Strong Q1 for GameStop thanks to next-gen success

Global games retailer GameStop has seen sales and earnings have shot up after an expectation-hitting Q1.

Total global sales for the quarter ended May 3rd climbed seven per cent to $2bn with like-for-like store sales jumping 5.8 per cent. Net earnings grew 24.5 per cent to $68m

The retailer said continued strong worldwide consumer demand for Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PS4 was the primary driver of the strong sales performance” with new hardware sales catapulting 81.1 per cent.

From launch through April, total market sales in the US of PS4 and Xbox One hardware have more than doubled the combined sales of PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware through their first six months of sales,” GameStop added.

New software sales suffered a 20.4 per cent decline, however, due to fewer triple-A titles being launched this year compared to the first quarter of 2013”. Still, pre-owned game sales grew 5.3 per cent as ongoing trade-ins toward new consoles improved inventory levels and subsequent sales growth”.

Digital receipts grew 9.5 per cent owing to decent sales of PSN and Xbox Live store credit.