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Blockbuster looks to steal a piece of GameStop's pie

It’s no secret that the home video market is slumping. Hollywood studios have said on numerous occasions that DVD sales are steadily declining, even with the introduction of high-definition formats.

Blockbuster, with its foundation built on the home video market, said today that it will be shifting a bit of its focus from movies to videogame software and hardware sales. All Blockbuster retail stores in the U.S. will now stock videogame titles, accessories and hardware for sale.

The rental giant is also expanding its stock, adding more game titles for rental with more copies than before across all platforms. Games such as Grand Theft Auto IV and Mario Kart Wii will be featured on the new release rentals wall for increased exposure.

"We're committed to offering a full assortment of everything gamers want in our stores -- hardware, accessories and retail and rental games across all platforms -- including Nintendo Wii, Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS," said Rod Murray, vice-president, games merchandising, Blockbuster Inc.

The further help promote Blockbuster’s new take on games retail, it is now offering a special PlayStation 3 movie and game bundle for $499.99, which will include a 40GB Sony PS3, media remote, HDMI cable, Spiderman 3 Blu-ray disc, Transformers PS3 game and a Blockbuster 12-week PS3/Blu-ray rental card that entitles users to one free PS3 or Blu-ray rental per week for 12 consecutive weeks.

Earlier this month, Blockbuster announced that it would promote both the PlayStation 3 and Blu-ray Disc simultaneously through the use of in-store kiosk displays.

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thank you
By TomCorelis on 4/28/2008 6:37:00 PM , Rating: 5
I, for one, welcome our new videogame retail overlords.

Seriously, anything that gives EB/Gamestop a serious kick in the pants is fine by me. Their "Used game price = New game price - 10 percent" policy needs to end. Now.




RE: thank you
By Tsuwamono on 4/28/2008 6:49:43 PM , Rating: 2
umm.. i got NHL 07 for 9.99 when the new price was 59.99.


RE: thank you
By rupaniii on 4/28/2008 7:25:28 PM , Rating: 2
I'm guessing that store hadn't updated it's price tags in about 5 months. That wouldn't surprise any former manager who walks in there now and wonders WTH we were trying for.


RE: thank you
By Samus on 4/28/2008 11:43:40 PM , Rating: 4
Dude, back in teh days of N64, Blockbuster was the place to go for memory cards, controllers, used games, etc. Even when the first DVD's came out, Blockbuster was all over that.

I think Netflix needs to get into the videogame rental market. Honestly, I don't know what's holding them back.


RE: thank you
By daftrok on 4/29/2008 2:26:35 AM , Rating: 2
I would prefer an attachment store setup, like Gamecrazy and Hollywood video has. But I guess they wouldn't want to be too much of a copy cat.


RE: thank you
By joemoedee on 4/29/2008 11:23:33 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I would prefer an attachment store setup, like Gamecrazy and Hollywood video has. But I guess they wouldn't want to be too much of a copy cat.


My Blockbuster has a "Gamerush" inside of it, seems pretty similar in concept.


RE: thank you
By inperfectdarkness on 4/29/2008 8:49:48 AM , Rating: 2
thanks. i'll keep shopping ebay and play 'n trade.


RE: thank you
By Ashrac on 4/28/2008 6:49:46 PM , Rating: 2
No kidding. Pre-order pickups too. Blockbuster is always open till midnight or 1am depending on location, you'll always be able to pick your games up the night before.

Not to mention, local gamestop is forming the line for GTAIV tonight @ 10pm. Doors open at 12:05. Or you could just show up at blockbuster at 12, and be in and out by 12:05.


RE: thank you
By cmdrdredd on 4/28/2008 9:44:56 PM , Rating: 2
If they have it in stock. The bonus of Gamestop is they ALWAYS 100% get the newest games. Wallyworld and the like don't always.


RE: thank you
By theapparition on 4/29/2008 8:44:07 AM , Rating: 4
Considering Walmart is the largest retailer in the world, and sells more video games than any other retail business......I'm pretty sure there #1 on the short list of who get's allocation.

You may not like that answer, and maybe not all Walmart stores get allocation, but they do get more than anyone else.


RE: thank you
By tedrodai on 4/29/2008 11:45:23 AM , Rating: 2
They may get plenty of allocation, but video games is not their top priority, thus you may or may not find your game opening day/week/etc there. If it's a less popular game, or rather isn't being pushed by certain publishers, you won't find it all all. Smash Bros Brawl was released on a Sunday, for instance, and none of the major retailers in my area had it in stock yet--so I broke down and got it at GameStop.


RE: thank you
By cmdrdredd on 4/29/2008 4:23:50 PM , Rating: 2
tedrodai is right on the money. You all bash gamestop, but when there's a niche title and nobody else will have it what do you do? That's right, check Gamestop. Some of the more strange games such as katamari don't necessarily see a nationwide day and date launch. They see a few copies at the gamestop stores and maybe a Toys R US, but then Wallyworld and bestbuy will get them whenever they feel like sending it over.


RE: thank you
By darkpaw on 4/29/2008 5:02:21 PM , Rating: 2
Unfortunately, I now longer have a Fry's Electronics nearby, because they beat out GameStop in every posible measure.

No need to reserve games, new releases almost always $10-30 off within first week or so, and a very good selection.

Leaving the West coast the two things I miss most are Fry's and Claim Jumpers.


RE: thank you
By Hakuryu on 4/28/2008 11:30:17 PM , Rating: 2
I just bought an Elite 360 system today along with the GTA 4 preorder and skate. Skate they had used and new... $59.99 new and $55.00 used. That surprised me quite a bit, and I spent the extra $5 for the new one.


RE: thank you
By soydeedo on 4/29/2008 2:52:05 AM , Rating: 2
Way to treat yourself to something nice. It's about damn time.


Online Game Rentals
By OddTSi on 4/28/2008 6:48:28 PM , Rating: 2
Does Blockbuster rent games through the mail? If not, maybe they should think about doing that to help them compete with Netflix even better. If that took off it would probably result in Netflix gobbling up GameFly.




RE: Online Game Rentals
By DigitalFreak on 4/28/2008 7:04:55 PM , Rating: 3
No, they don't. Never understood why either, as they could make a killing. They already have the distribution system in place.


RE: Online Game Rentals
By Netscorer on 4/28/2008 9:38:34 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe part of the problem is that video game producers do not allow Blockbuster (or Netflix for that matter) to rent games? With many games costing now up to $60 and having only 5-8 hours of play, the sales would bottom because people would much prefer paying $2-$3 to rent the game vs $60 to buy it. Some games with strong online play (Call of Duty 4) or repetitive value (Rock Band) would still be selling in huge numbers but for games like Assassin's Creed or Condemned this would spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R


RE: Online Game Rentals
By DigitalFreak on 4/29/2008 8:00:43 AM , Rating: 2
Uh... Blockbuster rents games in their stores already.


RE: Online Game Rentals
By Spivonious on 4/29/2008 9:36:24 AM , Rating: 2
Blockbuster pays way more than $50 for a copy of a game to rent. The video game publishers aren't stupid.


RE: Online Game Rentals
By murphyslabrat on 4/29/2008 1:51:19 PM , Rating: 2
I'm not trying to say anything, this is honest curiosity: do you have a link?


RE: Online Game Rentals
By darkpaw on 4/29/2008 2:22:05 PM , Rating: 2
I don't have a link, but if you look at the license agreements on most games it specifically says that it is for personal use and cannot be rented/etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if they had to pay additional licensing fees on games. I know it was true for movies 10 years or so ago, probably still is today.


RE: Online Game Rentals
By Spivonious on 4/29/2008 4:22:54 PM , Rating: 2
No link, but I used to work at BB and heard through the grapevine that each copy of a hit new release cost BB around $2000. I wouldn't be surprised if games cost even more, since they're rented for more money.

That's the whole reason BB sells pre-viewed movies and games - so they can actually make a profit if the item isn't renting well.


Confused Netflix User...
By Bender 123 on 4/28/2008 8:16:03 PM , Rating: 2
What is this "the store" they keep mentioning? I think I read something about ancient people that used to stand in lines to rent "videotape movies"...Good for them, I think I will order a quick game from amazon, download from steam or stream from hulu now.




RE: Confused Netflix User...
By Indec on 4/29/2008 9:35:27 AM , Rating: 3
Uhh some people still like to disconect themselves from their virtual umbilical cords from time to time, and actually go out and interact with other automous beings. Plus instant gratification is still what motivates most young gaming consumers these day's, gotta have it first.


reality
By redeem4god on 4/29/2008 12:11:58 PM , Rating: 2
While I agree that most Eb/Gamestop employees like to think they know a lot about tech (I can so run circles around them) the key is knowledge. Knowing more then them and controlling the conversation. I am also a big proponent of “rent before you buy” because I can always finish my games in the 5-day rental period. Not because I am great but because even though they are incredibly beautiful they are incredibly short too.

I also like to point out that although Wal-mart is a huge retail giant they are NOT juggernauts in the video game retail industry and they rarely get the level of allocation that EB/GameStop receives. When the PS3 and 360 were released Wal-mart received the bare minimum along with Toys R Us and others. EB received the most and were replenished quicker then Wal-Mart. Do your homework. It is simple marketing. Wal mart doesn’t push anyone game over the other and the same goes for systems do to their VMU’s (Vendor Maintained Units) structure within the store. This is why publishers and vendors give preferential treatment to EB/GameStop because they “push” their products.

Blockbuster is coming in on the tail end of things. Like yahoo they are late to the game and it won’t help them. More games for sale, more games for rent? Where do they plan to put this new inventory in their already dinky little stores? They promised the same thing when it came to increasing their movie titles and THAT never happened and when I asked I was told, “Well they realized we didn’t have enough space”. Yeah I know online but again both Gamefly and EB have then beaten. This is just as bad as their idea/desire to buy Circuit city so they can produce a set-top box. Why? There are already too many. Poor business decisions by an ailing and dying company. I am a firm believer in diversifying a company portfolio but they are choosing already saturated markets.




RE: reality
By cmdrdredd on 4/29/2008 4:28:45 PM , Rating: 2
You make a good point. To Gamestop's defense they mostly hire gamers because their market is gamers. They may not know how to get your PS3 and 360 running in 1080p, and how to run your 7.1 surround system. They may not know how to setup a LAN for you. However, they should know their games. That's what they're there for. Usually they'll be honest, if a game really stinks they will tell you flat out "it's junk because..." and they'll usually be pretty close. Opinions vary, and they ARE told to push reservatons etc. They aren't told to learn what 720p means.


For the love of trends...
By dragonbif on 4/28/2008 7:52:15 PM , Rating: 2
Now I do not remember where this info was I really do wish I could but I cant it’s been 4 months. Back in January when they like to do those trend studies I found 3 sprat articles on movie, games and BitTorrent (P2P).
The one on video game had mixed all the platforms together and they found from 2003 to the end of 2007 there was a rise in sales, no surprise there.
The movie sales I believe was from 2000 to the end of 2007 and they and the trend going down year to year. I am not sure if they were counting rentals or not in that or even if that counts as a sale any one knows? One thing I do know is it costs more to the theater now then it did in 2000.
Now for the fun one, BitTorrent usage from 2004 to 2007 went up. From what I remember from the article they were saying that as P2P got easer to use more used it. No dee, of course as it is simplified more are going to use it.
Crap I can’t remember where these are from sorry; I just spent 20min trying to find them. But anyway it is a good move to start putting the media that is on the rise in the shops don’t you think. DVDs don’t cost as much as they used to but BR costs $10-15 more. As for the P2P hehe we all know why that is up and movies are down…we all do it don’t we?
If anyone knows what articles I am talking about or similar ones please post the links, I would like to have that.




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