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Gamestop manager: "Very possible Gamestop will die next gen"

7-8 years is an eternity in the lifespan of a business like Gamestop. Think back to what kind of tech was available in 2005 and what we have now. If Gamestop doesn't evolve to compete with digital then I can see it going away by 2020 but that really isn't an insightful prediction. It's just an acknowledgement of reality and what direction the market is headed.
 
Walmart, Target, and other stores that don't sell used game won't care. In the end GS will be hit the hardest since they depend entirely on used games.
What the hell are you talking about? When was the last time you were in a gamestop?
 
"Saddam Hussein is buying PS2s to control his Scuds" Gamestop Manager Dec. 14th, 2000

I wonder if "Gamestop Manager" and "Forbes Contributor" hang out on weekends?
 
Gamestop is actually doing pretty well in changing their strategy- but I foresee them becoming either a store for all used games and consoles or downsizing and refocusing on online.
 
Gamestop's big problem is theyknow they need to change but don't really have a clue how. In the past 2 years they made many half-baked attepmts at growing the brand, but only being meet with tepid receptions. Pre-paid Cell phone service, mobile app store front, small trendy electronics and used IOS sales. The latter of which is the most half baked attempt I've ever seen the company try. We're removed so far out of the minds of the gaming enthusiast that I believe that the next console cycle is going to be harsher than usual for us. All we've done the last 4 -6 years is cater to soccer moms and dude-bros. We can't make ground in any other demographic because we have alienated them and there is too much competiton in the area to win them back. We only stock and promote big publisher efforts...and we push pre-orders only to be told to sell to walk-ups and if we run out of copies for pre-orders we should be resupplied by the next day or they can order instore from the website and have it delivered. Additonally we have LE of some games that aren't even pre-orderable instore (or they undership to stores so they fakll short of units needed for preorders), but you can do an instore web order the day after the game releases. And if there are no preorders for a title a store will often be shipped a grand total of 0, unless its some shitty movie tie-inThere is just no symbiosis between the core gamers and Gamestop any more. I do the best I can to try and make my store a place that I would shop, but there is only so much you can do when the entity itself sees things in a different perspective. Gamestop thinks it has it's finger on the pulse of what gamers want, but they come across about a genuine and believeable as The Big Bang Theroy...hits the point once or twice every 9 months or so.

Edit: Employees at gamestop should not be getting repremanded for not selling Prepaid phone cards, selling poorly reconditioned apple products and Beats by Dre headphones, or giving honest opinions about bad games and questionable products. All stores and districts are not like this, but it happens more than it should as some Store and District managers don't seem to care about what kind of business they run or how they treat customers & their employees just that they get padded bonuses. 10+ years and I still kinda like the job, go figure
 
I've always hated gamestop. There employees are poorly trained, rude, and say the stupidest shit. I will not be sad to see both them and best buy go belly up.
 
Based on what I hear on GAF, GameStop is shit. But up here in Canada, I have had nothing but pleasant experiences shopping for games. And I prefer physical over digital. It's tangible and I'm a collector. Of course it's called EB games up here.
 
If they go back down to an Electronics Boutique sort of style, I think it'd be great.

I mean, in Canada it's still EB Games, though I'll be damned if anyone under 12 knew what EB stood for, but I remember I could walk in there, and buy some Pokemon cards from the cashier. That's what I would love to see them do again; expand beyond games themselves into gaming merchandise. Shirts, hats, figurines, that sort of crap, to justify a larger store roughly the size of an HMV. Hell, even occasional tournaments. There sure as shit ain't anything like that, even in independent stores where I live locally, and I think it's something that could really benefit them.
 
Moreover, it was stated that smartphone data plan service Net10 Wireless dropped GameStop’s unlimited data plan around a month ago, which has been “really painful.”
GameStop had a wireless data plan?
 
If they go back down to an Electronics Boutique sort of style, I think it'd be great.

I mean, in Canada it's still EB Games, though I'll be damned if anyone under 12 knew what EB stood for, but I remember I could walk in there, and buy some Pokemon cards from the cashier. That's what I would love to see them do again; expand beyond games themselves into gaming merchandise. Shirts, hats, figurines, that sort of crap, to justify a larger store roughly the size of an HMV. Hell, even occasional tournaments. There sure as shit ain't anything like that, even in independent stores where I live locally, and I think it's something that could really benefit them.

Going back to stocking physical items that have no digital equivalent like cards, figurines and apparel is probably a good move as digital downloads increasingly eat into their business.
 

Obviously, the question now is which one is the scorpion. =P

But I actually agree with your assessment. Platform manufacturers and game retailers are codependent on each other, and both will die if they continue to try to screw each other over.
 
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