It Came From The Internet

[elfs]

Along with Borders Books, the Internet claimed two more victims in Seattle this week: Indepedent video store Island Video on Madison closed up shop, as did the GameStop video game store in the Westlake Shopping Center, downtown.

Comments

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

I'm not so sure GameStop was so much a casualty of the Interwebs as of bad management; one of their senior directors sold a snotload of stock a little over a year ago, which smells to me like getting out while the getting was good. GameStop does do a fair amount of web biz...

[elfs.livejournal.com]

I was in there last week and the guy behind the counter couldn't help me. "I'm pretty sure Bioshock is on Steam," he told me. Sure 'nuff, it was. Which tells me that Steam and Indie PC platforms are going to eat brick-and-mortar stores alive.

A very pleasant surprise: Not only is Good 'Ol Games supplying DRM-free editions of classics like Freespace (complete with media!), but GOG Freespace is certified platinum under Wine.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Woot. What else they got? (Link?)

Additional factor for video stores...

[danlyke.livejournal.com]

An additional factor with the video stores: I can rent a video for $3-4 (depending on how long it's been out) or, apparently, buy it for $5, based on what we're seeing in the bargain bins at big box stores. We've got probably a year (based on watching a movie every few weeks to every month or two) of movies in our backlog queue, and if there's a queue-jumper out there it's a good chance that our local video store won't be carrying it any way.

So DVD pricing is also a contributing factor.