GameStop announces a $488 million net income loss in quarter 3 of 2018 despite strong growth from new game and hardware sales within the same time period.
Physical game sales have been on the decline for quite some time as the games industry continues its march towards a digital market, with some analysts even stating games will be all-digital by 2022. GameStop has been struggling to keep up with this market shift for quite some time and it seems that the company will continue to do so, as it reported a loss of $488 million in the third quarter of 2018 despite solid growth from hardware sales and accessories.
GameStop reported a 13.4% decline in pre-owned sales during the third quarter, which is the most integral aspect of the company’s “circle of life” business model. Pre-owned sales have the highest profit margin of any game sales, so any sort of decline for the category is especially damaging for the company.
