GameStop in trouble?

There are 4-5 days/week when I try to commit to 90 minute work-outs.  Of course “work conflicts” end up breaking that discipline and I typically end up working out 2-3 times every week.

On the days I miss, I try to jump-rope, run by the park or crunch those abs in my ab lounge (yeah!).  All of this has changed since I came across the Nintendo Wii Fit.  Now, in the comfort of my home, I can stand in front of my tv, yogarcize in Warrior 2 OR get a decent cardio workout on my balance board.

Playing with the Wii also came as an opportunity to see the potential of gaming consoles and that of the industry.  CNN was one (of many sources) to offer their opinion on the gaming industry when they published this article back in April.  Of course GameStop, one of the largest gaming retailers with over 5K stores nationwide had been on my watch list long before April but this article (amongst others from financial analysists) made me feel I had finally located the only “recession proof industry” - gaming!  Reactions from kids across the world continued to enforce that opinion.

Not that I invested my life savings “on this hunch” but I made a minor investment to see if I too could see an 82% year by year growth on my stocks :->  GameStop is one company that has been on a roll since 2003 (and the launch of the new PS3 and Wii have only added to it’s success) making gaming more mainstream and less hardcore.  From about $4 in 2003 all the way to $62/share in late 2007, this is one company that seemed unstoppable.

But like every other industry in America, gaming got…..well, bitch-slapped!  GameStop is pure reflection of what happened to the industry.  Besides the $100 million made from GTA IV or the 80+ % profit jump over last year, GME shares have plummeted more than 60%!

So I may have lost a small amount of money - what I haven’t lost is discipline…. Using wireless internet on the Wii, I’ve figured out a way to see stocks (GME amongst others) plummet “in real time”….all this while I do torso-twists and jack knife on my Wii Fit.