It’s extremely rare in this day and age to find a person who has a love of video games and video game consoles that hasn’t stood in an insanely long line at least once waiting for the doors to open at GameStop.
Amongst other video game enthusiasts, in the midnight cold outside of a GameStop location for a new release, they had reserved probably as soon as it was made available. Even the gamers who haven’t gone as far as a midnight release, probably have at least a few memories of spending time in a GameStop store in their past.
For a few years now it has been understood by many that GameStop would possibly be selling the company. It was possible that the company would close all of its traditional brick and mortar locations and go to a purely digital platform instead, which wouldn’t be all that surprising for the times.
However, without physical locations, many people feel that it just wouldn’t be the same. Which is why there is some very good news for lovers of GameStop. The company has made the official announcement that they will not be selling the company after all.
This announcement has been met with mixed responses as people try to analyze exactly what this means for the company. The decision that was made to not sell the company has caused GameStop’s overall stock to drop by 27.2%, a loss of about $430 million. Some positive news for the company though is that GameStop sold the Spring Mobile business for over $700 million. The Spring Mobile business was GameStop’s attempt at expanding to new products and services outside of just the video game industry.
The company’s stock dropping of 27.2% is the lowest that GameStop has fallen since 2002, and in 2017 GameStop closed its doors on 150 retail locations. The company officially got a new CEO in April of 2019, George Sherman.
Sherman has since stated that he understands the company’s need for a revamp and relevant changes to keep up in the rapidly advancing gaming industry. GameStop now plans to redirect the company focus back onto video games and collectibles.
GameStop has been quite possibly one of the most recognizable brands in the gaming industry and continues to be a logo that gamers everywhere know. George Sherman is optimistic about keeping the brand and its stores alive and well. It seems that hopefully, the GameStop stores won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
