GameStop CEO Says The Company's Future Isn't In Games

GameStop is leaning heavily to trading cards as part of its future strategy, according to CEO Ryan Cohen. The news comes as a part of larger strategy shift to buy and hold a lot of bitcoin. From a report: Cohen has said that continuing to focus on trading cards, including the incredibly popular recent Pokemon card sets, is a "natural extension" of GameStop's business. He added that the collectibles could have potential for high profit margins.

Pokemon cards have a seen a gigantic resurgence recently. Stores regularly sell of sets, including the Destined Rivals set that launched on May 30. Cards have become increasingly hard to find as scalpers buy up supply and sell Pokemon card products -- including cards, special boxes, and accessories -- at exorbitant prices.

Just stop

[sinij]

Personally, I like physical media for my games. Instead, I get DRM-choked, always on, digital only, $80+ "license". I am buying a lot less games these days.

Re: Just stop

[drinkypoo]

They will have to, they cannot stop the industry going to downloads. This is the smartest thing they could do.

It's very interesting that game shops were mostly replaced by video game shops which now need to become game shops again.

CEOs gonna CEO

[LowestKey]

I'm really glad a lot of retail investors, who DEFINITELY knew what they were doing, shoveled cash to this guy's coffers so he could gamble it all on crypto and help card scalpers get rich. Definitely exactly what all those investors had in mind when they were trying to save GameStop.

Re:

[arnott]

>he could gamble it all on crypto
Are you sure about this?

Re:

[Narcocide]

Keep in mind that shortly after that all happened, we discovered these assholes were short-selling their own stock while purposefully trying to drive their own company out of business for a quicker short-term cash-out. They don't give a fuck what those investors (mostly kids who were their primary customers, spending a few dollars of allowance money naively thinking they'd be lauded as heroes by the company) think and in fact they resent them. I, for one, hope this fucker just loses interest and sells the c

Re:

[Zekolas]

Who are they? Because non of that happened unless you believe weird conspiracies

Re:CEOs gonna CEO

[Zekolas]

Those investors were trying to get rich, nothing more. They were buying lotto tickets The Bagholders that missed the pump and got left with the bags tried to claim they were "investing for a change" but thats a lie, they just didn't sell soon enough .

Re:

[Shazatoga]

Retail stores are dying especially for video games. The company needs to pivot to something else or die. This is no different than Woolworth becoming Footlocker Shoes.

Of course it isn't.

[Chris Mattern]

It's stock market fraud!

Uh....

[Chris Mattern]

Aren't Pokemon cards a game?

Re:

[Entrope]

They can be, but TFS makes a strong suggestion that they are also, metaphorically, tulip bulbs.

Re:

[drinkypoo]

That goes for anything you can't eat, live in, or fuck.

Pokemon may be a fad, but it's been incredibly durable.

Missed Headline Opportunity: GameStop StopsGames

[eepok]

See Subject.

Re:

[drnb]

See Subject.

Yep, my first thought was they are living up to their name. :-)

Re:

[Tony Isaac]

On the other hand, they're still playing games, just a different sort of game.

Re:

[sinkskinkshrieks]

The un-fun, corporate bullshit kind that even WOPR determined shouldn't be played.

Re:

[Tony Isaac]

Indeed. Unfortunately, a bunch of individual investors gave GameStop a bunch of funny money to play with, and they have to do *something* with it.

so, just a shitcoin holding company....

[sdinfoserv]

There's some creativity and brain power in action. What will you do the moment Trump leaves office? You do realize when the orange grifter leaves office, regulations will get turned back on, right?

Dern.

[sinkskinkshrieks]

I had hoped it was going to be crypto memes, NFTs, merch, and CBD edibles. /s

That's not a compnay, that's somebody gambling

[Timmy D Programmer]

That's just somebody gambling with other peoples money. That's hardly a company.

Or... simple solution...

[TronNerd82]

Sell both games and cards. Sell all your stupid TCG addiction bullshit, and supplement that with what people who go to GameStop actually care about: GAMES.

It's in the name for crying out loud. Unless they intend on becoming CardStop.

Putting aside the obvious fact that GameStop will most likely not enforce any buying limits on cards in the name of money, thereby making GameStop a scalper's wet dream, who actually stopped and thought with a straight face that changing your entire business model to accommodate

Re:

[Can'tNot]

Trading card games are still games, the headline is just trying to make a joke. As for: "who thought this was a good idea?" Seemingly every independent video game store is moving in this direction. And the video game publishers are as well, in their way.

First, recognize that trading card games are gacha games. Second, recognize that microtransactions are taking over the video game industry. And that gacha games are a big part of that. Third, recognize that physical gacha games, like TCGs, are the only wa

Re:

[Dragonslicer]

Sell both games and cards. Sell all your stupid TCG addiction bullshit, and supplement that with what people who go to GameStop actually care about: GAMES.

Just out of curiosity, what do you think the "G" in "TCG" stands for?

What else is new?

[Slashythenkilly]

Its not like MTV plays music anymore either.