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Do you like the Games for Windows initiative?
BM: You know, I do. I think it's great to be able to pull it together, and bring a brand look and feel to it. Especially now that we have undergone our own brand initiative for our own company. The consumer, I think, is just confused with the fact that things got to the point where they looked too similar to video games. The consumer wasn't sure what they were looking at any more. So I think it helped them put an identity to it, and realize that there is support behind it all the way up to Microsoft.
What's interesting is that GameStop has to choose when to "abandon" an older platform. When does that point come?
BM: We are one of the retailers that takes the position that we will be one of the last ones standing. For example, on GameCube and original Xbox, even though hardware has not shipped for a long time on them, we still have sections in our stores. We continue to promote.
You still see big walls of Xbox games.
BM: We definitely understand that a lot of consumers don't want to feel that they have been "abandoned" by a platform just because it is transitioning to a better system. We want to offer our consumer the choice, to have a broad selection.
Do you think that the backwards compatibility affects this? The 360 has some, the Wii has complete backwards compatibility. Does that continue to get them space in your store, and extend the lifespan of those games?
BM: Yeah, I think the backwards compatibility is a good thing for the consumer; whether it be on the launches, such as when they launched the 360 and had backwards compatibility. They took a little bit of heat from the consumers because they didn't have as broad a backwards compatibility.
I believe that the consumer stepping into these new platforms, whether it be the Xbox to the Xbox 360, or PS2 to PS3, that they also want to step up in their game selection as well. They don't want to feel that there is no backwards compatibility, that they would be leaving behind the library that they have already hoarded and have in their closets.
Do you see an opportunity there, where, say, a new Wii owner who never owned a GameCube might buy Super Mario Galaxy, and then might work their way back toward Sunshine?
BM: Oh definitely. I think their strategy is different from the others. Definitely, where they have the download opportunity for the older platforms. It's all about providing choices to the consumer, and we like that. Our service provides for that.
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