My son used to buy games from Gamestop, there is store a couple of miles from our house. Or sometimes he bought some at the Fort Campbell, KY AAFES mall when I took him in.
My understanding is the GME was unpopular with Big Tech as they provided a market for used tech games. This allowed users to trade rather than always buy new.
The article misses a couple of points. It fails to explain that Hedge funds gang up on this shorting and in essence decide a death sentence type short. Additionally they miss telling the truth about illicit “naked” short selling. Where the stock isn’t really borrowed making a short sale more a snowball down hill.