Re: Goodbye Game Informer

On Wed, 7 Aug 2024 12:59:33 +0200, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

On 8/7/2024 10:38 AM, Xocyll wrote:

They probably can't afford to pay for hosting for it.

wasn't the whole issue with GameStop that people intentionally weren't
selling the stock when the company really badly needed it? Anyway, a
quick check of the stock shows GameStop barely clinging to existence.

The real issue is that GameStop just wasn't a viable business model
any more. Between digital downloads, subscription/streaming services
and Amazon shipping games directly to your doorstep overnight, driving
out to a brick-n-mortar store just wasn't something people were
interested in doing anymore. Despite various attempts to reinvent
themselves (an increased focus on selling FunkoPops and similar kitsch
being the most obvious) they had been bleeding users for years. Worse
for GameStop, a lot of their income depended on reselling used games,
and digital sales absolutely /decimated/ that revenue.

The stock shenanigans -where GameStop stock became a meme stock that
people bought almost as a joke, causing an unexpected rise in its
price- were almost inconsequential to this more serious issue.

GameStop had been floundering for years. The 'fun' people had with its
stock only prolonged the agony. The writing has been on the wall for
the company for a long time.

That's why the continued existence of Game Informer was so surprising.
It wouldn't shock me to learn that the magazine was one of the last
forms of positive income the corporation was making... but even that
wasn't enough to keep the whole company afloat when the rest of their
business had become a boat anchor pulling the whole thing down.