10 years still selling

 I went shopping saturday and saw this.

That doesn't look like much until you see Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the PS3 and the GTA3 Collection. San Andreas is the top selling game for the PS2. In fact the GTA series is top selling for the entire PS2 era. That's pretty big.

But why is it still being made today? It has to still be selling. A game made 12 years ago is outselling modern ones.

I talk about this weirdness a lot, but the game still amazes me. I hate it personally, but can not deny how well it must be doing. By last check on Phoenix 4th Edition, it has sold 25 million since it was released.

I won't go into all the questions I have about this, but it has made me wonder. What happened in the last ten years to make it still sell?

To give an idea, I only know of one other game that still has this selling power. The rest are no longer being made for various reasons. The big one is the belief that these games have been replaced by newer ones. SA was released for the PS2, and has continued to sell into the PS4 era, with a chance of going into the PS5.

I recently bought a PS3, and I have noticed how many compilation and HD editions there are for it. This has been great for me as a collector, but it also shows Sony views these games as only worth a compilation price. Yet there are a lot of them. This also includes many of the most talked about PS3 games. $20 gets me all the Mass Effects with DLC. These games were $60 plus $5-$10 for multiple DLC offerings. So it was $100~ for each game.

San Andreas is worth $20 after 2 generations of consoles, and was even remade for PS3. Somehow the newer versions of this game do not replace it. There is a version of it for my iPhone.

The controls are awful by the way.

I bring this up because the subject of the last ten years in retail and gaming has been brought up in my house a lot. My sister asked why all of the game stores felt dark. She didn't enjoy being in them, even though she is a gamer.

I pointed out that one of them was specifically trying to mimic the feel of the old school rental store. It even has the scent. But she said it felt that way in all of them.

So the conversation then went to other stores I have been in. For the most part, gaming places are darker with contrasting colors. Blacks and reds, with talks about graffiti for the walls. Games are stacked like books next to each other. Actually a good description would be techno library. They work to fit the idea of the gamer.

At this point you should realize cultures stereotype themselves. They show drinks, clothes, and ideas that all gamers should have. There are products sold specifically for them that fit this stereotype.

When I took girls into stores like this, they mentioned the same feelings. It wasn't for them. Keep in mind some of these stores have women working in them, or even running them. It's even true at conventions for gamers.

Oddly enough, I have been to stores for women. They have brighter colors that tend to work together. It gets slightly garish when inside of them. It's great for women, but I didn't feel welcome.

My sister decided to design a game store for fans like her. She decided the best option was cell phone and computer stores. They are fairly open, brighter colors with easy contrasts -white, red, green, and light blue.

The items are set up to give space for each other. It adds an artistic feel, but also allows shoppers to see what they are. There is a small area to try out games. You sit on a bean bag chair and try out the latest family friendly game.

She added a part later.

This is a jungle gym maze. The reason why is she went through the numbers. The cost of starting the store would've greater than profits made. Therefore it needs to be part of something bigger. She suggested a giant maze that felt like a videogame. There would be an arcade, and this store.

The goal was to make going to the store as part of an event. A family fun center for 20 somethings. The event of the maze would attract the customers to the store. Sort of like a gift shop in a museum.

She mentioned in this conversation that Wal Mart would feel like neutral territory. As would other large stores like Best Buy. It was odd realizing the phone section felt different from the game section, even if nearby.

It is her theory that videogames at Wal Mart are easier to buy for people who do not identify with the stereotype. A gamer who enjoyed gaming would still want San Andreas. Thus it still sells at Wal Mart even 10 years later.

While thinking about this, I went to a clothing store with my Dad. He mentioned how the store was much nicer ten years ago. He is right.

So I talked about how going into a store like this used to be an event. There was a feeling of hunting and bargaining. A store would be the only place you could get something. Catalogs were important parts of a household because the local store wouldn't have these things. Now we have Amazon and can buy things without needing to go into a store. It is neutral territory without having to leave the house.

So the store has no meaning. Many stores relied on the feeling of an event, and now it's no longer there. Places like a city now have to build event areas to bring customers in. They often aim at customers with bigger wallets, or older customers. Those who still think it's an event.

My Dad’s optometric shop is going through similar changes. The younger customers are looking for something like Amazon to do glasses or get an eye exam. They don't want the event. He wants to make an eye exam into something like a videogame. You adjust things to see the picture and spot the hidden character.

Which brings us back to San Andreas. I believe it was the last big event game when gaming was popular. Nintendo went a new direction, and many gamers stopped playing. There have been event games, but it was either to a smaller number, or for Nintendo's new style. People I speak to about it often say SA was their favorite game. They view it with a great deal of nostalgia. Then college ended and they had a wife and kid to take care of. Gaming fell to the wayside.

Sony is trying to still get those customers, and the game continues to sell at Wal Mart. Thus, we have a deal for nostalgia, lost customers, and neutral territory.

The other game is New Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo DS. It still sells at its retail price.

So SA is still selling and even out lasting whole console generations. My sister believes it is because it was the last big game before gaming changed. She believes stores need events or things to do to attract customers. Stores that do not are suffering, and trying for people who still think shopping is the event.

There are other things to think about. These events are likely what has brought on the Great Recession. Spokane is suffering from it, and I have been watching it begin in Seattle.

I sort of wonder if videogames can predict more of the future as well. I wonder even deeper, if this type of look could help me get a job.