GameStop's Latest Venture Has The Internet Divided
Many fans believe that media is slowly but surely dying out, mostly thanks to the advent of online services such as Netflix and Xbox game pass. As a result, people everywhere have discovered they don't need to leave their couch to consume the latest games and movies. Famously, companies that specialized in physical media, like Blockbuster, were forced to close their doors forever because of this. And it's no surprise that a company specializing in selling physical copies of the latest video games, GameStop, has also been impacted.
But GameStop's fall from grace wasn't quite as linear as Blockbuster's. In 2021, GameStop's stock rose to unprecedented prices, thanks to a coordinated effort by a group of Redditors. But since then, GameStop's stock price has continued plummeting (per Google Finance). So naturally, GameStop needed to do something major to keep itself relevant and from becoming a distant memory. And the biggest investment craze around right now is crypto, specifically NFTs. It wasn't a massive surprise when GameStop announced its intentions to move into the NFT market, but this decision has the internet divided.
GameStop is creating an NFT marketplace
On May 19, GameStop's Twitter account posted, "Meet the new kid on the blockchain #GameStopNFT." And GameStop wasn't modest about how it believed it would affect the NFT market, stating, "What the internet did for communication, blockchains do for value. Now, global communities can connect, coordinate, and transact like never before." Of course, a company that has been memed to death for being the antithesis of value (per Film Daily) is raising eyebrows with this bold claim.
GameStop isn't the first one in the video game industry to dabble with NFTs. Notably, both Ubisoft and Square Enix have made plans to incorporate NFTs into its games. Unsurprisingly, this caused backlash — primarily due to the environmental impact associated with NFTs — and GameStop is getting the same treatment. For example, Twitter user @Jellyfishfortuna pointed out how absurd it is for a company to move into the NFT market just as said market is crashing and added, "I have never seen a company so intent on going out of business lol."
However, some people aren't entirely opposed to the idea. NFT fans are particularly excited about GameStop's new venture. Twitter user @ElWstreet replied to the announcement Tweet by saying, "Ok, now we are all in. We can make the launch!! Welcome GME [GameStop Corp.], make us dream again." The rest of the comments section is similarly divided as Twitter has erupted in debate over whether or not this new venture is a good idea.
Fans and detractors alike will simply have to wait and see how GameStop's NFT marketplace shakes out.