Video games and video game consoles are popular items on Christmas lists for kids, teenagers and in some cases adults each holiday season. The holiday season often provides a boost to gaming companies with top new releases and consoles and to video game retailers such as GameStop Corporation (NYSE:GME).

Here’s a look at whether parents and loved ones would have been better off buying a video game or GameStop stock last Christmas and over the last five Christmas holidays.

What Happened: GameStop is one of the most popular retail destinations for people looking for video game gifts during the holidays. The company has also had one of the most popular stocks in recent years, thanks to a historic short squeeze in 2021 and the notoriety of being a meme stock.

A visit to GameStop around the holidays would find many new release games carrying a $69.99 retail price.

While children likely prefer an item like a video game that carries the instant gratification of being able to play it on Christmas Day and in subsequent days, other gifts might hold their value longer.

Video games often lose value over time as new versions of sports games come out or sequels to video game franchises. The release of new consoles over time often diminishes the value of older video games as well.

Read Also: GameStop Highlights Trading Cards As Next Growth Segment At Annual Meeting, Not Bitcoin

Stock Instead of Game

Another gift idea is giving the stock of public companies, but most kids or younger relatives might not understand the value of an investment and potential gains over the years.

Here’s a look at the comparison between buying a video game versus buying stock.

While many kids would have been happy with the latest video game last Christmas, it turns out they might be wishing that they got GameStop stock instead.

A new video game cost $69.99 last Christmas, while GameStop stock traded at a high of $31.59 on Dec. 24 last year, the last trading day before Christmas.

The same $69.99 used for a video game could have bought 2.22 GME shares. Based on a price of $21.28 at the time of writing, the GameStop shares would be worth $47.24 today, down 32.5%.

While the GameStop stock declined in value, chances are the $69.99 video game is now worth less than half of its original value due to being opened, used, and somewhat outdated.

Going back to past years, here’s a look at how the same $69.99 invested in GameStop stock would have performed:

• 2019: Price on Dec. 23 $1.52, 46.05 shares with $69.99 investment, $979.94 today, +1,300.1%
• 2020: Price on Dec. 23 $5.59, 12.52 shares with $69.99 investment, $266.43 today, +280.7%
• 2021: Price on Dec. 23 $38.75, 1.81 shares with $69.99 investment, $38.52 today, -45%
• 2022: Price on Dec. 23 $20.62, 3.39 shares with $69.99 investment, $72.14 today, +3.1%
• 2023: Price on Dec. 22 $17.20, 4.07 shares with $69.99 investment, $86.61 today, +23.7%
• 2024: Price on Dec. 24 $31.59, 2.22 shares with $69.99 investment, $47.24 today, -32.5%

Over the past six Christmases, investing in GameStop stock over a video game would still offer a better return, despite GameStop shares being down 30.6% year-to-date in 2025 at the time of writing:

• $419.94 invested in GameStop instead of video games = $1,490.88 today, +255%

It’s hard to predict if GameStop stock will trade higher in 2026 and if investing in the stock this Christmas will perform better than a video game.

Read Next:

• GameStop CEO Is ‘Not Scared Of The Short Sellers,’ Calls It Un-American To Bet Against Business ‘But It’s A Free Market’

This article was previously published by Benzinga and has been updated.

Photo: Pixel-Shot via Shutterstock