• 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 @pawb.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    57 minutes ago

    They honestly could just become a merch store and only carry plushies, shirts, other nick-nacks and hardware. The one nearest me is already pretty much just an authorized dealer of FuncoPop garbage as is. I’d be more inclined to visit if they carried other general video game related stuff so I wouldn’t have to wait for shipping.

    • finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      48 minutes ago

      Do people go to gamestop specifically to buy merch, though? I always thought that that was intended like candy in the check-out aisle: you grab it because it catches your eye on the way out, after you’ve already collected whatever you actually came in for.

  • But_my_mom_says_im_cool
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 hour ago

    I mean I can’t remember the last time I purchased a games let alone at GameStop, that place is for stocking stuffers, random merch, and maybe a used controller.

    • tempest@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 hour ago

      I used to buy switch games from there because I don’t trust Nintendo not to do stupid shit with digital purchases or turn off their store.

      Now that switch games are just key carts I’m not sure I’ll be back in

      • Dzheyk@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        11 minutes ago

        Literally why the only game carts I buy are any with the game still physically on it, like Mario Kart, Party, and Xenoblade

  • Ledivin
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    82
    ·
    5 hours ago

    “Software, it mattered in the past. Software today makes up less than 12% of the business, and collectables makes up over half the business. So, it’s totally, totally irrelevant.”

    12% of your business is no way anywhere near “irrelevant.”

    • Trex202
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      18
      ·
      3 hours ago

      The 12% is the reason people come and buy the other 88%

      Nintendo sells more in merch than in software, they should stop too

    • halcyoncmdr@piefed.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      20
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      3 hours ago

      It depends on what that 12% is.

      Is it revenue, or is it profit? And does that Include both new and used games?

      New games have a very small profit margin compared to used games and merch.

      • lemmyman
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        2 hours ago

        Fair but it seems like if you’re trying to minimize the importance of something you would choose the metric that shows how minimally important it is.

        If it’s 12% of revenue but 1% of profit wouldn’t you say it’s “1%” instead of “12%”?

      • Manticore@lemmy.nz
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        3 hours ago

        Might even mean 12% of business transactions/goods sold. The profit margins, customer retention, market stability, minimal losses etc might be in other goods favour.

        Given how many codes/games/etc a store might order that do not sell (losses to account for), games are much less ‘shelf stable’ compared to a plushie of a pokemon first shown on TV 25 years ago. Digital codes and registering also make any return/exchange obligations a bigger loss.

        I think there’s several reasons a company might see games as a high-risk good when compared to collectibles.

        I just wish they hadn’t destroyed ThinkGeek…

    • hemmes
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      2 hours ago

      They’re not going to stop selling games, it’s just gonna be code cards now. They’ll still work out deals with the publishers for exclusive sales, and of course they’re still going to be selling consoles and handhelds.

      • Wispy2891
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        26 minutes ago

        It’s going to be irrelevant, why bothering going in a physical store and get bombarded with upsells to get a GS+ subscription for getting just a download code that can be downloaded from your couch?

        Download codes are the reason the PC section in all game stores is missing or extremely tiny

    • AeronMelon
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      25
      ·
      4 hours ago

      I’m honestly surprised they haven’t merged with Hot Topic.

      • Peffse
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        17
        ·
        3 hours ago

        They did buy out ThinkGeek, so… very close.

        • tempest@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 hour ago

          So that’s where that went.

          I never bought anything but it was fun seeing the items

        • Manticore@lemmy.nz
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          14
          ·
          3 hours ago

          😭 🥀 God I wish I had gotten more of those novelty homewares while I still could. I’m an adult, I accept I need a laundry basket… but nobody else would’ve sold me a collapsible radioactive waste barrel.

          I enjoyed the ‘bloody handprint’ shower curtain, but by the time I had enough money to get such items as yhr matching bloody-footprint bathmat with intention, ThG was gone for good.

        • jqubed
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          2 hours ago

          GameStop beat out Hot Topic in bidding for ThinkGreek, with a winning bid of $20/share compared to Hot Topic’s bid of $17.50

  • foggy
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    28
    ·
    4 hours ago

    Used games account for over 20% of their revenue.

    This information is publicly available as they are publicly traded.

    This claim is a an insult to the average readers intelligence.

  • gedaliyah
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    28
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    5 hours ago

    No worries, our plan is just to become to games what Hot Topic is to music.

      • 0li0li
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        3 hours ago

        Where’s that from again? Somehow I hear Will Arnett saying that.

        • SatyrSack@quokk.au
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          57 minutes ago

          That quote is from the Simpsons, though Will Arnett’s character had nothing to do with that episode

          30 Rock had a similar bit. And again, Will Arnett guest starred in that show, but not in that episode at all.

          DOTCOM: Hey, Tray! We just picked up your birthday party invitations from the printer!
          TRACY: Wait! What is this? “Give to charity, please, no presents”?
          DOTCOM: Yeah, that’s what you told me to put on the card.
          TRACY: No, Dot Com! I said, “Give to charity? Please, no. Presents!”

        • TheRagingGeek
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          2 hours ago

          I remember seeing it from Lionel hutz in the Simpsons voiced by Phil Hartman RIP

  • Bitflip@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    3 hours ago

    Makes sense. The last 2 times I was there for a recently released game, they didn’t have any copies and berated me for not pre-ordering.

    • Peffse
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      3 hours ago

      Back when I commuted to the office, I’d stop into Gamestop pretty much daily. Got to know the manager pretty well.

      I was surprised to find out that Gamestop purchased a pre-set amount of games for new releases, and allocated based on pre-order numbers. That meant that a pre-order wasn’t even an order. Your order could be one of one, and thus the store gets nothing from the delivery. Absolute insanity.

    • UnderpantsWeevil
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      4 hours ago

      Sort of the joke with the meltdown over PS6 going all digital.

      If they hadn’t, who would be left to retail them?