GameStop encouraged by industry's big investments in new IP

GTA V's $1 billion haul (in just three days) aside, the retail video game business in 2013 hasn't exactly been strong. With a big lineup of games and new consoles hitting the market this holiday shopping season, however, there's reason to be optimistic. Furthermore, the appearance of new IP on store shelves is very encouraging, said GameStop.

In an interview with our sister site the [a]list daily, executive vice president of strategic business and brand development, Mike Hogan, commented, "What probably excites me the most is the amount of new IP you're seeing in the category. It could be Titanfall, it could be Watch_Dogs, it could be a number of things. Seeing companies investing tens of millions of dollars in new IP is a great sign of health. It means people are bullish."

GameStop realizes that many consumers may not have the funds needed to purchase new consoles and all the great new games coming to the market, which is why the retailer is making a bigger marketing push for its trade-in program - not just for other games, but also for devices like smartphones.

"Getting people to think about the electronics that you have around the house as currency that you can actually spend is a big thing. We've actually produced an ad that hasn't run yet that has that message. This is a fall where we know there's lots of things that people want, so if we make consoles affordable to millions more people than would otherwise buy them, that's great for consumers and it's great for us," Hogan said.

You can read much more about GameStop's marketing strategies for the holiday season on the [a]list daily.