many retailers. Anyways Gamestop has been in real dire straights for months now and this could be the big one that causes them to go bankrupt.

Here's a video explaining some of their history and recent troubles:

That was posted back in September and shit has not improved for them(and has actually gotten worse). A rumored 2,000+ stores would be the first to close in the initial wave from the post holiday season. That's a pretty big deal because it's on par with what ToysRus did to try and keep itself afloat, but that only bought them a few months of time at most.

So now the question is who dies first, Gamestop or Ginsberg?

 

[Manwithn0n0men]

So the thing about Gamestop is a business shouldn't be "All about Profit"

Imagine if Game stop in its heyday pulled moves like Apple or Walmart did on the games publishing industry? Telling them not to f with their costumers. That would have built a brand loyalty.

 

[whatever I feel like]

Gamestop did do stuff like that, they (and other retailers) were all in on not giving the Xbox One space on shelves until Microsoft did the 180.

Other than that though, the company has been nothing but trouble for hardcore gamers for decades, its too late to turn things around. People talk about digital sales but for me the real enemy at the gates is Amazon and Walmart selling new releases practically at cost (50 bucks instead of 60.) Why would I go to Gamestop when another store has the same items for ten dollars less?

 

[Polyboros2]

So now the question is who dies first, Gamestop or Ginsberg?

Gamestop, no one is using dark magic to keep it alive.

 

[Give Her The D]

GameStop, yeah, they're done for. The only question is when.

Their stock is currently sitting at $6.40 a share, and while not at JC Penney levels of low price (JCP sits around $1.10 a share), from what I understand GameStop pulls this shit about making individual stores sell a certain amount to not get treated like crap, making working at GameStop seem like a Ponzi scheme (or at least, an MLM). Like seriously, who would want to put that much effort selling shit, only for the stores to get that little of benefit out of it?

Plus the anime and gaming shirts that come out of there are of low quality. I've never gotten one shirt from GameStop that hasn't turned into perma-wrinkled shit after one wash.

 

[Pissmaster]

So the thing about Gamestop is a business shouldn't be "All about Profit"

Imagine if Game stop in its heyday pulled moves like Apple or Walmart did on the games publishing industry? Telling them not to f with their costumers. That would have built a brand loyalty.

Yep, it wouldn't take much, though Gamestop's notoriety comes from how many colorful and creative ways they've used to demolish any possibility of brand loyalty with anyone.

My favorite one was the time they decided, out of the blue, to make all of my PowerUp Rewards points vanish right from under me by making it so they'd automatically exchange them for $5 off coupons that would expire after 30 days, every single month, until I ran out of points. Then was told they couldn't refund me.

That just happened out of the blue, and I didn't find out until I logged in and just found my points wiped out. I didn't get any emails or anything.

 

[The Crow]

Their stock is currently sitting at $6.40 a share

I'll buy Gamestop for $6.40, or $63.99 in store credit.

 

[Superman93]

OP has made one of the toughest polls on this website.

 

[LullerDerbyRollin]

Yep, it wouldn't take much, though Gamestop's notoriety comes from how many colorful and creative ways they've used to demolish any possibility of brand loyalty with anyone.

My favorite one was the time they decided, out of the blue, to make all of my PowerUp Rewards points vanish right from under me by making it so they'd automatically exchange them for $5 off coupons that would expire after 30 days, every single month, until I ran out of points. Then was told they couldn't refund me.

That just happened out of the blue, and I didn't find out until I logged in and just found my points wiped out. I didn't get any emails or anything.

Wait, they did what to my points? I was saving up for the Zelda cartoon dvd.

 

[MrTroll]

I don't think GS ever depended that heavily on BF. They never had crazy doorbuster deals like Walmart and other big box retailers. The stores are physically too small to accommodate an insane boost in foot traffic anyway.

I also heard GS still has a lot of cash on hand from its boom years. It'll putter along at least through the first few years of the PS5's life, closing small numbers of stores gradually until it's basically gone but still has a few high-performing locations left, like K-Mart. There won't be one big extinction event like Toys R Us (which was picked clean by venture capitalists).

 

[Manwithn0n0men]

I don't think GS ever depended that heavily on BF. They never had crazy doorbuster deals like Walmart and other big box retailers. The stores are physically too small to accommodate an insane boost in foot traffic anyway.

I also heard GS still has a lot of cash on hand from its boom years. It'll putter along at least through the first few years of the PS5's life, closing small numbers of stores gradually until it's basically gone but still has a few high-performing locations left, like K-Mart. There won't be one big extinction event like Toys R Us (which was picked clean by venture capitalists).

Maybe one of the Video Game Streaming services can buy them

 

[MrTroll]

Maybe one of the Video Game Streaming services can buy them

I doubt it. I don't think the GS name is very valuable. It's just a store, one with a reputation for pimply-faced clerks aggressively upselling magazine subscriptions and pre-orders. Doesn't really inspire much brand loyalty.

 

[JULAY]

This all started about the time when CWC pepper sprayed the yellow-shirted foe. Coincidence? I think not.

 

[Manwithn0n0men]

I doubt it. I don't think the GS name is very valuable. It's just a store, one with a reputation for pimply-faced clerks aggressively upselling magazine subscriptions and pre-orders. Doesn't really inspire much brand loyalty.

Yes but think of the data

Who buys from them, how much they have [have not] bought, How much they spend, etc....at a low enough pp it could make sense

 

[GentlemanFaggot]

This all started about the time when CWC pepper sprayed the yellow-shirted foe. Coincidence? I think not.

But did he CURSE-YE-HA-ME-HA Gamestop?

I know he hasn't done that in years though, so perhaps the pepper spray was his curse powers liquefied.

 

[MightyBiteySnake]

It would be interesting to see what the vacuum of GameStop closing would create. Theres still a market for in-person game stores, and for good reason: stocking stuffers, physical gifts, collections, etc. People like being able to drive up to a store, talk to a person and get their product.

Gamestops problem tho isn't the garbage way they sell games; it's the garbage they stock the shelves with. Remember how 10 years ago you walked into a GameStop and the shelves were stocked with games and some game paraphernalia? You had all the new releases lining the walls, maybe a display for a special edition box, and a couple of stands for controllers, memory cards, old gameboy/da games etc. Now you walk into a GameStop and the walls are lined with pop culture garbage like $150 statues, pop figures, and plushies. You know, the kind of stuff no one is looking for when they're going in to buy the new annual release. So because GameStop is hiring your run-of-the-mill Joe Smith and his manager isn't teaching him how to bundle sales (something along the lines of "well Mrs Jones you said you were getting the new Pokemon for your nephew as a gift and I'm sure he'd love this new Pikachu plushie to go with it!") so the garbage stays on the shelf, continuing to collect dust.

 

[Pissmaster]

I don't think GS ever depended that heavily on BF. They never had crazy doorbuster deals like Walmart and other big box retailers. The stores are physically too small to accommodate an insane boost in foot traffic anyway.

I also heard GS still has a lot of cash on hand from its boom years. It'll putter along at least through the first few years of the PS5's life, closing small numbers of stores gradually until it's basically gone but still has a few high-performing locations left, like K-Mart. There won't be one big extinction event like Toys R Us (which was picked clean by venture capitalists).

No joke, the one time I ever went to Gamestop on Black Friday was because they had used copies of Xenoblade Chronicles for $35. Half off, at a time when they were normally sold used for $70. That's what passes for a Black Friday deal at GameStop: a used copy of a sought-after game with a low print run that was, of course, Gamestop exclusive, on a last-gen system.

It would be interesting to see what the vacuum of GameStop closing would create. Theres still a market for in-person game stores, and for good reason: stocking stuffers, physical gifts, collections, etc. People like being able to drive up to a store, talk to a person and get their product.

There's a place all over the south called Game X Change that's been growing. It's everything Gamestop should have been: nothing but games and accessories, for every platform imaginable. No pushing preorders or rewards cards. It's great.

 

[Harnessed Carcass]

Gamestop - I spit on your grave

 

[mr.moon1488]

I think the biggest downfall of gamestop was more shit they didn't do, than shit they did do. If they had of focused on carrying mostly gaming hardware as soon as direct download became commonplace on consoles, they'd still be one of the top dogs. I mean think about it, who would be their biggest competitor for buying stuff like graphics cards in a brick and mortar store? Best Buy, and their specialty isn't gaming so they could easily outclass them there. You could easily do trade ins for most PC components, and since normally when someone upgrades their PC they do have old components that they don't really have much use for, it just makes sense.

 

[Marissa Moira]

I think the biggest downfall of gamestop was more shit they didn't do, than shit they did do. If they had of focused on carrying mostly gaming hardware as soon as direct download became commonplace on consoles, they'd still be one of the top dogs. I mean think about it, who would be their biggest competitor for buying stuff like graphics cards in a brick and mortar store? Best Buy, and their specialty isn't gaming so they could easily outclass them there. You could easily do trade ins for most PC components, and since normally when someone upgrades their PC they do have old components that they don't really have much use for, it just makes sense.

Babbages used to actually do this.

There's a place all over the south called Game X Change that's been growing. It's everything Gamestop should have been: nothing but games and accessories, for every platform imaginable. No pushing preorders or rewards cards. It's great.

Yeah I've heard of them, however much like Funcoland they may never make it to my area before they get bought out by a bigger entity.