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New GameStop prototype store opened in Florida

December 21, 2008 by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

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A member of the gaming forum NeoGAF has stumbled upon a prototype store for the next generation of the GameStop shopping experience. Although he was told by staffers that no photography was allowed, he surreptitiously snagged a few shots anyway with his cell phone ("I'm a ninja").

First off, it's three times as large as a standard Gamestop, with two separate wood-inlaid counters and high-quality flooring. There were no less than EIGHTEEN separate demo kiosks around the store, including a giant custom kiosk for Guitar Hero: World Tour. They were even demoing Valkyria Chronicles(!). Also littering the outer walls, amongst the games, stood high-definition touch-screen displays that you could browse the store catalog (picture D), as well as manually search for any title to check for a game description, price (both new and used), and whether or not the game is currently in-stock. Both these touchscreen displays and several of the kiosks feature those high-quality audio cone things mounted above. Also, thanks to these displays, I found out Prince of Persia is selling for $40 new due to some Amazon price drop. Awesome. I bought it.

The front of the store is flanked with more high-def displays, and in the back is a "conversation pit"-style pod of four retro chairs where customers can sit and play multiplayer titles against others.

About James Bickers

James Bickers is the former senior editor of Retail Customer Experience, and also manages webinars for Networld Media Group. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist and innovative content strategist, with publication credits in national, international and regional publications.

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