With the ability to digitally download games, stores like GameStop are struggling.
[dropcap size=small]I[/dropcap]t used to be a social norm where you would rush to GameStop or Best Buy at midnight to get your hands on the newest edition of Call of Duty. I remember slamming multiple cans of Mountain Dew as my friends and I waited in line, talking about how we were going to “pwn noobs”. Nonetheless, these days it doesn’t happen as often. Sure, you can still do the same thing, but not many people attend these midnight releases compared to those in the past. So why is this? Two words: digital downloads.
Right now GameStop has a total of 6,614 stores that are in full operation. Of these 6,614 GameStop stores there are 4,434 located in the United States alone and 1, 424 in Europe. Judging from these numbers it seems like GameStop is doing pretty well. However, don’t let the amount of stores that GameStop has fool you into thinking that the video game retailer is doing just fine. In a recent interview with National Public Radio the CEO of GameStop, J. Paul Raines, told the radio station that GameStop stores were struggling due to the increasingly popularity of digitally downloading games.
If you own a Playstation 4 or an Xbox One then chances are that you have probably digitally downloaded a game at some point in the past. Why wouldn’t you? It’s much easier than driving half way across town to wait in line for the game you want. Plus, buying a game online means you don’t have to put on pants and no one likes to wear pants.
So how does GameStop combat something like this? For starters, GameStop has been working with many companies and developers to bring its customers special, limited editions of video games. These limited editions some times come with special gear, posters, apparel and figurines. This entices people who originally would rather wait at home to buy a game online to come to GameStop. In doing so, GameStop has more customers and the developers make more money.
In retrospect it seems like there are many simple pros and cons to either buying a digital copy of a game or a physical copy. Be that as it may, there is one option that a physical copy of a video game offers that a digital version does not. You can sell your physical version to a friend, at GameSpot or even on Amazon, but you can’t sell your digital copy. Right now, there are no industry-supported methods for reselling digital games. Once you buy the game you own it forever.
There is pressure mounting from both gamers and developers for Sony and Microsoft to create a system that allows you to sell your digital copy either back to Xbox Live or the Playstation Store, while proving that you haven’t retained a copy of the game. GameStop says it will have to happen, and not just for the company’s survival, but so that game publishers can continue charging the high price of $60. An analyst from BusinessWeek had this to say about the argument:
“In the unlikely event that a digital buy-sell-trade marketplace is agreed upon, the publishers will likely opt for the PlayStation Store and the Xbox Games Store to cut out the retail margin that GameStop enjoys”
Personally, I support the idea of the ability to sell a digital copy of a game that you own. Will it happen some time soon? Not likely, and if it does you probably won’t receive as much money back as you would if you sold a physical copy at GameStop. It’s a delicate situation in the video game world where the industry itself is valued at over $80 billion. But if history is any indicator than that means the age of digital copies are soon to be upon us and soon enough, video game retailers like GameStop may cease to exist.
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