Just as quickly as used game kiosks appeared in select Wal-Mart and Best Buy stores so did they disappear. The company in charge of the used game kiosks at the stores, E-play, decided to pull the machines after "underwhelming" returns.
Source
Analysts have repeatedly stated that the used games test at retailers like Wal-mart would basically have zero impact on GameStop. Moreover, the kiosks didn't seem to be generating much business. Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia said they were "underwhelming." He added that the kiosks at Wal-mart and Best Buy locations have been turned off and will be "removed from the locations over the next few weeks."
Naturally, this latest development is being viewed as a positive for GameStop, not that the leading video games retailer needed any help. It's possible that Wal-mart and/or Best Buy could find another vendor to test used games again, but as Bhatia notes, "it is clear the used games business is not an easy one to execute" and it hasn't worked out very well for the big box stores thus far.
Naturally, this latest development is being viewed as a positive for GameStop, not that the leading video games retailer needed any help. It's possible that Wal-mart and/or Best Buy could find another vendor to test used games again, but as Bhatia notes, "it is clear the used games business is not an easy one to execute" and it hasn't worked out very well for the big box stores thus far.
Source
Comment