As much as I hate to admit it, Gamestop is on the brink of death. Gone are the days where were Gamestop was the only place to get the game you were looking for or for a decent sale price. After all the events that havd transpired over the last couple of weeks, it looks like Gamestop may finally be having trouble trying to stay alive.

Gamestop has recently been suffering from closings, giveaways, and everything else that you can think of, which suggests that the end might be near. Many of these some of these signs have been confirmed but there are many others that are just rumors, but have been experienced by a large number of people.


First off, we have mass closings. In New York City, there are dozens of Gamestops, maybe more than 50. I only remember seeing four locations close down over the last 10 to 15 years. They usually were flagship stores in a mall or neighborhood. But this month, three locations were announced to be closing within a week of each other. This was part of a massive closing that will see more than 50 locations throughout the country close down.

But here's the thing, all of these stores began having massive closing sales. Everything was 50 to 70 percent off and some games were dropped by as much as 95 percent off. In the past, Gamestop would never do this, when a store closed down, all their inventory was simply moved to another location. Why not just simply move this stuff to another location instead of just dumping them? The theory that some workers are coming up with is that other stores are unwilling to take on extra stock because they may be on the chopping block next and they would have too much stuff to get rid of in the end.

The 50+ closings will also result in hundreds of workers from those stores losing their jobs. While it is possible for some workers to be integrated into other stores, the fact that thisnis happening in Jaunary makes things much worse. Why? Because about two weeks ago was when the seasonal shifts ended. Those who were hired to work Thanksgiving through Christmas only were let go recently.

However, each store usually keeps one of those workers on permanently. This means that in the weeks following Christmas, there are even fewer spots for the laid off workers to be transferred to.

There's another theory that supports the idea that some stores don't want to take excess inventory, and that has to do with restocking. Christmas is the time where stores like Gamestop do their restocking. There's all sorts of sales and people do all their christmas shopping, so Gamestop locations are very low on most games and consoles the day after Christmas. That's when they restock, they bring a new shipment of consoles and games in, and they get ready for the new year.

That doesn't seem to be happening this time around though. It's been confirmed that many locations have not restocked after Christmas. These stores entered the new year with low inventory and continued to sell what they already had, without ordering new games and consoles. Why would a game store not order new games when stock is low?

The rest of these points have not been confirmed but have been verified by multiple shoppers.

Usually on your birthday, Gamestop will send you a coupon if you are a member. Dozens of shoppers who have birthdays in January claimed that they didn't get one. They all got four copies of the coupon, and that each of them worked. Additionally, many shoppers who bought games online and had them shipped claimed that their packages contained an extra game.

This suggests that Gamestop is making a hard push to get rid of as much stuff as they can in the coming months, but for what reason? Closing up shop is the only logical answer.

Personally, it really depends on where you live, some places has been lucky and not close any, and other places, not so lucky with massive closings. At least on my end, the last GameStop that closed in my area was in January 2018 in Downtown New Orleans, other than that, that was the only one that closed recently in my area.

I think mostly because of the rise of Digital releases on the PlayStation, the Xbox, and the Switch which decline physical releases, plus with Amazon being the one that ships the physical releases by just a click of a mouse or a tap of a finger, it's going to cause GameStop to get the BlockBuster treatment.

It's really tough to say on what's GameStop's fate, it's one of those "wait to see" moments, but honestly, I rather have physical releaces of games than Digital releases of games.

Personally, it really depends on where you live, some places has been lucky and not close any, and other places, not so lucky with massive closings. At least on my end, the last GameStop that closed in my area was in January 2018 in Downtown New Orleans, other than that, that was the only one that closed recently in my area.

I think mostly because of the rise of Digital releases on the PlayStation, the Xbox, and the Switch which decline physical releases, plus with Amazon being the one that ships the physical releases by just a click of a mouse or a tap of a finger, it's going to cause GameStop to get the BlockBuster treatment.

It's really tough to say on what's GameStop's fate, it's one of those "wait to see" moments, but honestly, I rather have physical releaces of games than Digital releases of games.

We don't really have gamestop over here but we do have game (which is basically our version of gamestop) and lately I have been seeing some of them shutting down in multiple areas but at the same time I have also seen it thrive in some other ones too so I think that it probably depends on the area and how much competition it has much like with game.

It's about time honestly I'd say your better off supporting your "mom and pop" game stores like sage mantis gaming haven over gamestop. Gamestop's downfall has been long time coming I hate there policy's and businesses practices. They will sell you broken games and incomplete game sets buyer beware especially if you buy games with more than 1 disc because if they sell you the game and the employee doesn't include all the discs they can't refund your money nor take the game back as a trade in.

I have to disagree with this statement I was at Gamestop yesterday and I saw no proof of them having not restocked after Christmas and while I was waiting someone even asked "Is Gamestop really shutting down" and the answer he got was "No only the non profitable ones." So while I do think they will die sooner or later I don't believe right now is the time that it will happen.

I have to disagree with this statement I was at Gamestop yesterday and I saw no proof of them having not restocked after Christmas and while I was waiting someone even asked "Is Gamestop really shutting down" and the answer he got was "No only the non profitable ones." So while I do think they will die sooner or later I don't believe right now is the time that it will happen.

I have seen a few Gamestops close around the country in the last couple of years, and it doesn't really surprise me.

First, for a reminder of what Gamestop is, they prey upon the uneducated buyer, and upcharge their product compared to what you could get online (with free shipping!), and make the majority of their money from used games sales and buying back at reduced rates.

If they buy 20 copies of a game to sell, they hope that over half will be returned for 20-30 dollars, and then re-sold for 45 dollars, and then half of that bought back for 15-25 dollars, and then sold again for 30+ dollars. If they even get one cycle it's a profit for them. If they get that third/fourth cycle, they make serious bank.

It's actually amazing that they've been able to make this model work for as long as they have, because while people are dumb, I wouldn't think they'd be "that" dumb. I never resell my games back because they instantly lose value, and it helps enable Gamestop's practices.

Those practices are what allows Gamestop to remain open in an increasingly digital era.

Now, with the increase in digital gaming, you are seeing places like Gamestop suffer, because they can't resell a digital game. There is literally nothing they can do to counter this. They cannot upcharge from the 60 dollar cost of a game because then nobody would buy the product. They can't buy back and sell the game and cut a profit that way. Their only avenue would be to make deals with the publishers/developers themselves to get a cut of the profits, but there's no incentive for a publisher or developer to do that, since online stores exist, and that is where the majority of sales are done.

For Gamestop to remain afloat, they have to change the focus of the company. Selling games cannot be their business strategy anymore, they have to focus on a market that is inefficient and make it more efficient. They have the right idea by targeting retro gaming, which they've begun to do in several locations, but the problem is even that is becoming increasingly central online.

Gamestop is eventually going to go bankrupt. There's really no stopping it. They are a product of the times, just like Blockbuster. Once something becomes more efficient for consumers (look at Netflix), there stops being a reason to use the inefficient service.

legacyme3 : I only trade in my games when I know I can make a "profit" elsewhere. Around Christmas I traded in a bunch of PS4 games and then I rebought those games on the eshop without having to pay much extra or only having to pay a little.

Yesterday I traded in Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Octopath Traveller and then went to one of the closing Gamestops and picked up $170 worth of Pokemon games (and other stuff)

I wouldn't have traded them at all if it wouldn't get me something I really wanted or a nice investment.

Once Gamestops stop accepting trades at all, it's over.

If Gamestop did more with publishing games, I think they'd be much better