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Tag: GameStop

  • SEC Closes Investigation Into GameStop Stock Fiasco

    The SEC has investigated so called “meme stocks,” such as GameStop’s epic run, ultimately deciding there was no wrongdoing.

    GameStop made headlines early this year when its stock skyrocketed. The frenzy was driven by investors on Reddit pumping the stock. AMC, Blackberry and Bed Bath & Beyond also saw their stocks driven up, thanks to individual stock traders. The phenomenon cost Wall Street who had shorted the stocks billions of dollars.

    The SEC investigation, however, has proven the buying frenzy was driven by individual investors, meaning there was nothing illegal about the trend…no matter how strange it may have been.

    “January’s events gave us an opportunity to consider how we can further our efforts to make the equity markets as fair, orderly, and efficient as possible,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “Making markets work for everyday investors gets to the heart of the SEC’s mission. I would like to thank the staff for bringing their expertise to this important report, and for their ongoing work on to address the issues that January’s events raised.”

  • Reddit’s WallStreetBets Schools Wall Street

    Reddit’s WallStreetBets Schools Wall Street

    Wall Street may be the “experts” in the stock market, but analysts are increasingly looking to Reddit’s WallStreetBets for info.

    Reddit’s WallStreetBets upended the stock market when individual traders rallied around stocks that mainstream Wall Street institutions were shorting. GameStop, Blackberry, AMC and Bed and Bath and Beyond saw massive gains after they were shorted, ultimately costingWall Street tens of billions.

    It appears Wall Street has taken notice, and is now looking to WallStreetBets, and other social media platforms, for tips and info, according to The Wall Street Journal. Firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have employees on Reddit, Discord and Twitter, looking for the next big trading phenomenon.

    “It’s more art than science because it’s uncharted territory,” Simeon Siegel, a BMO Capital Markets analyst, told WSJ.

    It’s an amazing turn of events and proves just how much platforms like Robinhood, along with social media, have democratized investing.

  • AMC Will Accept Bitcoin as Payment

    AMC Will Accept Bitcoin as Payment

    AMC has announced it will start accepting bitcoin as payment by the end of 2021.

    In an earnings call Monday, AMC CEO Adam Aron said all US theaters would accept bitcoin, for both tickets and concessions, if the purchase is made online. The company plans to have the necessary systems in place to accept the transactions by the end of 2021, according to CNBC.

    As the outlet points out, the news brings together two highly volatile factors. Bitcoin’s prices have been all over the map in the last year, while AMC was one of the stocks that benefited from traders on Reddit’s WallStreetBets group, the same traders that brought GameStop to unexpected heights and cost hedge funds and short-sellers billions.

    Regardless of the backstories involved, another major company accepting bitcoin as payment is sure to help drive the cryptocurrency’s popularity even more.

  • Robinhood Experiences Issues During Big Trading Day…Again

    Robinhood Experiences Issues During Big Trading Day…Again

    Robinhood has once again found itself in hot water after users were unable to make crypto trades during a big trading day.

    In March of 2020, Robinhood experienced a series of outages on some of the biggest market days. Users were outraged when they were unable to cash in, leading to threats of class-action lawsuits and customers abandoning the platform.

    It seems history is repeating itself, with the company once again experiencing issues, this time during a massive surge in the Dogecoin cryptocurrency. The issues caused some people to incorrectly think Robinhood was intentionally blocking Dogecoin trading, much like it did when users were driving Gamestop’s infamous rally.

    The company says crypto trading has been fixed.

    It remains to be seen if the company will lose more customers as a result of these latest issues.

  • How the GameStop Stock Short Squeeze Cost Wall Street Billions

    How the GameStop Stock Short Squeeze Cost Wall Street Billions

    While most people invest on Wall Street to make money, a Reddit-based group known as Wall Street Bets had a different motive. They saw what wealthy hedge funds were doing to GameStop (GME) stock and decided they wanted to punish them. What came next was a saga more exciting than some video games GameStop sells: over the course of January 2021, GME stock rose from $18 at the beginning of the month to a peak of $483 on January 28th. GameStop did nothing as a company to earn this rally. Rather, it was the decentralized coordination of anonymous Redditors who spurred the buying frenzy.

    What Was the Problem

    What was Wall Street doing that these users objected to? They were engaged in 3 notable, risky investing practices: shorting, buying on margin, and options trading. When someone shorts a stock, they sell shares at one price with the expectation that the stock price will go down. After waiting for the prices to drop, an investor buys the shares again and profits on the difference. While this can lead to handsome profits if the investor predicted stock trajectory correctly, losses can theoretically be infinite if the price rises instead.

    To buy on margin is to use borrowed money for one’s transactions. If investments go the way one predicts, this money will be easy to pay back. If they don’t, the stocks are collateral and losses can be immense. Finally, options give an investor the right to purchase a stock later, usually once it hits a certain price. This can give someone an advantage over those buying the stock outright, but only if the contracted price comes to pass. If it does not, this practice is a total loss for the investor. As one can see from the results, r/WallStreetBets was able to induce losses on several fronts.

    What Happened to the Hedge Funds

    The hedge fund who suffered the most from GME’s surprise rally is Melvin Capital. This company lost nearly $6.6 billion from their actions surrounding GME stock. That’s over half their value as a hedge fund! While this is certainly bad news for Melvin Capital, the overall market initially believed the bad news wouldn’t reach them. Unfortunately, short sellers had to sell parts of their portfolios to raise cash, leading the S&P 500 to drop by 2.6% on January 27th. It was the worst stock market day in 3 months. People who had nothing to do with GME stock saw their holdings lose value.

    It gets worse for Wall Street. Despite their complaints, the SEC (the government body in charge of regulating Wall Street) is only monitoring the situation. Under current law, nothing Wall Street Bets did is illegal. Discussing what stocks to buy in a public online space is no crime. The only party likely to face punishment for their actions is the RobinHood trading app, who stopped users from buying GME stocks for a short period of time. They face a class-action suit for market manipulation. Social media users rarely show this much power.

    The Battle for Wall Street
    Source: Expensivity
  • Elon Musk: BitCoin On the Verge of Widespread Acceptance

    Elon Musk: BitCoin On the Verge of Widespread Acceptance

    Elon Musk has said bitcoin is on the verge of achieving wide acceptance among investors and conventional finance people.

    Tesla’s famous CEO has been on a roll in the last few weeks with his commentary on various companies, services and technology. His tweet about messaging app Signal helped drive unprecedented growth in the wake of WhatApp’s privacy mishap. A tweet about GameStop helped drive further investment in the stock. Musk recently added #bitcoin to his Twitter profile, leading to a 14% jump in bitcoin’s price, and has now predicted the cryptocurrency is on the verge of widespread acceptance.

    “I am a supporter of bitcoin,” Musk said in his first discussion on Clubhouse, the invitation-only social media app, according to Business Insider.

    “I think bitcoin is on the verge of getting broad acceptance by conventional finance people,” he added, while also admitting he should have invested in the currency eight years ago.

    “I was a little slow on the uptake … I do think at this point that bitcoin is a good thing.”

    Musk’s comments are the latest indication of the inroads bitcoin has been making, with even an NFL player’s salary being paid in part with the cryptocurrency.

  • Short-Seller Losses Top $70 Billion In the War on Wall Street

    Short-Seller Losses Top $70 Billion In the War on Wall Street

    Short-sellers have lost a staggering $70 billion in the War on Wall Street between institutional investors and day traders on Reddit.

    Day traders on Reddit began driving up the price of stocks traditional Wall Street investors had recommended shorting, most notably GameStop, which saw its price go up some 1,000%. AMC, Bed Bath and Beyond, Blackberry and others also saw stock jumps as a result of the day traders.

    None of the companies in question saw their stock rise as a result of any fundamental change or improvement in their business. Instead, the phenomenon seemed to be a continuation of the Wall Street protests following the ‘08 crash, with everyman investors teaming up to stick it to Wall Street. Even Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Sr. highlighted how the whole situation was showcasing the power of community.

    That community effort is taking a tangible toll on Wall Street, with Reuters reporting that investors have lost some $70.87 billion as a result of their short positions on US companies. GameStop makes up a sizable portion of those loses, coming in at $1.03 billion, Bed Bath & Beyond, meanwhile, accounts for $600 million.

    It remains to be seen where this saga will end but, now that everyman traders have had a taste of the power they can wield, it’s hard to imagine stock trading will ever be the same.

  • Robinhood Blocks GameStop Trading, Faces Backlash

    Robinhood Blocks GameStop Trading, Faces Backlash

    Robinhood has weighed in on the war on Wall Street, blocking buys of GameStop, AMC, Blackberry and others, and facing backlash for it.

    Day traders have been waging war against Wall Street, targeting stocks institutional investors have recommended shorting. The traders have been using Reddit to encourage others to buy those stocks, pumping them to record heights. GameStop surged as high as $247 from the $18 it was sitting at a couple of weeks ago.

    The end result has been staggering losses by Wall Street investors who had shorted those stocks, in many cases being forced to buy them back at much higher prices. The situation has even caught the attention of the White House and Treasury Department.

    Meanwhile, Wall Street investors have denounced the phenomenon, saying it’s not based on facts or the merits of the companies’ performance. Instead, the situation seems to be the latest example of community activism, fueled by frustration over how established institutions have done business.

    Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Sr. made that point on Twitter:

    Stock trading app Robinhood has taken action, blocking trades of $AAL, $AMC, $BB, $BBY, $CTRM, $EXPR, $GME, $KOSS, $NAKD, $NOK, $SNDL, $TR, and $TRVG. Needless to say, users are outraged, with some filing SEC complaints and others jumping ship for competing platforms, such as CashApp.

    Robinhood may find itself reaping the same collective whirlwind Wall Street has been on the receiving end of, hurting its own business.

  • Day Traders Continue to Pump Stocks, WH and Treasury Monitoring

    Day Traders Continue to Pump Stocks, WH and Treasury Monitoring

    Day traders continued to take on Wall Street investors, pumping stocks traditional investors have been shorting.

    GameStop made headlines when its stock surged after Citron Research’s Andrew Left urged investors to short it. Traders took to Reddit to urge others to buy, causing the stock to hit as high as $247 in after hours trading Tuesday, a far cry from the $18 it was at a couple of weeks ago.

    GameStop isn’t the only company to see its stock take off. AMC has risen some 310%, Blackberry 24% and Bed Bath & Beyond 46%, according to Business Insider. It appears that day traders are engaging in a new level of activism, targeting stocks that institutional investors are shorting. The end result is volatile trading that has caused traditional investors to suffer heavy losses.

    The situation is not going unnoticed, with WH Press Secretary Jen Psaki saying the White House and Treasury Department were monitoring the situation.

  • Good Day For GameStop Investors As Stock Hits $247

    Good Day For GameStop Investors As Stock Hits $247

    GameStop is having a wild day, as individual investors have helped drive the price to $247, up from $18 just a couple of weeks ago

    Like many brick-and-mortar companies, GameStop has been struggling with the effects of its customers transitioning to online buying. The company has been forced to close hundreds of stores and faces an uncertain future.

    As a result, many investors started short-selling the stock. Andrew Left of Citron Research, in particular, was one of the most vocal in pushing for investors to short-sell. In response, individual investors on Reddit began grabbing up shares of the stock, causing its price to soar. In fact, its price starting rising so much that many short-sellers were forced to buy it back at higher prices.

    Elon Musk even got in on the action, tweeting about the phenomenon.

    The stock hit $159.18 Monday, before dropping to close at $76.79. On Tuesday the stock rose $147.98, before skyrocketing to $247 in after-hours trading.

    Ultimately, GameStop’s fundamentals are unchanged. This episode, however, shows the power of individual investors banding together against Wall Street, and adds an uncertain factor to future investor recommendations.

  • PlayStation 4: GameStop Donates Systems To Charity

    PlayStation 4, the ever-coveted game system that boasts hi-fi graphics, is in the headlines this week after retail giant GameStop announced they would be donating several of them to the Ronald McDonald House.

    The charity organization provides a safe place for families to stay while their children receive treatment at a hospital located far from their home, and a representative for Sony–the company that makes PS4–says their goal is to give visitors to the houses a chance to relax and have fun.

    “When families come to a Ronald McDonald House, they are going through an extremely difficult, trying period. Our hope is by teaming up with GameStop we can help add some fun to the homes and bring excitement and laughter to families when they need it most,” said director of sales Chip McTighe.

    Each of the 180 Ronald McDonald House locations across the country will receive a PlayStation bundle, which will include an extra DualShock 4 controller and these games: LittleBigPlanet 3, Driveclub, and MLB 15: The Show.

    PlayStation 4 is on the minds of many gamers this week after a firmware update was released; according to VG24/7, the update will improve system software stability during use of some features, as well as operation quality.

    Several new games have just been announced for PS4, as well, and Square Enix is at the top of the list of companies who will share their titles with the system. Producer Shinji Hashimoto sat down for a recent interview, saying their goal is to put out even more games this year and next than have been announced.

    “We want to help spread PS4 even more. If that happens, even more games will come out, which would make me even happier,” Hashimoto said.

  • Cyber Monday Sales: Best Deals On Video Games

    Cyber Monday is like the rushed sequel to Black Friday. That doesn’t make it any worse than America’s annual celebration of cheap TVs and trampling old people though. In fact, it might even be the superior holiday since you don’t have to brave the elements or that jerk down the block to score cheap goods.

    We’ve already previewed a few of the Cyber Monday deals coming from major retailers, but the video game fans out there are going to want to pay attention to this year’s Cyber Monday. For starters, Amazon is hosting a week of Cyber Monday sales starting today. One of the standout deals is half-off Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor for Xbox One and PS4. For only $30, you too can explore the vastness of Mordor while making enemies out of every orc you let live. Other notable deals on Amazon include Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition on PS4 for $18 or the recently released Lords of the Fallen for $40.

    For more deals, be sure to check out Amazon’s landing page for Cyber Monday. There will be new sales all week as the world’s largest online retailer attempts to siphon money out of gamers across the country.

    What about GameStop? Does the nation’s largest games specialty retailer have any good Cyber Monday sales in mind? While the retailer has yet to send out its annual Cyber Monday ad, it has already lowered the prices on the games that will be seeing discounts come December 1. Of particular note is recently released The Evil Within – the $60 PS4/Xbox One title has seen its price slashed in half for Cyber Monday.

    If you’re in the market for some last gen consoles, GameStop has you covered with some rather generous bundles. For starters is the Wii Holiday Blast from the Past bundle that throws in a Nintendo Wii and five games – New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Wii Sports, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Just Dance 2. The bundle retails for only $90 on Monday.

    If the Wii is a little too underpowered for you, GameStop is also offering a first gen Xbox 360 with a 60GB hard drive for $99. To make the deal even sweeter, the bundle throws in a free copy of last year’s excellent Tomb Raider reboot.

    Best Buy’s Cyber Monday sales are a little more disappointing. The best deal available is the Destiny White PS4 bundle for $419. It’s safe to assume that most of those bundles were picked up at better prices on Black Friday so it’s probably not worth the $30 unless you really want Destiny and a PS4.

    Last but not least, PC gamers still have the Steam Exploration Sale that lasts until Tuesday. We won’t know what Cyber Monday deals are in store for us until 9 a.m. PST tomorrow, but there’s likely to be some good deals. In fact, there are already over 5,000 titles on sale right now.

    Like all Cyber Monday deals, we may not be seeing the full picture until the namesake day rolls around at Midnight. Be sure to keep checking back at your favorite online retailer all day on Monday to see if the game you want for Christmas goes on sale.

  • GameStop Partners With IBM And Texas A&M, Launches GameStop Technology Institute

    GameStop is the Starbucks of gaming. There’s one on every corner and they at least pretend to serve your every need. Unlike Starbucks, however, GameStop’s bread and butter – video games – are increasingly moving to the digital space where GameStop is cut out of the profit loop. Now the retailer is partnering with some of the best tech minds in the country to find a solution.

    GameStop announced today that it’s partnering with IBM and Texas A&M University to launch the GameStop Technology Institute. With this new endeavor, GameStop will attempt “to discover and deliver business innovation and technology solutions to better address the needs of today’s empowered consumer.” In other words, physical game sales aren’t going to cut it anymore and GameStop needs to find other revenue streams to stay afloat.

    “Now more than ever, GameStop’s internal rate of change must continue to exceed the rate of change occurring within the retail environments in which we compete,” said Paul Raines, chief executive officer for GameStop. “The launch of GTI represents GameStop’s commitment to cultivate innovation within the retail industry, as well as lead the charge in discovering new technology advancements to drive positive customer experiences.”

    GameStop will be utilizing IBM’s Design Lab and BlueMix to “build new mobile and cloud applications that integrate with GameStop’s existing systems.” These new applications will link a customer’s online and in-store activities to remove any barriers that may get in the way of a smooth customer experience.

    “We are excited to collaborate with GameStop to bring the power of our cloud development platforms and design teams to the greater GameStop community,” said Steve Robinson, General Manager of IBM Cloud Platform Services. “This cloud partnership will integrate existing systems into a new class of applications to build even deeper relationships for GameStop with their clients and will help GameStop lead the next phase of retailing by restoring the balance between physical and digital commerce platforms.”

    As for Texas A&M’s contribution, GameStop will be partnering with the university’s Center for Retailing Studies to “focus on retail research, consumer technology and the evolving consumer experience at the intersection of the two.”

    The GameStop Technology Institute will be led by GameStop CIO Jeff Donaldson who will serve as senior vice president of GTI.

    “As GameStop continues to transform its business beyond video gaming and into the technology space, we formed GTI to address our growing need for new innovation as a specialty retailer,” said Donaldson. “As we begin our partnership with IBM and Texas A&M University, GTI’s initial focus will be on the digitization of the physical retail space which would allow customers to interact with the brick-n-mortar store environment in ways that mimic interaction with digital platforms.”

    The establishment of the GameStop Technology Institute is a pretty good move on the part of GameStop. The retailer is facing increased pressure from consumers and its retail partners in the face of increasing digital game sales. Through these new partnerships, GameStop might be able to keep consumers engaged with their retail environment, and more importantly, keep publishers happy.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • GameStop Reports $3.15 Billion In Sales Over The Holidays

    In November, Sony and Microsoft launched their next generation games consoles – the PS4 and Xbox One. Both consoles have now gone on to sell more than 7 million units combined and that’s definitely helping the bottom line of those in the business of selling games. The increase in hardware sales was readily apparent at GameStop during the holidays.

    GameStop announced today that it had made $3.15 billion during the nine week holiday period that ended on January 4. The retailer notes that it saw a 9.3 percent increase in revenue compared to last year’s holiday sales period. One of the reasons for this increase was the emergence of next-gen hardware.

    “I am pleased to report that the extensive planning by our entire team over the past year to prepare for the new console launches paid off,” said Paul Raines, GameStop CEO. “Our outstanding execution during the holidays resulted in GameStop securing the number one market share position in the U.S. and in most of the countries in which we operate today. GameStop also had the highest software and accessory attach ratio of any retailer for both new consoles. Building off this momentum, we are in an excellent position to drive the global adoption of the next generation of new video game products in 2014.”

    Of course, not everything was rosy for GameStop during the holiday season. The retailer saw a decline in Xbox 360 and PS3 software sales thanks in part to strong sales of next-gen software. Sales of new current-gen software saw a decrease of 22.5 percent while used software grew by 7 percent.

    As for GameStop’s other businesses, there was growth across the board. It’s digital business brought in $207.3 million, an increase of 14.9 percent over the previous holiday season. It’s mobile business brought in a respectable $94.8 million, an increase of 23.8 percent.

    “Clearly, same store sales were driven by very strong growth in new hardware,” said Rob Lloyd, GameStop CFO. “The higher percentage of sales in the hardware category resulted in better than expected comps, but lower gross margin dollars during the holiday selling period. In addition, new software sales came in below our expectations. Based on these results, GameStop now expects its fourth quarter and full year 2013 same store sales to be at the high end of the current guidance range and fourth quarter earnings per share to be in a range of $1.85 to $1.95 and full year earnings per share to be in a range of $2.96 to $3.06.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • GameStop Reveals Its Black Friday Deals, Bundles

    Over the past few days, Sony and Nintendo have both unveiled their hands for Black Friday. From the looks of it, gamers looking to save on Sony and Nintendo hardware will be in for a treat, but what about those looking for something a little different?

    GameStop announced today that it will be getting into the consumerism holiday spirit along with almost every other retailer on Black Friday with a selection of sales, deals and bundles that will satisfy console and mobile gamers alike. The retailer says that all of its stores will be offering deals all day, including:

  • Xbox360 250GB bundle including Halo 4 and Tomb Raider only $199 (Friday only)
  • PS3 250GB bundle including The Last of Us and Batman: Arkham Origins only $199 (Friday only)
  • Battlefield 4 for only $24.99 (Friday only)
  • Just Dance 4 for only $14.99 (Friday only)
  • Sophix 7” tablet only $69.98 (Friday only)
  • Buy two pre-owned items get one free (includes games, accessories, systems and electronics)
  • Pre-Owned Xbox 360+20GB Hard Drive and Extra Wireless Controller for $99.99
  • “On Black Friday and through the weekend, GameStop will be offering customers deals and discounts on a vast selection of new and pre-owned video games, accessories and electronics, as well as pre-owned PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii gaming consoles that are sure to be on everyone’s holiday wish list,” said Ashley Sheetz, chief marketing officer at GameStop. “With more than 2,500 gaming and electronic gifts under $25, our customers can find a great gift for any gamer in their life. No other retailer can come close to that.”

    All of the above deals and more will be available at midnight on Black Friday. Those hoping to get in before the rush on Thanksgiving Day – first of all, shame on you – will be out of luck as GameStop will be closing its doors on Thanksgiving so that its employees can be with family until their forced to come in at work at midnight:

    “Out of respect for our store associates and their families, GameStop made the business decision to not open our more than 4,200 U.S. retail stores on Thanksgiving,” said Jason Cochran, vice president of Store Operations and Strategic Initiatives for GameStop. “We will be opening the majority of our stores at midnight to offer customers our Black Friday promotions.”

    If you’re looking to score some great gaming deals this holiday season, you could do far worse than GameStop. You will want to be vigilant, however, as Amazon and other retailers will be matching or even offering better deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

    [Image: Wikimedia Commons]

  • Sony Will Hold a PS4 Launch Event In San Francisco

    Journalists may be in New York this week for the launch of the PS4, but that’s not where Sony is going to hold the launch party for its newest console. Instead, our friends in California will be partying all night with Sony before the PS4 launches on November 15.

    Sony announced today that it will be holding a launch event for the PS4 in San Francisco on November 14. Instead of holding it at one of the company’s many Sony Stores, however, it will be holding it at the GameStop on 830 Market St.

    Of course, it wouldn’t be a party without activities and food, and Sony has all that and more. For those attending the launch event, Sony will hook you up with PS4 demos & contests, food trucks, plenty of prizes and more.

    Here’s everything that you can win at the event:

  • PS4 Grand Prize Pack, which includes a PS4 signed by Jack Tretton, and a Mark Cerny autographed Knack poster
  • PS Vita Prize Pack, which includes a system and a wealth of games
  • The Last Of Us Prize Pack, which includes the Post Pandemic Edition, The Last Of Us polo shirt, and The Last Of Us Infected Bust
  • Tearaway charms
  • PS4 t-shirts
  • If you can’t make it out to the San Francisco event, Sony says that multiple stores will be open at midnight for their own PS4 launch parties. Those retailers include Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, Meijer and Sony’s own retail outlets.

    For those of us getting their consoles through Amazon, relish the fact that you can actually get some sleep on November 14. Just remember to wake up in time for the UPS/FedEx delivery.

    [Image: PlayStation Blog]

  • GameStop CEO Thinks The Console Cycle Will Get Shorter

    For years, the console cycle was predictable. Nintendo, Sony and whoever else would release a console, wait five years and then release a new one. This past generation, however, has completely destroyed that concept with a console cycle that has lasted eight years. Some may feel that long console cycles will now be the norm, but GameStop’s CEO doesn’t see it that way.

    CNET recently had a chance to chat with GameStop CEO Paul Raines about the upcoming console shift to the PS4 and Xbox One. He predicted that we’ll see the successors to the PS4 and Xbox One sooner rather than later. In fact, he says that new consoles must come out a “greater frequency” if they want to remain relevant in the home.

    It’s an interesting concept, but an expensive one. Consoles cost a lot of money to make, and releasing one every two to three years instead of the established five to seven would make little financial sense. Manufacturers like Apple, Samsung and others can iterate on their devices yearly thanks to their ability to sell the devices at a huge mark up above the actual cost. Game consoles on the other hand are almost always sold at a loss at launch, and make up for it with software sales. If game consoles went for biannual iterations, the software sales just wouldn’t be there to prop up the hardware losses.

    All of this just makes the recent revelation of Steam machines far more desirable to those looking for a AAA gaming experience in the living room. With a Steam machine, you pay a high upfront cost for top-of-the-line hardware, and then you can continually upgrade said hardware over the years as new components are released.

    This PC-centric approach to console gaming may actually be what the future holds for Microsoft and Sony. It’s been suggested by some industry figures and analysts that this upcoming generation will be the last – at least in a traditional sense. The cost of producing customized game hardware has now gotten to a point where it only makes sense for Sony, Microsoft and others to build and sell PCs that consumers can then upgrade as they see fit.

    We can save that discussion for the future though. For now, the PS4 and Xbox One will be launching next month to at least a million preorders for the former. Raines says that’s going to translate to supply shortages. That’s only healthy for the industry, and GameStop in particular, as the retailer makes about $1 billion a year in console sales. With this latest generation, it’s expecting to see a sizable bump in revenue thanks to the pent up demand for new consoles.

    [Image: Wikimedia Commons]

  • GameStop Prepares For PS4 And Xbox One Launches With Hiring Spree

    Does it sound like a dream come true to work at GameStop? If so, the impending launch of the Xbox One and PS4 may have just given you the excuse you need to join their team.

    GameStop announced today that it plans to hire 17,000 seasonal workers this holiday season in preparation for the Xbox and PS4 launches. Next gen consoles aren’t the only reason GameStop is hiring, however, as it also needs some extra help to deal with what it expects will be a busy holiday season.

    “Providing our customers a great experience is of paramount importance when it comes to defining who GameStop is as a retailer and delivering the total value we offer our customers,” said Mike Buskey, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at GameStop. “The holiday season is our busiest time of the year, accounting for approximately 40% of our annual revenue. As we near the 2013 holiday season, and the upcoming launches of the PS4 and Xbox One consoles, it is critical that we attract and retain high quality-talent both in our stores as well as in our consumer electronics refurbishment and distribution centers.”

    As you can see above, GameStop is not only hiring employees for its retail locations. In fact, it would be impossible to cram 17,000 new employees into its shrinking number of retail locations. Most of the new hires will instead be assigned to GameStop’s refurbishment operation center or one of its two distribution warehouses. For the former, GameStop is looking for technicians to help refurbish used consoles that can then be resold at its retail locations. For the latter, they’re looking for warehouse workers to help ship out all the orders GameStop’s online presence will undoubtedly receive this holiday season.

    So, is there any benefit to working with GameStop? Like with most retail locations, the main benefit comes in the form of discounts – a 15 percent discount to be exact. Those who work as Game Advisors at GameStop’s retail locations also have the ability to “rent” new games and take them home for a few days.

    While GameStop may say that it’s only hiring seasonal employees, there’s always the chance that it could turn into a career for some of the new hires. It does happen, but you just have to be hardworking and, more often than not, a little lucky.

    To find out more about GameStop’s hiring spree, check out its careers Web site for a list of all open positions.

    [Image: Business Wire]

  • These Studios Are Making Exclusive Content For The PS4

    Exclusives are going to become rarer in the next generation. Most third party studios just can’t afford to keep their games on only one platform. Instead, you’ll see developers move to exclusive DLC, and now we know which studios are making exclusive content for Sony’s platform.

    Game Chup reports that Sony held a small presser at the annual GameStop Expo that’s normally reserved only for store managers, but has recently been opened to the general public as well. At the event, Sony revealed all the studios that are making exclusive content for the PS4. This exclusive content may come in the form of games or DLC content, but you can bet that most of it is the latter.

    In all, Sony has signed up 21 developers to provide exclusive content for its next generation machine. These developers range from the very large Western and Japanese studios like Ubisoft and Capcom to the small European publishers like Nordic Games.

    So, without further ado, here are all the studios/publishers creating exclusive content for the PS4:

  • Rockstar Games
  • Activision Blizzard
  • Sega
  • Level 5
  • Sumo Digital
  • Bluepoint Games
  • Square Enix
  • Disney
  • EA
  • Konami
  • Ubisoft
  • Warner Bros. Interactive
  • Atlus
  • Take-Two Interactive
  • Capcom
  • Insomniac Games
  • Bungie
  • Nordic Games
  • Zindage Games
  • Sanzaru Games
  • Bethesda Softworks
  • We already know what some of these studios are making for Sony. For starters, Bungie has already stated that it will release some Destiny content exclusive on the PS3 and PS4. Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Destiny, probably fits into that as Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC is still going to show up first on the Xbox One.

    Some interesting standouts on this list include Atlus and Sumo Digital. Atlus is publishing a PS4 launch window title on the PSN, but it could also indicate that the company’s Japanese branch is prepping some games for Sony’s next generation console. Just don’t expect any of its big name JRPGs to appear on next gen consoles just yet.

    As for Sumo Digital, the studio is mostly known for creating the excellent Sonic kart racers of this past generation. They could be working on another Sonic kart racer for next gen platforms with Sony characters appearing on the PS3/PS4 versions, but it could also be working on an exclusive game with Sony. After PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, a PlayStation-centric kart racer doesn’t seem too far fetched.

    For the Japanese developers and publishers on this list, we’re likely to hear more about what they’re working on next month at Tokyo Game Show. As for everybody else, we’ll just have to wait.

    [Image: PlayStation Blog]

  • Amazon Is Sold Out Of PS4, Xbox One Launch Units

    Just yesterday, GameStop announced that it had completely sold out of its initial allotment of PS4 units. Now another retailer has announced the same.

    Amazon announced today via its Video Games Facebook page that it has completely sold out of its initial allotment of PS4 and Xbox One launch units. As the retailer notes, it only took them a month to sell through the launch unit preorders:

    After a crazy and exciting month, we’ve sold through our initial allocations of PS4 and Xbox One. Thank you to all who have ordered and shared your opinions. We have the Standard Editions for both consoles still available, but we can’t guarantee these at release. Please check back here as we’ll update you first if we receive further release day allocations.

    What Amazon didn’t say is that it has sold out of its more expensive launch day bundles as well. The sell through rate of these bundle only further cements that the hype for next-gen consoles is very high, and will remain so throughout the end of the year.

    Amazon may be sold out of both the PS4 and the Xbox One, but GameStop still has the Xbox One Day One Edition available for preorder. There’s no guarantee that it will be available for much longer, however, so you better preorder now if you have your heart set on an Xbox One this holiday season.

  • GameStop Has Sold Out Of PS4 Preorders

    In mid-June, Sony’s Andrew House said that PS4 demand “may well outstrip supply.” It only took about a month for that to become reality at one of the largest game retailers.

    Game Informer reports that GameStop has stopped taking PS4 preorders. Here’s the full statement from the retail chain:

    “Due to high demand for the system, GameStop is not currently taking additional store reservations for the PlayStation 4.”

    As you may have noticed, GameStop only says that it’s no longer taking in store reservations. Unfortunately, the situation is no different online as GameStop’s Web site also says that it’s sold out.

    What makes this particularly interesting is that GameStop opened the flood gates last month when an internal memo said that Sony was allowing the retailer to take unlimited preorders. The memo, if legitimate, made it clear that Sony was confident in its ability to deliver this holiday season. Now it appears that Sony is making sure that it can actually deliver by cutting off preorders before it gets too ridiculous.

    Of course, GameStop isn’t the first to stop taking launch system preorders. Shortly after the PS4 was made available for preorder, Amazon stopped taking preorders for what it called the Launch Edition. It’s still taking preorders on Launch Day bundles and a Standard Edition, but the latter won’t be available at launch.

    If you desperately need a next-gen console at launch, you can still preorder the Xbox One through GameStop. Microsoft is ditching its restrictive DRM through a day one patch, but you still have to deal with the more expensive price tag and required Kinect sensor.