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Okay I was just watching something on Sizzler, you know the old buffet chain.
They were in a death spiral just like GameStop, but their marketers realized the same thing, that the company hadn’t changed anything in 20 years, so they could capitalize on the nostalgia of going to Sizzler. Quite literally they could say “Come on in, remember the 90s! Isn’t it so fun?!” Just ignore that it looks like the 90s because we never modernized anything or updated anything, but a fresh coat of paint will make it look new
I’m guessing this is the same thing. We have a company that honestly had 10-20 years to modernize and get with the times, and didn’t do really anything. Sure they fought to kept used games going, and they added funko pops, but honestly did they really try to modernize at all? I think they did some half ass attempts but they generally didn’t do anything.
So here we are, 20 years later, and they realized “Oh look, retro is cool now, it’s nostalgic. Let’s capitalize on that!”
Except nostalgia wears off, it’s not a business plan. Maybe this is the thing and maybe they become some sweet retro arcade, but honestly… probably not. The only reason they can do this is because they stayed in the 360/PS3 era so long that that’s all they have now. What’s going to happen in 10 years? They have PS5s in the retro area? But they barely had any in stock.
Anyway, something to think on. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. (Here’s the Sizzler Video I mentioned)
Those attempts seem full-assed to me; it’s just that none of them worked, from ThinkGeek to mobile devices. They had some pilot stores in a few locations, tragically rolled out just before lockdown, to see what kinds of concepts might stick. The one that seemed the most promising was one where it was like a gaming lounge, sort of like a LAN center but with consoles and such as well. There’s a non-Gamestop location like that near me but with way more floor space than your typical Gamestop. Given that most retail has gone online and digital, and brick-and-mortar is transitioning into services and experiences, this one made the most sense to me.
I remember Dallas-Ft Worth had one of those and it was awesome. Something like 20 bucks an hour, and I could go play any game there while waiting for a plane. There definitely needs to be more “Group gaming” areas, and that would be something I’d invest in.
In our suburban nightmare we live in, kids don’t have enough places to go be kids, and one of the things I did was lan/group game with people. Now there’s no space for that, and a rentable place would be ideal
There’s a lan/vr arcade near me, has like 40 super high end gaming rigs… they only get busy when there’s a big event like a non-local tournament or something. We also have multiple pinball/arcade bars, and most of them also have some retro consoles set up. One of the 4-man arcade machines at one of the places even has something like a retropi installed in it and you can pick between hundreds of games up to GameCube era, but nobody really ever plays those either. (The pinball is the draw).
Can’t see this doing a lot better, at least not in places with options.
Yeah, if it worked, it would not be as prolific as Gamestop was 20 years ago, but they’d survive as a business named Gamestop, potentially. Brick and mortar dedicated to video game sales doesn’t make sense anymore.
They shut down a lean legacy operation like GI but dump money into this bullshit?
I love retro gaming. There’s no way I will be buying from GS. The markups alone will be ridiculous.
Didn’t click the article I am assuming this more of a concept store like they did in Milan, which is more of a flagship type locations.
Strip mall suburban ghetto locations can’t turn a profit it seems due to costs and competition.
Physical retial ain’t gong away, I think it is shifting into more dense areas as destinations.
Also, ain’t all retro gaming is now just collectibles that rich milennails swap?
Saw a thread there recently about how person sold their nice collection due to economic needs then whne he tried to retner the market, it was lime the housing market today 🫠
Shoulda bought in 2015 when you had no money 🤡
didn’t click the article
Then go read it before speculating? The answer is literally right there. Your entire comment is based on not having information that is right in front of you lmao
I don’t feed the trackers my dude.
Fedi comment section is all I need 🫡
That doesn’t mean you have to comment on things you didn’t read and derail the conversations of those who did. You directly contradicted me without knowing the source material even though the answer is literally right in front of you. You’re being obnoxious. Just lurk and read the comments if that’s your intention. Don’t start throwing out uninformed takes and disagreeing with people on no basis.
It is the choice I made for myself and I am honest about it with people here
Also “sources” is a strong word for oped
Dude this is embarrassing just stop. You didn’t read it, don’t comment on it with nonsense directly contradicting those who did. It’s not even an op-ed.
Yes daddy 🤡
This actually seems cool. I’m certainly happier with this angle than I am with the web3 stuff.
