Best Buy Making a Run at GameStop's Action

[Tom Goldman]

Best Buy Making a Run at GameStop's Action

Best Buy is reducing support for CDs and DVDs in favor of pre-owned videogames and new videogame platforms.

Electronics giant Best Buy was once known for its massive CD section, but those days are coming to an end. The retailer recently announced plans to reduce various underperforming sections such as CDs and DVDs in favor of those that show potential, including videogames.

"Best Buy has recognized for quite awhile that CDs and DVDs are going away, and they have huge chunks of the stores devoted to them," analyst Andy Hargreaves told Daily Finance. On a conference call, Best Buy Chief Executive Brian Dunn said the retailer would be putting "a heavy emphasis on new gaming platforms and pre-owned game titles."

Best Buy implemented its program to get into the used games business - currently ruled by GameStop - in 600 stores last month. Once it builds up the proper inventory, Best Buy will be trying its hand at the lucrative opportunity.

Traditionally, 20% of Best Buy floorspace was allocated to CDs and DVDs, but the company has slowly been realizing that videogames hold more potential. "They tried selling guitars in that space when Guitar Hero [http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Band-3-Xbox-360/dp/B003RS8HG6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1285170012&sr=8-6] were hot," Hargreaves added.

Motion gaming will also be a focus for Best Buy, with expected to be huge [http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-Move-Starter-Bundle-3/dp/B002I0J4NE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1285170138&sr=8-1] in November. Motion gaming requires demo space to be effective, and Best Buy plans to make it available.

Despite a current level of profitability, videogames might be the key product that could help Best Buy from going the way of Circuit City [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/88728-Circuit-City-Broken] in the future. Whether or not it can take a cut of the used games market is unsure, but making room for more videogames isn't a bad idea anyway.

Source: 1up [http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/best-buy-cut-cds-dvds-as-google-apple-prep-for-mus/19635476/]





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[Uber Waddles]

Lower prices on buying used games/higher prices for selling will most likely occur from this.

... I cant find a reason to complain about spending less and getting more, so I wont. Cant wait!

 

[Phoenix09215]

Something similar haappened in England... Obviously instead of Game Stop we have Game and Game Station. But their prices for trade-ins suck! And then Tesco started trade-ins and you get a WAAAYYY better price on your games! I now haven't been in Game or Gamesation for about 2 months!

 

[Cynical skeptic]

Well thats wonderful.

More massive retail chains pocketing large chunks of revenue that should've gone to the video game industry.

 

[Fensfield]

Oh bril'.

Screw the demands of the videogame industry for money for the moment, that's a discussion for another day. This screams 'bubble on the brink of bursting' to me. When a company this big announces plans for a major push into the used games sector, the anti-used systems will ramp up something awful from the additional perceived.

Something is going to give.

 

[strum4h]

I used to work for best buy. I wish they would expand the PC games section to be bigger than one aisle.

 

[mattaui]

Quaint brick and mortar stores. Best Buy only gets my business for things too large to practically ship cheaply, like very large televisions and washer/driers. I haven't stepped foot inside one for at least six months, and the last two times I did it was to convert BB gift cards to iTunes and World of Warcraft cards, respectively. I'd rather do business with my local GS since, believe it or not, they had decent enough customer service and paid me exceptionally well for trade-ins that were toward hardware and software preorders.

I'm sure they're trying to flee from the fading market that is physical media for music and movies and moving to it's last crumbling refuge, console gaming.

 

[mjc0961]

Anything that could potentially take a bite out of GameStop's profits is good news by me. I already know shopping at Best Buy would be better because those guys are smart enough to do this thing called a display case, thus making it so you don't need to gut new games so you can show off the empty box as an advertisement that you have the game. And that means Best Buy won't try to sell me their gutted, USED (taking the shrink wrap off and taking the disc out = game is used now, fuck you GameStop) games at new game prices because they don't have any gutted games.

 

[Jared]

Its like two kids going at it. Dosnt matter who wins, all they want are profits...

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

You won't see me complaining - Best Buy is already 1000% better at being a game shop than Gamestop is for me as a PC Gamer, in that they actually carry PC games, which you can buy, that sit there right on the shelf (shocking!). Not a whole lot of them mind you, but their selection makes Gamestop's seem pathetic.

Expanding their video game selection further can therefore only be a good thing for me - it's not like they're going to make the PC section even smaller if they're expanding the whole thing, right? I buy all my music digitally and DVDs at Best Buy are too expensive anyways, so there's really no downside to the trade-off.

I used to work for best buy. I wish they would expand the PC games section to be bigger than one aisle.

You and me both.

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

Viva La Revolution!

Best Buy just....gimme more then like $5 for a game I bought yesterday for $58...Please

 

[Fappy]

The only problem I see them dealing with is that of convenience. I can't speak for other states, but here in Georgia we have about 20 Gamestops for every 1 Best Buy. Its much easier to go trade in a game down the street than it is to drive twenty miles.