New software drives record $2bn sales at GameStop
Battlefield, God of War, Pokemon and more singled out as new sales climb over 13 per cent in Q1
GameStop has enjoyed a record first quarter for the period ended May 1, with new software driving sales up 5.1 per cent to $2.08 billion (£1.4bn).
Although comparable stores sales were down 1.6 per cent, new software sales increased 13.3 per cent, with the company singling EA's Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Sony's God of War III, Final Fantasy XIII from Square Enix, Nintendo's Pokemon SoulSilver and HeartGold and Bioshock 2 from Take-Two as top sellers.
Net earnings were up 6.8 per cent to $75.2 million (£52.6m), compared to $70.4 million for the same period last year. The retailer said that over the past four years, first quarter earnings have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 63 per cent.
"I am pleased that our earnings have achieved the high end of guidance and total company sales have exceeded $2 billion for the first time in a non-holiday quarter," commented Daniel DeMatteo, CEO of GameStop.
"By maintaining a sharp focus on our customer needs and overall business execution, our strong brick and mortar business continues to provide the capital needed to invest in new stores as well as execute our strategic plan to incorporate digital gaming into our global operations.