Blockbuster closing 300 US stores

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:00:00 EST

We recognize this is all epilogue to whatever tenuous relationship Blockbuster ever had with games, but Dish Network recently stated it would close 300 Blockbuster locations, with job losses estimated at about 3,000. Dish Network Corp., the company which purchased Blockbuster back in 2011, confirmed the closures to The Denver Post, noting this will leave 500 Blockbuster stores left in the States.

The closure announcement comes after Blockbuster UK recently filed its own bankruptcy, with 160 closures of the retailer's 500 stores in the region.

Blockbuster closing 300 US stores originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blockbuster UK enters administration

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:15:00 EST

Blockbuster UK has entered administration (UK bankruptcy), with 500 stores and 4,190 jobs hanging in the balance. ITV reports Deloitte, which is also handling the administration of HMV, has been appointed to handle the bankruptcy proceedings and find a buyer. The HMV situation involves 239 stores and 4350 jobs in the region.

Although neither HMV nor Blockbuster are wholly game retailers, these latest events push forward the idea that the ecosystem of UK brick-and-mortar video game retail is collapsing. GAME, the UK's biggest games retailer hasn't been immune, dealing with its own bout of bankruptcy. GameStop, a company that globally dominates game retail, removed itself from the physical UK market in early 2012.

Hope you like buying your physical games at Tesco. Then again, you can buy physical games online from online retailers. So, hope you like buying physical games physically at... oh, we give up.

Blockbuster UK enters administration originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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