19-04-2005 21:59									#1
	Gamestop buys EB Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

Er, well Im worried.

1. I fear that they will consolidate reduce the total number of stores, and the total available shelf space - this will not be good, especially for smaller titles/publishers

2. EB, at least around here, generally has more PC games than Gamestop, which is almost all console titles. Also EB usually has extensive section of used PC games, and bargain bin titles, which Gamestop doesnt have (well at least not for PC - i dont look that closely at the console stuff). I hope they either keep EB seperate, or adopt some EB policies, but i fear they will not.

	19-04-2005 22:26									#2
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

I'd think Gamestop will keep both open , as you say in #2 - but I agree that this is a bit of a concern

	19-04-2005 22:36									#3
	Suffering from ads?

Looks like it's Amazon for me from here on out!

	19-04-2005 22:59									#4
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

I usually buy from Amazon anyway.

	20-04-2005 03:43									#5
	Tired of ads?

My last purchase was from eBay.

	20-04-2005 08:10									#6
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

Gamestop's sales people are a trifle annoying (at least where I live). I recently purchased Civ 3 conquests, and I had to sit through the whole song and dance about how I really should reserve Civ 4 and throw in Age of Mythology too. They are perpetually trying to sell me crap I don't want.

EB is a well known brand name, I like EB's more than Gamestops for the most part. Maybe EB's will not fade into the fog of ihstory.

	20-04-2005 08:24									#7
	Increase the size of your Attachments

quote: Originally posted by Pythagoras Gamestop's sales people are a trifle annoying (at least where I live). I recently purchased Civ 3 conquests, and I had to sit through the whole song and dance about how I really should reserve Civ 4 and throw in Age of Mythology too.

Did you give him the ""?

	20-04-2005 12:01									#8
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

quote: Originally posted by Pythagoras Gamestop's sales people are a trifle annoying (at least where I live). I recently purchased Civ 3 conquests, and I had to sit through the whole song and dance about how I really should reserve Civ 4

Fair point I'd say.

	20-04-2005 12:42									#9
	Tired of ads?

If you like high-risk investments, perhaps.

	20-04-2005 13:05									#10
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

I didnt know gamestop had any PC titles. And EB has been carrying less and less PC titles. I haven't bought a game from them in years. I believe civ3: play the world expansion was the last game I bought from EB. And only there because it came out 1 day earlier than at Best Buy. Of course, I wish I waited- as that expansion sucked .

	20-04-2005 23:02									#11
	Inflate your Upload Space

quote: Originally posted by Skanky Burns If you like high-risk investments, perhaps.

Better a high risk investment with a good chance of a nice payoff than an investment with problems that will, for certain, never be fixed.

	20-04-2005 23:40									#12
	Increase the size of your Attachments

This is the fourth thread on this........

ACK!

	20-04-2005 23:43									#13
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

Not here it isn't.

	21-04-2005 00:08									#14
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

yeah, this is the most important since it offeres +1's.

	21-04-2005 03:41									#15
	Re: Gamestop buys EB Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

quote: Originally posted by lord of the mark 2. EB, at least around here, generally has more PC games than Gamestop, which is almost all console titles. Also EB usually has extensive section of used PC games, and bargain bin titles, which Gamestop doesnt have (well at least not for PC - i dont look that closely at the console stuff). I hope they either keep EB seperate, or adopt some EB policies, but i fear they will not.

Oh my god EB might stop selling as many PC games which would only leave you with Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, KB, eBay, Amazon, CompUSA, Fry's, etc to buy from!!!!!

	21-04-2005 04:51									#16
	Re: Re: Gamestop buys EB Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

quote: Originally posted by Verto Oh my god EB might stop selling as many PC games which would only leave you with Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, KB, eBay, Amazon, CompUSA, Fry's, etc to buy from!!!!!

arghh!! the selection at Walmart and Target is awful. KB is a toy store, ive never seen PC games there. CompUSA is not SO bad, but not as good as EB. And NONE of them sells used games. And no Frys for hundreds of miles.

Basically that leaves just online purchasing. Which is fine for us diehards, I suppose, but not real great for the hobby - no brick and mortar shelfspace means no impulse buys, and fewer new PC gamers.

	21-04-2005 04:55									#17
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

I probably buy mostly from CompUSA due to proximity to work, but EB or GS are my secondary locations if compusa is out...

And don't complain so much about the sales people, it's their job to upsell things. Just say "no, thanks," and continue on; if they go significantly beyond that, then they're being annoying.
It is a fact of life in retail sales that pretty much everywhere (in major corporate retail anyway) you are expected to upsell something or make a suggestion of some sort. Blame corporate america (or corporate wherever you live), if you like, but it's not the salesperson's fault. They're just trying not to get fired.

	21-04-2005 08:19									#18
	Re: Re: Re: Gamestop buys EB Get a bigger avatar today!

quote: Originally posted by lord of the mark arghh!! the selection at Walmart and Target is awful. KB is a toy store, ive never seen PC games there. CompUSA is not SO bad, but not as good as EB. And NONE of them sells used games. And no Frys for hundreds of miles. Basically that leaves just online purchasing. Which is fine for us diehards, I suppose, but not real great for the hobby - no brick and mortar shelfspace means no impulse buys, and fewer new PC gamers.

Then welcome your console overlords.

	21-04-2005 08:31									#19
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

While it sucks that there will be one less copetitor and that there will be slightly less shelf space for PC games we should remember how large the PC market is and that retailors will pop up to service the market if there is money to make. Retail is one of the easiest industries to break into as a new company.

	21-04-2005 21:41									#20
	Remove this text

quote: Originally posted by Oerdin While it sucks that there will be one less copetitor and that there will be slightly less shelf space for PC games we should remember how large the PC market is and that retailors will pop up to service the market if there is money to make. Retail is one of the easiest industries to break into as a new company.

Yes, and circuit city has added game shelfspace in recent years. But all told I think the situation is not positive. Online sales grow too. But I think IF EB is lost, that will be a major blow, if not necessarily the death of PC gaming.

	22-04-2005 00:52									#21
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Spare us the drama. The death of PC gaming? I doubt EB Games is that significant a retailer as far as computer games are concerned. And I'm sure they will continue selling them anyway.

	22-04-2005 02:14									#22
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

[QUOTE] Originally posted by Verto

quote: Spare us the drama. The death of PC gaming? I doubt EB Games is that significant a retailer as far as computer games are concerned.

Which is why i said "not necessarily" - but it is an important outlet.

quote: And I'm sure they will continue selling them anyway.

Which was why I said "IF".

Seems to me you were responding a different post than what I wrote.

	22-04-2005 03:13									#23
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

It's a good way of winning arguments.

	22-04-2005 06:46									#24
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote: Originally posted by lord of the mark [QUOTE] Originally posted by Verto quote: Spare us the drama. The death of PC gaming? I doubt EB Games is that significant a retailer as far as computer games are concerned. Which is why i said "not necessarily" - but it is an important outlet. quote: And I'm sure they will continue selling them anyway. Which was why I said "IF". Seems to me you were responding a different post than what I wrote.

I don't know where you come up with those statistics, but they are wrong.

	22-04-2005 06:58									#25
	Remove this text

Games in general are a bigger business then movies or TV and PCs games have the largest market. However PC games also have the smallest margin while consul games have the largest margin thus the specialty retailers flock to were they can make the most money. That suites me fine just as long as there are still plenty of competitors locally or on the net were I can by the 2-3 games I buy per year.

With a target, best buy, walmart, kmart, fry's, curcuit city, EB, and game stop all near my house I've got plenty of local competition plus the net to keep them honest.

	22-04-2005 10:41									#26
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

I was reading an article that said the top 2 selling game of all time are PC games. One is the Sims, what is the other?

	22-04-2005 10:50									#27
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

World of Warcraft?

	22-04-2005 11:17									#28
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

hmm I was reading an article. And as of 2002 at least, Myst appears to be #2 seeing as the Sims surpassed Myst.

	22-04-2005 11:20									#29
	Put an end to popups!

hmm, that can't be right. I'm reading another article that says Tetris for the gameboy has sold 32 million units.

that easily beats out any PC game.

And this was a console developer (or maybe a publisher) who said this. I think he's full of ****.

	22-04-2005 18:04									#30
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

quote: Originally posted by Oerdin Games in general are a bigger business then movies or TV and PCs games have the largest market.

Sorry, no.


"Is the games industry bigger than the movie industry?
No. Movies are between 5-10X bigger, revenue-wise, world-wide, than games.

Misleading sources have often made the 'games are bigger than movies' claim, usually by comparing total U.S. video game software and hardware sales to U.S. domestic box office. This overstates video game sales (why include hardware sales - we don't include VCR and DVD player sales for the movie industry), understates movie sales (the box office is only a small source of movie sales now, DVD is much larger), and ignores the rest of the world, where movies hold an even greater edge on games in terms of revenues.

Worldwide video and PC retail game software sales in 2003 were between $16 and $18 billion (see elsewhere in this FAQ). Including rental and on-line revenues would increase this total by about $2-4 billion.

According to this site (http://www.factbook.net/wbglobal_rev.htm), worldwide movie box-office is $21.4 billion, and total movie sales (including box-office, DVD, VCR, and licensing for TV) is $180 billion. The latter figure may be slightly inflated, but movies are certainly between 5 and 10X as big as games, world-wide, and likely growing faster (recent game industry growth is ~4-6%, versus movie industry double digit growth - again see elsewhere in this FAQ for video games, and see http://www.factbook.net/wbglobal_rev.htm for movies.

U.S.-only box office for 2004 was $9.4 billion, meaning that the box-office alone (excluding DVD, rentals and the rest of it) handily beats the video-game industry in the U.S. (source : http://www.boston.com/ae/specials/2...of_2004?pg=full)


Overall U.S. movie industry revenues (for 2003, couldn't locate 2004 figures for all of these):

$Billions
Box Office $9.17
DVD Sales $11.6
VHS Sales $2.4
DVD and VHS rentals $6.8-8.2
Movie Pay-per-view $1.6
Rights Fees ? (Couldn't locate a number, but this is a non-trivial sum. It's what TNT, NBC, etc. pay to the studios to broadcast their movies)

source: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=450524

Total $31.6 to $33 billion, plus rights fees and anything else I've forgotten.

Remember that the movie industry generates substantial revenues not only in US/West Europe/Japan (as games do), but virtually all around the world (game revs outside those major markets are virtually nil). Markets like Latin America and Asia (aside from just Japan) generate substantial revenues for the movie industry."