The Story of Gamestop
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
- If you've ever bought a game, there's a good chance you got it from Gamestop, the largest video game retailer in the world. How exactly did Gamestop become an empire? It didn't just pop up one day. The story of gamestop covers the entire history of the company; from their early beginnings as a software retailer to the height of the 2010's to today.
Intro: 0:00
Part 1 Becoming Gamestop: 1:20
Part 2 The Biggest Name in Video Games: 6:38
Part 3 The End of a Giant: 13:48
Part 4 Gamestop Today: 18:05
Outro: 20:08 - Hry
I'm 46 years old and a gamer since the early 80s. This was awesome as I remember the local mall here in DC had a babbages and software etc. I remember the craziest time was the mid 90s. The local mall game stores had so many systems, PS1, Saturn, 3DO, Jaguar, SNES, Genesis, Gameboy. It was crazy how many racks had the different games.
Jonie Teska wow! You should probably google healthy relationships and how to start one :)
I remember the mid 90s being so awesome for gaming. You could go into a mall and literally price check a game at 3-5 different locations. Besides the main video game retailers, you had KB Toys, Toys R Us, and also local joints.
@@namebrandlabel you are miserable
"GameStop stock never excede $60 per share." that aged quickly.
I'm literally kick myself for not giving into curiosity and buying shares at $12 a piece. 😂😂😂
@@DoubleDog I know! Ended up buying at around 100, just wanted to say I helped bankrupt a huge hedge fund.
@@egg9033 I'm so proud of you. Hold the line. 🤣
@@DoubleDog You definitely have to make another video on this story. Power to the players. Lol.
I hope you never lose motivation, these "the story of" videos are among some of my favorite videos on youtube. Amazing job double dog. May the future be more fruitful.
This was a good video. I hope the CZcams algorithm recommends it to other viewers.
This guy needs more subs - his content is fantastic!
It reached me and I like it
Bro all your content regarding back story’s on consoles and games and companies is fucking incredible, you talk to your audience as if your talking face to face with someone without stumbling over your words. 10/10
I remember when GameStop sold games, now it's nothing but funko pops and loot crate shirts
The reason for this is explained in the video.
17:53
And then 7 people became millionaires overnight because of this
recently, the gamestop stores around me is starting to look like they're going out of business. poor merchandising, due to their recent display box remerch so you don't get the opened new games, or reduction and refocus on core business segments isn't helping. it's a cleaner, less cluttered shop but now i miss the former clutter. either way, i find less and less as i find better prices elsewhere as gamestop don't price match. and as i turn toward more retro game collecting, i find better luck at mom/pop shops. these and their unethical and poor business practices is why they're where they are. amazon and internet isn't their primary hindrance as great customer service could have slowed their demise. sad as gamestop was my go to joint for so many years. nice straight to the point vid.
Couldn't agree more. A gamestop without games is a pretty poor experience.
Really great video man, deserves a ton more views.
Brings back a ton of nostalgia, we don't have Gamestop in New Zealand they are represented through there EB games brand.
I still remember when they arrived in the country they gave out full Xbox and PlayStation games on opening day, it was so cool to see something that we had only seen magazines in person. They took over all the existing competitors in our market within 5 years. As of recent, they have transitioned to having an additional brand ‘Zing’ that sells all their pop-culture SKUs with EB games stores primarily focusing on games.
I remember going to Game Crazy, they were attached to video rental stores sometimes, like, inside the rental store. There is a local location around here called Game Force that has been around since I was a kid. Sad that with the dawn of the modern high speed internet those places are quickly dying out.
Yup and yet we all get too absorbed into the now we forget we’re also the downfall of the great things we liked just goes away forever.
I loved my local Game Crazy. I could go there and talk about Dreamcast games and SNES games with anyone behind the counter, whereas at GameStop they always pushed the newest and upcoming stuff. Most never knew games beyond the current or last generation of games. GameStop felt like car sales people, while Game Crazy felt like car enthusiasts.
whats highspeed internet
@@jamieoiler5690 Corrected :) I should just say modern broadband internet? I'm old leave me alone.
man i miss gc. loved that you could try out a used game before you buy it. and i think they even matched trade values if i remember right.
I've just fallen in love with your videos very well done keep it up 👍
The GameStop in my neighborhood used to be a funcoland 23 years ago because I remember going in and getting an ocarina of time strategy guide in 1998 and my mom signing me up for game informer magazine that day. Those were the good ol days. Holy shit! I totally forgot about babbages!
Double dog's complete series have the same spirit as Mystic Ryan's series on Sony hardware which I love too! Keep up the work!
Thanks for the history of my favorite game store. I go there for all my games, consoles/handhelds, and accessories.
Hey there! Super interesting video! I just discovered your channel, and I'm loving all of your content.
Speaking as a former employee (I just left in December) I can agree with you that gamestop isnt doing too well right now. Its focus is on sales, mainly shoving the pro membership down every customer's throat, and trying to add on several items onto a purchase to boost the attach rate for employees.
Though, last time I worked there, employees were still being closely looked at with their sales, mainly in pro and pre orders. I know a few people who were fired due to their low sales in just those two categories. It's a disaster working there.
Thanks" Great Video
Traded my N64 to GamesStop in '99 to help pay for my Dreamcast. They will likely go the way of Blockbuster. I miss walking through looking at new movies. Will probably think the same for games...
Really great doc!
The story of power to the players.
Ngl: the last time i went into a Gamestop, it was to buy Yugioh cards at the mall. Same with Think Geek.
They need to lean more into that hobbyist niche, similar to chains like Vintage Stock. Although, i'm probably saying that because I can't buy trading cards at my local walmart anymore, so do keep in mind that this is coming from a bit of a biased perspective. The way i see it: the more they can figure out how to lean into that "nerd niche", the better. Selling comic books and manga could also be an interesting tactic if they had the balls to do it.
Although, it may just be better for Gamestop to merge into Think Geek and have Think Geek start carrying games. The only reason they probably haven't done that yet is because of the size of their stores at mall shopping centers. They're all usually pretty small and narrow.
Great video!
Your videos are great
I remember when it was funcoland vs eb games and then they took over along with software etc. To become gamestop. Anyone remember egghead?
Prepridge farm remembers
I remember when Gamestop bought up Software Etc. and EB Games in my area. It was such a bummer. Specifically, Software Etc. was so funky in a cool way. It really felt like a bunch of nerds were selling games to folks. Gamestop, on the other hand, always felt like a super corporate.
I also missed the days of KB Toys. I’m not one to talk about things being better “back in the day” but retail was much more fun back then. Retail now sucks. Amazon is the worst of the worst (Walmart is a close second).
awesome!
One of the issues that GameStop has in my area is that we’re flooded with stores. Most of them are competing with each other. I think there is 6 stores here some within a few miles of each other
I remember a EB store in my local town i went many times to get snes and genesis game, and the first game i ever pre ordered was metal gear solid for ps1 in KB Toys
Just subscribed :)
One thing that caught me off earlier this year when it came to closure of one of the local EB Games in one of the malls here. Before they closed down, I was out with my mother during the day where I mentioned the Origami King Paper Mario game and since we were going to be near by, why not pre-order it from the EB Games in that mall? Turned out on the phone when I asked about it, she said they aren't doing pre-orders at that store and are currently only selling current stock and what orders they had for other items before I guess the closure announcement. Turned out maybe a month later I am not sure, the store closed down.
Now whether this has connection to the everything going on with GameStop overall or just the fact that the mall in particular has many businesses pulling out, it's just sad to see it go..
I remember a time before game stop they had Toys R Us and Walmarts and places called funcoland. Thoses we're the only places you could by games other than small non corporate companies.
Wait wait me grab my food before I sit down and watch this.
I worked at a GameStop for 7 years and the company was always behind the times. They were focused on used sales when the majority of gamers nowadays are buying digital games. I agree they need to go back to selling retro games, offer something that others aren’t is how you get people to shop at your store
We had a Software Etc at our local mall in Montana until it turned into a GameStop. It was well after 1994 though so they must have retained their name after the merger
I just came up with a new drinking game. Take one shot every time he say the name "Gamestop"
Decent video as always, really like the work done here!
I think a different topic approach like this fits really well, especially since the research was done very detailwd. Sadly, i cant add much to the discussion since i only bought something at Gamestop 2 times and its not very big where I live. But i am always annoyed when i see their used prices, i personally thought it would be better to drop them a bit to have more fluctuation at all. But im not a business man so ill leave it to them.
Besides that, i also want to mention the good choice of gameplay and music (which may be easy to oversee with the topic). It seems like you enjoy Metroid, good taste...
Stay well and greetings from Germany!
I feel like it might be better for them to lower used game prices too. As we all know, they pay bottom dollar for them and used games are their single biggest source of profit. When I go in and see a new copy of a game for $60 and the used copy is only $5 less and may not even come with the case, of course I am going to buy new. And I feel like many are the same way. They should charge at least $10-$15 less.
Ty
To me they are the store to go to for in-between generation games, I don't know much about their past so it was good to know that in this video.
There the store I go to If I don't find any types of games at Major Stores that sell current gen, and if I'm not looking at Local Mom and Pop Stores (where I've gotten a few collections started and added more to my 2000/2010 era systems) and as they don't have a Retro line in my region they are the best in-between option I have.
So I got many DS/Wii surprisingly/3DS, Wii U, PS3/360 among recent PS4/Xbox One games I could get my hands on and now only PS4/Xbox One games exist which is fine but kind of sucks now as I have most of what I want for those systems (I don't own a Switch, I'm waiting for the price and Bayonetta 3/Metroid Prime 4).
EB Games for me has been a fairly good store, the employees I don't have any difficulties with whether I take something back (only 1-2 times due to a missing disk or the disk didn't work) but collecting games from them has been good, a few fine conversations, getting a 360 controller before they went and finding out my old ones work fine it's just the battery packs stuffed up so it's good I got a new one with the new controller.
I hope they stay around but if they go I do have other options it's just as they hold onto games from older generations longer than the other stores I can get recent games from and it's nice to know I can find a generation old games and not have to deal with whatever newer prices or not finding anything in the Mom and Pop stores if I'm not looking for 1 gen older compared to the 2 or more those have.
It's that in-between that I appreciate but I get that their other regions differ and the employees of whichever region do what they can. But for me I know what I want so it never seems like they can really mess with me and with the few questions it's not too bad either for some products. The Mom and Pop stores have older generation but only so much, I've found some notable gems in either but it's just a gap will be lost really that will annoy me the most. But otherwise if they disappear for valid reasons then sure.
I was there when funcoland started in my hometown of eden prairie, mn.
Gamestop would be amazing if they sold old stuff like before. Also if they get more ps5s and xboxs to sell...
Yep if they went the old school route they would be fine imo.
As a semi-collector, I’d love this. Competition and options instead of the scalpers on eBay and Amazon. But at the same time I feel like they’d scam people and inflate prices. It sucks being someone who still love physical media and owning original copies of games.
I hated when I would go to gamestop and they sold me an opened game at new prices. If I wanted pre-owned, I would have bought pre-owned. So I started going to Target for new games, and the used prices at Gamestop never justified the purchases there either, being only 5 bucks cheaper
Yea, I always hated that practice too. I would usually purchase new games on their website only to have used games shipped to me. To be fair though, I never had any issues simply returning the games for a full refund. It was definitely an annoying and inconvenient practice but sometimes I would take my chances when they had good online sales.
@@radioactivecoconut2103 you know...I never considered their online store...smh lol, but now I will.
"Gamestop stock has never gone over $60" Oh the irony of this video getting posted moments before the Gamestop Reddit spike lol
How have I just now figured out that EB Games is the Australian version of GameStop?!
3 of the 6 Gamestops where I live "Lafayette, La" are gone now. One died because the sirtmall it was in had it's cash cow in Blockbuster Video. One was closed my local mall to expand an woman's clothing store. That mall is dieing now since Gamestop and Sears were their cash cows. The 3 to close was also do to the lost of Blockbuster Video. The money form the 2 Target store's keeps 2 of them open and a Walmart keeps the last 1 open.
Always liked Game Crazy and Electronics Boutique more. Even 15-20 years ago GameStop still felt like the McDonalds of videogame retailers and it’s only become worse over the years. I only go once in awhile to buy used games from the last generation while most jump ship to the next one.
"Since then gamestop stock price has never exceeded 60$ per share" little did he know...
Holy shit I never heard of movie stop.. I do remember electronics boutique and babbages tho
Waiting for story of switch!!
Well this came out about a month too early...(today is feb 6th)
They're finally selling new games as sealed only? I wouldn't even know. Haven been there in so long. Too little too late.
I have 4 Game Stop locations all within 2.5 miles of my home. I take my son there and unfortunately they all look like disheveled messes. It's beginning to look like the record store and arcade decline of the 80s from my era.
Here in Puerto Rico, much of those actions by employees lieying to customers, made Game Stops close here starting in 2016.
I was at GameStop the other day, And I get anxiety looking at their used games now. They are all in generic cases. I guess that they give you the regular case at the front, But cmon, I wanna see for myself if the case is good enough so I can buy it. Instead I gotta check it at the front to see if it’s worth it. Ugh
Memories. GameStop went out sad
Do they have Battletoads?
Take notes GameStop, this will be you.
I worked there in 2019 as a assistant for about 3 months...I quit.ive worked all trips of jobs and I thought this would be the most fun I've had at a job.it was the worst.it not like your working in a mom a pop video gamee store,its not for the passion of the players,its for the passion of the corporations
they need to sell retro games in stores or atleast selected stores. the new reset and new layout is not good at all and now they're forcing bundles on any new or preowned consoles which would turn people off even more. them phasing out 7th gen games is also another big mistake, especially Xbox 360 games which 50% are backwards compatible. I went to a store today and they had no 7th gen games on the floor, all of them were in the back room.
Gamestop officially ended the practice of selling opened copies as new in 2020? They still try to sell me open copies as new. I only buy them if they are rare and the complete copy is worth the price they are charging.
"...and this is where the game STOPS". - news headline if they go out of business
they should trade on the actual market price a fair trade value and not like .7 cents when the a game is worth way more then that
I personally love Gamestop. Such a shame to see it in this situation.
i laugh about it jim
Omoshiroe 😎
Now they sell gaming tvs and all this crap. It's not even a game stop anymore, it's dying or whatever they're trying to sell. Overpriced used games, selling your stuff is a rip-off. And so on. That's why no one isn't buying anything from this store anymore. I almost never do anymore.
But my memories servers, cod3, blackops2 launches. 3ds. All my pokemon games. Halo 3. Yes I remember all of those great days. And I have pictures.
And what happened to all the older games, like ps2 and ps3 xbox and all that? It's not there anymore. I have to go to another place just buy old stuff. I remember when they sold GBA and gameboy games before the ds hit the stores, gamestop isn't what it was like it was a decade ago. Now it's just crap they sell that makes no sense or that no one would buy.
I'm old enough to remember when my Funcoland became a GameStop. It was alright for a number of years until they started shoving pre-orders and magazine subscriptions down everyone's throats. Not to mention the staff was so saccharine and phony and only wanted to sell you something. I honestly hope the store dies soon.
Every Gamer I talk to in South California says GameStop took advantage of them one way or another,NOT FOR THE PLAYERS...
Now Gamestop is on life support and the breathing machine is owned by Microsoft.
And with Microsoft establishing Game Pass, that might not be the ideal situation ;)
I am sad right now. Gamestop no longer exist on Denmark.
At least GameXChange still exists
Personally I don't like GameXChange. I worked for them briefly back in 2018. Owner is an absolute looney.
@@DoubleDog Is he really!?...that sucks. Ill always be grateful to them for having F-ZERO GX at regular price.
@@cheesewizz_ The owner I met certainly was. But he only owned the locations in KY, TN, and the north east. The other stores are owned by two other guys. No idea what they're like.
Digital downloads are just too convenient for some people. Many of my friends don’t care if they save $10 on a game if they buy it used, because they are too lazy to put a disc in.
Also GameStop needs to price their games better. Some games like the Mario parties and Mario karts are way over priced while other games you can get for 99¢
All GameStop did was take advantage of the players
Not to be negative on such a well-made and positive video, but Gamestop, like Blockbuster before it, is a terrible, overly-corporatized retailer. The people who work there aren't required to know anything about games. It's just the most commercial and therefore most known games seller. There is no difference in getting your games from Target or Best Buy. Gamestop branded itself on video games, but honestly they could have sold anything. The Gamestop and Blockbusters of the world were just stop gaps for streaming. It's easy to look back at them with nostalgia-goggles, but they were never good.
game stops are crooks
Much like wrestling, game stop sweaped away all games stores for the worst.
They deserved what they got.
GameStop is evil!!! Karma comes a knocking!!!
Gamestop was not for the gamers,big fkn ripp off
GameStop was a grimey ass company. Offer you pennies for trade ins. Just a crap company. I'm glad it's gone.