UKTerrorist

Hot news! Barrysworld is back!

Posted by Space Cowboy at 15:30 27/2/2001.

That's right, you read that correctly. Barrysworld is back and kicking! The latest news is that Electronics Boutique have bought them out, and will run Barrysworld as a paid for service. Here is what TedTheDog has to say:

Well, for the first time in months, the BarrysWorld emotional Rollercoaster is finally pulling out of its headlong dive and starting to climb again. The assets of the company have been bought from the liquidator by Electronics Boutique (UK).

They intend to run BW as the service you already know, with a few fundamental changes to make it pay its way. Now, these are all changes we’ve been openly discussing since our liquidation announcement.

And here is the Electronics Boutique press release in brief:

Electronics Boutique, the UK’s largest retailer of computer software and video games, announced today the acquisition of the assets of the BarrysWorld on-line gaming service for a consideration of £400,000.

This acquisition is a further step in Electronics Boutique’s stated strategy to leverage the inherent strengths of its high street market leadership through measured expansion in other channels. The company is ideally positioned to promote the service through its 300 strong retail chain throughout the UK and also via its existing websites.

And yet more quotage, from John Steinbrecher, Chief Executive of Electronics Boutique:

This latest announcement further strengthens our position as the UK’s No 1 specialist for computer software and video games. On-line gaming compliments our existing business and we are delighted to be able to bring this additional service to our customers. Up until now customers who purchased products in our stores with on-line gaming capabilities had to go elsewhere to experience this element of play. Electronics Boutique will now be able to provide an all encompassing experience.

EB are a major player in the gaming retail world, and it isn't hard to see them turning BW into a similar setup as Wireplay will be in the coming months, with Gameplay. Nobody is willing to invest blindly in these companies any more, and they want to see some return from their money. It looks like Pay-as-you-Play is the future of gaming.