GameStop has another layoff, including layoffs at Game Informer. Do they still have a future in the industry, SW?

They should rename themselves Funcoland and Electronics Boutique, I never was a fan of GameStop.

I give them five years left, tops.

I don’t really shop much their but I do greatly prefer to get my games on physical formats and them shutting down would be a blow to that so for that sake I’d really like to see them stay in business.

I dont want them to disappear, I read they are starting to put retro games back into some stores, like n64, Saturn, genesis, I think that will help some.

The digital crowd is definently hurting them and other outlets like walmart and target have had some good sales. Tuff spot to be in, but I hope they pull through. EB Games was was always one of my favorite shops as a kid. The bigger stores like best buy and target dont carry nearly the amount of Indies and more hard to find physical games.

Plus I hate online shopping, when I want something, I want to buy it and play it right then, and digital is more of an expensive rental, once the servers close down its worthless and you cant trade them. I like trading games I beat for games my friends have beat.

Youtube is the future.

@uninspiredcup: is that you?

Very sad and unfortunate.

The local Game Informer staff here in Aus were laid off a few months back, so we've been getting the American version. Sounds like that won't even be around much longer :(

I'm curious as to how EB Games here in Aus is doing financially (as they are obviously owned by Gamestop). Very worrying considering they are the last proper dedicated games retailer he have here :(

I really hope that their venture into the retro gaming scene does well for them because I wouldn’t mind getting some things from the past such as SNES and it’s games. It would certainly be convenient for me to go there for that stuff.

@uninspiredcup said:

Youtube is the future.

I hate that guy's dumb face.

Change is the only true constant, and progress is merciless but necessary. Absolute stagnation equals effective regression.

Don't get too attached. Let it die, and be superseded by something better.

I think there is still a chance.

@uninspiredcup said:

Youtube is the future.

Hey guys, its Jeremy here from the Quartering *commence inarticulate blathering*

The death of physical games is coming.

Gamestop will still thrive in the many parts of America that dont have internet/broadband. :D

I had to wonder how many gamers in America do not have Internet or broadband Internet.

I think there is one 'blockbuster video' left in oregon. Maybe the people there want a gamestop too lol.

Say what you will about Gamestop, but it will be bad news when they go. Same with Barnes and Noble when it comes to books.

Though their struggles and death will be a bank roll for people like Clean Prince Gaming (seriously, he's awful).

Ugh... that guy...

But those are the parts of the country that don't have Gamestops. They do, however, have a couple of Walmarts.

They are dying fast.

When they decided it was a “great idea” to cover half their stores with board games and funco pops you know it’s over.

Embrace all-digital, folks.

GameStop is terrible. Hopefully they close down and a better store can take its' place.

Just waiting for ReviewTechUSA with another episode of Gamestop doom & gloom vid as he always does and tell us about the layoffs :P

By the way, I didn't know GameInformer was still around. I stop sub to those mags in 2012.

And there's nothing anyone can do about it! Accept your Faith physical gamers and embrace the future!

**** digital, its a slippery slope, when/if consoles go all digital you can count me out.

Lets face it, people who are all digital are just lazy fuckers that have to ruin it for the rest of us, go for a run on a treadmill instead to the front door because the pizza man is there lol.

Convenience = laziness.

I hope they stick around. They've always been my favorite place to buy games.

All of msm is going down.

Real talk- Gamestop might be a good stock to buy in and out of. I'll likely make a play in October if it stays this low, it's sure to go up after the holiday season. Then sell again. It'll fall. Then buy before e3 and PS5/Scarlett will help it go up again.

Lets all go trade in our consoles for $175 in store credit and then buy them back for $249. That should help Gamestop out for a bit

But what we are getting isn't better lol.

I can buy a game digitally and play it on multiple consoles at the same time for no extra charge
I can't break the game
I can't lose the game
I don't have to get up and put in/take out the game

I would say what we're getting is better

They need to find better price points for trade ins and used games. People have gotten smarter to sell their used stuff on Facebook Marketplace rather than give it to Gamestop for nothing. And almost never has a used game at Gamestop been cheaper than what you can find "buy it now" on eBay. Especially now that they're really starting to fall to the wayside I don't understand why they don't try and get more competitive with their prices.

To be fair, Game Informer is pretty worthless. Every issue is full of information that I read about on the internet weeks ago.

Yep. I went straight to digital gaming at the start of this gen and purchasing my games at anytime made my life easier but buying digital games on PC made it even more easier. Physical gamers today just don't understand I have a full-time career, I don't wanna go and make a stop at the store while leaving work and all I wanna do is come home and start playing my new game on the fly. New games get cheaper if you can wait for a sale more so then physical store counterpart.

And believe me, I was physical pro gamer last-gen, but when you have a family and full-time career, digital purchase made my life so much easy.

Edit: Streaming games is another story.

Last week I had my first experience with Gamestop in years. No other B&M store besides GS had a physical copy of F13th so I went in preparing for the worst. The store was the nicest one in the chain I have seen and the sales girl was not pushy. There wasn't any of the upselling normally associated with the chain and the game was sealed unlike in the past when new games were opened. Call me shocked as I was expecting the opposite. The experience I received would cause me to return. The way I remember it being years ago? No.

I think they'll be able to find a way to stay in business. Their aim will probably change, but they're plenty money to be made in the video game business, and it's not all tied in to selling video games.

I agree there. Streaming isn't for me. But I 100% see the potential. I thought it was a crazy idea for people to stream their movies because of the image and audio quality losses, and look where we are today. The mass consumer doesn't care/doesn't notice these things. They just want their content. I think streaming games will mostly see the same result.

Times have changed. They are the Blockbuster of video games.

Only difference is gamers have a weird attachment to the feelies of physical goods.

@pyro1245: There are people who prefer having complete collections on a disk and not relying on internet or digital distribution. I don't see anything absurd with that.

They are probably way too big for this but even with the move to digital they could still have a place for selling special/collectors editions. Maybe move more towards publishing too.

Won't be long before they're gone, I couldn't care less.

I'm no fan of Gamestop but I hate seeing retail games slowly dying like what happened with music CDs.

I only shop at Gamestop. I hope they stay in business. I've been going there pretty much my whole life.

They need to pivot from funko crap and knick knacks to hosting local board game events and tournaments in store. Sell snacks, energy drinks, soda, and charge entry fees for tournaments and events. Continuing on with loading the store with cheap plastic crap will be the death of Gamestop.

Modern games just don't belong on physical media anymore. Too many updates even if the game data is on the disc.

Now they just inconvenience every step of playing a game.

Fear not, the dream is still alive. Collect retro.

They can make if they adapt. Maybe become game developer/publisher instead.

@dzimm: I agree about GameInformer although they do have exclusive content every now and then..

Yeah I guess... but I still find it a pretty good read.

Do they sell all the mandatory updates and rip off content on physical media too?