Posts Tagged ‘retail’
200 Game Crazy retail locations closing next month
It was recently made known that 200 of Game Crazy’s 680 retail locations will be shutting their doors for good by the end of next month. This apparantly isn’t a sign of Game Crazy going under but instead a wise business decision by the company’s executives to weed out the under performing stores
Below is their official statement regarding the matter:
“Movie Gallery, Inc. is currently operating in an unprecedented consumer/retail environment. In order for us to continue to best serve our millions of customers across North America we’re addressing under performing stores and ensuring that there is sufficient [return on investment] associated with each of these stores going forward. The vast majority of our stores will be unaffected by these efforts.”
via joystiq
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 dated, priced for PSN
While we were notified of the XBLA release date for Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Playstation 3 owners were effectively left in the dark.
Luckily, we now know that the game will be re-released for the PSN on August 15, a few weeks after the XBLA, for $15. The game will reportedly also ship in a retail form for the PS3, priced at $20, and feature a DVD with wallpapers, a manual, 2,000 Capcom Unity points and 1-month of access to Marvel Digital Comics.
If you haven’t already played Marvel vs. Capcom 2 when it was first released in back in the early 00s, now’s a perfect chance to get down on this classic title.
Read (Joystiq)
Gears of War 2 gets price cut to $39.99
Just in time for its Double XP weekend Gears of War 2 has been discounted from it’s normal $59.99 retail price to a much more palatable $39.99. Best of all, if you order on Amazon, that price (further discounted to $36.99) includes shipping.
There’s no telling if retailers will decide to hike the price back up so if you’re planning on purchasing Gears of War 2 at this discounted price, do it fast.
Xbox Live to get full retail games for download
Finally a reason to shell out the extra cash for the 120GB harddrive, full games on demand. Yes, Microsoft has recently announced at E3 that they will begin offering full, retail Xbox 360 games for download over their Xbox Live service.
Don’t get too excited yet because the new service isn’t set to go live until August but make note that you’ll be buying the virtual titles with a credit card instead of Microsoft Points.
Unfortunately, Engadget reports that Microsoft will not allow full titles to be rented but that it “sounds great for the future”.
Fils-Aime Says Used Games Not Good For Consumers
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime isn’t unique in his penchant for throwing down the gauntlet in interviews. Its a common practice amongst gaming executives and Reggie is joining the ranks of executives who have criticized the used game sales model. Unfortunately his arguments against the used games model are pretty thin.
“Describe another form of entertainment that has a vibrant used goods market,” says Fils-Aime. “Used books have never taken off. You don’t see businesses selling used music CDs or used DVDs. Why? The consumer likes having a brand-new experience and reliving it over and over again.” From a logical perspective the used games market ultimately hurts gamers since money that could go into hiring more staff and ultimately make for better games goes into lining the pockets of the retailers.
Ultimately though the used games industry thrives because games are very different than films, music or books. Used book stores often fail because of an unimpressive collection, especially if you live in an area with a good library system. Used music isn’t as common because the cheapest way to get an album in modern times is to download it or borrow a friend’s CD and put it on your computer. Rental chains like Blockbuster sell the excess copies of DVDs but Netflix makes having a wide range of films at home unnecessary.
Toys ‘R’ Us accepting trade ins
The Internet has recently gotten word that major toy retailer, Toys ‘R’ Us, is testing a new campaign that will allow game owners to trade in their games for store credit.
Apparently, if you bring a game in its original case, with it’s original artwork and player’s manual, and it’s not cracked or rated Adults Only, you will be able to “sell” it to Toys ‘R’ Us in return for store credit.
This campaign was first noticed at a Toys ‘R’ Us in Nanuet, NY so all of the surrounding stores will probably get the same treatment. Look out Game Stop, Toys ‘R’ Us is comin’ for you.
Read (CheapAssGamer)
Nintendo Prez: Digital Distro Not Replacing Retail
Echoing the sentiment of many in the industry, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said that while the market for digital distribution is increasing (and will keep on increasing), there will always be a need for the extra memory storage that retail games offer.
"[Digital distribution is] a nice added business model, but it’s not something that’s going to take over retail game sales," he said.
"We’ll be able to see the sales growth and plan for [digital download]," added Fils-Aime. "But I guess similar to home consoles, the consumer will want an experience that’s best delivered through physical goods, simply because of the memory size required. There will always be those opportunities for big, in-depth games on retail products."
Digital distribution platforms and websites such as Steam and Direc2Drive have made inroads into gamers’ computers in the recent years. However, retail still forms a major part of the publisher’s sales. What do you think?