Flash gaming benefactor and awesome supporter of Indie game designers, Kongregate, yesterday announced in a forum post that it is being purchased by evil, used games overlords GameStop. In the post, Kongregate Community Manager, Alison Huffman, claims that the only changes to come are the removal of the “BETA” tag, which has adorned the site’s front page since just after it opened in early 2007.
Huffman then adds, “We decided to accept GameStop’s offer because they love us and love you, and want us to continue to be one big, happy family. No, really. GameStop likes us for who we are and is not looking to change Kongregate—they just want to help us grow and improve.” Responding, of course, to the expected outpouring of complaints from fans of the site who know it will change.
GameStop is a gigantic retail despot, which makes its moneys, primarily, by swindling folks out of their games and gaming devices. If you’re not familiar with their retail model, it goes like this: Customers bring in their used games (which they could usually sell on half.com or amazon.com for about 50% of MSRP) and GameStop gives them about 10% of MSRP in store credit. Customers must then use those dollars to buy used games from GameStop (which they could buy on half.com or amazon.com for about 50% MSRP) for about 90% MSRP. In short, they play the part of a completely unnecessary middleman in a process which is already detrimental to the video games industry, putting them on a level with ticket scalpers and patent lawyers.
How could the people who have enjoyed the free gaming and access to Flash development tools and instructions that Kongregate offers (while sharing its profits directly with the Indie developers) not be worried about this move? The only saving grace here is that Kongregate will still be under the maintenence of the founders, Jim and Emily Greer, becoming a subsidiary of GameStop. Jim Greer created a video to explain the purchase, answer some questions, and even give some Kongregate history.
Neither Kongregate nor GameStop have disclosed the purchase price.
Icrontic Viewpoint
Ryan Wilsey: I am terrified by this idea. As someone who has both enjoyed games on Kongregate and also worked on a few Flash games with the goal of placing it on Kongregate, I am strongly opposed to this idea. Regardless of the plans GameStop has for the immediate future of Kongregate, I fear for the future of the beloved Flash games hub. I view GameStop as a slimy, corrupting amoeba. Every step of the way, they have learned how to best entice gamers for more money in exchange for little gimmicks like strategy guides and trade-in “deals”. If they try to squeeze every drop of monetization out of Kongregate like I damn well fully expect them to, the game development community is going to lose a beloved friend.
Brian Ambrozy: It’s obvious that GameStop is looking to the future with this move; the days of retail gaming are numbered as sales increasingly move into digital downloads. While there will always be a place for retail game shops, the sheer number of GameStop stores will be unsustainable down the line. Unfortunately, when a 900 pound gorilla gets hungry, it eats—and Kongregate was the juiciest low-hanging fruit. The Greers can espouse all they want, but this sure looks and smells like selling out. I agree with Ryan in that GameStop is a lousy, shady company who doesn’t give a shit about gamers. All they care about is making money. How can Indie gamers and fans of Indie games benefit from that? This is a sad day.
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