Shares of GameStop (NYSE:GME), the video game software retailer majority-owned by Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS), lost nearly 5% of its value yesterday after the company announced it projected fiscal second-quarter EPS below Street estimates because of negative same-store sales and falling hardware prices.

It's not hard to understand why GameStop shares have moved steadily downward over the last six weeks or so. Sony's (NYSE:SNE) recent PlayStation 2 price cut was the last of the major console cuts following similar announcements from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and, further back, Nintendo. All three companies are looking for any way to maintain sales momentum before the holiday season and, later down the road, the introduction of next-generation console systems. Naturally, those prices will cut into retailer revenues in both the primary and secondary markets.

GameStop and competitor Electronics Boutique (NASDAQ:ELBO) are both counting on store growth to drive profit expansion during this difficult transition period, a time when game retailers are at the mercy of game publishers to drive traffic with popular releases. GameStop, for example, added more than 100 stores during the quarter, contributing significantly to the substantial revenue and (pre-labor-settlement) net profit growth it experienced despite negative "comps."

This is surely the way things are going to go for GameStop and Electronics Boutique for the foreseeable future -- at least until the next round of consoles are released. Both are expanding rapidly in the face of a fundamentally strong industry with some temporarily downbeat characteristics. And both expect to be well-positioned against each other, as well as rivals such as Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), when the sector booms again.

Perhaps it's not a "classic growth story," but investors who buy into this long-term strategy may want to watch the company's shares should they keep falling on near-term results.

Big-box electronics retailer Best Buy is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. Sign up for six months, without risk, to learn more.

Fool contributor Dave Marino-Nachison doesn't own any of the companies in this story.