Fear and Loathing in GameStop: Retailer Competition Gets Fierce

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Fear and Loathing

Wal-Mart intends to put its competitors into a vicegrip this holiday season, and there’s no telling whether they’ll get out. The big-box behemoth has announced $10 price cuts for almost all of the video games it currently sells. Unlike previous sales which only pertained to awful, two-year-old games like Sonic and the Black Knight, Wal-Mart’s offering Halo 3: ODST and Left 4 Dead 2 for $50 as opposed to $60.

Upon announcing these competitive price drops, Gamestop shares plumetted 8.26 percent.

At this point, it’s unclear how Gamestop will respond. The company hasn’t announced any plans to reduce the price of current-generation titles, nor have they advertised any special holiday promotions. With more gamers turning to digital download services, brick-and-mortar retailers like Gamestop, Toys “R” Us, and Best Buy will have to create strong incentives to force us out of our houses and through their automatic doors [via PC World].