HMV Shifting Focus from Music to Games

U.K.-based music retailer HMV is taking steps to become a "real magnet" for gamers as it moves to replace declining CD music sales with videogames.

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, HMV CEO Simon Fox said, "Big picture, if you look over the next three years, what we have said is that the CD market will decline by 10 percent per annum, so we need to replace that with higher-growth categories: games, technologies, band merchandise, and this is part of that." A big part of the company's move to gaming includes "Gamerbase" rooms in its stores, in which gamers can choose from hundreds of videogames to play.

"For HMV we are already a natural destination for music and film, we want to become an equal destination for gamers, and this is about making our stores a real magnet for gamers to come and play and buy," Fox said.

HMV also announced its financial results for the six months ending October 27, showing a profit of $53 million, a sharp jump over the $53.4 million loss posted over the same period last year. Videogames were a significant part of the growth, accounting for 15 percent of the company's sales, up from nine percent the previous year.