Last March, Reggie Fils-Aimé joined GameStop's board of directors. Now, just over a year later, it's been announced the former Nintendo of America president is one of eight members expected to leave the company after its annual meeting in June.
This information comes via a GameStop filing, which also reveals Kathy Vrabeck - a former Activision executive - will depart, although her exit was originally announced back in January.
GameStop notes how this turnover may disrupt operations, strategic focus and the company's ability to drive stockholder value. The stock market saga and global pandemic obviously haven't helped, either. And it also clarifies it's not because of a disagreement relating to operations, policies or practices.
"The contemplated retirements are not because of a disagreement with us on any matter relating to our operations, policies or practices."
As far as we know, Reggie has plenty to fall back on. Last year he joined the board of directors at Brunswick Corporation - a "world-class leader in the marine industry", signed on as a strategic advisor to Rogue Games, and was also placed on the Spin Masters board of directors - a leading company in children's entertainment.
[source news.gamestop.com, via axios.com]
Comments 77
Something is going on.
I understand seats change all the time but within a short timespan like this?
Reggie is ready to conquer more. He can't be stopped.
If you've been in a Gamestop in the last few months, it's kind of obvious that the stores are likely on their way out sooner than later. Their online store infrastructure is still trash despite that new executive that was supposed to help with that. I think Reggie sees the writing on the wall and doesn't want to be around for what's coming down the road. I was at Blockbuster when Dish Network took the company at the end and they started doing similar things to the company to gear stores for closure.
Dude is stepping off the rocket just before takeoff. Any day now... 🚀🚀🚀
Probably got some stock as payment and want to sell them before they are back to 10 lol
They probably realized how much of a joke he was.
That was quick!
If this doesn’t scream sinking ship, I don’t know what does.
@Tasuki I get that he was passionate about Nintendo, but I kinda tend to agree with you on this. Don’t quite understand the appeal.
Imagine that meme that says "The cutest nope ever," but the paw print belongs to Reggie and the snow is GameStop.
Would love to see him come back to Nintendo
he's dumping all his GME into doge, where it's a sure bet.
@Tasuki Reggie has a future, while Gamestop probably does not.
My point is that Gamestop would be considered much more of a joke than Reggie these days.
Who's going to sign him in a bidding war?
The stock fiasco must have been scary... he realized a funko pop store can't be worth that much
@Tasuki You mean how much of a joke you are right?
That's great! Now he just needs to go back to Nintendo, even if just as a 'Direct' personality.
He probably couldn't stand the foul stench of the joint.
Gamestop seems to be circling the drain and that makes me very sad, we need a dedicated gaming store to offer a wide selection of gaming products and to keep gaming physical to prevent publishers from shoving GaaS sales practices down our throats. Unfortunately it seems to be an inevitability at this point. SMH gaming industry.
While I loved his energy and enthusiasm for Nintendo, I didn't like his heavy focus on the casual market. It was successful for the Wii, but I like how the Switch focuses on ALL gamers and has good indie and third party support.
"The shares are at an all time high! I think my work here is done!"
I think it’s easy to see this as spelling doom and gloom for gamestop (i agree they’re not doing too hot) but we don’t fully know what Reggie’s plans really are. The gamestop board position kinda came out of nowhere so i wouldnt be surprised if he just has plans to jump around, help some companies out, and then move on to the the next thing. If he stays in his other positions for a longer time, then yeah gamestop’s history lol.
Bend, Oregon is the home of the last Blockbuster.
Where will the last Gamestop be and how long will it last?
Well at least Reggie try to save that sinking ship but glad he finally made it out.
Already? Well that was quick...
The other day I saw my local Gamestop closed and I got kinda scared because there wasn't another Gamestop close to me but then a few days later I drove by and it was open so I guess they were just closed that day.
The problem with GameStop is there old sales mentality. When you go into the store they always ask about “game protection” even if you’re getting a cartridge. How many of you have broken a cartridge and needed to buy the protection/insurance? Many would rather buy online and not be asked what games they want to preorder, if they want insurance etc. it just screams desperate for “add-on” sales which are the definition of a dying company. Look at pier-1 always asking if you wanted their credit cards. Most customers like to buy something and not be pressured into buying more. Also I went to buy a Nintendo Online 1 year family card and they didn’t have any. It’s GameStop they are supposed to have any and all things game related. That’s just my two cents. Sorry for the long post.
I kinda like gamestop but for me to be successful it has to have some kind of value or appeal. I mean, I can go to another store like walmart, best buy, target or whatever and find all the stuff gamestop has and sometimes even at a better price and to my that is just wrong
Hey Reggie! Tell everyone about the Nintendo NX Incident and why you remove yourself from Nintendo?🤔
But like usual always seeing you stepping down again on a situation you have no idea how to control or fix it to avoid consequences.🤣
I would like to open a game store adjoined with a cafe where you can play (often retro) games.
True story.
Well, I hope they ship my copy of Monster Hunter Rise.
Noooo Reggie! Diamond hands! You're supposed to HODL!
hell yeah, probably made a ton with how the stock went from $5 to over $300 at one point. I'd get out now too if I was him, before it normalizes.
@Tasuki
.
1. You angered just about everyone.
2. HAHA FUNNY MAMA JOKE
3. ah yes, because Reggie, a successful businessman and one of the heros of Nintendo's 2006-2017 era is more of a joke than a dying retail only being supported by meme stocks that will likely stop in the next two to six months.
Then again he never gave us Mother 3 so...
@HotGoomba
He will shoot another fire flower at you.
Don’t get the love for this dude. Everything he says is typical corporate stuff with an occasional quotable line.
@ModdedInkling oh no not again!
@HotGoomba Satoru Iwata is what made Nintendo great in that era not Reggie. I know a lot of people like him (and I do too) but I really don't think Reggie is all that important now, Iwata left an amazing legacy when he was at Nintendo and Hal Laboratory the same can't be said for Reggie.
Reggie: My body is not ready for another Gamestop stock roller coaster
@TreonsRealm I worked at Blockbuster too haha. Happy days!
Sacked again!!!
It's a sinking ship. So no surprise. All their Europe stores filed for bankrupty two years ago and the last stores closed down early last year.
Gamestop honestly deserves it's death at this stage. The only point of utility that they still have is when you are buying consoles themselves.
Everything else they sell is sheer daylight robbery. I don't know a single person who would actually buy a game with them as every other retailer tends to have a massively lower RRP.
They are out of money and need to downscale. Simple.
Pretty much the pandemic crippled non-essential retail so that combined with next gen (PS5, Series X) stock being a gigantic mess meant Gamestop's slow demise was massively sped up.
@Tourtus
To be fair, Reggie was basically the framework of the advertising for Nintendo products. He deserves some credit for the success.
@Angelic_Lapras_King he then floated away using an umbrella
Even he knew to run out
I used to go to GameStop all the time, but I haven’t been there in years now. There’s just absolutely no incentive to go to GameStop anymore. Their deals, if you can even call them that, are pitiful, and their online infrastructure is just awful. I tried to get new joy cons shipped to my house cause of the pandemic, I ordered them, then ten minutes later, I get an email that my order was cancelled, lmao. If they were out of stock, why could I order them to begin with??
I ended up ordering from Target, got free shipping, and got them in two days. And that was my absolute last interaction with GameStop. Just no incentive at all to go there anymore.
@Tourtus I hate how much I agree with you.
Cant wait for digital only gaming to rise to see how people are gonna miss physical and not do anything about it to keep physical relevant in the markets. With Sony and Nintendo not really respecting their legacy stuff and people still buying from them, the future is sealed.
If the prices are comparable, I prefer to buy from GsmeStop instead of Walmart or Amazon.
Fan theory:
Reggie is coming back to us!
OK, probably not, but still!
People think Digital is gold but a fool. They can sell at 60$ a game and you still buy. But used games sells for less but then again you willingly buy at full price digital and never think why. As to GameStop closing people forget if they go you'll be paying full price regardless of the store because they know you have no other options. Stores are in the business to sell not to be your friend. With no other used retailer selling for less the have no incentive to sell for less. Used game prices are based on real market supply and demand - Digital has no incentive to lower prices. As to Reggie leaving who knows but alot of people's comment would seem to indicate they never liked him from the start so they butter up their replies to cover for it.
Here's a link over used explaining why Digital you loose in the long run buying.
Digital Distribution Vs Physical Media and True Ownership
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdsWQGAlopk
@TreonsRealm Me too! Disn Network was literally the worst. Asking us to sell Satellite TV (already a dinosaur by then) inside a dying Video Rental store? LOL...idiotic, tone-deaf management at it's finest.
Gamestop's is a RIP off anyhow.they need to shutdown
Lol gamestop's charges 55 for a new used game.walmart charges 50 for new game
@ModdedInkling For the U.S. that's true, but not for other regions of the globe. (Unless he appeared in the Nintendo Directs for Europe and Asia)
@the4seer gametop can improve, reggie is stuck with his personality, lol.
@MoonKnight7 They've been horrible for 20 years, since they sold people used games as new. They were okay for the year or 2 after they bought out software etcetera, at best. But, they still managed to get people like you to shop there. Therefore, you can't discount that there are people now, who feel like you did, while i felt like i did, about gamestop.
@Darkyoshi98 gamestop also opens the new games & lets employees take them home, then sells them as new, to people who don't know better than to ask fot sealed copies of new games.
@SwitchForce amazon, best buy still sell used don't they? They still buy them so surely they still sell them also. Maybe they will increase their market share. As yiu point out, there's many who don't even consider uses because they don't have vehicles & want the game "now", or other reasons, so it may be there's it enough consumers to support all these sgops that started used game sales. Walmart also does it in the US, as well as local shops that only sell used games (in my city anyways). As long as the demand is there, there will be someone to supply, ask drug dealers (& they don't even have a gamestop, but they thrive, lol).
@JuiceMan_V
I thought there was a report a while ago saying that there was going to be a major shake-up regarding either Gamestop's top management or board of directors soon. 🤔
@Entrr_username No, I am not Reggie or your mom.
When you're charging more for used games than other places are charging for new games. Yeah that won't last long at all.
Surprised it lasted as long as it did actually.
@SwitchForce Buying digitally is way more convenient. Not everyone cares enough about saving money to sacrifice the convenience.
Also, I've bought plenty of used games online. eBay and Amazon can be a middleman for used games just like GameStop. GameStop isn't even an option that most people consider anymore, and it's still around. It's already obsolete and soon it will be dead 🤷♂️
I guess he realized the nerf guns took up more space than the actual games
@JGruns Walmart and Target in the States do the same thing - ask if you want to buy protection for video games. It's something that's automatically flagged in their system.
@twztid13 you're going to have to cite your source on that one. That'd be a pretty easy thing to call out.
@twztid13 Best Buy doesn't sell used games. They don't do trade ins either.
@teamdave2002 Ask any employee, that is easy to find out, do a Google search. That is well known, cheapassgamer.com forums is where many employees have confirmed that. Go buy a new game from them & see if u get a sealed copy w/o asking for a sealed one.
@teamdave2002 Ahh, they used to. Even this list done in 2021 still lists it as a place to sell them:
https://wellkeptwallet.com/sell-video-games/
@teamdave2002
https://kotaku.com/gamestop-sells-played-games-as-new-sources-say-practi-453115775
Just 1st search result on a quick search, there are plenty of places u can find evidence, tho, if u weren't aware of this, just by using a search engine. It pops up before u finsh typing it's already searched so much, lol.
He went to GameStop....sat there for a brief while, then turned around and left.
Let's all be honest: This is the exact same sequence we've all experienced at GameStop.
Seriously though EIGHT board members all jumping ship at once...... It's not that we didn't already know GS was a sinking ship, but that's a new record.
@N1ntendodo I don't know if it's sealed. PS3 only sold 87M units. Compared to PS4 sold 114M, PS5 will probably exceed that, as will Switch (assuming they don't kill it earlier than normal cycles.)
The customer base is growing, and digital sales were a pretty low percentage of those older consoles. A lot of the people buying digitally today weren't buying games at all, or were buying physical games back then and haven't experienced losing your whole library because the publisher decides it's time to end it.....once that new market experiences that I think there will be some backlash again. People, even accustomed to mobile, are used to their old apps staying with them from a single purchase forever and ever.
Guess we already got sheep to the slaugher for Digital only. But that's not a lost to Physical buyers. Whom got more options when the day ends.
His body is done with this.
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