What happened with Electronics Boutique from back in the day?

[cmdrdredd]

Except it was shown that people don't want a digital only future with no ability to rent, trade, and borrow games. Hence why the XB1 did a full 180 on nearly all it's launch ideas.

Besides, retailers sell digital games too. A lot of people feel more comfortable buying something face to face than doing it online. Especially when Steam has a bad reputation for customer service. There basically isn't any. I think that going to the store and getting the disk will always be an option. Having the interaction with real people and talking about a particular game someone is looking at is a lot better than just reading some advertising written by the marketing team and looking at a metacritic score. I'd bet that a majority of people who buy games don't read forums, metacritic, review sites like gamespot or IGN, and probably get a lot of their information from in store advertising and such. Don't forget too that the publishing and marketing arms of giants like Bethesda, Activision, and EA spend a lot of money putting posters and marketing materials inside BestBuy, Gamestop, Walmart etc. Then you have the interactives where people can play demos. Try to cut out retail and all that advertising goes poof. I don't think they are ready to give that all up yet.

To me it says a lot when people stand in lines almost 100yards long for a new game when there is the ability to download it and forget the lines. The physical interaction of it all is a big part of gaming.

 

[Blanky]

Except it was shown that some people don't want a digital only future with no ability to rent, trade, and borrow games. Hence why the XB1 did a full 180 on nearly all it's launch ideas.

ftfy. And some != all, and that is why gamestop can't continue on. MS had to 180 because people don't want to pay $60 and not be able to resell. I can't believe PC gamers are so stupid they actually pay $60 for brand new titles, play them once, and let them sit in steam. At least PC games drop in price quicker than console, so if they wait a while it works out better...

Even Gamestop knows its future is in jeopardy, and they have to move very quickly away from games if they want to survive: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/04/28/why-gamestop-is-closing-over-120-stores.aspx

Just as some want physical games some want cds, dvds, books, but that hasn't changed the fact that record stores, movie rental stores, and book stores are all dead or dying.

Gamestop has seen its heyday. Unless it is successful getting out of game software and entering or creating new markets it is finished. It will close stores up just as radioshack has been doing, going from a behemoth to a "what's the point of this store again?".

 

[cmdrdredd]

ftfy. And some != all, and that is why gamestop can't continue on. MS had to 180 because people don't want to pay $60 and not be able to resell. I can't believe PC gamers are so stupid they actually pay $60 for brand new titles, play them once, and let them sit in steam. At least PC games drop in price quicker than console, so if they wait a while it works out better...

Even Gamestop knows its future is in jeopardy, and they have to move very quickly away from games if they want to survive: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/04/28/why-gamestop-is-closing-over-120-stores.aspx

Just as some want physical games some want cds, dvds, books, but that hasn't changed the fact that record stores, movie rental stores, and book stores are all dead or dying.

Gamestop has seen its heyday. Unless it is successful getting out of game software and entering or creating new markets it is finished. It will close stores up just as radioshack has been doing, going from a behemoth to a "what's the point of this store again?".

You do know that all retailers close stores right? They do it all the time for many reasons. Loss Prevention, self competition, consolidation of inventory. It happens and not always because they are dying.

Also, digital games from Sony and MS are priced ridiculously. You can buy a brand new copy of a game like Darksiders 2 for PS3 on amazon and get the disk and everything for $20 it costs twice as much on PSN. Retailers selling physical copies of games compete for business. PSN and XBL Store really don't.

Steam works because PC gamers are generally more tech savvy and open to technologies like digital distribution. Generally speaking they have more disposable income as well, spending as much on a GPU as some people do on a console. It's a whole different world when going from console to PC gaming. What works on one may not necessarily work on the other. Plus it's not a monopoly. There are other ways to get a game digitally on PC and they know it.

 

[ponyo]

"Electronics Boutique" is a pretty terrible trade name for a video game store compared to "Gamestop", so it's not entirely surprising they lost out in the end.

Electronics Boutique started as mall kiosk selling calculators and watches. They sold calculators and watches imported from their other primary company. Video games came later. Electronics Boutique was a side business that happened to grow big. But it was never the founders primary focus as they also had another more important primary business. I wouldn't call taking $1.44 billion losing out. That's winning.

 

[Anteaus]

I miss the original Babbages. It was heaven for the PC gamer....rows of game boxes of all shapes and sizes (before the standardization). I still have my original Tombstone shaped Stonekeep box.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I miss the original Babbages. It was heaven for the PC gamer....rows of game boxes of all shapes and sizes (before the standardization). I still have my original Tombstone shaped Stonekeep box.

I loved the big boxes. They were much more eye catching than DVD cases that have become standard now.

 

[Blanky]

I loved the big boxes. They were much more eye catching than DVD cases that have become standard now.

I know. Some of them even had that "page" cover that opened up, so you had not only the entire box but an extra two pages of glossy graphics.

I still think GS is doomed I don't even know of anywhere now to buy PC games except for target or walmart, and they only have around 20 at any given time.

 

[shortylickens]

I believe Gamestop started out here in MN as Funcoland way back in the day. 'Twas a great place for exchanging old Nintendo games, I remember it fondly.

I grew up in Brooklyn Park and was within driving distance of several funcolands. I never sold to them, only bought.

They only gave like 5% what the game was worth, 10% if it was store credit. Its better to just mow one more lawn and keep your old game.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I know. Some of them even had that "page" cover that opened up, so you had not only the entire box but an extra two pages of glossy graphics.

I still think GS is doomed I don't even know of anywhere now to buy PC games except for target or walmart, and they only have around 20 at any given time.

BestBuy gets them as does Tigerdirect. Also Gamestop gets them occasionally depending on location. They always get physical copies for pre-orders too. I'm usually the only one who buys a specific release on PC at my local store lol. They had something like 100 pre-orders for dragon age 3 and mine was the only PC version.

 

[Lil Frier]

I can't believe PC gamers are so stupid they actually pay $60 for brand new titles, play them once, and let them sit in steam. At least PC games drop in price quicker than console, so if they wait a while it works out better...

Come on, now. Every major release is a short jump from a major Steam sale. I'd say that the vast majority pays much less than $60 for a game, even a new one. Shoot, I don't know that I've paid even $20 for a single title in my library, other than the $30-40 I spent on Portal 2, and that's with 60 games in my library.

Very rarely do PC gamers pay what console gamers do.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Some PC games release at $50. It isn't often though. I seem to also remember a game going on sale for pre-orders during a certain time. Game was $15 off.

 

[Rage187]

Our's started off as a Software Etc, then Electronic Boutique, then EB Games, then Gamestop.

Our Babbages turned into a Gamestop but way later in life.

Yes, at one time we had two Gamestops in the same, single story mall.

 

[artemicion]

Except it was shown that people don't want a digital only future with no ability to rent, trade, and borrow games. Hence why the XB1 did a full 180 on nearly all it's launch ideas.

Besides, retailers sell digital games too. A lot of people feel more comfortable buying something face to face than doing it online. Especially when Steam has a bad reputation for customer service. There basically isn't any. I think that going to the store and getting the disk will always be an option. Having the interaction with real people and talking about a particular game someone is looking at is a lot better than just reading some advertising written by the marketing team and looking at a metacritic score. I'd bet that a majority of people who buy games don't read forums, metacritic, review sites like gamespot or IGN, and probably get a lot of their information from in store advertising and such. Don't forget too that the publishing and marketing arms of giants like Bethesda, Activision, and EA spend a lot of money putting posters and marketing materials inside BestBuy, Gamestop, Walmart etc. Then you have the interactives where people can play demos. Try to cut out retail and all that advertising goes poof. I don't think they are ready to give that all up yet.

To me it says a lot when people stand in lines almost 100yards long for a new game when there is the ability to download it and forget the lines. The physical interaction of it all is a big part of gaming.

Problem is, you don't profit from selling new video games (new games are $48 to retailers and sell for $60, which is a minuscule profit margin when you account for labor, storage space, unsold inventory, loss, etc). New video games are pretty much a zero-sum game for retailers. Target, Best Buy, Walmart, etc. probably just break even on video game sales, but keep them around to attract customers who will buy other things. Physical video games may always exist, but that doesn't mean Gamestop will always exist.

Gamestop makes the majority of its profits on used game sales, which is why they've expanded to used electronics sales (phones, tablets, etc.). These profits are also contingent on buying used product for less than market value and selling it at or above market value. SOMETIMES you can get a good deal on trade in's if they are running a good promotion for advertising purposes, but for the most part Gamestop makes its profits from lazy/stupid people who trade in their stuff for less than it's worth, and from thieves getting rid of hot goods.

I'd actually be interested in seeing research on the % of Gamestop's profits that comes from stolen goods. Anecdotally, I've heard lots of stories from employees about suspicious circumstances for trade ins (trading in 5 3DS's without chargers at a time, trading in a console without wires/controllers, trading in games the same day as release etc.)

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Doesn't Wikipedia tell the history?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EB_Games

Ya, has history.

 

[zerocool84]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EB_Games

Ya, has history.

Yup I read it. Not a super long read either and wasn't real complicated either.

 

[mmntech]

Gamestop will be dead in the not too distant future as well. Their business model is going to be crushed in the coming years as more games go digital-only. Their growth has relied, part and parcel, on a climate of physical media and with that on its way out so too Gamestop will go.

I'd like to see what the numbers are for physical media sales vs digital on console. I know on PC it's over 90% digital now, but that's a bit of a different climate. I'm willing to bet hard copies still dominate on console.

To me the fundamental flaw with console digital sales is pricing. Lack of competition has kept prices high despite the reduced overhead of shipping, manufacturing, and retail store markup. I know on both PSN and the eShop, sales and price drops are few and far between. Not like Steam.

Since the price of physical and digital copies are the same on console, I'd prefer owning the disc. Feels like I'm getting more value that way. I also don't think I'm the only one that feels that way.

I think Gamestop is good for the rest of this generation. What will ultimately kill them is when console makers eliminate physical copies entirely. Microsoft toyed with the idea for the Xbox One but encountered heavy resistance from gamers. A lot of peoples' internet is not up to downloading big 25-50GB games.

 

[Blanky]

I'd like to see what the numbers are for physical media sales vs digital on console. I know on PC it's over 90% digital now, but that's a bit of a different climate. I'm willing to bet hard copies still dominate on console.

To me the fundamental flaw with console digital sales is pricing. Lack of competition has kept prices high despite the reduced overhead of shipping, manufacturing, and retail store markup. I know on both PSN and the eShop, sales and price drops are few and far between. Not like Steam.

Since the price of physical and digital copies are the same on console, I'd prefer owning the disc. Feels like I'm getting more value that way. I also don't think I'm the only one that feels that way.

I think Gamestop is good for the rest of this generation. What will ultimately kill them is when console makers eliminate physical copies entirely. Microsoft toyed with the idea for the Xbox One but encountered heavy resistance from gamers. A lot of peoples' internet is not up to downloading big 25-50GB games.

I agree with absolutely everything you said, from a personal preference to physical, to a disappointment at high price of digital on consoles, to a sense that Gamestop is good for this gen (I think at the most), but we are going digital and that is absolutely a bad thing for GS.