GameStop – Taking A New Approach To Gaming

For decades, GameStop has been a household name known as one one of the most popular video game retailers worldwide.

Since 2016, the retailer has found itself in a decline due to the increasing popularity of PC games as well as the rise of platforms that provide downloadable games such as Steam, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live.

With that being said, the company has made multiple to expand it’s core business and remains optimistic about its non-physical ventures in the gaming industry, particularly within the digital space.

More recently, GameStop has announced that it is looking to enter the NFT and cryptocurrency industry with multiple plans to invest into the development of games that utilize NFTs and blockchain. The company sees the opportunity as a way to potentially turn around its core video game business.

This recent shift has excited some GameStop investors. After all, gamers are already used to buying and selling virtual items which makes the gaming market very open to embracing the NFT industry.

Many analysts also agree that the gaming industry is likely to become an essential component that will accelerate the growth of the adoption of blockchain, NFTs, and cryptocurrency.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The turnaround effort has yet to show significant results in GameStop’s financial performance. In the quarter through October, the company said revenues grew, but its loss widened compared with the same period a year earlier. The revenue growth came from sales of hardware and accessories, while revenue from game software slipped 2%.

“We believe our emphasis on the long term is positioning us to build what will ultimately become a much larger business,” GameStop Chief Executive Matt Furlong said on an earnings call with analysts last month. Mr. Furlong, who joined the company last year from Amazon.com Inc., then mentioned that GameStop was exploring business opportunities involving blockchain and NFT technologies.

As part as it’s initiative to enter the space, GameStop had announced launching its own platform which will allow its customers to buy, sell and trade NFTs of in-game items, including clothes, and characteristics of the various player avatars.

$GME #gamestop will launch an exclusive #NFT marketplace for gamers. pic.twitter.com/D5RMKoSbJU

— Zwijberg (@ZwijBerg) January 9, 2022

The company vision is to essentially enter the crypto and NFT space while it is still early in order to miss out on any future trends. A decade ago, the company had missed out on downloadable computer games and it hopes to learn from that mistake by embracing new technology trends from now on.

By combining the use of NFTs and cryptocurrencies with video games, companies claim that they will be able to empower gamers to own and sell digital items that they create or win in a game.

With that being said, no new venture is without its risks. Whether or not GameStop is able to leverage the NFT and crypto market as part of the company’s long term vision is still uncertain.

GameStop is not the only gaming company that is stepping into the space. Companies like Zynga and Ubisoft Entertainment have also announced that they will be selling their very own NFTs as well.

Although still in it’s early stages, this shift in the gaming industry continues to move forward with hopefully many more exciting announcements coming up in 2022.

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