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Video game stores are the new record stores

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

GameStop shares sunk more than 27%. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images.

GameStop, a Grapevine, Texas-based video game retailer, said it has abandoned efforts to sell the company after failing to get an adequate bid, sending shares down more than 20%.

Why it matters: Because this seems to validate short-seller arguments that physical retail for video games is anachronistic, as more and more product is downloaded directly via mobile and consoles. There had been some hope that a buyer would bet on increased interest in things like VR hardware and collectibles, but apparently not.

GameStop shares sunk more than 27% on the news, giving it a market cap of just $1.15 billion. Overall, company shares have lost more than 75% of their value since late 2015.

The bottom line: Video game stores are the new record stores.

Go deeper

Scott Rosenberg
28 mins ago - Technology

Cyber war scales up with new Microsoft hack

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Last week's revelation of a new cyberattack on thousands of small businesses and organizations, on top of last year's SolarWinds hack, shows we've entered a new era of mass-scale cyber war.

Why it matters: In a world that's dependent on interlocking digital systems, there's no escaping today's cyber conflicts. We're all potential victims even if we're not participants.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Miriam Kramer, author of Space
29 mins ago - Science

Spaceflight contests and our future in orbit

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Wealthy private citizens are increasingly becoming the arbiters of who can go to space — and some of them want to bring the average person along for the ride.

Why it matters: Space is being opened up to people who wouldn't have had the prospect of flying there even five years ago, but these types of missions have far-reaching implications for who determines who gets to make use of space and for what.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
David Nather
1 hour ago - Health

Axios-Ipsos poll: America looks for the exits after a year of COVID

Data: Axios/Ipsos poll; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

A year after the coronavirus abruptly shut down much of the country, Americans are watching for a clear signal of when the pandemic will be over — and most won't be ready to ditch the masks and social distancing until they get it, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

The big picture: The poll found that more Americans are expecting the outbreak to be over sooner rather than later, as vaccinations ramp up throughout the country — but that very few are ready to end the precautions that have upended their lives.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow