Despite the Great American Depression of 2008™, video games making money, and lots of it. Sales are set for double-digit gains this year, and that’s not just for games; hardware, from add-on devices to Guitar Hero controllers, is on the rise too.
The country’s biggest games-only retailer is GameStop, and it’s stands to be the biggest winner in this economic-doom-ignoring market mayhem.
Take, for example, its sales growth last year of 33%, with some stores showing a year-on-year growth of 25%. During a conference call yesterday, a corporate executive put it bluntly, “By any barometer 2007 was another outstanding year for GameStop.”
Janco Partner’s analist Mike Hickey, who has the same name as my dad, things 2008 will be even better for GameStop, and he’s likely right: There are now three consoles all selling well with three competing — yet complimentary — technologies, exclusive titles, and features.
And this isn’t just good news for GameStop. Any gamer will tell you that we’re in some sort of video game renascence, and that’s good for retailers, game makers, and gamers themselves.
