Article says Gamestop to close 500-600 stores this year

[sloan]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/eight-retailers-that-will-close-the-most-stores-173320796.html?page=2

[retroguy]

I hope they don't close the one closest to me. It's 30 miles away already. The nearest one after that is 50 miles away. Did I mention I hate living in the mountains?

[BricatSegaFan]

Good I hope gamestop closes. Maybe then they would actually make an effort to retain customers. Quit gutting games and hire knowledgeable employees, overall be consistent. Why do some people have one gamestop they go to because all the others are bad or had bad experiences?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Paris_Tuileries_Garden_Facepalm_statue.jpg/300px-Paris_Tuileries_Garden_Facepalm_statue.jpg

[PreZZ]

As much as I hate gamestop, its bad news for the industry. A lot of bad stuff going on lately. THQ, Junction point, zipper interactive, etc. just release one bad game and they close. Nintendo not making profits??? Sony and microsoft too. Best buys closing stores. Something is wrong...

[retroguy]

Good I hope gamestop closes. Maybe then they would actually make an effort to retain customers. Quit gutting games and hire knowledgeable employees, overall be consistent. Why do some people have one gamestop they go to because all the others are bad or had bad experiences?

6258.

[sloan]

As much as I hate gamestop, its bad news for the industry. A lot of bad stuff going on lately. THQ, Junction point, zipper interactive, etc. just release one bad game and they close. Nintendo not making profits??? Sony and microsoft too. Best buys closing stores. Something is wrong...

Only take a look at all the businesses projected to have massive store closings this year on my originally linked article to know the economy remains in the tank, despite what governmental leaders say. I always said that 'recession' was the wrong word to use in all the propaganda being spread by media and government agencies.

[Collector_Gaming]

As much as I hate gamestop, its bad news for the industry. A lot of bad stuff going on lately. THQ, Junction point, zipper interactive, etc. just release one bad game and they close. Nintendo not making profits??? Sony and microsoft too. Best buys closing stores. Something is wrong...

Tired going out into the world and dealing with people and driving/walking/taking a bus to the store to buy your goods? Ya know one of the activities you humans do to maintain a healthy social lifestyle.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/binary/2449/1347917999-amazon.jpg

Hi there let me help you!

[Collector_Gaming]

In all seriousness though I think them buying out EB games is what is the problem here. Most eb games turned into game stop and now there is more game stops then there is really needed in some areas like for instance in Burlington area vermont we have about 160,000 people to cater to. There is 3 game stops. I think we can deal with closing 1 of them.

[Bojay1997]

Not to be a jerk about this, but this "article" is pure speculation. It's not like any of those retailers have even announced earnings for last year and while I have no doubt Best Buy and Gamestop are facing some financial issues as a result of the economy, both had pretty decent holiday sales. While I'm sure Best Buy and Gamestop may close stores this year, it's silly to speculate about it before anything is announced. In addition, didn't we just have a huge Gamestop bashing post this past week that had to be closed?

[dendawg]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__07fq12lprE/S0i9dwb86sI/AAAAAAAAAHc/oaMrgjKwj6U/s400/picard.jpg

[geneshifter]

iOS, Android and Amazon.

[Aussie2B]

In all seriousness though I think them buying out EB games is what is the problem here. Most eb games turned into game stop and now there is more game stops then there is really needed in some areas like for instance in Burlington area vermont we have about 160,000 people to cater to. There is 3 game stops. I think we can deal with closing 1 of them.

That's the first thing I thought of too. Maybe GameStops are sparse in some areas, but everywhere I've ever been has had plenty of GameStops and could easily spare some. There's even a mall near me with two GameStops, one on the upper floor and one on the lower floor almost directly below it. It shouldn't take more than a couple minutes for anyone to get from one to the other, so it makes no sense.

[danawhitaker]

That's the first thing I thought of too. Maybe GameStops are sparse in some areas, but everywhere I've ever been has had plenty of GameStops and could easily spare some. There's even a mall near me with two GameStops, one on the upper floor and one on the lower floor almost directly below it. It shouldn't take more than a couple minutes for anyone to get from one to the other, so it makes no sense.

Yeah, just near me I can think of five that would be within a reasonable driving distance. There's a few more that I'd only go to if I desperately needed something none of the others had - but they're still close enough I can say that I'd go. If they close any of them around here, I hope it would be the standalone one. I like the mall stores because it means that no matter which mall I'm going to for other shopping (some malls don't have the same stores as the others for my other shopping), I can always visit Gamestop.

For me, personally, they started to go downhill when they stopped dealing in older games. I liked being able to find older games without having to deal with thrift stores or eBay.

[Beat Roc]

I hope they don't close the one closest to me. It's 30 miles away already. The nearest one after that is 50 miles away. Did I mention I hate living in the mountains?

My closest one is over 100 miles away. That might be a good thing though haha, but I did travel there to get Xenoblade :)

[The 1 2 P]

There are several near me and closing one of two won't make much of a difference, except for the fact that I occasionally do work in some of them. So far the only one I know of that closed was Gamestop Kids but that was only suppose to be opened for the holidays anyway.

[GhostDog]

Tired going out into the world and dealing with people and driving/walking/taking a bus to the store to buy your goods? Ya know one of the activities you humans do to maintain a healthy social lifestyle.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/binary/2449/1347917999-amazon.jpg

Hi there let me help you!

Amazon.com rocks. You can find great prices for new and used games from their warehouse deals. Amazon and eBay are my go-to places. Newegg also has some good prices on games and they also sell on eBay. Let the games come to you and often far cheaper than retail or what you'd pay at Gamestop. Often there's no tax too and free shipping.

[danawhitaker]

Amazon.com rocks. You can find great prices for new and used games from their warehouse deals. Amazon and eBay are my go-to places. Newegg also has some good prices on games and they also sell on eBay. Let the games come to you and often far cheaper than retail or what you'd pay at Gamestop. Often there's no tax too and free shipping.

I do order new games off Amazon quite often. But when it comes to older used stuff, I really prefer to see the item in person first to check whether the disc or cartridge is in a condition I find acceptable. I will use eBay if I have to, but I got badly burned back in the Dreamcast days and I've never quite gotten over that. I ordered Samba de Amigo for Dreamcast - the sambas I received never worked properly, and the game was a pirated copy. Despite filing a dispute with eBay, I never got anything back, and the seller got away with it. And it was someone who'd had a 100% positive feedback and had quite a few sales.

When it comes to used games on Amazon, I see a lot of high shipping prices and a lot of sellers that don't seem to describe the item in enough detail. Maybe if you're buying in bulk the shipping pays off? Though I had a friend who contacted a seller on there about bundling a bunch of cheap games together to save on shipping and he got a flat-out "no" in response. I also see a lot of older games on there for ridiculous prices compared to eBay or Gamestop's used selection.

I love online shopping for anything new, don't get me wrong. But I just balk when it comes to used games, which is where Gamestop does well. At least when a used game or piece of equipment you buy there doesn't work, you can actually return it and not be hassled. With online shopping, you have to worry about shipping it back, and dealing with a seller who may just refuse to deal with it.

[Gameguy]

It's nice to see a new Gamestop complaint thread posted, it's almost been a whole day since the last one was locked.


Tired going out into the world and dealing with people and driving/walking/taking a bus to the store to buy your goods? Ya know one of the activities you humans do to maintain a healthy social lifestyle.
If the only way you can socialize is through shopping then there's something wrong with your social skills. You shouldn't have to get someone to talk to you as part of their job.

[Leo_A]

Where did they pull 500-600 stores from when the actual forecast from the company was 200?

An awful lot of these are mall locations that have are having replacement locations opening up. They prefer stripmalls these days and even are building standalone stores frequently.

And if around here is any indication, they're still very much in an expansion stage rather than a retreat. We're just seeing a shift with how they like to conduct business away from malls that traditionally represented the majority of their retailer locations.

[Sailorneorune]

I like to pick up games locally when they're ridiculously expensive online, usually courtesy of the Amazon Marketplace Wishful Thinking Society. For this, Gamestop can be very good. If you have a particularly good store, the staff is very knowledgeable and helpful (and it's not their fault that the 12-year-old standing behind me wants GTA instead of Zelda :( ) and will do all they can to help out. I had the Henderson GS order a copy of Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley from another KY GS due to its ridiculous online price. A week later, I had Harvest Moon. Disc only, but it beats paying $50-60 (and probably still getting it disc only).

One of my anime bargain hunting buddies is helping me get a complete one, though... so I guess this disc only copy needs a new home, but I really appreciate the Henderson Gamestop helping me out. If Gamestops do close, I hope the one a quarter-mile away from my home is spared. They've only been open about 18 months, but they're great. 8-)

[sloan]

Not to be a jerk about this, but this "article" is pure speculation. It's not like any of those retailers have even announced earnings for last year and while I have no doubt Best Buy and Gamestop are facing some financial issues as a result of the economy, both had pretty decent holiday sales. While I'm sure Best Buy and Gamestop may close stores this year, it's silly to speculate about it before anything is announced. In addition, didn't we just have a huge Gamestop bashing post this past week that had to be closed?

I do not deny that the article is speculative at best, but it is interesting to ponder. Also, I knew nothing of the other thread when I posted this one and never intended it as a bashing of Gamestop, just thought it would be of interest to people on this forum.

[IHatedSega]

I too hope Gamestop goes out of business.

[retroguy]

I too hope Gamestop goes out of business.

It's never gonna happen, so you can stop now.

[IHatedSega]

It's never gonna happen, so you can stop now.

I saw you like it, but honestly, it needs to die.

[Griking]

In all seriousness though I think them buying out EB games is what is the problem here. Most eb games turned into game stop and now there is more game stops then there is really needed in some areas like for instance in Burlington area vermont we have about 160,000 people to cater to. There is 3 game stops. I think we can deal with closing 1 of them.

I certainly won't be sheding a tear for Gamestop but this is a valid point.

There were three Gamestops in the Crystal Mall alone in Waterford CT up until about a year ago when their leases ran out because of this.


It's nice to see a new Gamestop complaint thread posted, it's almost been a whole day since the last one was locked.

I don't see a Gamestop complain thread. I see a thread about current events having to do with Gamestop.

[GhostDog]

I do order new games off Amazon quite often. But when it comes to older used stuff, I really prefer to see the item in person first to check whether the disc or cartridge is in a condition I find acceptable. I will use eBay if I have to, but I got badly burned back in the Dreamcast days and I've never quite gotten over that. I ordered Samba de Amigo for Dreamcast - the sambas I received never worked properly, and the game was a pirated copy. Despite filing a dispute with eBay, I never got anything back, and the seller got away with it. And it was someone who'd had a 100% positive feedback and had quite a few sales.

When it comes to used games on Amazon, I see a lot of high shipping prices and a lot of sellers that don't seem to describe the item in enough detail. Maybe if you're buying in bulk the shipping pays off? Though I had a friend who contacted a seller on there about bundling a bunch of cheap games together to save on shipping and he got a flat-out "no" in response. I also see a lot of older games on there for ridiculous prices compared to eBay or Gamestop's used selection.

I love online shopping for anything new, don't get me wrong. But I just balk when it comes to used games, which is where Gamestop does well. At least when a used game or piece of equipment you buy there doesn't work, you can actually return it and not be hassled. With online shopping, you have to worry about shipping it back, and dealing with a seller who may just refuse to deal with it.

I buy games used from Amazone Warehouse deals when they're listed as "like-new." I have bought a handful of PS3 games from them and have not been disappointed. They're described accurately. While it is risky buying used online, the couple of times that certain items weren't described accurately from other sellers online I'd just message the sellers and let them know that I felt it wasn't described accurately and point out my reasons. I had no problems getting a refund and one person even let me keep the game.

[Oldskool]

As much as I hate gamestop, its bad news for the industry. A lot of bad stuff going on lately. THQ, Junction point, zipper interactive, etc. just release one bad game and they close. Nintendo not making profits??? Sony and microsoft too. Best buys closing stores. Something is wrong...

Tablets are taking over. Laptops, Desktops, Tv and handheld gaming consoles are the next in line to die off. F'in BS.

[Collector_Gaming]

Tablets are taking over. Laptops, Desktops, Tv and handheld gaming consoles are the next in line to die off. F'in BS.

As soon as I found out about this through my cousin


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IojziWjEr_4

I thought yep.... Gaming as we know is screwed... Good bye regular consoles.... Good bye physical media....

Meaning your IOS and android device is capiable of running a full 3d rendered sandbox style game. I mean granted the graphics are old The game was made 10 years ago.. But still I can play this on my cell phone and not give a shit. Its gotta make nintendo and sony cringe about their portables a bit to know that cell phones and tablets are basically knocking on their door wanting to join the party.

[retroguy]

I don't care what the marketers say, cell phones are NOT game consoles and NEVER WILL BE and trying to convince people that they are is idiotic in the extreme. Before I quit reading, I could tell the EGM reviewers thought so too and were faking their enthusiasm for the Iphone games they reviewed because they were obligated to. I felt kind of sorry for them.

Now I'm perfectly willing to accept that phones and tablets can coexist alongside real gaming machines, but the day they replace them is the day I abandon gaming forever and stick to retro stuff only.

[Collector_Gaming]

I don't care what the marketers say, cell phones are NOT game consoles and NEVER WILL BE and trying to convince people that they are is idiotic in the extreme. Before I quit reading, I could tell the EGM reviewers thought so too and were faking their enthusiasm for the Iphone games they reviewed because they were obligated to. I felt kind of sorry for them.

Now I'm perfectly willing to accept that phones and tablets can coexist alongside real gaming machines, but the day they replace them is the day I abandon gaming forever and stick to retro stuff only.

Although I agree with you to some extent.... What do you call the N-Gage? A cell phone or console.... or can we dive into the H word? (Hyrbid)

http://swotti.starmedia.com/tmp/swotti/cacheBI1NYWDLVGVJAG5VBG9NES1DB25ZB2XLCW==/imgN-Gage1.jpg

[retroguy]

I'd call the N-Gage an experiment. If pressed, I would classify it as a game console with cell phone functionality tacked on. I seem to recall that they used the games as the selling point and the phone was sort of a bonus. You didn't have to use it as a phone, but you could. The Iphone, on the other hand, is a swiss army knife that can do many things but is primarily advertised as a phone and therefore not a game console.

[Greg2600]

I agree that Gamestop just simply had too many stores in close proximity. My guess is they are nearing an end to contracts of all those absorbed EB stores, partly. Most people won't notice the closings.

[IHatedSega]

As long as consoles try to be computers theyre screwed. Theyre cheap bad computers now. They should have only stuck to playing video games. The industry is not going to be taken over by handheld phones though.

[Collector_Gaming]

I'd call the N-Gage an experiment. If pressed, I would classify it as a game console with cell phone functionality tacked on. I seem to recall that they used the games as the selling point and the phone was sort of a bonus. You didn't have to use it as a phone, but you could. The Iphone, on the other hand, is a swiss army knife that can do many things but is primarily advertised as a phone and therefore not a game console.

Well what about the Ipad which is pressed as a multimedia device which todays consoles are actually pressed as now with capabilities of watching movies, listening to music, surfing the internet (specially with xbox finally jumping on board with their IE browser now on the system). Surfing todays social networks ect ect ect.

The fact of the matter is times are changing and believe me I for one am not liking where its going. But right now its like a locomotive stuck on full throttle with the lever broken off to slow it down. Sadly we are gonna have to accept it or just get left behind. And I for one don't know where I stand on that split decision.

[Collector_Gaming]

But to drive myself off that last topic but keep as to why this is all going down as to why gamestop and alot of other chains are in trouble is simply internet downloads.


Every single person who uses the internet and has a credit card/debit card (Which btw you don't need a bank account anymore for since you can buy those preloaded Visa debit cards at stores. Virtually making physical money also a thing of the past.) has this the choice to make when buying their goods

Lets say I want the latest Three Days Grace Album http://stateinthereal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/TransitOfVenusTDG.jpg

I could either A. Buy it at the local record store or Best buy or FYE or Walmart/Kmart/target. Which is going for 12 dollars at best buy if i was to goto the local best buy and buy this on cd in person.

or B. Goto Amazon.com and buy it for a dime cheaper on cd....
Or i could buy it for 8 bucks in MP3 format. (or 11 dollars if i absolutely needed that booklet)

Or C. Itunes which is 8 bucks as well.

What would you prefer?

Not only that. But now we have services where you can listen to most albums for free without the government knocking on your door for violations thanks to services like Spotify.
and free streaming radio which we can have on our mobile devices such as Pandora.

Its the same scenario with movies and games and everything else in this world.

As i said before.. Times are changing and I think we are standing on some very shakey grounds in hopes to accept these changes. Lots of what ifs to answer.

Like what does this mean for brick and mortar stores outside of course fashion and grocery (well unless they create a simulation that will simulate yourself with said article of clothing on...).. And then in turn what will happen to our economy then. think of the millions of hard working americans let alone the possible billion or so world wide residents that will be told they no longer have a job because the internet took it in the retail business. The only thing that will survive is factories producing the product and the development studios developing media (websites, movies, games, music, tv, stuff like that) and the warehouses storing product (like what amazon uses to house its product that it sends out to everyone).

And if this tanks the economy to levels I think we can't even begin to comprehend. What will that mean for us as human race. Will everything collapse on itself and hit reset. Or could this bring catastrophic destruction? Who knows. I feel this is only the beginning. And i for one will tread lightly from here on out in life till I know the coast is clear

Another thing I think that should be discussed in something like this..
I will admit its extremely stupid to talk about but I have some valid points to make to give you guys some wonder.

You guys seen the movie Wall-e right? Wonderful disney-pixar collab film about a robot left on earth after the fall of civialization and finds a possible friend or love after being visited by a female bot sent to earth to check the hazard levels of earth and to see if life can once again be established on the planet.

Wall-e finds his way aboard the space that contains the last remaining human beings of earth that been living on this thing in hopes that one day they can return to the planet and flourish life again.

First thing he notices is how everyone is super fat and constantly riding around on these power chairs that take them to where ever and they all are absorbed into the technical devices attached to said chairs. Never really making any contact to other fellow humans really.

Will this become us as our technology advances so much that it becomes our every day life commodity.

Remember how back in the 90s or before you goto a party its a social event everyone chilling hanging out and all that jazz.

Now a days its become more so something like this in a way and getting worse. http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4093/4775306449_9f38a60664.jpg Everyones staring down at their smart devices surfing the net texting playing games ect ect. Not a whole lot of physical socializing. I mean I even catch myself doing it from time to time at friends parties.

[Collector_Gaming]

I am sorry for the long post but I am a person with a ton of questions about the future in our economy and business and its practices and how it effects our lives as human beings. Because ya know we can't have a entire company get wiped out and let go 10 thousand employees and think everything is gonna be just fine.

We can't assume as we grow more and more reliant on our devices to provide everything for us in day to day living and expect life will go on as it has before without missing a step.

[retroguy]

Aside from it just being a good story in and of itself, I think Pixar made WALL-E as a warning. They were trying to tell people exactly what you just said. It's sad that no one is really listening. As for myself, aside from computer software (which I've done exactly once), I never pay for digital downloads of anything. If I can't purchase a physical copy, I either don't get it or I find someplace to download it for free. And whenever possible, I make a point of going to brick and mortar stores to buy what I'm looking for. I refuse to contribute to the digitization of our culture any more than I absolutely have to.

[Griking]

As soon as I found out about this through my cousin


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IojziWjEr_4

I thought yep.... Gaming as we know is screwed... Good bye regular consoles.... Good bye physical media....

Meaning your IOS and android device is capiable of running a full 3d rendered sandbox style game. I mean granted the graphics are old The game was made 10 years ago.. But still I can play this on my cell phone and not give a shit. Its gotta make nintendo and sony cringe about their portables a bit to know that cell phones and tablets are basically knocking on their door wanting to join the party.


I've been saying for a few years now that Nintendo is in trouble. not that many people want to carry both a portable gaming system AND a cell phone with them. Especially when one of them can do both. Now, if Nintendo were smart they would design a Nintendo smart phone of their own that's essentially a DS in a phone. (Actually, if they were smart they would have done this a few years ago now.) And I don't mean a hand held that can make calls, I mean an actually smart phone that can play DS games.

[Griking]

I don't care what the marketers say, cell phones are NOT game consoles and NEVER WILL BE and trying to convince people that they are is idiotic in the extreme. Before I quit reading, I could tell the EGM reviewers thought so too and were faking their enthusiasm for the Iphone games they reviewed because they were obligated to. I felt kind of sorry for them.

Now I'm perfectly willing to accept that phones and tablets can coexist alongside real gaming machines, but the day they replace them is the day I abandon gaming forever and stick to retro stuff only.

I think that you're missing the point though. As I said earlier, most casual gamers don't want to carry two devices with them. A hardcore gamer may but a casual gamer will generally be just as happy playing a casual game on their phone while they're on the bus or waiting for something. People on the go didn't have an option before. Now they do. And besides, its not like Apple or Samsung are claiming that their phones are game consoles or marketing them that way. People just know that they can do games.

[danawhitaker]

I've been saying for a few years now that Nintendo is in trouble. not that many people want to carry both a portable gaming system AND a cell phone with them. Especially when one of them can do both. Now, if Nintendo were smart they would design a Nintendo smart phone of their own that's essentially a DS in a phone. (Actually, if they were smart they would have done this a few years ago now.) And I don't mean a hand held that can make calls, I mean an actually smart phone that can play DS games.

My daughter's the 3DS owner in my household. She's seven. There's a snowball's chance in Hades I'd hand over a cell phone for her to use in lieu of a handheld gaming device. She doesn't need a phone. I don't want her to have a phone at this age. She has an iPod Touch, which can do all of the things pretty much that an iPhone can do, without a 2 year contract and data plan.

Plus, as an adult, I'd rather have a separate device for gaming. If my cell phone rings, I don't want my game auto-pausing so I have to stop and answer a call. If Nintendo makes a device that doubles as a cell phone, they'll have to market it primarily toward adults, and I'm sure it would be stuck into some contract with a cell provider everyone would loathe (or at least that some budget-conscious people like myself would loathe).

Don't get me wrong, I play my daughter's 3DS. But I don't have or want a smartphone right now because I can't justify $50+ a month for the calling and required data plan. Plus look at the n-gage picture above. That thing is an abomination. It doesn't do either function well. Where would you stick all the buttons that are on a 3DS on a smartphone and have it still be comfortable to use as a phone too? If you make all the game controls rely on the touchscreen then you're going to end up severely limit game options because not all types of games are conducive to that control setup.

I do not want my gaming world and non-gaming device world to merge - not to that degree. I don't think it's inevitable. Sure, some consoles have some overlap with PC functions or other home entertainment functions, but in the end, my 360 is designed to play 360 games.

And to the person who asked about digital vs. physical media, I know my choice, 9 out of 10 times I'm going to buy a physical copy of a game. I've only had a few exceptions, and those were because I didn't want to stand in line at midnight launches for World of Warcraft expansions but I wanted to be able to play with my friends immediately when the servers went live. In the end, I decided I trusted Blizzard enough to pay for a digital copy. I still don't trust a lot of other companies to handle digital products well. I don't want to risk losing my entire collection of games that way. I refuse to buy a game for a console or handheld that's digital-only. If you can't be bothered to put it out on physical media, it's not worth ponying up for (for me).

A lot of people are also stuck with broadband connections that have monthly data caps, or worse, live on college campuses where they're prohibited from connecting any device but a computer to the network (my former school has a very strict policy about this, they do not allow game consoles to be connected at all, not even through a router). Ultimately, the first console or handheld that makes a switch to all digital will be the first console or handheld I don't even consider purchasing. I'm already sick of the PP (perpetual purchase) model. I'd rather dig out my SNES and play one of my old games rather than buy it again from Nintendo's eShop.

[Griking]

My daughter's the 3DS owner in my household. She's seven. There's a snowball's chance in Hades I'd hand over a cell phone for her to use in lieu of a handheld gaming device. She doesn't need a phone. I don't want her to have a phone at this age. She has an iPod Touch, which can do all of the things pretty much that an iPhone can do, without a 2 year contract and data plan.

Plus, as an adult, I'd rather have a separate device for gaming. If my cell phone rings, I don't want my game auto-pausing so I have to stop and answer a call. If Nintendo makes a device that doubles as a cell phone, they'll have to market it primarily toward adults, and I'm sure it would be stuck into some contract with a cell provider everyone would loathe (or at least that some budget-conscious people like myself would loathe).

Well as I said earlier, there's still a (shrinking) audience out there who prefers to carry two devices with them. A Nintendo phone wouldn't be for everyone but Nintendo can't just ignore the fact that more and more people don't bother with portable game devices because they can just game on their phone.



I do not want my gaming world and non-gaming device world to merge - not to that degree. I don't think it's inevitable. Sure, some consoles have some overlap with PC functions or other home entertainment functions, but in the end, my 360 is designed to play 360 games.

Unfortunately it's been happening for a few years now already and shows no signs of slowing down.

[Flashback2012]

Good I hope gamestop closes. Maybe then they would actually make an effort to retain customers. Quit gutting games and hire knowledgeable employees, overall be consistent. Why do some people have one gamestop they go to because all the others are bad or had bad experiences?


I too hope Gamestop goes out of business.

Try not to interpret this as an attack but are either of you employed full time? Both of you strike me as younger and more impulsive with your opinions; the type that "shoot first and ask questions later." I know firsthand how crappy GS is because I worked for them for just shy of 10 years but their poor service/practices/polices notwithstanding, how is it ever a good thing for a company that has 4.7-6.6K locations worldwide and employs between 17-20K people to go belly up? Regardless of what the politicians and pundits say, to me it feels like we're still one foot in the water regarding a recession. There's like 3M+ currently on unemployment and I read another 38K first time claims were reported just this past week so who in their right mind would want that number to grow bigger? :?

Hostess employed roughly the same number of people and for the most part their brand was revered by many; should we ask their workforce of approx. 18K-ish people how they feel about being now unemployed? :|

[Greg2600]

I think that you're missing the point though. As I said earlier, most casual gamers don't want to carry two devices with them. A hardcore gamer may but a casual gamer will generally be just as happy playing a casual game on their phone while they're on the bus or waiting for something. People on the go didn't have an option before. Now they do. And besides, its not like Apple or Samsung are claiming that their phones are game consoles or marketing them that way. People just know that they can do games.

Gamestop didn't get that large by casual gamers. Whether it's a 10 year old kid or a 30 year old, if you play several hours a week or more, you're hardcore. Casual gamers are people who like playing simplistic facebook games or Solitaire. They never shopped much at Gamestop. Digital media won't work unless it's client-server, where you don't have to download a ton of data. I could be wrong, but I don't think you can get the performance/graphics of the current games in that scenario.

[danawhitaker]

Gamestop didn't get that large by casual gamers. Whether it's a 10 year old kid or a 30 year old, if you play several hours a week or more, you're hardcore. Casual gamers are people who like playing simplistic facebook games or Solitaire. They never shopped much at Gamestop. Digital media won't work unless it's client-server, where you don't have to download a ton of data. I could be wrong, but I don't think you can get the performance/graphics of the current games in that scenario.

Exactly. I don't know many "casual" gamers who game on anything other than an iOS/Android device or a PC. They game because a device they use happens to have gaming capabilities - they don't go out and buy devices that are dedicated to gaming, and they generally don't custom build their PC with gaming in mind. I don't know any casual gamers (and by casual, I mean the Angry Birds/solitaire-playing types of people, not casual as in "I don't have a lot of time to play") who go out and buy anything like a 3DS or Vita or a console of any kind.

I've been down this road with the "casual" gamer distinction in World of Warcraft. Casual gets applied to people who don't have a lot of time to spend on the game, implying they're just inherently worse than other gamers or don't have their priorities straight when it comes to their hobbies. I think that's an incorrect application of the term. I believe the term casual should be applied more to gamers who don't really invest (time-wise or monetarily) in games the same way almost anyone posting on this forum does. Heck, even though I cited Angry Birds above, I have the 360 version, and I've probably put about 30-40 hours into it already. That's considerably more time than anyone who downloads it to their iPhone and fiddles around with it while they're waiting to pick their kid up from school or on the commute to work, etc.

Can anyone here honestly say that they've shifted their gaming from consoles and handhelds to their phone now that smartphones are so prevalent? I'd find that hard to believe. What's happened instead is that the gaming industry has picked up an entirely new group of players that was sort of left out before. I guess the only scenario I can see someone viably saying that is if they shun all modern consoles and play a lot of older emulator type stuff. That's not to say there's no overlap between those groups - I play games on my daughter's iPod when I'm bored and she's not using it too - but I'd never consider it a replacement for the 3DS or 360 or Wii U or even my older consoles.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Can anyone here honestly say that they've shifted their gaming from consoles and handhelds to their phone now that smartphones are so prevalent? I'd find that hard to believe.

Believe it.

Gamer of 30+ years. Collector, enthusiast, historian, very easily categorized as "hardcore".

I play all manner of mobile games daily without fail, probably only fire up the consoles a few times a week and pick up the Vita and 3DS once a week, sometimes less.

The phone is with me all day long wherever I go all day long. The consoles and portables are not.

While there is a strong concentration of gaming traditionalists rallying against the concept and spreading the gospel of anti-moblie gaming every chance that they get, I'm not some kind of bizarre outlier.

Logic and reason states that if the install rate of mobile gamers is in the millions that you're going to get a high percentage of core gamers exposed to it and a portion of that percentage that doesn't have any kind of "too cool for school" turned-up nose at the prospect of enjoying mobile gaming alongside any and all other aspects of the world of gaming that they love.

[Ryudo]

Great!

[GhostDog]

Why would anyone be sad that Gamestop is closing considering you can get anything online for cheaper? eBay, newegg and Amazon are your friends.

[Niku-Sama]

i'm hoping one of our gamestop locations close, its become corrupt any way

[Gameguy]

Try not to interpret this as an attack but are either of you employed full time? Both of you strike me as younger and more impulsive with your opinions; the type that "shoot first and ask questions later." I know firsthand how crappy GS is because I worked for them for just shy of 10 years but their poor service/practices/polices notwithstanding, how is it ever a good thing for a company that has 4.7-6.6K locations worldwide and employs between 17-20K people to go belly up? Regardless of what the politicians and pundits say, to me it feels like we're still one foot in the water regarding a recession. There's like 3M+ currently on unemployment and I read another 38K first time claims were reported just this past week so who in their right mind would want that number to grow bigger? :?

Hostess employed roughly the same number of people and for the most part their brand was revered by many; should we ask their workforce of approx. 18K-ish people how they feel about being now unemployed? :|
If Gamestop goes under it would just allow other opportunities for new businesses to take it's place. Maybe we'll see a rise of independent stores again since most of the previous existing ones were forced out due to Gamestop's competition. Plenty of big businesses go under when they become redundant or make poor decisions, not just recently due to the current economy problems. Plus there's no localized culture anymore, why travel anywhere when it's all the same? You can travel across the country to see what's there, you can visit their Walmart or Target, eat at their McDonalds or Starbucks, all of which have practically identical product to any other location. What's worse now is that most of the big box stores carry the same products as their competitors, all that varies is the pricing between them. It's pretty boring shopping in new stores, at least shopping in used stores the items carried vary and change all the time. Nowadays I'd rather visit a thrift store or flea market than a shopping mall. I know Gamestop carries used goods which can vary, but current consoles don't really interest me so I don't see much point to visit these stores too often anyway.

That being said I don't think Gamestop will go out of business so soon, cutting back some locations doesn't mean they're about to go under.


Aside from it just being a good story in and of itself, I think Pixar made WALL-E as a warning. They were trying to tell people exactly what you just said.
While I liked the movie it was pretty hypocritical. They showed everyone being bombarded with advertising and propaganda promoting a giant corporation as their best friend, all part of cold big business. How do the makers of WALL-E choose to spread their warning of consumerism? They commercialize the movie as much as possible, creating as much merchandise as they can(including licensed video games) and integrating the characters into theme parks. They made the movie to make money, not just to tell a good story.

[Robocop2]

Really for current gen used stuff they get a lot of my business as they are one of the only gigs in town. If the game in question looks spotty when I got check out, I tell them no thanks and leave. If the case looks crappy I don't even make it to the register. Reall I used to go to them for the pre orders but in recent times I've switched to Amazon. Hard to beat their offers and release day delivery gurantee. Fr example I had Dead Space 3 on pre order. It dropped to 57.00 at one point and now I get it for 3 bucks less PLUS 20.00 in store credit as that is the extra incentive now. GameStop would never do that. Really other than Amazon most of my game buying is from Best Buy for the reward points mainly. I don't wish to see any business lose stores as that does put people out of work but the company and the spotty customer service are things all industries face.

I have had far more good experiences in GameStop than a lot seem to have so my opinion is colored with that. But still price wise amazon is hard to beat.

[Griking]

Gamestop didn't get that large by casual gamers. Whether it's a 10 year old kid or a 30 year old, if you play several hours a week or more, you're hardcore. Casual gamers are people who like playing simplistic facebook games or Solitaire. They never shopped much at Gamestop. Digital media won't work unless it's client-server, where you don't have to download a ton of data. I could be wrong, but I don't think you can get the performance/graphics of the current games in that scenario.

If you're correct then I suppose we'll be seeing Gamestop and Nintendo DS sales continue to thrive over the years then.

[Greg2600]

I take no responsibility for the business of Gamestop! They have issues beyond the existence of consoles. If you mean 3DS, I would agree with Frankie that I think their time has come and gone. With TV's that can accept tablet data, the tablet can run the game, while you play on the TV using the tab screen touch or bluetooth controller. And there, you have a console. I would argue that powerful enough tablets, TV's like I describe, etc., do not have enough homes to eliminate the need for consoles quite yet. I mean, can an iPad run 1080p graphics that you get on 360/PS3?

[8-bitNesMan]

Actually the new iPads are capable of 1080p. Most 360 and PS3 games have a 720p resolution. I can't think of any 360 games that have a higher than 720p native resolution and very few PS3 titles that do.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Don't misunderstand my position, I'm sure that GameStop will subsist just fine, and I also don't see consoles and portables going away anytime soon (nor do I want to see that), but I do see a gaming landscape undeniably altered by new platforms.

The status quo has been shaken up and the traditions have been disrupted.

But, this is a good thing. People who follow iOS and Android game development know that there hasn't been this volume and quality of creative independent game design/publication since the 8 bit computer era.

I'm all for a landscape that supports and enables that, even if it causes some fallout in the bigger commercial avenues.

[Ryudo]

I've been saying for a few years now that Nintendo is in trouble. not that many people want to carry both a portable gaming system AND a cell phone with them. Especially when one of them can do both. Now, if Nintendo were smart they would design a Nintendo smart phone of their own that's essentially a DS in a phone. (Actually, if they were smart they would have done this a few years ago now.) And I don't mean a hand held that can make calls, I mean an actually smart phone that can play DS games.

Yet 3DS sales are outpacing the DS which was the second highest selling system of all time by a very slim margin

[The Adventurer]

I've been saying for a few years now that Nintendo is in trouble. not that many people want to carry both a portable gaming system AND a cell phone with them. Especially when one of them can do both. Now, if Nintendo were smart they would design a Nintendo smart phone of their own that's essentially a DS in a phone. (Actually, if they were smart they would have done this a few years ago now.) And I don't mean a hand held that can make calls, I mean an actually smart phone that can play DS games.

I know that personally I just bought a 3DS specifically because I as unsatisfied with the gaming experience my iPhone and my iPad provided. Turns out buttons and directional pads/sticks are still pretty nice in their tactile feedback. Where touch screen mobile devices just can't replicate.

[DreamTR]

As stated in earlier in the thread GameStop is mostly unprofitable mall stores because, well, permanent leasing locations for malls are very expensive. It's cheaper per square foot to be outside of a mall. The name itself is all the traffic they need....

So based on that, a lot of people in the thread are taking stabs at things that have nothing to do with the actual situation at hand.

This is nothing new, we lost two mall GameStops here in the past 2-3 years just in my area and that's specifically because of high rent. A lot of the 5-7-10 year leases are up right now.

[JSoup]

How do the makers of WALL-E choose to spread their warning of consumerism? They commercialize the movie as much as possible

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/jelly_soup/Thats_the_joke.jpg

[Griking]

Yet 3DS sales are outpacing the DS which was the second highest selling system of all time by a very slim margin

Nintendo also had to drop the price of the 3DS only a few months after it's launch to accomplish this.

I'm not suggesting that phones can do anything that dedicated portables can do but at this stage they seem to be able to do enough to satisfy a lot of people and they're still getting more and more advanced.