If you've ever been in a videogame shop - and if you're reading this I'll hazard a bet you have - you'll be familiar with the cliches. Cramped, intimidating, loaded with confusing advertising and proffering a unique lingering smell that combines notes of yesterday's burger wrappings with the arresting twang of adolescent body odour. Although you occasionally see elderly relatives rushing in and grabbing FIFA off the front shelf for little Johnny's birthday, the occupants are predominantly young and male.
Well not anymore. At least not in America. And not in retail chain, Gamestop. The New York Times has posted an interview with Daniel A. DeMatteo, the store's vice chairman and chief operating officer who claims that casual games are now so important to sales that the company is having to do some radical retail re-thinking:
There is a real breadth of properties now appealing to a much broader audience than we've seen before. Honestly, we are having to retool the way we think of things in our stores in terms of merchandising, layout and also customer service because it is no longer only the hardcore gamer walking in who knows exactly what he wants.
Daniel claims that, in the run up to Christmas, Gamestop will be featuring two new store sections specifically aimed at casual gamers. One will focus on music titles like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, the other on family games, a broad remit that apparently takes in cute stuff like Lego Star Wars and Nintendogs as well as familiar kiddie-friendly licenses like Hanna Montana and Cars.
But what else can stores do to entice a wider range of visitors? And by a wider range, I sort of mean anyone outside of the male 12-24 demographic? Here are a few ideas...
The obvious cafe option If building societies can get away with it, so can game stores. Simply open a coffee shop area complete with tasteful music (perhaps drawn from Japanese RPG soundtracks), relaxing leather chairs and a subtly videogame related menu. "Yeah, can I get a Mario muffin and two Half-Life lattes?". "Certainly. Would sir like small, regular or high-definition?". Free WiFi access, a selection of game mags and a couple of PSPs to play with would be great too.
Or at least a nice waiting area Men get comfortable waiting areas in womens' clothes shops these days - why don't games stores (let's face is, predominantly visited by men) return the favour? If a visit to the local games emporium doesn't feel like a circumnavigation of the seventh circle of hell for your partner, you may get to browse longer, and therefore spend more. Heck, they may even want to come back.
Private demo areas Somewhere you can discreetly try out the game of your choice without having to deal with smirking 12-year-olds laughing at your unhoned skills. Testing games is like trying on clothes - it's personal. And the 'your choice' bit is important. Demo pods tend to show-off what the store or paying publishers are pushing.
Any more suggestions?
