Yesterday, GameStop announced to its employees that the video game retail chain will be open on Thanksgiving this year. This decision came about so the company could take advantage of the inevitable Nintendo Switch sales rush and so that it can better compete with other stores that are opened on the holiday.

The Nintendo Switch will likely be one of the hottest video game products this holiday season. The console has already proven itself to be quite popular with the masses, selling nearly 5 million units in just four months, and the upcoming release of Super Mario Odyssey should go a long way in boosting its popularity even more.

Besides the Switch, Nintendo has another product this holiday season that may have influenced GameStop's decision to be open on Thanksgiving this year. As some may recall, the SNES Classic is set to launch on September 29th, and if it's anything like the NES Classic, it will be a smash hit. In fact, the SNES Classic stands a good chance at eclipsing the NES Classic's sales, as it has the never-before-released Star Fox 2 in its lineup of games along with the old fan favorites.

Thanks to new video game hardware, GameStop stands to make a great deal of cash on Thanksgiving, but the decision will likely upset some of its employees. After all, it's become more common for retail stores to be closed on Thanksgiving, often opening at midnight on Black Friday instead of forcing employees to work a holiday shift. So while GameStop's decision may make financial sense for the company, it could be met with some backlash.

While some GameStop employees may be upset about working on Thanksgiving, the hours are expected to be shortened for the holiday. GameStop stopped short of announcing its exact Thanksgiving hours, but specifics on that front should come to light within the next few months. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see if the Nintendo Switch continues to sell well enough to justify GameStop being open on Thanksgiving this year.

Nintendo Switch is available now.