Looks Like Game Crazy Is Pretty Much Done
According to a Craigslist posting from the manager of an Oregon Game Crazy, it appears as though all Game Crazy stores (as well as Hollywood Videos) will be shutting down and liquidating stock. The surprisingly sweet and somewhat mushy letter praised the staff and regulars at the store, which makes it sound a more like Cheers than just a place to trade in used Xbox 360 games.
In approx. two weeks ALL Game Crazy and Hollywood Video stores will be entering liquidation. As the store manager, and employee since (almost) inception till the last day I wanted to thank all the many, many, many people who have been like our extended family. You have made a job a 2nd home. We will miss all of your faces and down to earth kindness. We have always striven to be your "neighborhood" game store and provide you with excellent customer service and I feel we have done a pretty good job. Your loyalty has inspired us to provide you with the best possible experiences when in our store. ...
I also thank the many employees who have been with us over the years, the part time seasonals to the full timers who have moved on. We wish to see your faces all one last time before we close that gate for the final time. So come on down, pick up that game you've been wanting or just come down and shoot the breeze with Dan, Cody, Chris or myself. We would love to see you and say thank you and goodbye.
Aww, I honestly got a little choked up reading that. Anyway, Game Crazy locations have been shuttering at a pretty steady pace for the last year or two, and if this manager is correct, all of the stores will bow out for good soon. In the meantime, you might be able to snag some deals if you live near one of the few remaining stores, although if the pattern from other recent liquidations holds, expect most of the good stuff to be gone already. Best of luck to anyone affected by this, especially this manager, Glenn J. He may not be able to keep a secret, but he seems like good people.
Bend Game Crazy Closing [Craigslist]
[via: Kotaku]
Dawdle
Posted to Video Games on 1 May 2010
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: closing doors, economy, game crazy, liquidation
Game Crazy kinda sucked (at least in my town), but at least it kept Game Stop from being a total monopoly.
Now we are left with one store to rule them all, and it just so happens that store doesn't care about old games or niche games. Get used to being asked to pre-order crap every time you buy something.
Awh no! I know that game crazy and its sad that it's finally coming to an end. I get all my dreamcast games there!
Yeah, Hollywood Video is laying me off, and it's true. Movie Gallery(the company that owns all HV and GC stores) just doesn't make squat anymore, so they're closing up shop for good, pretty much. Game Crazy sales don't really matter, all Game Crazy stores are directly linked to and sometimes even operated by a Hollywood Video store, and since the movie stores don't make money, the game stores are shutting down regardless. With so many cheaper alternatives to movie renting these days, such as Netflix, On Demand, and Redbox, driving to the movie store has become too inconvenient and expensive for most Americans.
The days of the movie store are coming to a close, Blockbuster is phasing out all of their stores as well. Online alternatives will very soon be the mainstream, if you don't consider them as such already. All that's going to be left are the rare independent video stores who've found niche markets they can appeal to.
GameStop isn't being kept from monopolizing by Game Crazy, though, GameStop currently owns 50% of the game sale market, and WalMart owns 40%. The remaining 10% is every other distributor, including Best Buy and Game Crazy, so these stores honestly didn't make a dent in GameStop's profits.
Yes, but if Game Stop made their policies even more evil, of if they raised prices even further, some people would have started going to Game Crazy.
Now there's no alternative apart from online if you want an older game or a used game. Nothing to keep gamestop from doing whatever they please.
It reminds me of a long time ago when Holywood video moved into my town and drove all the local businesses out of business with low prices and a huge selection. Not soon after, rental prices at Holywood went WAY up.
But you have a point, it would be hard for Game Stop to suck more