‘People won’t even realise what they missed’, ‘Old’ gamer mourns EB Games shutdown proposal

Thursday, 8 January 2026

Rodrigo Mattos remembers the days well, buying physical copies of video games at EB games wasn’t just a transaction, it was an experience.

“You’d walk into the store, look at the covers, read the back of the box, imagine the gameplay, the story, and the hours you were about to spend playing. There was anticipation — it wasn’t instant,” he says.

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While the 41-year-old Frankton local doesn’t consider himself a “traditional” gamer anymore, he is one of the many people mourning a recent proposal that could possibly see all EB Games store fronts in NZ disappear.

While its important to note that nothing has been confirmed yet, an internal email seen by Stuff shows employees were told the proposed move would see all remaining 38 EB Games stores across the country closing, along with the company’s New Zealand distribution operations.

Speaking to Stuff, Mattos said he “genuinely felt sad” about the stores proposed closure in NZ.

“EB Games is more than just a retail store — it’s a cultural space for gamers,” he said.

“For many of us who grew up before everything became digital, it represents memories, rituals, and shared experiences.”

He said its proposed closure feels like “losing a small but meaningful part of gaming history in New Zealand.”

While the blame has been placed on the economy leading to multi-million dollar losses for the Australian company, there has been another killer, chipping away at physical media stores for years - digitisation.

The largest online marketplace for games on PC is Steam. Launched in 2003, it hit its all time concurrent record of people online in one day only a few days ago on January 4 with 41.8 million people logged in to buy and play games.

While digitisation made things much more convenient for people, Mattos said the move to digitisation was sad.

“…not in a dramatic way, but in a quiet, cultural sense. Future generations will still play great games, but they won’t experience that ritual: walking into a store with your parents, holding a game in your hands, and associating it with a real place and a real moment.

“Once that disappears, people won’t even realise what they missed.”

He also has concerns with digital purchases.

“With digital purchases, you don’t truly own the game — you’re licensing access to it. Games can be removed from stores, servers can be shut down, platforms can disappear, or accounts can be banned,” he said.

“Physical media gave a sense of permanence and ownership that digital formats don’t fully offer, and from a preservation point of view, that’s definitely concerning.”

The concern is not unique to Mattos. Overseas, a campaign called Stop Killing Games was formed as a consumer movement with a goal of preserving video games after they are taken offline.

With EB Games potentially leaving our shores, it could make that quest for physical copies of video games more difficult.

“I wouldn’t really consider myself a gamer anymore, at least not in the traditional sense. I do have a gaming PC with good hardware — a proper graphics card, monitor, and all the peripherals — but in my day-to-day life I probably don’t even use 10% of its performance,” Mattos said.

He again emphasised the experience of going to an EB games, and buying a physical copy of a game. It was not just a task, but a shared memory.

“It’s not just about going to a store — it’s about going out with your child, taking a walk together, stopping at McDonald’s afterwards, making an afternoon out of it. Unfortunately, times are changing, and those simple moments are slowly disappearing.”

“At home, I still keep several classic consoles stored away — Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, Neo Geo, Atari, Game Boy, and others. They’re not just old hardware; they’re part of my personal history with games.”

EB Games managing director Shane Stockwell said they had entered a formal consultation process regarding the potential closure of EB Games New Zealand stores and distribution centre.

“No decision has been made and we are committed to engaging with all team members, who are our number one priority, throughout this process.”