- Not to be confused with Gamespot, a gaming website.
GameStop Corp. is the largest video game retail store chain in the US. Customers can buy, sell, and trade new and used video games, consoles, and accessories, as well as purchase strategy guides and other gaming products.
GameStop traces its roots to mall software retailer Babbage's, which was renamed Babbage's Etc LLC when it merged with Software Etc. Babbage's Etc was purchased by book retail giant Barnes & Noble from its' CEO Leonard Riggio in a transaction completed on October 28, 1999. When Funco, Inc. (operator of Funcoland stores) was acquired by B&N in 2000, there was a corporate restructuring, and Babbage's Etc became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Funco. The name at that time was changed to GameStop, Inc. The company was rechristened GameStop Corp. in 2002 prior to its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, where it trades under the symbol GME. In October 2004, GameStop Corp. purchased six million shares of its stock from parent B&N, and subsequently in November 2004 B&N distributed nearly 30 million more GameStop shares to B&N shareholders, thereby completing a spin-off of the subsidiary.
As of January 2005, GameStop Corp. has 1746 stores in all 50 US states, Puerto Rico, and Ireland. All stores are fully owned by the company, which is based in Grapevine, Texas. The operation includes outlets under the GameStop name, which represents the bulk of stores, as well as Babbage's, Software Etc, Funcoland, and Planet X. The company also owns ecommerce site GameStop.com and publishes Game Informer magazine, which has one of the largest subscriber bases for a multi-platform gaming magazine in the US. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "GME".
Some of their Irish stores were acquired by purchasing GameZone, a retailer aimed mainly at second hand games.
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