Store Wars: GamersGate says GameStop struggling to "not be the next Blockbuster"

After giving Steam a nice, blunt talking-to, GamersGate has unchained its tongue for another round. The target this time? GameStop, the proud new owner of Impulse and Spawn Labs. Perhaps, however, it shouldn't be quite so proud.

"GameStop has been struggling to redefine the company," said GamersGate CEO Theo Bergquist in an op-ed published on IndustryGamers. "While it is still the dominant force in traditional video-game retail, the firm is certainly aware of the trend away from OEM purchases for console games."

"As GameStop puts it in their press release, 'GameStop doesn't care how you get your games; it just wants to be the company that gets them to you', or to paraphrase 'we will do whatever we can to not be the next Blockbuster.'”

Bergquist went on to laud GameStop for finally stepping up its digital game, but he questioned the purchase of Impulse specifically, calling it "Steam’s lesser talented stepchild."

"While almost definitely purchased at a bargain, the question is whether or not Impulse was the right company to acquire to be the foundation of GameStop’s digital business. With a negligible following, it is clear GameStop purchased Impulse for its’ technology. The intelligence of this acquisition rests on how easily and quickly GameStop will be able to integrate Impulse into its existing operations," he explained.

He ended, however, on a positive note, saying that the digital space is in for a shake-up regardless of whether GameStop's playing the industry like a fiddle or just flailing on the strings. So then, everyone, pop some popcorn and - if you want to over-commit - throw on a pair of 3D glasses. You thought the adrenaline-pumping activity that is shopping couldn't get any more exciting? Well, you might want to sit down. (No, seriously. That's pretty much all you need to do here.)