GameStop CEO laments 'disappointing' holiday period as sales tumble

GameStop has posted its sales results for the nine-week holiday period ending December 31, 2016, and they don't make for particularly good reading. 

Overall, total global sales for the holiday period fell by 16.4 percent year-over-year to $2.5 billion. 

That was partly down to a 30.3 percent drop off in new hardware sales, with a "greater-than-expected" decline in PS4 and Xbox One sales hurting the retail giant. Software sales were also down by 22.8 percent thanks to "lower average selling prices and decreased store traffic."

Pre-owned sales for the holidays actually outpaced new software sales, but still fell by 7.9 percent year-over-year.

GameStop CEO Paul Raines admitted the results were "disappointing," and reiterated the company's commitment to transforming its business by building out its non-gaming operations. 

"During the holiday period, sales in the video game segment were impacted by industry weakness, promotional pricing pressure and lower in-store traffic, amidst a difficult holiday season for many retailers," said Raines. 

"We are disappointed with our overall results, but looking broadly, we did see continued growth in our non-physical gaming businesses and we expect this category to approach 40 percent of our earnings in fiscal 2016."