Vintage video games it is time "Rise from your graves," like Altered Beast, because Gamestop CEO Paul Raines recently said that consumers are interested in buying classic discs and cartridges and Gamestop plans to start offering such vintage items through the retailer's website.
Raines told the crowd at the GameStop Expo in Texas this week that there is an opportunity for GameStop to enter this market, but acknowledged there are problems with the idea as well.
"We think there's a vintage sales opportunity, so we're accumulating some inventory," he said. "It's a big idea, and there's a few problems with it," Raines said. "The first one is sourcing the product, the condition, the refurbishment, all that stuff. But there's a customer for it. And we're working on some stuff we haven't announced yet."
Vintage video games are still available in hobbyist stores around America like Video Games New York, which also acts as a gaming museum. Giulio Graziani is the owner the vintage store that has walls stacked with old, used, modern, and imported game cartridges and game consoles.
According to an article that appeared in the Business Insider, the store opened in 2005 and has a museum showcasing the history of gaming. Graziani said in the interview, "it's a culture and it's important to showcase this cultural heritage."
But Raines and GameStop are not looking to replace vintages store, instead the company is looking to get a foothold in the vintage game online market. GameStop is looking at auction website Ebay and massive online retailer Amazon as inspiration.
"We've got to be in that business. We will be." He said. "We can't just be trying to go head-to-head with Amazon, beating each other to death on delivery dates. We do plenty of that. But we've got to be a destination for gamers where, for cool stuff for gaming, you've got to go to Gamestop."
What do you think of Gamestop going vintage? Tell us in the comments...
