GameStop Stock Plummets After A 27.5% Decrease In Holiday Sales

[oldgamerz]

I wouldn't say physical media is declining.  I predict digital is going to collapse eventually.  People want to own what they buy, digital games don't work that way.  You can pay a lot of money for something digital, and it's only yours until the company behind it decides to cancel it's availability (ex: Scott Pilgrim, TMNT: Turtles in Time Reshelled, P.T.).  Physical copies will always be preferable.

There's nothing showing a collapse, everything is pointing towards physical going away and digital being the standard, I mean PC gaming has been almost entirely digital for years now anyways.  Physical copies only matter to those that actually care about having it physical.  A lot of kids and teens are growing up nowadays in a world of mostly streaming movies and music, with smart phones and tablets that bring them their entertainment, the desire for physical copies won't matter as much to them as it does for those like a number of us here who remember video stores and other local retailers who sold/rented actual physical games.

Not that I think it'll be soon, places like the United States don't have the infrastructure setup for going full digital yet, with a lot of people still having either no internet, bad internet, or have to deal with data caps.  Still a generation or two away from that, but it'll happen eventually.

And there will always be people who prefer physical, I'm one that grabs physical when I can, but this won't be the norm down the road.

Data caps are a thing, and probably be always a thing, it cost money to run the internet infrastructure and to keep everything running. Plus their is watchdogs to provide internet security from someone who is using the internet maliciously and that cost money as well.

with all digital if you lose your email and password you lose your games. I use the internet a lot and I can tell you some of the high security features for digital accounts is actually making it easier for hackers to steal accounts. cyber bullying is a thing that brings enjoyment for a lot of people, and nerds hack for the thrill if it.

Imagine losing your entire collection to a disgruntled online player or someone who you do not know that is in your neighborhood, that wants to be a jerk. I been there and dealt with this for almost 10 or more years of my own life.

[sworddude]

even if physical was as popular as ever

Gamestop does a ton of bad stuff. their stocks would plummet wether digital was going to become more popular or not.

@oldgamerz

Keep it a bit down with being paranoid your overeacting on multiple topics.

[bikingjahuty]

I give Game Stop a lot of guff, but I'd hate to see them all go. Like everyone else on this site, I like my physical media. But, the writing is on the wall. I think it's just a matter of "when."

I used to loath Gamestop. For one, I hated how they essentially bought out all their competition in the early 2000s, with some of those chains being places I loved shopping. I remember around 2004 or so thinking that Gamestop felt like a soulless shell compared to the places I used to buy games like EBX and Software Ect. I also had a string of bad experiences with employees there leading up to the early part of the 2010s (its so weird to talk about the 2010s in the past tense lol).


But around 2013 or so I started to warm up to them gradually, and now I'm at the point where I actually enjoy shopping there. All my local Gamestop's have great people working at them who are always friendly, fun to talk to, and very passionate about gaming. If any of those stores get closed I'm going to be very sad, not just because that's one less game store out there, but also because I'll feel very bad for the people that work there. I will lament Gamestop going out of business in the next decade. I guess that means I should enjoy them as much as possible while I still can :/

[Warmsignal]

even if physical was as popular as ever

Gamestop does a ton of bad stuff. their stocks would plummet wether digital was going to become more popular or not.

As much as some people would hope that the reason they're dying is their anti-consumer policies and their greed, that's not it. They pulled much of the same crap in the 2000s, and most of us would came crawling back, asking may I have another please. What's killing them is digital distribution. I talked to a employee one day about why they get so few copies of some specific titles in, the reason is that they never know if even one copy will sell. This guy's store was stuck with over 40 copies of Smash Ultimate because the projected physical sales were way, way off. Nobody bought the game physically, they just downloaded it on their Switch. So GameStop bought all those games they can't sell. It's that, but on a massive scale.

[sworddude]

even if physical was as popular as ever

Gamestop does a ton of bad stuff. their stocks would plummet wether digital was going to become more popular or not.

As much as some people would hope that the reason they're dying is their anti-consumer policies and their greed, that's not it. They pulled much of the same crap in the 2000s, and most of us would came crawling back, asking may I have another please. What's killing them is digital distribution. I talked to a employee one day about why they get so few copies of some specific titles in, the reason is that they never know if even one copy will sell. This guy's store was stuck with over 40 copies of Smash Ultimate because the projected physical sales were way, way off. Nobody bought the game physically, they just downloaded it on their Switch. So GameStop bought all those games they can't sell. It's that, but on a massive scale.

what about social media though. all the bad stuff and horrible stories about gamestop does that not turn people away?

in the early 2000's social media was non existent. big ass computers for only messages games. The internet was early.

Wether it was bad or not you didnt know about it. from a casuals lvl you only saw some positive adds on tv. also obviously that online stores where way less back than so sure less options back than aswell. But I think social media and bad rep at the very least sped up the process.

gamestop has the advertisment power and brand if it had more positive stuff instead of the hate on social media surely it would have been somewhat different. this isnt a small store withouth good marketing.

[Warmsignal]

I think everyone knew that GS was super shady and brutal towards their employees from many years ago. Talk to anyone who worked there, and they had plenty of stories to tell. Now all of their dirty laundry is out in the open. It's blatant, everyone knows what goes on. That still doesn't turn me away from the convenience of stopping by and picking up something I wanted. No one forces people to work there, no one is forced to buy there. Ultimately it's run by a bunch of greedy power-tripping clowns, who think selling subscriptions is the end all be all to line their pockets before the bankruptcy, but dammit, it's somewhere to stop and pick up a game, or just browse through a bunch of physical titles at once. An increasing rarity in this day and age, and I'll continue to take advantage of the opportunity.

[hoshichiri]

Whether we want it too or not, physical media is dying on all fronts. Physical music is nearly all dead, at least CDs, and vinyl is very niche. DVDs/Blurays have rapidly been vanishing while streaming and on demand has become the new norm, and now gaming is starting to become more and more digital over time. I say this not as someone who wants physical media to die, quite the contrary, but viewing this objectively this is what's happening.

I think you inadvertently hit the right word here- physical is going niche. Think about it. Of all media to make a return, VINYL is available again. Quite possibly the least convenient form of music available today aside from a wax cylinder- and you can buy it in Target. Quite frankly, if it's available in such a big retailer, it isn't THAT niche.

We're seeing something similar within games- the rise of the boutique publisher. How many low print run publishers have come up in the last generation? Off the top of my head, I can name Limited Run, Super Rare, Signature Edition, IAm8Bit... and I KNOW there's more. And LRG's got their stock in Best Buy now... that's a notable expansion!

I think as long as game companies have a good reason to put optical drives in consoles- and they do, gaming downloads need a LOT more data than other media, more than some people can access easily- they'll be physical games. However, I do see a shift to a focus more on the collector than the average consumer. You don't need to put out a disc for Fifa or Madden every year, people don't hang onto those. But weirdos like me, who want a hard copy of everything? The games we play will get that release. Becuase yes, I WILL buy Untitled Goose Game twice to have it physical, game length be DAMNED!

[bikingjahuty]

With a metric ton of games coming out this Spring I took a drive to my main Gamestop tonight and preorders about 7 different games being released between next month and May. I also renewed my Power Up Rewards membership that I'd literally been hesitant to do for over a year. The reason I inevitably decided to go for it was because I know Gamestop will be gone soon. It won't be gone this year or next, but I'd say there's a very real possibility it might not exist at all in 5 or 6 years, although my money is more on 8 or 9-years. At the very least I can see many stores getting closed between 2021 and 2022.


I want to experience having a game store to go to and enjoy as much as possible while I can, because as soon as Gamestop goes away I don't think I'll get that many more opportunities to enjoy going to one. Sure, with Gamestop being as big as they are, not having any game stores might leave a vacuum that independent stores might fill, much the way record stores still exist despite places like Sam Goody or Media Play being gone, but at this point I have no idea, especially if physically media does disappear after next gen.


So yeah, I plan on shopping at Gamestop as much as possible while they're around. I'll probably go in to browse more often, and try and savor my experience there as much as possible. I know that once they're gone, I will miss them dearly, much in the same way I've missed many of my favorite independent game stores that have gone under the last few years. Sad times ahead people :/

[seether]

Lol @ thinking GameStop will still be around for another 9 years.

[oldgamerz]

In my local area if people buy physical games they go to the retro sellers, and get the same thing as GameStop. Only more to choose from. with all the other game sources selling the same games as my GameStop plus retro and most other electronics as well, they are failing in my area because people go elsewhere for the same things and more.

[hoshichiri]

Regional differences seem to be a bigger thing for gaming than other areas- I have friends who moved here from the East Coast and spent the first year or so flipping out over the 'crazy rare' games that just turned up secondhand in our game stores. They've since figured out this stuff isn't rare around here becuase the Puget Sound is a tech nerd paradise.

Where I live, if I pop up the Gamestop store locator and set it to the 15 mile search (smallest area possible), I get 17 hits- 18 if you count the ThinkGeek store. If I reset to where my grandmother lives, I have to bump up to 30 miles to get one hit. If I move to where my grandfather lived, I have to go up to 50. This absolutely changes how people shop. If you can only access one location, then something like a B2G1 sale might not matter to you- you might not find 3 games you want. But me? I can hit up 3 different stores if I need to, doing a big return/rebuy at the last one to get the sale. Heck, I used to be able to do that on foot becuase I had multiple stores within walking distance. I was sad when I found out one of those closed, but not surprised.

Gamestop could get away with a lot of their crappier policies back in the day, becuase it was your only choice for getting all but the most mainstream titles. Nowadays though, with big chains taking their gaming business more seriously, and the rise of e-commerce, as well as digital in the areas that handle it best... Gamestop is hardly the big player it once was. And it's not doing a great job trying to compete.

[Flashback2012]

Things were better back when they were Funcoland.

 

I REALLY wish this notion would die off already, it's the "vaccines cause autism" of the video game world at this point. 

FuncoLand was a SHIT company and the originator of a lot of the stuff people grief GameStop for now. All that upselling/pushing/pitching of things like products and subscriptions? That was FuncoLand. They treated their employees like shit and put your working hours/employment in jeopardy if you didn't hit enough cleaning kits and/or Game Informer subscriptions sold. I should know because I put up with that shit for two years before jumping ship to GameStop when Babbage's first created it. GameStop had some metrics (all companies will) but your job wasn't threatened if you didn't hit your percentages on the upselling nonsense. There was literally NO pressure and up until the merger with FuncoLand, working at GS was a dream job.

Maybe from the perspective as a customer, I could kind of see FU Land's allure but my time at FU Land and my time with GS before the merger were markedly different. Constant grief over upselling and a shit 10% discount at FU Land versus no pressure and a nice 35% discount at GameStop. Hmmmm....no give me the torturous hell of the former please! 

Gamestop has been digging their own grave for a long time.  We had a Gamestop within walking distance of my parents house and I have never had someone who worked there tell me it's worth it.  And the constantly changing policies on Used and Returned games just so they can make a few extra bucks.  Maybe now some other more-deserving game stores will get more business.

AFAIK the return policy has largely been the same even from when I was there. New, unopened has 30 days to return. Opened is trade-in, used has 7-days for full refund/30-day exchange on defective. I'm going to avoid the whole open box/sold as new nonsense as it has been beat to death enough already (I never agreed with gutting when I was there anyway). As for other game stores...WHO are you referring to? In my area there are no other chain stores besides Half Price Books. I have to travel to Indy/Cbus/Cleveland before I start seeing smaller chains like Disc Replay or The Exchange (I'm honestly surprised neither chain is here). The Blockbuster/Game Rush and Game Crazy locations are all gone and that franchise based one called Play N Trade or something is defunct. The chain Video Game Exchange is ancient, Ancient history in these parts. 

I wouldn't say physical media is declining.  I predict digital is going to collapse eventually.  People want to own what they buy, digital games don't work that way.  You can pay a lot of money for something digital, and it's only yours until the company behind it decides to cancel it's availability (ex: Scott Pilgrim, TMNT: Turtles in Time Reshelled, P.T.).  Physical copies will always be preferable.

Physical media is declining but it would be foolhardy to say it'll go away completely. Like Hoshichiri pointed out, vinyl made a comeback from the brink. I'm not holding my breath waiting on cassettes, 8-track, LaserDiscs, or Betamax to come back but I think chip/cart media and high-capacity disc storage like Blu-Ray to be around in ten years time. Digital certainly isn't going to collapse but it will be interesting to see how "ownership" is handled in the future. As it is now, Nintendo makes zero qualms about how you actually don't anything digital with them, you merely own the license to access that digital content. I don't know what kind of blowback about that will occur if at all in the future but I know once all of these companies decide to stop with physical releases, I'm effectively done. 

Lol @ thinking GameStop will still be around for another 9 years.

I doubt they will be in their current state but as some kind of boutique, they might be. I'm not putting any money on that and at the rate they've been going, it'd be safer to bet they won't be.

[bikingjahuty]

Lol @ thinking GameStop will still be around for another 9 years.

I think this next generation of consoles will carry them at least 6 or 7 years, and then I can see them doing everything they can a year or two into the next generation to remain a viable company. That's not to say they'll probably close a bunch of stores in that time period, but yes, they will be around for close to a decade longer.

[mark1982]

I’ve already accepted the fact that physical games will be dead after this upcoming gen, so I’m just gonna enjoy it while it lasts. This is the only forum that I visit with its few active members that still love to collect physical games..

All the other major gaming forums that I visit with a high volume of members pretty much loathe physical games and clutter. The modern gamer finds discs a hassle and takes up too much space, and to be honest I don’t blame them. Not everyone is a collector. My only gripe with it is the removal of options for us to choose physical or digital versions for our games.

I read plenty of threads where users say they haven’t bought a disc in a decade. Or imagine buying a disc based game in 2020...

We’re in the minority here guys. Gamepass numbers keep rising, the percentage gap for digital purchases is closing in dramatically, Disc less consoles have been introduced to the market. Streaming and ease of play is a hot topic currently (even though I’m glad Stadia is dead)... We’re all gonna have to go digital soon.

[Warmsignal]

I personally think their demise is more imminent. I think it might be a wise move for them to proactively begin a process of transition into a purely online retailer, rather than milking the physical store model until the company is bankrupt from all the overhead and loss of sales. Hell, maybe even go into a joint venture with Walmart's electronics department, in a similar way Sprint has done in the cell phone department, to bolster both companies selling power of games and hardware. Walmart has kind of become lackluster in selection over the past several years. They could double a store's inventory. Probably wouldn't work as Walmart doesn't want anything to do with the nasty condition trade-ins GS depends on.