A few months back we did a report about how GameStop will be facing the same fate as Blockbuster, and games becoming available as downloadable content rather than packaged.  GameStop is now going to close 500-600 of their stores US nationwide, and the stores to be closed have yet to be announced leaving most employees wondering if they will have a job soon or not.  This is a big sign of things to come but gaming fans online have shown that they’re not ready for the transition to streaming downloads, or that they’re just not ready for change at all.

Credit: South Park Studios – A Nightmare On FaceTime

Microsoft posted a poll on the Xbox Facebook Page if gamers would rather have a physical copy of the game or download their games.  The response was a bit confusing to say the least.  Many voted that they still like to buy their games from the stores, but yet GameStop is getting ready to close down a vast majority of their stores nationwide which makes some wonder as to where the money actually went if gaming stores are so popular.

With US internet speeds not quite up to par with a couple other nations, and gaming downloads taking up a big amount of data to be transfered it brings quite a bit of uncertainty with the new consoles from Microsoft and Sony on their way.  However, most gamers are claiming that this “downloadable gaming” concept is far off, but really it isn’t too far off at all.  If mobile gaming (Apple and Android’s platforms) is taking off in such a fast way, it’s only a matter of time before console gaming follows.

Why will downloadable console games follow?  One reason is well… Being lazy.  Who wants to drive and deal with sales pitches, or have to pay to reserve a game just to get some minor tweak?  Some people do enjoy it and that’s fine.  Just the majority of gamers order their games from online venues such as Amazon for instance, and don’t have to pay a fee for getting a reserved copy of the game.

Yes waiting in anticipation at a midnight release can be fun and good for the gaming community to get together, and the ability to take it straight home and play it rather than waiting for it to be delivered is a great reason to go to the GameStop store.  But this subject right now is a bit touchy to some guys who just side one way or the other.

Let’s move on to why GameStop will ultimately fail if Sony gets their way with a patent that will prevent the sale of used games.  Now if you walk into a GameStop you should see a vast collection of used games that GameStop makes a good portion of their income.  But GameStop and EB Games aren’t the only ones in trouble with this patent.  The same will go for GameFly as you can rent video games just like with renting movies from NetFlix.

With the trouble facing GameStop, EB Games and GameFly it looks like the times are changing faster than ever.  It wasn’t long ago that GameStop exploded in popularity, and GameFly became a alternative to buying games.  It’s sad to let go of those things, but lets face it GameStop wasn’t that great anyway especially on their buying back games policies.