Analyst comes down hard on price cut mayhem
Industry analyst Michael “Glowing Tooth” Pachter has criticized UK retailers for their constant attempts to undermine each other in videogame price cuts. The situation is nothing more than a joke at this point, according to the silver fox.
“The UK games retail market is a joke, with retailers pricing below cost to drive traffic,” he told Digital Spy. “That’s great for consumers, but retailers can’t make any money on games, hence the bankruptcies of Game, HMV and Blockbuster, and the refusal of GameStop to expand into the market.
“If all retailers go broke, or if games are dominated by mass merchants like Dixons, gamers are ultimately going to get fewer selections. The absence of GameStop and the demise of GAME limits the ability of consumers to trade in used games, depriving many of credits that can be used to purchase new games. Retail needs to make money to exist, and games retail in the UK doesn’t make money.”
This has been an issue in the UK for a few years, and Pachter ain’t wrong in his assessment. Big supermarket chains are happy to take a hit by marking down videogames to ludicrous degrees, forcing specialized retailers to match or lose. It’s definitely gotten crazy, but like Pachter says, it’s pretty great for consumers … at least for as long as the competition exists.
HMV, Blockbuster fall: The beginning of the end for games retail? [Digital Spy]
