Because we all know that a "better game" and "a game that people will buy" are the same thing. It's well known that "Deer Hunter" is one of the best games ever made.
"we argue that every element of commercial game design should be prefaced with the phrase 'With Respect to the Target Market.'"
YES! This is exactly how great art has always been made.
The customer you want in a small retail environment pays cash, is not price sensitive and would not think to waste his/her time lugging around old used games. You want a customer who values the intangible benefits you can supply as an independent store. And by "values" I mean "is willing to pay extra for".
1st, in the long term - Jerf is right, if you can find a buyer get your capitol outta brick and mortar game sales - it's a mugs game.
But there are some things you could do now that might help if you (and I mean you, not that perfect manager everybody thinks they can hire to do all the work - he/she doesn't exist) are willing to put in 80 hour weeks for . . . well forever, you might be able to pull a pretty good living out of three stores. If you want a turnkey business get your money out and buy a MacDonald's.
The first rule of retail is MAKE MONEY ON EVERY TRANSACTION. When you buy these worthless games you are giving money away, even if it's just store credit. So stop it, right now. The customer who brings in a stack of worthless games to trade for a new one is not the customer you want. So take some steps to gently discourage this kind of behavior
To whit -
Buy only games you can sell in 30 days. Ten cents for a game you can't sell is ten cents closer to chapter 11. So when that kid comes in with the huge stack, buy the Doom 3 and send him home with the rest of them.
Restrict the employees who are authorized to buy used games. Preferably to you and perhaps a single manager only. Letting Min wage clerks buy is inviting them - and their friends - to rip you off. Even a basically honest person will take advantage if invited.
Restrict the times when used games can be brought in. Again preferably to when you or your trusted manager can be there and will have time to deal with them. Use this to drive additional traffic to an otherwise slow weekday.
Do this, and pay realistic prices (one third or less than your selling price) and you'll stop hemorrhaging money.
Next - Fix the used games section.
If your used game section is typical of such things it's a bunch of random games in a bin or tossed onto shelves constantly pawed over by cheap gamers (like me). Get your staff (they will hate this but that's while it's called work) to pull them all off the shelf and reshelve them, attractively IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. Used games are your stock just as much as new ones, they should be presented with just as much care - more, in fact, because your profit margin on used games can be much higher. Make one employee responsible for keeping up the section.
While your doing this weed out all that dead wood (copies of Madden 2000, MOO 3, etc) and throw them in a bin at $5 each, 3 for $10, 8 for twenty. The idea is to get them out of the store. After 30 days cut the prices in half, after 60 throw them the hell away.
In general you have no wiggle room on new games and console sales; your profit margin there is always going to be thin.
You MUST find other business to be in - high dollar collector retro equipment games scour the flea markets, buy low and sell into the collector market - maybe online, for top dollar. Sell books, not just hint guides but game related novels - maybe general science fiction, fantasy - comic books. DVDs. Again properly managed used sales can have a higher profit margin than new, again - don't buy junk.
Arbitrage - right now Xbox 360's are selling for %50 above retail on eBay - there is money there for you had you been prepared to go after it.
Remember the only way to grow your business is by making more money. All the above suggestions that entail giving things away - or buying and maintaining a bunch of demo units and letting people play them - are just fancy ways of giving money away. That sort of approach works in a high margin business - like real estate or yacht sales, not retail media sales.
Having reviews of more obscure titles is a good idea, but not by providing online access - find, print out and post online reviews near titles that could use a boost - not just once but several every week.
Well I could go on . . . anyway good luck with your stores.
One crucial problem - most all of their PPV movies are FULL SCREEN if they are serious about this they must shift to the DVD standard letterboxed format (or at least give a choice).
Of course, if they do, it would be tempting to just PVR the thing and still not pay for the DVD . . .
I just checked e-bay and there have been hundreds of P3 systems sold in the last month for $50 to $75. Most around 128 - 256 meg RAM 10 - 20 gig HD often w/keyboard and mouse. THese will run a browser and WP just fine, in fact they'll do almost anything you need except edit video or run the latest games.
William Gibson, Rudy Rucker Iain M. Banks, Steven Brust, Bruce Sterling, Robert Holdstock all amazing writers with a solid body of work behind them and arguably better writers then their compatriots of fifty years ago. Try reading "The City and the Stars" and "Player of Games" back to back and see what you think.
Slashdot Mirror
Because we all know that a "better game" and "a game that people will buy" are the same thing. It's well known that "Deer Hunter" is one of the best games ever made.
"we argue that every element of commercial game design should be prefaced with the phrase 'With Respect to the Target Market.'" YES! This is exactly how great art has always been made.
The customer you want in a small retail environment pays cash, is not price sensitive and would not think to waste his/her time lugging around old used games. You want a customer who values the intangible benefits you can supply as an independent store. And by "values" I mean "is willing to pay extra for".
forgot to hit preview. . . how embarrasking,
as Popeye would say.
1st, in the long term - Jerf is right, if you can find a buyer get your capitol outta brick and mortar game sales - it's a mugs game. But there are some things you could do now that might help if you (and I mean you, not that perfect manager everybody thinks they can hire to do all the work - he/she doesn't exist) are willing to put in 80 hour weeks for . . . well forever, you might be able to pull a pretty good living out of three stores. If you want a turnkey business get your money out and buy a MacDonald's. The first rule of retail is MAKE MONEY ON EVERY TRANSACTION. When you buy these worthless games you are giving money away, even if it's just store credit. So stop it, right now. The customer who brings in a stack of worthless games to trade for a new one is not the customer you want. So take some steps to gently discourage this kind of behavior To whit - Buy only games you can sell in 30 days. Ten cents for a game you can't sell is ten cents closer to chapter 11. So when that kid comes in with the huge stack, buy the Doom 3 and send him home with the rest of them. Restrict the employees who are authorized to buy used games. Preferably to you and perhaps a single manager only. Letting Min wage clerks buy is inviting them - and their friends - to rip you off. Even a basically honest person will take advantage if invited. Restrict the times when used games can be brought in. Again preferably to when you or your trusted manager can be there and will have time to deal with them. Use this to drive additional traffic to an otherwise slow weekday. Do this, and pay realistic prices (one third or less than your selling price) and you'll stop hemorrhaging money. Next - Fix the used games section. If your used game section is typical of such things it's a bunch of random games in a bin or tossed onto shelves constantly pawed over by cheap gamers (like me). Get your staff (they will hate this but that's while it's called work) to pull them all off the shelf and reshelve them, attractively IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. Used games are your stock just as much as new ones, they should be presented with just as much care - more, in fact, because your profit margin on used games can be much higher. Make one employee responsible for keeping up the section. While your doing this weed out all that dead wood (copies of Madden 2000, MOO 3, etc) and throw them in a bin at $5 each, 3 for $10, 8 for twenty. The idea is to get them out of the store. After 30 days cut the prices in half, after 60 throw them the hell away. In general you have no wiggle room on new games and console sales; your profit margin there is always going to be thin. You MUST find other business to be in - high dollar collector retro equipment games scour the flea markets, buy low and sell into the collector market - maybe online, for top dollar. Sell books, not just hint guides but game related novels - maybe general science fiction, fantasy - comic books. DVDs. Again properly managed used sales can have a higher profit margin than new, again - don't buy junk. Arbitrage - right now Xbox 360's are selling for %50 above retail on eBay - there is money there for you had you been prepared to go after it. Remember the only way to grow your business is by making more money. All the above suggestions that entail giving things away - or buying and maintaining a bunch of demo units and letting people play them - are just fancy ways of giving money away. That sort of approach works in a high margin business - like real estate or yacht sales, not retail media sales. Having reviews of more obscure titles is a good idea, but not by providing online access - find, print out and post online reviews near titles that could use a boost - not just once but several every week. Well I could go on . . . anyway good luck with your stores.
One crucial problem - most all of their PPV movies are FULL SCREEN if they are serious about this they must shift to the DVD standard letterboxed format (or at least give a choice). Of course, if they do, it would be tempting to just PVR the thing and still not pay for the DVD . . .
I just checked e-bay and there have been hundreds of P3 systems sold in the last month for $50 to $75. Most around 128 - 256 meg RAM 10 - 20 gig HD often w/keyboard and mouse. THese will run a browser and WP just fine, in fact they'll do almost anything you need except edit video or run the latest games.
William Gibson, Rudy Rucker Iain M. Banks, Steven Brust, Bruce Sterling, Robert Holdstock all amazing writers with a solid body of work behind them and arguably better writers then their compatriots of fifty years ago. Try reading "The City and the Stars" and "Player of Games" back to back and see what you think.