GameStop Sale To Another Company Could Be Announced By Mid-February, Report Says

Good riddance. They're never seeing another one of my pennies ever again. Stole almost 18,000 reward points and $2.54 in my account from me. Didn't even have the guts to talk to me either time I contacted Customer Service.

So, ages old internet hate of GameStop aside, it still is a juggernaut in the retail video game space. Stocks have been down due to weaker than expected sales, but that doesn't mean the company is losing money. It is and has been profitable for some time. It actually outsold Walmart and Target in its own market and has the unquestioned biggest market share and name recognition in the industry. The company is fading at about the same rate the entirety of retail is fading outside of the aforementioned super stores.

As much as people complain about the trade in values and used games in general, they sell for what they need to sell for. Remember that Walmart and Best Buy both tried to break into that market and neither of them could offer any more than what GameStop did, nor could those games cost less and still be worthwhile to sell. They both basically gave up doing so very quietly. The disconnect lies in the fact that people want to pay 30-40 bucks for a used game, max. But they also want to get 30-40 bucks minimum for a newer game in trade. That's never going to work.

And then people complain about prices. Unfortunately for that complaint, games cost the same thing everywhere. Best Buy and Amazon used to give discounts on new games. They quit doing so because it's a poor business model. So we're left with sales. By and large, those sales are worked out between the retailers and the publishers. And usually, things go on sale at the exact same price, at the exact same time, at every single place. Exclusive sales are a thing retailers promote loudly because they are rare. Unless you're Amazon, they get a few more.

Digital sales are a legitimate concern. PC has already gone down that road almost exclusively. The days are not far off when console will follow. That's why they've gotten into the collectible game. You'll probably see them dip into comic books and try to increase their share in collectible card games. I think they'll try to embrace the "geek culture" label and aim to transition into a boutique niche shop. If they're smart, they'll go for community events and host card tournaments and D&D campaigns. They'll still be a token acknowledgement of games. Maybe a corner of new releases and some retro stuff. But I don't think it's a coincidence that the company that bought Hot Topic is also after GameStop.

I don't need Gamestop, with a Walmart or Amazon available, but digital is not in my future because of the lack of true broadband where I live. I can get satellite with a 10gb data wall, or as I have chosen for my family, the distant edge of DSL but at least doesn't go out in rain or snow and it has no limits to data. It can not stream or download anything worthwhile. When that new physical game has a first day update, I'm downloading for several days.

I still get Gamestop gift cards at Christmas and I still make the 45 minute trek into town to the nearest Gamestop to peruse the shelves. Yes, my Gamestop is disturbingly becoming more a "Toystop" than "Gamestop" and speaking with the associates, they themselves also are not fans of the toys but must make room. I do still like going in and talking and listening and going through titles. I have been a Power Up Rewards guy for so many years, I forget when I did sign up. Decades? I do still trade in games even at ridiculous store credit, but they were just sitting there gathering dust. So I put them to use.

I am also not alone, so for some a Gamestop is still indeed a nice thing to have. Go to Walmart for your game and the person working in that section has no banter with you about levels or things to look for in game. It's just merely a purchase and you leave. Amazon was nice when Prime got you a discount and attracted me, but that seems to have gone away. So I take the kids and we go to Gamestop.

On a side note, I find it funny that in the day of digital, my two children are in awe of shopping malls and Gamestops. They want more. They think it amazing you can go to a store dedicated to video games and toys. They never want it to end.

Thank god we have more than one Games Ahoy! shop in my town for when Gamestop is bought out!! :D :D

Apollo Management? Aren't they the ones who invented Vulture Capitalism? Kiss your 401k goodbye, it's going to some CFO's private jet. He needs a gold sink next to his golden throne.

I hope the sale goes like this

Gamestop: Hello, Amazon i would like to sell you my company its probably worth 500 Million dollars. So i will take 450.

Amazon: How about 6 dollars in store credit?

Almost seems like a no-brainer for Amazon to buy and turn into another delivery spot for products.

I haven't really got any reason to knock Gamestop. They're still one of the first retail stores worth stopping at if you're looking for a particular game, one that might not be carried by most Walmart or Target stores. I think they've done a fairly decent job of stocking random collectible things and game-related swag in the past few years, to try to counter losses from digital.

It'll be kind of a sad day if the time comes when GS stores shut down for good. That could very well spell the death of the retail video game. And with that, the death of gamers having very many places to just visit while they're out and about on their day off, and maybe have a conversation about a game with another gamer.

EA is going to buy gamestop and will change it to sell only loot boxes

What kind of business sells their "new" games in used cases and paper envelopes, and then tell you, "Oh, it's still new sir." No the hell it isn't.

No disrespect to the counter employees are just following orders. The broader business practice is what needs to go.

Do you want to set up a preorder for our inevitable collapse? Would you like to redeem your traded in Gamestop for store credit? Would you like a subscription to our Bankruptcy Filing?

Gamestop is the worst business ever. Just die already.

Just go away GameStop nobody likes you.

Nah on a serious note might be better for them to just be an online store then all the savings they make from firing everyone they can make better deals on the games and stay competitive with Amazon and other online retailers

I wish they would go away and the mom and pop shops they put out of business would come back

They really started a down slide when they took over Think Geek and the stores became Pops are us. People want games and not a ton of other junk, the store by me is about 40% junk and 60% games, most sections have been reduced/eliminated to make way for all the pops and other crud.

I agree with some of the comments below, having a nice retro section would be nice, along with pricing that meets others. Their rewards offers are not what they used to be so unless you buy a LOT of used games, it's not really worth the investment.

Good, because gamestop needs a serious overhaul. I only preorder games there. They're "new" games have been opened and the discs put in a drawer. I'm sorry, but if I'm buying a new game, you idiots better not have opened it. If you've opened it, I'm paying used price for it.

Overpriced games, terrible service, terrible selection. I go to best buy or Walmart for games now unless I'm preordering.

I just go there to get an idea of what's out, what I would be interested in. Everything there is over-priced, Customer service is laughable and their selection is rather weak. The reason people buy online (either digitally or for a hard copy) is because they can get it as a far cheaper and reasonable price. GameStop doesn't offer that.

Almost every single time without exception that I go to one of their stores I have a bad experience, from taking 20 minutes just to get checked out when it’s only 1 or 2 people in front of me , or being harassed to buy other things when I’m checking out. Customer service is the worst. Not to mention they are slow to put new games on sale compared to Bestbuy, Amazon and Walmart.

"Excuse me?! It's ma'am!!!"

When the internet, and internet providers evolved so did the ability to go digital which some years ago was forecasted to become popular in an few short years and it has become true. Heck, even some developers do not even put out hard copies now. Digital is an boon for some and question mark as well as you can DL but if there is no installer included you are stuck depending on the company. I like companies like GOG which includes the installer so I can play on all my systems.

Apollo Global Management: "Hey, GameStop, I'm interested in buying your company."

GameStop: "Would you like to sign up to our PowerUp Rewards program?"

RIP Gamestop. That top 90's store becoming the latest casualtiy of digital games killing physical copies.

Unless they start carrying games older than current gen and like one tiny shelf of 360/PS3 games, they're going to just die...no one cares about the dumb merch, no one cares about new games, everyone carries new games, Amazon will ship new games to your house...no, they need to invest in older and retro games, make it the store you go to for all your classic itches, from NES to PS3.

Honestly, when they liquidated all their PS2 games I pretty much stopped going there and switched to Ebay.

Welcome to the digital world my friends.

I miss getting my games at KB Toys, Babbage’s Etc, and EB Games...

Toys R Us all over again?