Gamestop admits defeat?

[Firewind]

Source

GameStop Admits Defeat, Starts Selling Steam Vouchers

A GameStop source has told Kotaku that, given the relative failure of the company's push into online PC sales via its purchase of Impulse, it's now trying something a little more practical. Namely, selling Steam vouchers in its bricks-and-mortar stores.
After all, if you can't beat 'em, skim a little of their money off the top instead.
The vouchers will apparently go on sale on May 15, and are reportedly a "kind of a sensitive issue" between GameStop and Valve owing to the fact it's an awkward way for either party to be making money.
We've contacted Valve to confirm, and will update if we hear back.

If only GAME had the common sense to do something li-

I nearly finished that with a straight face. GAME? Make a good business decision?

[cidbahamut]

Re: Gamestop admits defeat?

Took them long enough. Now if we could just get EA to follow suit...

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Gamestop admits defeat?

GS's push into digital and tablets has been a wreck, however more digital vochers moving into retail is a good thing. I do actually like not having to use a credit or debit card if I don't have to.

[Feba]

Re: Gamestop admits defeat?

digital vouchers exist to be bought up in huge quantities in discount sales/using coupons/gift cards obtained through some other means.


Or in other words, even deeper Steam discounts!

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Gamestop admits defeat?

Yeah, there's that as well. Which is why I roll my eyes at people that scoff digital sales in retail. Yes, it does mean you have to leave the house, but until publishers and retailers can transition fully into digital and we have full high speed Internet penetration (to say nothing of reasonable bandwidth cost/no caps) physical retail for games will have a place.

Steam vouchers is an acceptance of this reality as much as GS realizing they just can't compete with Steam,

[Taskmage]

Re: Gamestop admits defeat?

I hope I never become mature enough that I can't laugh at "full high speed internet penetration"

[Firewind]

Re: Gamestop admits defeat?

Honestly, it's nice to see something positive actually happening with game retailers (even if it is meh news in general_. I think everyone knows my contempt for the retailer in general but regardless, than GAME went into administration, a lot of people lost their jobs. Pretty much all of them were the store workers too and not the corporate guys who were making the idiotic decisions.

I'll give you some examples:

They owed a Ridiculous amount in rent. Purely their own fault. They seemed to lack any sort of common sense with placing stores. In Stoke, my hometown alone there are a stupid number GAME stores less than an hour's drive away plus 3 GAME stores in Stoke itself (two being right next to each other) and one Gamestation (also owed by GAME.

Where are these stores? They are all clustered in the same areas of course! Stafford, Cannock, Lichfield, Wolverhampton and Walsall are all ridiculously close and have stores. Derby is not that far away. Then you have stored in Stockport, Warrington, Manchester, Trafford (basically Manchester), Bolton, another in Manchester I probably missed, a GAME and Gamestation next to each other in Chester, same in Wrexham. Add in at least one Gamestation for each store added.

They also were pretty idiotic with how they used space. They constantly stripped back displays and shelf space to the point where it looked like an Apple Store? Why? Not a clue! Oh they always had games in the back but seriously if you're going to not display them then what is the point? It seemed that they always cleared out new games to display second hand games and budget games as well.

Pricing was another major thing. At the GAME stores in my hometown, prices of even second hand games were not that much cheaper than what they wanted for brand new games. I could easily go to somewhere like HMV, Cex or Amazon and get a brand new game for far, far less. On the subject of Amazon, both GAME and HMV have been doing nothing to compete with them. Both are utterly incompetent and don't care if you pay for next day delivery. Amazon Prime will have a game on my doorstep the next day without fail. With HMV or GAME, I can order a game and it might turn up the next day . Usually it will come 3 days late and they will refuse to refund the extra next day delivery charges I paid for.