Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Casual Gamers Forcing Gamestop to Rethink Store Layouts

Posted by Zonk on from the pfff-newbies dept.

The Guardian Gamesblog has up a post noting that Gamestop will be rearranging stores to meet casual gamer needs. For example, they'll be creating a section just for music games (karaoke, guitar games, etc). They'll also be putting together a 'family-friendly' area, with a focus on titles like Nintendogs, Lego Star Wars, and the like. The post is based off of an interview in The New York Times with Daniel A. DeMatteo, Gamestop's vice chairman and chief operating officer. In his mind casual games are now so important to sales that the company is having to do some 'radical retail re-thinking': "There is a real breadth of properties now appealing to a much broader audience than we've seen before. Honestly, we are having to retool the way we think of things in our stores in terms of merchandising, layout and also customer service because it is no longer only the hardcore gamer walking in who knows exactly what he wants."

10 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Hype. by Aladrin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    My local GameStop just got a new Plan-o-gram. What changed? They moved the used DVD movie rack closer to the front of the store. -yawn-

    This isn't news, it's an advertisement.

    --
    "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
  2. I hope that means other changes by heinousjay · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Does that mean that I can actually buy a game or two there without them hounding me about reservations? If so, I might rescind my personal boycott.

    --
    Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
    1. Re:I hope that means other changes by StarvingSE · · Score: 2, Insightful

      My personal boycott is due to their overly high prices on used games. I am not a big console gamer, but enjoy the occasional ps2 title. I go in and still find titles 3+ years old selling for more than $20 used. Seems a bit ridiculous to me, seeing that if one were to try to sell said games to gamestop they'd get about $5.00 for it.

      --
      I got nothin'
    2. Re:I hope that means other changes by Fozzyuw · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I go in and still find titles 3+ years old selling for more than $20 used. Seems a bit ridiculous to me, seeing that if one were to try to sell said games to gamestop they'd get about $5.00 for it.

      Supply/Demand and the business model.

      Supply and Demand

      I can walk into a Gamestop and buy a used PS2 game for $3 or for $80+. It depends on the game. No joke. Buy a copy of Madden Football [year-2] (aka it's 2008, get 2006) or a professional wrestling game and it'll probably be $3. Conversely, just the other day I found Marvel vs Capcom 2 for the PS2 for $79.99, no box slip, no manual, etc. Why? Because you cannot find MvC2 or games like some "Baulders Gate" or "Champions of Norrath", etc High Demand, Low Supply. It's economics, you cannot fault them for that.

      Business Model

      Used games is where stores like Gamestop make their money. It's not selling consoles or new games. The games industry has very tight control over the games price and the profit garnered from each game. Suffice it to say, the margins are small. Without used games, such speciality stores probably wouldn't be able to operate.

      Use it to your advantage

      Is it disappointing to see used games sell for $45 when the new game is $50? Sure. Then buy the new version (or save yourself $5, because, hey, it's $5. That's 1-2 beers at a bar.) Not happy that they'll only give you $0.50 or $3 for your 3 year old game? Then sell it on Ebay, in classified ads, or many other options. Reselling video games are not an exclusive right to Gamestop.

      I understand how Everyone wants something for nothing, but I'm willing to see a service for what it's worth. It cleans to my house and I take full advantage of promotions that are always running that sometimes net me the same or more money for trade-ins than I paid for it. I can also maximize it to cost less than renting new games. At least, console games can be traded in, unlike PC games.

      Sometimes we luck out and get a great game for real cheap, other times we're out of luck when you really want to get Marvel vs Capcom 2 but have to pay a premium for it, sometimes 2x or 3x what it cost (try looking up prices for Final Fantasy VII for the original Playstation and see that it goes for $50-$300, which is much lower now that the hype died down after the movie and sequel game have come and gone)

      Cheers,
      Fozzy

      --
      "The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
  3. Translation by sesshomaru · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Translation: "Now that non-geeks are playing games, we'll have to do actual customer service, instead of just throwing things onto the shelf as we had in the past."

    Maybe they can also start firing the employees who tell clueless Mom's that "Mario is coming out on the Xbox, but it is going to be a cooler version than the Gamecube with better graphics. Don't buy a Gamecube, it's lame. Nintendo is going out of business soon." (System names can be rearranged based on employee biases...)

    --
    "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
  4. Not "hardcore vs. casual" by RichPowers · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I hate those labels, but I'll save that rant for another time.

    This has to do with "informed vs. clueless" gamers. Informed gamers, the people who've been playing games for years, know that GS is run by assholes, employs assholes, and overprices its games. Informed gamers know they can get better deals online or at other retailers.

    GS is appealing to the soccer moms and new gamers who go there because of brand recognition. These people won't realize if the employee is pushing a shitty game on them or that they're paying more than they have to.

    I apologize for the elitist tone, but anyone interested in saving money and preserving their dignity shouldn't shop at GS :P

  5. Kids section at my gamestop last night by netsavior · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So my son and I (he is pre-school aged) went to the gamestop... he knows he can ask for games in the PS2, gamecube, Wii or gameboy sections and we will talk about it... Now they have a kid's section with games for all systems randomly strewn about the shelves. Which was particularly confusing to... KIDS. It just ended up Can I get this one? No that is PS3. Can I get this one? No that is Xbox.

    I mean I am sure there are families out there with every single system, but I found it particularly annoying that the new layout basically assumes you have all systems.

  6. Here's an idea for them by Homr+Zodyssey · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Maybe they should think about having more actual product on the shelves. Perhaps even games for PCs!

    I understand that these guys have limited floor-space. You can double that if you count the nearby EBGames that's owned by the same corporation, resides in the same shopping center/mall and has the exact same crap in stock.

    I am primarily a PC gamer, and I am frustrated every time I go into one of these stores by the three giant walls of empty game-boxes labeled "Coming Soon!", and the tiny half-rack 3-year-old PC games (still at full price). I take a short walk to the other store, and find that they have the exact same selection.

  7. Re:you might have to show the kid how to read by netsavior · · Score: 4, Insightful

    the kid in question is 2.5 years old

  8. Re:you might have to show the kid how to read by Homr+Zodyssey · · Score: 1, Insightful

    If you are letting your kids get to school without teaching them how to read you are failing them.

    Why don't you log in and say that, you AC Troll. When you do it, be sure and let us know how many children you've raised.