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[Petrae]

As for those who might lose jobs over this - I simply say - was GameStop the end of their career path? If so, then they will find somewhere else of equal footing to work. I'm honestly not trying to be callous, but a job like GameStop should not be anyone's final destination. If it is, then that isn't consumers fault if that place that offered nothing compelling ceases to exist and they no longer have that place to work.

The writing has been on the wall for years now about the collapse of brick & mortar retail. At some point, people have to be responsible for the choices they make. If they don’t make necessary changes and take steps to move toward other careers than retail, they’re going to feel the pain when their jobs inevitably go away. At the very least, if retail is their calling, start gravitating to more secure chains.

Not that it doesn’t suck to lose your job due to changeable market forces, but if having a job is that important... you always need to be sensitive to those market forces and read when it’s time to start looking for new opportunities.

 

[megatronium]

Just bought a used Wii U there yesterday before they get rare. Good luck to the employees!

 

[Hobbesian]

I remember when there literally used to be 4 Gamestops in Boynton Beach, FL within a .5 mile radius. No exaggeration.

Good times.

Surprised more memes never came from that.

 

[Justin9mm]

ceeeeeelebrate this time c'mon

I'm an Australian living in Australia and even I know how bad Gamestop is! lol

 

[Northeastmonk]

I always wondered why GameStop was called GameStop. Your one stop place for games? Is the stigma so apparent they had to incorporate "Stop" into the brand? I use to say "Babbages" and thinking of Charles Babbage (man who essentially invented the calculator ).

I like the place in that they sell items I enjoy. It doesn't exactly feel like I have to be there because digital games and the internet are easier and more convenient for me.

I use to head down there all the time. That's how I got a job there years ago. It's strange because I walk in there now and there's a handful of super cool employees and then there's the new person or the person who is going to point his nose up in the air when he gives you an answer.

I'm not quite sure how to feel. They're so corporate now a days and their GameStop TV still gives me this creepy feeling.

Maybe I've just gone through the state of "OMG THATS A GAME STORE!" to "Oh that's GameStop, I have all my preorders taken care of at home". It wasn't exactly over night. I use to go to all the midnight launches and now there aren't any. It's all 9 PM launches.

I think what also killed it was hearing from managers about Street Date being broken and then I'd have to say "oh I got that preordered on Amazon already" when they ask if I want to preorder X or Y.

Some of their marketing was awesome. Like at the mall there's a big Kingdom Hearts poster on their glass doors. I want to go inside, but I already preordered that game. They got rid of PS2 and Xbox games, their Vita selection is mainly novel games, and the other AAA I have at home.

Game stores are awesome, but there's that point where $60 or $120 doesn't move. I'm happy spending my money on Amazon/PSN/XBL, but I don't/can't spend anymore at a GameStore. I have to be wise with my money.

I see kids come in and some young adult wanting to preorder or they have games to trade. I use to do that, but I found more pleasure at home buying games. I would hate to see it all go away, but then again.. how necessary is it?

GameStop is there for people who don't know where to buy games. They specialize in Video Games. Outside of mom and pop stores, stores like Target and Walmart have glass cabinets with small kiosk that look awful. I never got a lot out of modern day game departments at grocery stores. I played zelda OOT at Target years ago, but it's not my place for games anymore. Maybe it is for someone else? But then again, people get exposed and purchase games differently now.

 

[Enjay]

Gaze at your navel for a momo and tell me why? Genuinely curious.

Don't worry there are other jobs out there. Gamestop is not the be all end all for you or anyone else.

 

[lock2k]

 

[5secondrulesucks]

i remember this mall metal guy said to me that the president or whatever the fuck of gamestop only made it to be a quick money grab thing because he knew the stores would all fail. i guess that mall metal guy was right while he was eating his aunt annies pepperoni pretzel

 

[VertigoOA]

GameStop disappearing would lead to a slight resurgence in mom and pop game stores and hobby shops.

There were many more when I was kid. We’re talking mid to late 90s but coolest place around. Much more interesting, better variety of goods then the samey shelves of GameStop and ebgames; before and after they took over the game industry.

Where else could I go to buy video games and consoles before street date, get imports and modded systems, and be able to negotiate a trade, use stolen magic and Pokémon cards as currency, buy the Heisei Godzilla series on vhs before it was even available subbed in many instances...

Nothing to fear here. Or do you like walking into that soulless shithole and arrangement of funko pop nonsense

 

[5secondrulesucks]

GameStop disappearing would lead to a slight resurgence in mom and pop game stores and hobby shops.

There were many more when I was kid. We’re talking mid to late 90s but coolest place around. Much more interesting, better variety of goods then the samey shelves of GameStop and ebgames; before and after they took over the game industry.

Where else could I go to buy video games and consoles before street date, get imports and modded systems, and be able to negotiate a trade, use stolen magic and Pokémon cards as currency, buy the Heisei Godzilla series on vhs before it was even available subbed in many instances...

Nothing to fear here.

hello mall metal guy

 

[Starlight Lotice]

It seems like Gamestop is having the same problem as GAME is in the UK/Spain with the same problems. Only the pricing is better iirc.

I think it will be bought out by another compny but it won't likely be by a good investor.

GAME were in trouble back in 2012 and more recently a Tycoon bought a share in the business at a discounted price but I sadly don't think he will turn it around.

Gamestop needs to change how they work in the US and even in Ireland where they have the largest presencr in (they basically gave up in the UK as GAME made sure they couldn't breathe in the market,as well as Grainger Games).

The whole Disc Insurance and Pre-Order Incentives thing they do is annoying and can put people off.

Do they sell a load of merch in there too like GAME does? That usually reduces how many games available there are promoting only the AAA stuff.

 

[VertigoOA]

\m/

 

[Jack Videogames]

Ding dong the witch is dead

Brb, omw to Argos to purchase a game for fucking 20€ less than what Gamestop charges

 

[DeepEnigma]

I best get my Sekiro CE, since it's the only place it is exclusive to before the ship goes belly-up.

 

[DreamsiclesPlz]

If Amazon hasn’t done away with their Prime discount for new games I’d probably never go into a GS anymore.

Boy do I sure resent Amazon for that though.

 

[Zog]

I always seemed to want to buy the 'last copy'. They pull the disc out of the drawer and put in the case and sell it as new. If I opened a game and never played it and tried to return it, they would deem it used. Never understood how there was never some sort of class action lawsuit over that. Shady selling tactics.

It's even worse than that sometimes. As far as I know, the employees do get to take the opened games home and play them.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Boy do I sure resent Amazon for that though.

Huge bummer. I’m most likely cancelling Prime this year

 

[Northeastmonk]

It's even worse than that sometimes. As far as I know, the employees do get to take the opened games home and play them.

I remember opening up a copy of Vampire Rain for Xbox 360 and taking it home back when it came out. The game was nothing special, but since no one was buying it.. the assistant manager let me do it. It always bugged me that they kept all the new games in the same cabinet as the used. The only difference were the yellow (used) and white (new) envelopes they put the games in. I sometimes feel like they have a power issue, like they have to peek into every game case or they can't sell someone a game without opening it.

 

[fatty]

I am not a fan of Gamestop's tactics, but I am sad if they are going away. I'd much prefer that they change their ways. Having options, especially for physical media, is a good thing.

I still like spending $15 to get Game Informer shipped to my home. I believe Gamestop was also responsible for the reprinting of Xenoblade Chronicles (and Metroid Prime?) on the Wii where I was able to get a copy. This past Black Friday, they had some awesome deals available. There is also some good video game related toys that they sale. Yeah, I hope they don't go away but instead look at ways to fix some of their crappy practices and restructure how they do business.

 

[NickFire]

GameStop disappearing would lead to a slight resurgence in mom and pop game stores and hobby shops.

There were many more when I was kid. We’re talking mid to late 90s but coolest place around. Much more interesting, better variety of goods then the samey shelves of GameStop and ebgames; before and after they took over the game industry.

Where else could I go to buy video games and consoles before street date, get imports and modded systems, and be able to negotiate a trade, use stolen magic and Pokémon cards as currency, buy the Heisei Godzilla series on vhs before it was even available subbed in many instances...

Nothing to fear here. Or do you like walking into that soulless shithole and arrangement of funko pop nonsense

I don't like the chances of seeing more mom and pop stores. Would be cool, but seems wishful thinking to me. The cost of retail space, lack of Gamestop's online presence to help cash flow, and lack of bargaining power / technical means will probably prevent this.

 

[Straight Edge]

If Gamestop can't make it, then neither can smaller game shops. The big box stores only have the newest games.

The owner of my local small chain doesn’t collect a multimillion dollar salary and doesn’t answer to investors.

 

[Petrae]

I don't like the chances of seeing more mom and pop stores. Would be cool, but seems wishful thinking to me. The cost of retail space, lack of Gamestop's online presence to help cash flow, and lack of bargaining power / technical means will probably prevent this.

Opening and running a video game (or game-centric) store is purely a passion project. There's very little money to be made, the hours are brutally long, the cost of of hiring help eats into what little profit you make, and associated costs of doing business are prohibitively high for a venture such as this. Worse yet, the outlook for physical game sales is a downward trend. Also take into account that, unless you're a big store or chain, forging relationships with distributors to get new games even close to on time is a lengthy process.

Not that some won't do it because they have a soft spot for video games and will try despite the warning signs. GameStop being gone might open up some opportunities that haven't been there during the megalithic chain's run, though even as the brick-and-mortar side of the chain collapses, I can see their online storefront kicking around a bit longer... especially with so much inventory available.

 

[Northeastmonk]

The local game store here in the midwest (Gamers) was doing incredibly well back in the late 90's and early 2000's. They started opening up stores across Nebraska and Iowa. They use to have a wide selection of games to pick and choose from. Then they went downhill. You'd walk into their store and they'd have hundreds of Skylander toys, games that no one would typically buy, and then furniture. You'd see game cases for sale or some random shelf. The store took a huge hit. This store use to have a wall full of used guitars from Rock Band and so forth. They weren't doing well. There were reports of stolen merchandise being sold to them and etc. I met their owner once at a Halo 2 tournament. I went to corporate HQ to buy a game and even bought from their eBay site. They were once the place to go for PS2/Xbox games. They closed after 25 years in business.

The only other place we had before that was Game Doctors. They closed because they were pirating PlayStation(s) and Dreamcast(s). They even modded my Dreamcast for $50. I played ShenMue with a mod switch. I remember walking in and seeing burned games like Sega GT for sale.

Fast forward to 2019. There are a handful of good game stores that are locally owned. Ben's Game Zone is a good one. The owner is super friendly and I've always had a good experience going there. Gamers is reopening. But their owners are part the Game Room, another smaller game store here in Nebraska. One of the people helping it get started use to have a shop fixing game consoles. Its still up in the air, but Gamers apparently is coming back under their original name. If you go to gogamers.com you'll see a message about it.

http://www.gogamers.com/

We also had a smaller chain of stores (Game Vault) close after a couple years of business. They had such an odd selection. I bought a Neo Geo Pocket game from them. They had imports, but it was such an odd selection of games.

Its hard to decide what the issue was. Gamers probably had very dysfunctional management and the decline in hardware sales hit them pretty bad. I have no idea how this "reopening" of Gamers is going to go. The new owners sound like they really care, so that's a plus. I hope Ben's Game Zone stays around. The owner is super nice. Gamers got out of control and I don't think they should have opened so many stores. Gamers also use to call GameStop the "Red Menace" and their commercials would always point out that they gave you more credit than the "other guys".

 

[KoolAidPitcher]

It is sad to see the demise of physical media. We are slowly approaching a future where we do not own any of our content, and when a service is shut down we lose everything we purchased.

I will keep purchasing physical media for as long as it exists.

 

[Hanon]

Well, gs isn't perfect but sometimes I don't like having to wait for my games to get to my house (Amazon and online stores) and best buy for all the new game releases are far from my house, Walmart isn't the best for searching for games that came out years ago but you haven't bought yet

 

[Deleted member 738976]

Even if Gamestop dies I have other stores for new and used games. I managed to boost up my NES, Genesis, SNES, PS1, and so on collections from them. At least they don't have the nerve to try and sell me an empty display case. I like my new games shrink wrapped and inside the damn box.

 

[joe_zazen]

GameStop disappearing would lead to a slight resurgence in mom and pop game stores and hobby shops.

There were many more when I was kid. We’re talking mid to late 90s but coolest place around. Much more interesting, better variety of goods then the samey shelves of GameStop and ebgames; before and after they took over the game industry.

Where else could I go to buy video games and consoles before street date, get imports and modded systems, and be able to negotiate a trade, use stolen magic and Pokémon cards as currency, buy the Heisei Godzilla series on vhs before it was even available subbed in many instances...

Nothing to fear here. Or do you like walking into that soulless shithole and arrangement of funko pop nonsense

I guess that is what I think is a loss. Places where music enthsiasts, movie enthusiasts, gaming enthusiasts, etc would hang and/or work. It is part of what makes up a community. Gamestop is pretty corporate, so you dont have a lot of that. We still have a few tabletop board and wargaming stores. I think those will be harder to kill.

But yeah, for all the kids looking for their forst jobs...I guess you still have mcD and shoe stores...or you can make ‘content’, lol.

 

[joe_zazen]

Before a sale-- especially a sale to private equity, companies will usually try to make their books look as good as they can so they can get the highest value for their current investors. In this case, Lamestop is probably closing poorly performing branches and laying off employees to reduce their expenses, so their books look better before a sale.

We have all seen this movie before. What will happen is private equity will come in and purchase Lamestop, 10% with their own money and 90% of the purchase will be with Lamestop's money in what is known as a "leveraged buyout." They will saddle Lamestop with a ton of debt, and Lamestop will struggle to pay the interest on the debt, causing more layoffs and store closures.

Upon purchase, all of Lamestop's executives and upper management will be fired and replaced with private equity shills. If Lamestop is profitable, private equity will charge exorbitant consulting fees ensuring they keep Lamestop constantly teetering on the brink of financial armageddon. If Lamestop is not profitable, they will go through bankruptcy to stiff the lenders who Lamestop owes money to, while still keeping Lamestop alive so they can continue to extract exorbitant consulting fees.

In other words, business as usual. Nothing to see here. Move along everyone.

Hard to argue thwt: the toys r us countdown has begun.

This should, btw, make companies way more bold wrt killing used games.