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GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

news.gamestop.com

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Re: GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

#81

Post by Hamuko »

tmotwu wrote: post #73

Why people are undermining the physical medium for video games? Comparing it to Netflix/Blockbuster? What? Stadia is currently on the verge of flopping and we're not even sure where other streaming services may go. Streaming video games are literally constrained by the laws of physics and the need for extremely responsive user input. It's exciting but it's also a whole different engineering problem than what Netflix…

There's two big issues for GameStop:

a) People are getting faster Internet connections, which enables them to actually utilise digital stores. The PlayStation Store is almost 15 years old and I can imagine how bad the average consumer connection was back then. And if you have a slower connection, you can still pre-order and pre-load games.

b) Physical medium is not exclusive to brick and mortar. I am myself a collector of physical games (167 games in my shelf at the moment I believe) and I don't really go out and buy games. I just order them online.

Basically, they're not only competing against the growing popularity of PlayStation Store, Xbox Live and Nintendo e-Shop, they're competing against Amazon.

Re: GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

#82

Post by Ataraxy »

theorymeltfool wrote: post #23

I'm curious if the HFs that shorted Gamestop, are also profiting off of the wild swings by Redditors who have now lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. They could easily swing-trade this stock all the way down, using massive buy/sell orders to drive the price. If Melvin Capital isn't bankrupt after all of this, there might just be A LOT of broke redditors who cashed in their lifesavings on this gamble.

I'm sure some HF's have, just as some HF's lost billions in their own right on the way up.

Re: GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

#83

Post by lolsal »

crispyambulance wrote: post #51
pratik661 wrote: post #5

I was wondering if GameStop would use their once in a lifetime overpriced valuation to raise money to invest in a game streaming platform (ie Netflix for games).

GameStop had YEARS to adapt themselves to the new gaming situation, but they instead chose to go the way of the strip-mall and follow the example of BlockBuster Video. When did Steam get started? The middle-naughts? That was the time for GameStop to act. It's too late now. Even if they have the money, do they have the leadership to pull this off? Maybe they'll try, but it will be an uphill fight, even with the Chewy…

There is plenty of room to compete or innovate. GameStop might be getting a second chance, which is rare.

Re: GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

#84

Post by tuxinator »

pratik661 wrote: post #5

I was wondering if GameStop would use their once in a lifetime overpriced valuation to raise money to invest in a game streaming platform (ie Netflix for games).

I don't think streaming games will ever be a viable business. Maybe for slow turn based games it works fine, but anything time/frame rate sensitive is a no-go. I just can't see it ever going beyond novelty.

Re: GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

#85

Post by [deleted] »

Wheaties466 wrote: post #54
tachyonbeam wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems to me all the streaming gaming services so far have been a flop. In order for it to work, we need really high bandwidth, reliable internet connections and low latency. The technology maybe isn't quite ready still, because we haven't really been focused on the reliability of internet connections and wifi, just more peak download speed. Streaming gaming sounds sexy, but IMO, it's probably bound to keep being a…

I am stadia subscriber and I can say that I have fallen in love with the platform. I used to play games more often and don't own a gaming PC or console, nor did I want to purchase one. Performance has been stellar thus far.

[deleted]

Re: GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

#86

Post by criddell »

kin wrote: post #64
criddell wrote: post #26

What is GameStop going to be five years from now when digital distribution is the only way video games are sold? I can't imagine selling game-related tchotchkes is a very good business. What else is there?

GameStop owns ThinkGeek now and is much much worse at selling physical goods online. GameStop also made a good amount of its money through preorders, trade-ins, and resales. If they focus on an amazing web, customer, and fulfillment experience, I could see the ship correcting its course in a dramatic way.

Why don't they let me order a PS5? I know they are out of stock but they will be getting more in. Put me on a list and ship it to me in 6 months or 18 months or whenever they have stock again.

Re: GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

#87

Post by tmotwu »

Hamuko wrote: post #81
tmotwu wrote: post #73

Why people are undermining the physical medium for video games? Comparing it to Netflix/Blockbuster? What? Stadia is currently on the verge of flopping and we're not even sure where other streaming services may go. Streaming video games are literally constrained by the laws of physics and the need for extremely responsive user input. It's exciting but it's also a whole different engineering problem than what Netflix…

There's two big issues for GameStop: a) People are getting faster Internet connections, which enables them to actually utilise digital stores. The PlayStation Store is almost 15 years old and I can imagine how bad the average consumer connection was back then. And if you have a slower connection, you can still pre-order and pre-load games. b) Physical medium is not exclusive to brick and mortar. I am myself a collect…

a) Preordering and preloading games from digital stores isn't a new thing either. Internet connections are improving but are they improving at the rate of how large AAA games are becoming?

(A little anecdote, I recall downloading video games on Steam 10 years ago and it took me on average a few hours. Now in the present, newer games like RDR2 took me days.)

For b), I'm with you. GameStop does have an e-commerce platform, so they're hardly exclusively brick and mortar. Walmart and Target hasn't disappeared because they're suddenly competing with Amazon. But cmon, there are highly upvoted posts in this thread speculating all video games are digital only within 5 years. Do you believe that?

Re: GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

#88

Post by Rebelgecko »

rsstack wrote: post #41
volta83 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see often stated as a fact that "a lot of retail investors from WSB bough a lot of GME shares", but I never see any proof about any of this. What's the proof that any retail investor actually bought GME? How many retail investors actually bought GME? How much money did they win or loose?

It's a public community. Did you open it even once? People (yes, people other than the one guy who started it) post screenshots from their investment accounts.

I wonder how many are authentic and not just inspect element

Re: GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

#89

Post by high_density »

theorymeltfool wrote: post #23

I'm curious if the HFs that shorted Gamestop, are also profiting off of the wild swings by Redditors who have now lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. They could easily swing-trade this stock all the way down, using massive buy/sell orders to drive the price. If Melvin Capital isn't bankrupt after all of this, there might just be A LOT of broke redditors who cashed in their lifesavings on this gamble.

ditto this. And the motivation for organizing "buy gamestop" isn't altruistic as it seems..

1. buy gamestop stocks

2. call in SJWs to 'fight against the bad guys (hedge funds)' by buying gamestop stocks

- they relay this message to others

3. watch price go up, thanks to campaigns from SJWs

4. sell off when the price is right (feels highest)

5. watch the price go back to normal valuation - you can't expect this high price to continue forever.

6. watch people who were fooled by SJWs cry over their lifesavings

this is a financial crime, though the victims fell for a temporary 'feel good' moment... so I guess they 'paid' their lesson?

as for Robinhood, blocking 'buy' seems to be a protective measure that backfired too much. Robinhood's branding depends on how it can explain this well...

edit: I agree that it's not a 'financial crime' by law... I just mean it's a detestable and almost 'criminal' campaign.

Re: GameStop appoints chief technology officer and two additional executive hires

#90

Post by notafraudster »

cdubzzz wrote: post #66
criddell wrote: post #26

What is GameStop going to be five years from now when digital distribution is the only way video games are sold? I can't imagine selling game-related tchotchkes is a very good business. What else is there?

> [...] five years from now when digital distribution is the only way video games are sold? Tangent - is that direction really guaranteed for console games? Digital sales have been around for a long time and I realize the console world is really pushing it now but I'm curious if console gamers are buying in to it as fast as other markets (e.g. computer gamers and general entertainment markets (movies))? Maybe the pan…

It's not just % digital that hurts GS.

1. An increasing amount of video game spend is now add-ons. EA makes as much off FIFA Ultimate Team as they do off FIFA, maybe more. GameStop gets a bite off the first retail sale, and off used sales, but they don't get a bite off all the various aftermarket transactions. All three consoles now have pay-to-play online. 2. An increasing amount of video game spend is now free to play. Fortnite is free to play. Call of Duty Warzone is free to play. Apex Legends is free to play. Valorant is free to play. 3. An increasing amount of video game spend is on subscription plans, obviating the need to buy software. Microsoft has re-aligned their entire company around Xbox Game Pass. EA has EA Play. Ubisoft has their equivalent.

So even if 50% of nominal unit sales for digital + physical software remain physical, that's now far less than 50% of dollar spend. Every console is hooked up online, and with the new generation some models don't even have disc drives.

GS can probably retool itself to do a better job of competing with Amazon and eBay -- and they should! -- but it can't do a better job of competing with all of the secular pressures killing games retail.

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