GameStop is one of the last remaining relics from a bygone era where stores like Blockbuster, Game Crazy, Hollywood Video, and many others were found on every corner. If you had told me ten years ago that GameStop would still be around now, I would have probably told you you were crazy. That’s not because it doesn’t have its place in the gaming landscape. It’s more because this company has consistently failed to adapt to a changing landscape in which digital games have become more prevalent. Now, GameStop is returning to the past with new GameStop Retro branded locations.
I have been a frequent customer of GameStop over the past 20-25 years, and I’ve seen them stray far away from games over the last 5-10 years. It had gotten to the point where it was just easier for me to order something on Amazon or find a game I was looking for on eBay. There has been more focus on card games, collectibles, apparel, and action figures than the actual games. All those things are fine in theory when they’re accentuating the games that are available for purchase. When they’re the store’s primary aspect, it won’t draw many repeat customers. The atmosphere is entirely different from what it was in the store’s most famous years.
I’ll admit that I’m a bit nostalgic for what I remember GameStop as. This is a store I used to spend so much time in as a teenager in the mid-2000s when they had everything from the NES to the Xbox 360. There were multiple game kiosks where you could play the latest games. I played the PSP there for the first time when it was the new kid on the block. That experience single-handedly made me buy that console in early 2005. It was always a place that had that obscure game title that you couldn’t find anywhere else. Everyone would dump their old games there, and you might find that gem you’ve been looking for forever.
The store’s DNA is still there, but it’s a far cry from what it used to be. This is why they’re starting to return retro items to select stores. I love this idea from a practical standpoint as I feel that if they’re going to be the only video game store out there, they should sell every type of video game. There are still mom-and-pop stores, which are all over the place. Some people online have talked about how this isn’t good for those stores. I have the opposite opinion. These independent stores cater more to collectors and people who want quality. GameStop games frequently don’t even have box art or proper cases. They cater more to people who only care about playing the game. I believe they can easily co-exist and that GameStop will not take that audience away from these independent stores.
Retro trades are accepted on:
- NES
- GB
- SNES
- N64
- GBA
- Gamecube
- DS
- Wii
- Wii U
- Sega Genesis
- Sega Saturn
- Sega Dreamcast
- PS1
- PS2
- PS3
- PS Vita
- Xbox
- Xbox 360
There’s only one GameStop Retro in my area (find one near you here), and it’s quite a mess. The day I was there, they had a random PSP in a showcase with PS5 items. They have a small 360/PS3 area at the back of the store. They had some Wii games near the Switch games and some DS/3DS games up front. The selection is minimal, considering the pool of games they have to pick from and the large amount they likely have sitting in their warehouses. The pricing is all over the place, with some games being decent deals and others relatively high. I’d say 50% of the games didn’t have the correct case or box art, and many didn’t have manuals. The problem is that they’re not discounted when they’re not complete copies.
It’s early into this initiative for GameStop, so time will tell if they dive into the retro branding with both feet or if this is just a way to drum up some interest for a little while. It feels like when they announced they would be selling movies not too long ago. That’s another initiative that never seemed to get off the ground (there are only 25 titles on the site as of the time of writing.) I hope they can find footing with something soon, as this iconic company seems to be grasping at every straw to stay relevant. With physical media starting to disappear, their days may be numbered.
