Everything is going digital, but brick-and-mortar gaming retailer GameStop is still making plenty of money.
GameStop revealed today that it generated $3.15 billion in total global sales over the nine-week holiday period to close out the year. That’s up 9.3 percent from the same time period in 2012. The new consoles from Sony and Microsoft were among the big factors in the retailer’s improved numbers, as the company saw a 99.8 percent increase in new hardware sales.
GameStop is the world’s largest gaming retail chain. It has a network of over 6,000 stores in 15 countries across the globe.
“I am pleased to report that the extensive planning by our entire team over the past year to prepare for the new console launches paid off,” GameStop chief executive officer Paul Raines said in a statement. “Our outstanding execution during the holidays resulted in GameStop securing the number one market share position in the U.S. and in most of the countries in which we operate today.”
GameStop marketed itself as one of the best places to pick up Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One. That helped it sell more next-gen systems than any other U.S. retailer.
“GameStop also had the highest software and accessory attach ratio of any retailer for both new consoles,” said Raines. “Building off this momentum, we are in an excellent position to drive the global adoption of the next generation of new video game products in 2014.”
While the new hardware performed well for GameStop, the company reported that the software sales for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 declined more than expected. This led to a 22.5 percent decrease in overall new software sales — although GameStop’s used-games sales were up 7 percent.
These figures make sense as players trade in their old games to help pay for the new and more expensive consoles. Since the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 only just debuted in November, it’s less likely gamers had money to spare for new games after dropping $400 to $500 on the new hardware.