Videogame retailer GameStop plans to stop selling Microsoft's Zune media player due to insufficient demand.
GameStop's already pulled its stock of Zunes from its stores. The media players will be available via GameStop's Web site until supplies are exhausted. The Zune "didn't have the appeal" that GameStop expected, a spokesman said.
The decision is another blow to Microsoft's chances against Apple Inc.'s dominant iPod media player franchise. GameStop is a premier videogame and console retailer with 4,500 outlets.
With approximately 2.5% of the market share, the Zune, which costs around $130, has not proven much of a challenger to iPod. About two million Zunes have been sold since they were introduced in October 2006; by comparison, approximately 80 million iPods were sold during the same period.
That one pretty much speaks for itself.