GameStop Struggling, Looking to Trade in Franchise

The world has changed. GameStop has confirmed that they’re in talks to sell to Sycamore Partners to break even on their struggling business. Ten years ago, the company was worth nearly ten billion dollars. Last year, they closed over 150 stores. What happened to the once-dominant retailer? 

Rise of Digital Sales 

The biggest blow to the retailer has certainly been the rise of high-speed broadband internet making online sales much easier. Rather than run down the street and talking to a pushy employee, gamers can just buy a game straight from the online store. While GameStop was once the destination for many looking to buy games, their fortunes changed when customer had the option to skip them altogether. It seems the convenience of having a game immediately overtook the hassle of talking to condescending GameStop employees.  

Shifting Attitudes, Local Shopping 

Mom and Pop video game stores certainly haven’t helped matter for the retailer. Gamers who prefer physical games also like supporting their local businesses. Many cities have small shops full of people the community knows and care about. GameStop, by contrast, is known for being kind of scummy and offering low trade-in values for new games. This lack of goodwill towards a faceless corporation has certainly twisted the knife for the company.  

Just Deserts for GameStop? 

While GameStop scrambles to find a buyer to save them from bankruptcy, many gamers can’t help but feel a bit vindicated. The company has made a name for itself offering comically low trade-in values for used games and often selling games at an insulting mark-up. Their reward for their anti-consumer attitude, it seems, is having no consumers at all. Here’s hoping all of GameStop’s employees make out alright in the aftermath. That said, we can’t help but wonder if GameStop won’t get less trade-in than they think is fair for their company. And, if they don’t, we certainly won’t lose any sleep over it.