Gamestop Eyeballs the Vintage Videogame Market

[Andy Chalk]

Gamestop Eyeballs the Vintage Videogame Market

Gamestop may one day offer sales of long-gone classic videogames through its website.

The vast majority of modern gamers are more than happy to get their fix from the comfort of their living rooms, digitally, without having to worry about any shelf-gobbling paraphernalia. They pay, they play and then, satisfactorily entertained, they move on to whatever's next.

But there's another demographic, known very loosely as "collectors," and they take a completely opposite approach: They want the "feelies" and they don't mind throwing around inordinate amounts of money to get them. This type of gamer tends to haunt eBay and various obscure trading sites as much or more than conventional retail outlets, but that situation may soon be changing. After all, have you ever stopped to think about what Gamestop has kicking around in the dark, back corners of its warehouses?

"We've got them," Gamestop CEO Paul Raines told Polygon. "We think there's a vintage sales opportunity, so we're accumulating some inventory. It's a big idea, and there's a few problems with it. The first one is sourcing the product, the condition, the refurbishment, all that stuff. But there's a customer for it. And we're working on some stuff we haven't announced yet."

It's quite an idea, not just because the possibility of scoring a sealed copy of Ultima Underworld 2 is incredibly exciting, but also because it's an entirely unexpected and yet intriguing piece of Gamestop's "how to stay relevant" puzzle. The collecting community as a whole may not care for the involvement of the big, bad retail behemoth and the truly exotic stuff will always remain in the bailiwick of the specialists, but catering to the more casual collector who wants to scratch a nostalgic itch every now and then is a potentially brilliant maneuver, and one that Raines sounds pretty committed to.

"If you go to eBay and look at all of the gaming stuff that's on there, it's unbelievable. Collector's stuff. We've got to be in that business," he said. "We will be."

Source: Polygon [http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/30/3279278/gamestop-vintage-store]


Permalink

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Too little too late for GS to think of this. Honestly with the downloadable versions of classics being commonplace, the shops that deal specifically in retro games (that DON'T overcharge), and the collections packs that get released, GS isn't going to make much money off this.

 

[Fappy]

This begs the question: Why did Gamestop stop doing this in the first place? They have been phasing out obsolete games for years now. You can't even buy original Xbox games there anymore. We have services online and in physical retail (depending on your area) that fill this niche already.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Aside from the download market, dosbox, etc (don't report me, I still don't know if dosbox is legit or not!) it seems like Gamestop would have a better time of it hiring someone (or kidnapping and torturing someone into) creating their own virtual console/ web browser based...virtual console.

The thought of ordering SNES games from Gamestop's website is kind of horrifying because you know you can't really take it to a store to complain and it'll likely be covered in those irremovable stickers. That goodness for specialty shops.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

This begs the question: Why did Gamestop stop doing this in the first place? They have been phasing out obsolete games for years now. You can't even buy original Xbox games there anymore. We have services online and in physical retail (depending on your area) that fill this niche already.

I've noticed that too.

Thankfully there are those small stores that sell old games and consoles for cheap, and have done what Gamestop failed to do.

What sucks is those stores are hard to find and you have to really go looking for them.

 

[Fappy]

This begs the question: Why did Gamestop stop doing this in the first place? They have been phasing out obsolete games for years now. You can't even buy original Xbox games there anymore. We have services online and in physical retail (depending on your area) that fill this niche already.

I've noticed that too.

Thankfully there are those small stores that sell old games and consoles for cheap, and have done what Gamestop failed to do.

What sucks is those stores are hard to find and you have to really go looking for them.

I also doubt many of these places exist outside of the US.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

This begs the question: Why did Gamestop stop doing this in the first place? They have been phasing out obsolete games for years now. You can't even buy original Xbox games there anymore. We have services online and in physical retail (depending on your area) that fill this niche already.

I've noticed that too.

Thankfully there are those small stores that sell old games and consoles for cheap, and have done what Gamestop failed to do.

What sucks is those stores are hard to find and you have to really go looking for them.

I also doubt many of these places exist outside of the US.

Yeah, but if they do then that's awesome.

However, it kind of makes me wonder what Gamestop is up to and if they have an idea how prominant those kinds of stores are.

 

[Andy Chalk]

This is funny, because GameStop don't realize nobody wants them around no matter what they "become" and with their current management there's no way they can ever hope to "become" anything that already exists through a different service.

That's a pretty sweeping statement. I think you'll find that plenty of people want Gamestop around, and while I love GOG to peaches, they don't offer boxes. Becoming a reliable supplier of classic games in physical format could be very lucrative for Gamestop, not for the money they'd make on it (which admittedly wouldn't be much) but because it gives shoppers one more reason to check them out - which in turn creates one more opportunity to sell them something.

 

[Daymo]

Grim Fandango and Super Castlevania 4, if they can offer these games at a reasonable price I will be happy. Still a huge regret on passing up Grim Fandango for $30 because I wasn't sold on point and click adventure games when I was 13.

 

[direw0lf]

Isn't this what Funcoland did before gamestop merged with them?

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I've gotten pretty used to getting the really old games digital.
I probably don't even own the correct systems anymore.
I don't have any of my SNES games anymore or anything that came before that, no more N64 games either.
I still have my PS1 games because I was fortunate enough to get a PS3 that's backwards compatible.
Same case with GameCube and GBA.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

I'm actually liking this. The one reason I ever go to GameStop is to search for old-ass PS2 / PS3 games that are being sold between five to twenty dollars. It's why I oppose the fight against used games, since most used games I buy are no longer in production. Now onto something Andy said that pisses me off:

They pay, they play and then, satisfactorily entertained, they move on to whatever's next.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding Andy here, but this quote's making it sound like people only play a game for a little while then abandon it permanently. If that's the case, I call bullshit.

First off, I'm a customer - not a consumer. I don't just consume a product and move on. When I find a good game, I hold on to it so I can replay it whenever I feel like it. I might even play it multiple times in a row or play it off and on with another game. I still find myself playing Turok 2 and CoD4 every now and again (when I can get the latter to work. The PS3 version is even more FUBAR than other versions due to the "Confirm Yes / No" error). It's a big factor into why I don't hate GS, since I NEVER return games unless they were terrible (and even then I'll do it during the warranty period or sell it on eBay) and don't buy used games unless they're at least 25% off. The case, manual, and no-risk of already being damaged is enough incentive for me to buy new.

Second, no upcoming games outside of maybe "Electric City" have me interested at all. On the other hand, my interest in old games that I either missed or haven't played in ages has skyrocketed. I played my first Zelda game - Majora's Mask - less than a year ago, and I'm now interested in trying Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past. I've played Goldeneye many times, but still want to pick it up again since I still consider it a great game. I'm also thinking of getting HL 1 and 2, having played some of HL2 on PS3 (though I did find it overrated. Still haven't beaten it yet, however).

Sorry for rambling, but my point is that I hate this spreading mentality that people won't stick with a game for long. That very thing has lead to the rise of annual releases, which is one of the major things that's completely fucking up the AAA-game industry. I keep games that I feel are worth it (something I don't think I'm alone on), and I wish publishers would realize this. I'm getting tired of games being released this day and age, just to have all support for the game stop just because the new one is out.

 

[Oskuro]

Regardless of who is doing it, this step is exciting. Games being valued as collectible items could help the cause of "games as art" by actually having more studios taking risks on new ideas.

Aaaaaaaand being a game collector of sorts myself, I can't help but support it.

Even if GameStop isn't my favourite retailer. By a long shot.

 

[Darren716]

I just hope they don't make this online exclusive and will actually start offering retro games in their stores since my closest independent game store is about an hour from my house while the nearest gamestop is only about 5 minutes away.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

This is funny, because GameStop don't realize nobody wants them around no matter what they "become" and with their current management there's no way they can ever hope to "become" anything that already exists through a different service.

We have gog.com for this, and it's one of the very best, if not the ultimate, game service.

The fact that they continue to stay in business proves the error in your sentence. Just because a very vocal minority of gamers despite Gamestop with every fiber of their being (and don't get me wrong, I'm one of them; I always talk people away from Gamestop if given the chance) doesn't mean that "nobody wants them around".

That said, I'll always shop at the little corner shop that opened-up a few blocks away from me. The hell with Gamestop. Even if they manage to snag a rare game that I've been hoping to get my hands on (like Gaia or Trigger), I'll still hold-out for the corner shop to get a copy. It'll be a cold day in hell when Gamestop gets my dollar.

 

[Falterfire]

We have gog.com for this, and it's one of the very best, if not the ultimate, game service.

Yes, I love GOG too, but GOG has two large failings:
First, the lack of non-PC games. Elitism aside, there are a large number of very good games that are simply unavailable (Or available only in lower quality) on the PC.

Second, GOG has to be able to obtain permission to sell the game. There are quite a few games that GOG doesn't have permission to sell. If Gamestop has older copies of them, those are still saleable. So Gamestop will be able to sell things GOG can't.

Of course, other stores provide the same service and probably do so more cheaply, but just because GOG exists doesn't mean Gamestop's plan is automatically redundant.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding Andy here, but this quote's making it sound like people only play a game for a little while then abandon it permanently. If that's the case, I call bullshit.

Yes, there are games that are classics that people tend to go back to replay, but for most people with most games, they will get tired of the game and likely not go back to it after a certain period of time. For instance, I loved Bastion. I loved it lots. But I'm unlikely to go back and play it again, and if I do I probably won't spend much time on it. Even sandboxes like Skyrim and GTA IV eventually grow stale and (most) people move on. Of course every game has its die-hard fans who have been playing since launch and will keep playing, but I'm sure those players have games they bought, played through once, and then stopped playing. (Assuming they aren't the sort of obsessives that believe they have found the One True Game and that all other games are unworthy of their attention)

Quite simply, the amount of free time people have is constant. As long as more games worth playing are being released, each player's options are to do one of three things: Split their time into increasingly smaller chunks for each game, stop buying any new games, or stop playing older games they've already beaten and/or gotten bored with. Most gamers chose the third option.

 

[Cecilthedarkknight_234]

bring back used Saturn and dream-cast games then we can talk game-stop.

 

[ScruffyMcBalls]

This begs the question: Why did Gamestop stop doing this in the first place? They have been phasing out obsolete games for years now. You can't even buy original Xbox games there anymore. We have services online and in physical retail (depending on your area) that fill this niche already.

I've noticed that too.

Thankfully there are those small stores that sell old games and consoles for cheap, and have done what Gamestop failed to do.

What sucks is those stores are hard to find and you have to really go looking for them.

While I agree searching for those small stores can be a pain in the ass for many, so long as the stores can stay open and in business I almost enjoy things the way they are. If there's a store out there to find, I enjoy the task of finding it, and the sheer elation I feel when I stumble across one completely by accident and wind up spending all my food money on obscure shit I can't really afford.
Some might see that as elitism, but I prefer to see it as a desire for adventure.

 

[ScruffyMcBalls]

I'm actually liking this. The one reason I ever go to GameStop is to search for old-ass PS2 / PS3 games that are being sold between five to twenty dollars. It's why I oppose the fight against used games, since most used games I buy are no longer in production. Now onto something Andy said that pisses me off:

They pay, they play and then, satisfactorily entertained, they move on to whatever's next.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding Andy here, but this quote's making it sound like people only play a game for a little while then abandon it permanently. If that's the case, I call bullshit.

First off, I'm a customer - not a consumer. I don't just consume a product and move on. When I find a good game, I hold on to it so I can replay it whenever I feel like it. I might even play it multiple times in a row or play it off and on with another game. I still find myself playing Turok 2 and CoD4 every now and again (when I can get the latter to work. The PS3 version is even more FUBAR than other versions due to the "Confirm Yes / No" error). It's a big factor into why I don't hate GS, since I NEVER return games unless they were terrible (and even then I'll do it during the warranty period or sell it on eBay) and don't buy used games unless they're at least 25% off. The case, manual, and no-risk of already being damaged is enough incentive for me to buy new.

Second, no upcoming games outside of maybe "Electric City" have me interested at all. On the other hand, my interest in old games that I either missed or haven't played in ages has skyrocketed. I played my first Zelda game - Majora's Mask - less than a year ago, and I'm now interested in trying Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past. I've played Goldeneye many times, but still want to pick it up again since I still consider it a great game. I'm also thinking of getting HL 1 and 2, having played some of HL2 on PS3 (though I did find it overrated. Still haven't beaten it yet, however).

Sorry for rambling, but my point is that I hate this spreading mentality that people won't stick with a game for long. That very thing has lead to the rise of annual releases, which is one of the major things that's completely fucking up the AAA-game industry. I keep games that I feel are worth it (something I don't think I'm alone on), and I wish publishers would realize this. I'm getting tired of games being released this day and age, just to have all support for the game stop just because the new one is out.

Amen brother! (or sister, I'm not sexist. Honest)
Could not agree more, these days I simply don't trade stuff in, because I enjoy nothing more than going back to games I played way back in the day, safe in the security that I'll always have a copy to play. And personally I enjoy spending a looooong afternoon just flicking through my collection, reading the manuals and absorbing all the culture and awesomeness that we've gotten over the years (strongly suggest doing this with the Metal Gear Solid Manual). So far as I'm concerned, a game isn't a one-shot product, it's something I'll always have a use for. (even if that use is purely to deliberately start fun arguments with visiting friends)