It’s funny how, sometimes, it takes an angry outburst to get people to notice something. As far as the game industry goes, most of us are consumers in one way or another: we buy games for ourselves, or as gifts, but we rarely think of it from the standpoint of a retailer. Well, DVD Empire is getting out of the game business, and in doing so have left a list of reasons for their departure on their games page. This list sheds a good bit of light on the current state of the game retail industry and how bleak it is for the little man.
The list of grievances left by DVD Empire shows what really goes on behind the scenes on the retail side of gaming. Smaller retailers don’t matter to the distribution houses, so it’s basically impossible for them to make a profit off of gaming. Because the stock costs so much and video game prices drop so wildly, we’re seeing less and less of the small game retailer.
In fact, if you’re independent, the only real way to make money in this business is to re-sell video games, but Gamestop and EB Games already have that covered as well. I’m not partial either way, but when a company can’t receive product for a decent price in a timely manner, something is definitely wrong. There is such a thing as healthy competition, and when that competition is removed, quality always drops. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
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