Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare KILLING GameStop?

the problem with all of the games released so far is that it's just more of the same. We've seen it all, until something really cool releases I'm keeping my money (to spend on indie games and Vive games)

Awesome jacket Mica

The Franchise is Dead.  Long Live Independent Blockbusters.

CoD would be better off separating having taken a year to sell the Modern warfare remaster then introduce Infinite Warfare.  Gamestop would've benefitted more from that strategy as well.

I think it's easy to see why this years triple A titles are doing bad, especially at Gamestop. It's a mix of too many at once, and brands rehashing things we've seen already. like too many CODs every year, Titanfall 2 and watchdogs 2 looks awesome, but people are skeptical of a repeat from their predecessors. There is also the fact that Gamestop is generally expensive for their accessories and their staff always asking for too much info at checkout. like email, address, fill out a survey, pushing other products, etc... I've experienced that too much from them. 

Also, as internet speeds increase, and are more accessible and cheaper, it makes it so much more easier and convenient to purchase digital copies of games. instead of going out and interacting with other people (I feel you, Gus) 

Mica thats a fucking sweet jacket!

There are around a dozen blockbusters left, I think! And I am pretty sure some are in Texas. (If I recall, Texas and Alaska are kind of Blockbuster Remnant Hotspots.)

Nice jacket Mica :)

Burnie called it about digital games. 

omg, maybe people are finally realizing most fps games are just the same garbage theyve been serving us for years, just with a new coat of polish then re-packaged and sold to us as new. maybe the decrease in sales with convince them to do something more interesting with the development money.

As a GameStop employee, I find this laughable, but unsurprising. 

I'll be honest in that there are three major things, (and one minor), that keep me from switching to full digital.....

1) Physical copy exclusive pre-order bonuses, which only applies to what few games I care enough about to pre-order, (usually 1-4 per year, and sometimes none). Rarely anything game changing, but as someone who fully admits to collecting useless junk, (physical and digital), just for the sake of having it, I hate missing out on it because I was too lazy to go to the store and went digital instead.....

2) Low download speeds/monthly data limits. I'm aware that in larger cities, people have faster internet and capless data. I don't live in a larger city however. I live in the middle of nowhere, in Mississippi. Currently I have about three options for internet. The one landline internet charges about $70 a month for a 10gb data cap and 5mbs download speeds. My second option is Hughes net, which is satellite internet and charges about the same for even worse, but with the downsides that come with satellite internet added on top. And my third option is Exceed, another satellite internet, which is what I have. I currently get 10-20mbs download speeds when my internet is working properly, but still have a 10gb monthly cap for a $60 price tag, though unlike other sources, I'm not instantly charged more once I pass that cap and am instead given the option to buy more data or live with my speeds being slowed down to about 2mbs until my reset. Also unlike the others, between midnight and 5am, my internet is uncapped and any data I use doesn't count towards my limit. Still not great, but it's the best option I have. In the nearby towns, (20min-1hour away), the best options are about 20gb monthly cap and 10-15mbs download speeds for $60-70. All of this adds up to making it all but impossible for me to rely on digital copies of games if I want to actually play a game within a few days of its release. I got the physical copy of Dishonored 2, and I still haven't been able to finish downloading the digital copy of Dishonored 1 that came with it because I've wanted to use my uncapped time instead of hitting my monthly limit, but I also want to use that same time to watch shows, when doing both slows down my internet at times because of low speeds. Wouldn't be as much of an issue to go digital if it wasn't for the fact that most games are 40-60gb installs. Which brings us to...

3) Install sizes. A major factor in why I still go physical is that it installs so much quicker to put the disk in and let it copy the 40-60gb off of it, instead of having to wait for the download if it was digital. This means that it's a lot less of an issue to delete games off of my harddrive if I need to clear up space, because I know I can go back to them without having to wait hours for downloads. Even if I had better internet, I know that a 60gb download isn't going to install faster than putting a disk in.....

(Minor Reason) There's something satisfying and enjoyable about opening a new game and putting it into your console for the first time. I can't be the only one who loves that new game smell?

All in all, I know that there are plenty of benefits to digital games, the most prominent of which is not having to get off my lazy ass to go to the store, or swap out disks. I still feel that physical is superior, however, for anyone who doesn't live in a major city or even who does live in a major city but can't get particularly high speed internet for some reason. A lot of the proponents of "move to digital" tend to be the people who live in places that have options for internet that don't make you feel like you're living in the dark ages. The vast majority of the US doesn't have actual high speed internet, and I know that many countries around the world are far worse off. We are seeing a decline in terms of revenue for the physical retailers, of course, but most of them are placed in larger cities as well, so they're getting hit harder. I know that where I live, we have one Gamestop in the town nearby that's a 30 minute drive away, and the only other ones that I'm aware of are in one two towns over that is over an hour away, and in the largest town for quite a ways, which is around two hours away. I'm sure there's others in other towns that I'm not familiar with, but it's not like there's an abundance of them like there is in large cities.....

EDIT: For those of you who actually read through all of this, give yourself a cookie. You either have OCD, are fascinated by this mysterious creature known as a "non-city dweller", or are my stalker and are obsessed with me. On the first, I can relate, the second I applaud your fascination with the unknown, and the third I'm curious but not concerned about..... 

I just had an image of a Blockbuster and a gamestop walking off into the sunset while "I will remember you" plays them off. lol

As an aspiring game designer, I really appreciate the attention you guys give to the entire games industry. It's really interesting to see how the entire industry works together, from developers to publishers to retailers