GameStop halts Zune orders

Microsoft is in for more bad news regarding its Zune personal music players, as GameStop on Thursday announced it decided to stop selling the flash-memory digital music player in its stores. The video-game retailer said lack of consumer demand and the device's ill fit with its existing offerings prompted the decision, which was made about a month ago. The retail chain is made up of hundreds of stores across the US, and will not order new stock, clearing out existing inventory exclusively on its web store.

"We have decided to exit the Zune category because it just did not have the appeal we had anticipated," a GameStop spokesperson said. "It did not fit with our product mix."

Microsoft recently revealed it sold 2 million Zune players since the device launched in 2006, which is a fraction of the 10.6 million iPods Apple managed to move in just the last quarter. Losing GameSpot's distribution network is seen as a further setback in the software giant's attempt to boost the device's sales. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced it will launch the Zune in Canada by the middle of June, expanding the Zune's potential market. [via TheStreet]

By Electronista Staff

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iPod, industry, Zune, Microsoft, accessories, audio