Game Crazy Shuttering Nearly One-Third Of Its Stores

In an effort to "address underperforming" store locations, gaming retailer Game Crazy will be closing 200 of its 680 locations during October.

In explanation, Game Crazy owner Movie Gallery, Inc. offers the following official statement:

Movie Gallery, Inc. is currently operating in an unprecedented consumer/retail environment. In order for us to continue to best serve our millions of customers across North America we're addressing underperforming stores and ensuring that there is sufficient [return on investment] associated with each of these stores going forward. The vast majority of our stores will be unaffected by these efforts.

This is certainly dire news for almost everyone involved. Hundreds of people will lose their jobs, many gamers will lose their only useful retail alternative to the GameStop/EB Games megachain and the company as a whole has hit a massive roadblock in its quest for marketshare.

On the other hand, they were probably bleeding money like a stigmata with von Willebrand's disease if the only recourse is shuttering almost one-third of all retail locations.