GameStop shuttering Northern Ireland and Portuguese stores

by Alexander Sliwinski on Jan 25th 2012 3:20PM

GameStop continues its closure of brick-and-mortar stores and conversion to a digital business in certain European markets, with recent moves in Portugal and Northern Ireland.

"GameStop plans to close our 13 stores in Portugal due to macro economic conditions," a company spokesperson told Joystiq. "Customers in Portugal can visit www.gamestop.es -- our E-commerce site in Spain -- for their gaming needs.

"And as announced last summer, GameStop is closing our four remaining UK stores -- thus finalizing our plans to exit the UK market. Our focus is to run an e-commerce only operation in the UK. Customers can redeem outstanding trade credits and gift cards on line at www.gamestop.com/uk."

Don't take this to mean the company is closing up storefronts on the continent. GameStop added 25 stores to "better performing" markets, such as Italy and France, during the last quarter.

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PSA: Netflix live on PS3, Wii in the UK and Ireland; 360 app up later today

by Alexander Sliwinski on Jan 9th 2012 8:20AM

As of today, the lands of the UK and Ireland will use Netflix not only as a noun, but as a verb. Today they begin saying, "Wait, you haven't seen that? Netflix it!" The movie rental company's streaming service is available now on PC, certain televisions, PS3 and Wii. The Xbox 360 app will hit later today.

Netflix is available to try at no cost for one month, and after that it's £5.99 or €6.99, depending on your region. Netflix for the UK was announced late last year, shortly after the PR disaster that saw the birth and death of Qwikster in a little under a month. The company's stock is still recovering from the free fall.

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Netflix streaming to UK, Ireland in 'early 2012'

by Alexander Sliwinski on Oct 24th 2011 9:20AM

Movie (and perhaps game) rental service Netflix will launch in the UK and Ireland in early 2012, the currently volatile company announced this morning. Similar to the service's expansion into Canada, the company will only offer its streaming service. Netflix also began streaming in 43 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean in September 2011.

Netflix stated that streaming will be available on TVs "via a range of consumer electronics," but no specific consoles are mentioned. Streaming will also be available on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. Specifics about pricing, content and supported devices will be announced closer to launch.

This is a bit of good news from the company that recently crawled out of a PR debacle and has seen its stock drop by over half, following several missteps over the past three months.

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