Like Blockbuster Video and Tower Records before it, video game retailer GameStop faces major challenges to its business model from the internet.
As more people buy video games through digital storefronts, fewer buy games on physical discs from GameStop. That trend was a huge problem for the company — until the coronavirus pandemic forced millions of people indoors. Many of those people, with loads of free time on their hands suddenly, turned to video games. Sales of video-game hardware, software, accessories, and game cards
, according to The NPD Group's monthly report — "the highest reported spend for a March month since the $1.8 billion achieved in March 2008."Online sales at GameStop rocketed over 1,500% between March 1 and April 10, according to market analytics firm Earnest Research,"Animal Crossing: New Horizons" from Nintendo was the biggest seller in March, topping even "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
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