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[Venom.]

The last time GAME was refused stock from publishers it went into administration soon after. If it happens again I don't think it will be saved.

GAME is the only large specialist gaming retailer and I definitely do think there is a place for bricks & mortar stores. The problem they have is the massive price disparity with internet prices, £5 difference and gamers probably wouldn't mind and there would be a lot more spontaneous purchases. But 'older' games that have been out for 3 or 4 months and not selling I've seen on sale for £55 quid. They also promote second hand games too much. As it is they are now selling mainly people looking to buy gifts.

It's sad because game stores used to be vibrant and bustling with people, my local GAME store is like a ghost-town. When I walk I see their BS prices and walk straight back out.

 

[Zelias]

Sucks for the staff and I feel for them. Haven't set foot in GAME for years though.

And yet GAME are opening a new store in Sheffield. Got the email a few weeks back and seen them kitting out the store. GAME really baffle me at times.

Oh, whereabouts? Haven't heard anything myself but I don't really pay attention. Meadowhall, I'm guessing?

 

[krang]

Even if they were the same price as online retailers, I couldn't see myself going in and buying.

This is just the way of the world for retail, for all but things that need to be seen to be purchased, like clothes.

 

[checkeredknight]

This happened before but they got bailed out. Closed every Game Station store and I lost my job.

GAME operates in debt all year round and relies on Christmas to get them out of debt. If they have a poor Christmas, they're screwed. I dislike the management of GAME, and the sales drives they drill into their employees heads. I hope they go and leave the market open for more independent stores.

 

[dan2026]

People buying from retail stores seems almost dead here in the uk from my perspective.

If you buy online you save £15 or more!
Who wouldn't do that?

What is terrible though is the price of digital games on PSN/XBL.
They are absurdly priced too. They should be cheaper for fuck sake!

 

[OléGunner]

Hope they burn down to the ground (and wish those working their find good work after)
I hate GAME and their insane policies and prices.

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

Feel for the staff but the pricing in game is ridiculous. I'd actually quite a few impulse purchases from them if they matched online retailers.

 

[OfTheOverflow]

Despite rarely shopping at GAME here in Australia, I liked the odd sale here and there, as well as the fact that more competition is good.

It will be a sad day if GAME shuts down worldwide, or wherever there are stores remaining.

It's funny seeing this thread as an Australian resident with GAME having disappeared completely here years ago, funnily enough EB's prices seem to have gotten better with competition from JB particularly.

 

[Bits N Pieces]

As an ongoing business model GAME is just not sustainable.

How it's managed to stumble from one financial disaster to the next but still keep trading is nothing short of remarkable.

 

[T-Rex.]

It's shit for the employees, but I have no idea how they've managed to survive this long. Their prices are an absolute joke.

 

[Lucreto]

I have £20 credit with the reward card. I need to spend that soon.

GAME in Ireland shut all their stores a few years ago. Not surprised to see traditional retailers beginning to struggle. Gamestop at least will have a few years due to their investment as a publisher. The rest will get squeezed out.

Gamestop are actually worse than GAME when it comes to price. €74/£57 for Uncharted 4 from gamestop. Smyths €65/£49 and GAME €60/£45.

It's still cheaper to shop GAME than locally in Ireland.

 

[Lucifon]

As an ongoing business model GAME is just not sustainable.

How it's managed to stumble from one financial disaster to the next but still keep trading is nothing short of remarkable.

Them exclusive editions. Pretty much the only pure video game high street retailer left in the UK so they get the special editions by default.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

It might be because Sony and MS can't sell fast enough to make up for the hole that Nintendo have left.

Or people just aren't buying consoles from GAME anymore but elsewhere

 

[kraspkibble]

i've only bought one thing from game (witcher 3 blood & wine physical edition) since 2007 when i got my PS3. so wouldn't really make a difference to me if they closed. i just feel bad for employees who will be out of a job.

 

[Scaramanger]

People buying from retail stores seems almost dead here in the uk from my perspective.

If you buy online you save £15 or more!
Who wouldn't do that?

What is terrible though is the price of digital games on PSN/XBL.
They are absurdly priced too. They should be cheaper for fuck sake!

I still pay the extra in the store; I can afford it and I'm fed up with my local highstreet becoming all betting shops and pound savers. Its not always about getting everything as cheap as possible for me.

 

[CMDBob]

Oh, whereabouts? Haven't heard anything myself but I don't really pay attention. Meadowhall, I'm guessing?

No, surprisingly, on The Moor, in the last unused unit attached to The Moor markets.

(Glad to see some of Sheffield-GAF too!)

 

[Enelby]

I just got sent an email earlier this week that they'd just opened another store near me. Seems a bit weird if they're going to close it weeks after.

I've worked in retail for years and did a stint under GAME itself actually but anyone else could also tell you that some shops open just to try and make a quick buck over summer/xmas and then can shut whilst still holding a profit. Only a select few trials stores can actually manage a permanent vacancy on the high street nowadays!

Still, unsure what to make of this. I can see it coming, the net is moreso cheaper and too convenient and if not, you have CEX.

 

[Stevey]

Every time I've tried to order one of their exclusive collectors editions online its gone wrong

 

[CharmingCharlie]

As others have said it sucks for the employees but on a personal level I won't shed a tear if GAME goes tits up. I am sick and tired of the two bit sorry excuse for a games retailer reducing competition by payiing for exclusives. The only time I ever shop at game is when they have secured some damn exclusive edition. So no won't miss them one bit.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

Maybe GAME would be better off going online only and make sure prices are competitive. The retail competition is really tough these days, so unless they give a really good reason for people to shop with them, people will just go to cheaper places like Amazon or the Supermarkets.

They are not consistent either, I've actually got games from their website before because games have been £5 - £10 more expensive at my local store, than on their website.

 

[Saiyan-Rox]

EA have cut ties with them before so it's not stocking is happened again tbh

As for those property of Sony stickers yeah those started to come in when it happened last time

 

[BossDarkseid]

Having a £50 copy of GTAV on Xbox One second hand and promoting it as "WHAT A DEAL" didn't help. prices were so fucked. sorry for any job losses tho

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Publishers don't have any other huge retailer to push their wares on the high street, so I'm not sure what EA will accomplish by cutting GAME off.

I get the business reasons (they don't want to face any losses from a collapsing business), but it seems more in their best interest to try and make sure GAME survives. Supermarkets have all but abandoned gaming. Are they going to push people to buy used from the likes of CEX?

Not everyone shops online or will buy digital considering how poor value doing so is.

 

[toythatkills]

Feel for the staff but the pricing in game is ridiculous. I'd actually quite a few impulse purchases from them if they matched online retailers.

If they matched online retailers they'd risk going under a hell of a lot quicker because literally all their stores would be running at a loss. Posts like this show a pretty major lack of understanding of how shops on the high-street function.

It's really not as simple as "lower prices plz."

FWIW, back when I worked there when I was at uni and stuff, we were 100% briefed in store level on things like when there were supply tiffs with publishers. I remember specifically an email coming down, years and years ago now, where there'd been supply difficulties with EA and we were told all about it and to remove all EA games from the top charts out on the store and "Not to promote EA games directly," things like that.

I fully believe the "we have been told it all rides on E3," too as that stinks of the classic GAME upper management scaremongering (justified or not) to try to get staff to really forcefully drive pre-orders during the show buzz. A lot of that depends on who your regional manager is, too, as it always seemed like some of them were more into the politics of fear than others. That's not to say whoever made these comments is actually specifically clued in to a good level; usually the store staff are, I find, tactically misinformed, or lied to by omission, told some stuff but missing the bigger picture.

Yeah, I suppose there's every chance that GAME are bullshitting staff from on high to pressure them into selling disk insurance or whatever snake-oil they're peddling these days, but it does seem like an odd choice. Not an unlikely one, I guess, in GAME's case.

 

[linkandzelda]

Publishers don't have any other huge retailer to push their wares on the high street, so I'm not sure what EA will accomplish by cutting GAME off.

I get the business reasons (they don't want to face any losses from a collapsing business), but it seems more in their best interest to try and make sure GAME survives. Supermarkets have all but abandoned gaming. Are they going to push people to buy used from the likes of CEX?

Not everyone shops online or will buy digital considering how poor value doing so is.

Shopping online is not poor value. It is the best value there currently is in the UK. And if this is true, EA probably think they can cut their losses. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Brick and Mortar retail was less than 20% of the UK market nowadays. Those people will eventually either go online or go digital.

 

[mclem]

They've only recently re-opened the one near me that closed during the last financial difficulties. Given the convenience of that one for collecting the recent Pokémon distributions... I hope Nintendo have a backup plan lined up.

I can certainly see some truth in the story of them closing but I doubt it relies on E3 as stuff shown there is a year or two out anyway.

The way it's phrased makes it sounds like they're banking on Neo, Scorpio and NX coming soon enough and having enough buzz to encourage hardware sales.

 

[DrXym]

I'm kind of surprised they're so sensitive to sales these days. My local GAME only has about 1/3 of its space devoted to selling games. The rest is knick knacks like bobble heads, posters, mugs, graphic novels etc. It's basically become Forbidden Planet lite with games on the side. I assume this means they're less prone to sales shock if a console flops or if some hyped game underperforms.

The one thing they certainly don't seem to have learned is how to compete on price. Their games are still overpriced even compared to other retailers. Same goes for Gamestop. The same game appears in supermarkets for significantly less. And of course online for less again. Last time that I recall buying anything from GAME was about 15 years ago.

 

[boyshine]

Every single person working video game retail thinking their job is safe are lying to themselves. I understand it's hard to accept because you love games, and want to mix work and interests, but.. find a new job.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Shopping online is not poor value. It is the best value there currently is in the UK. And EA probably think they can cut their losses. I wouldn't be surprised if Brick and Mortar retail was less than 20% of the UK market nowadays. Those people will eventually either go online or go digital.

I meant digital (through the console store-fronts) is poor value considering there's usually a £10 tax compared to retail.

 

[TsunamiOfSwagger]

No money. Little assets, so bad credit, too. There's rumours going around that if you go and buy a new Sony game from them this week it'll have a sticker saying "Property of Sony until sold" -- IE, Sony is basically giving them games on a promise and asking them to pay back afterwards because they can't afford to buy them.

I bought a couple of games and they both had that sticker on them, i took a picture because I thought it was weird and I have never seen it on them before. Your post just reminded me I had it.

Sad for the employees, but their in store prices are ridiculous.

 

[cyberheater]

My local GAME has already closed a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Azure Phoenix]

There's rumours going around that if you go and buy a new Sony game from them this week it'll have a sticker saying "Property of Sony until sold" -- IE, Sony is basically giving them games on a promise and asking them to pay back afterwards because they can't afford to buy them.

I bought a couple of games and they both had that sticker on them, i took a picture because I thought it was weird and I have never seen it on them before. Your post just reminded me I had it.

Every single Sony game, accessory and console that Game have sold since the last administration has always had that sticker, it isn't anything new.

I'm surprised just how many warnings and messages of doom are spreading so early, last time the only hints of trouble were when stock deliveries became virtually non-existent during December (they are still fine) and continued into the following year.

 

[linkandzelda]

They've only recently re-opened the one near me that closed during the last financial difficulties. Given the convenience of that one for collecting the recent Pokémon distributions... I hope Nintendo have a backup plan lined up.

They do. Unfortunately, it seems to be Smyths Toy Superstores.

I meant digital (through the console store-fronts) is poor value considering there's usually a £10 tax compared to retail.

Yeah, that's true. Just read it wrong.

 

[SuperSah]

Their prices are awful.

I walk in there to find titles for £49.99 which would be around £30-£35 on Amazon or some other online retailer.

Also, their preowned game price hike up is a joke.

 

[dan2026]

If they matched online retailers they'd risk going under a hell of a lot quicker because literally all their stores would be running at a loss. Posts like this show a pretty major lack of understanding of how shops on the high-street function.

It's really not as simple as "lower prices plz."

I'm sorry but it really is that simple.
All customers are thinking is 'What is the best deal?'
Or 'What is the most convenient?'

If GAME cannot find a way to compete with online retailers, then they should go out of business. That's how the market works.

Hell most online retailers get me new games days before the official street date.
What do GAME offer me?

 

[Miles Quaritch]

I bought a couple of games and they both had that sticker on them, i took a picture because I thought it was weird and I have never seen it on them before. Your post just reminded me I had it.



Sad for the employees, but their in store prices are ridiculous.

Yikes. I guess that's pretty much it for GAME if this is what it's come to.

I'll have to keep a close eye on the one near work for any clearance sales they have. Might empty out their pre-owned section for last gen games to fill out my back catalogue.

 

[Kuni]

Sad but not surprising. I just don't see how they can survive with the prices they charge. £55 is just too much for a game.

 

[Ryan_MSF]

Sad for all the lovely folks who work in my local store, but it's felt like a long time coming, in the Trafford Centre the site where the store's located has changed so many times it feels like everytime I go in it's changed positions, as well as the size being downgraded each time.

 

[BossDarkseid]

I actually went in to trade in some stuff a year ago or so...wanted to get some game, can't remember what but after a while I mentioned how I'd seen X game online for X price while in store it was Y price and the teller remarked how Amazon tend to be cheaper because they buy from anyone (unscrupulous/grey market/whatever) while Game only buy their stuff from authentic sources. I was a tad

 

[Linkstrikesback]

The prices are crazy when you can buy the same releases in Tesco for £10 or £15 cheaper. And I don't buy this rubbish about stock or how Tesco can buy more games for less. We are talking about a nationwide outlet who should have the power to sell at least the same as other bricks and mortar stores. The shareholders are simply strangling the last amount of money out of the business to line their pockets.

Tesco can afford to have loss leaders, because a significant amount of people when going to a tesco will buy groceries as well as the game or dvd they went in for. That obviously doesn't work for a retailer that only sells games.

 

[Woffls]

It's inevitable, but still a shame for the jobs lost and the state of the UK high street.

Hopefully there will be some sweet closing-down sales, but they'd probably fuck that up as well.

 

[Insert Coin]

WHATYEARISTHIS.GIF

I can't recall a period where GAME haven't been in trouble but as others have said, it's all for good reasons. Expensive prices, more mobile phone leads than actual games, staff driven by insane targets and quotas, random price jumps between online and in-store. Plus on the few occasions where I've had specific pre-orders with them they've always managed to mess things up, forget to include promised extras or at my local store, get into a genuine hissy fit when you call them out on poor service. Eliminating their competition has been one of their biggest downfalls.

As always, I'm surprised they've lasted so long in such a poor state.

 

[ibu]

No, surprisingly, on The Moor, in the last unused unit attached to The Moor markets.

(Glad to see some of Sheffield-GAF too!)

Sadly it is the same as they did last time. Open loads of stores as a means of flooding the market. The store at Fargate is an abomination compared to how it was when it opened.

Still, for the staff that work there... I hope it isn't as bad as it seems. But inevitable all the same. When pre owned games cost more than new, that stinks.

 

[Azure Phoenix]

The prices are crazy when you can buy the same releases in Tesco for £10 or £15 cheaper. And I don't buy this rubbish about stock or how Tesco can buy more games for less. We are talking about a nationwide outlet who should have the power to sell at least the same as other bricks and mortar stores. The shareholders are simply strangling the last amount of money out of the business to line their pockets.

Are you aware of how low the profit margins are on brand new games for retailers? Bad enough that selling a hat or a mug instead is more worthwhile. Here's a shocking bit of info, supermarkets sell games at a loss and recover it on groceries.

There's a strong whiff of fake in all this. As people pointed out, they have an exclusive with Battlefield 1, so that EA-not-doing-business comment is bogus.

I mean, there was the Mass Effect 3 N7 edition last time, so there is precedent.

 

[Heartfyre]

There's a strong whiff of fake in all this. As people pointed out, they have an exclusive with Battlefield 1, so that EA-not-doing-business comment is bogus. Likewise, claiming that the next-gen transition was happening slowly is completely out of touch, and they contradict themselves by pointing out how well they've been selling.

It'd be wise to disregard everything else on those bases.

 

[toythatkills]

I'm sorry but it really is that simple.
All customers are thinking is 'What is the best deal?'
Or 'What is the most convenient?'

If GAME cannot find a way to compete with online retailers, then they should go out of business. That's how the market works.

Hell most online retailers get me new games days before the official street date.
What do GAME offer me?

Okay, so online retailers get you new games before the release date, so if GAME match online prices that means... stay with me... you're still not going to shop at GAME.

Yet still you think it's that simple, that lowering prices is the only thing between them and world domination? Consider that if they lowered the price of a new game from £50 to £40 or whatever that they'd have to sell maybe five times as many to break even and it's not going to happen - you're still buying from TGC after all, so where are these five times as many people coming from?

I'm not gonna say it definitely wouldn't work, but it's really dumb to suggest that it definitely would. GAME don't charge the prices they charge because they're cunts and they think it's fun, they charge them because that's how they believe their business stands the best chance of survival - and they're probably in a better position than us both to make such an assessment.

 

[Dunkers92]

I bought a couple of games and they both had that sticker on them, i took a picture because I thought it was weird and I have never seen it on them before. Your post just reminded me I had it

Again, every Sony game since the administration has had this sticker on. It's nothing new. People need to stop latching on to this one

 

[SuperSah]

I specifically remember when I went to collect my preorder on Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, the store only managed to get two copies of the 3DS and Wii U game.

This meant only four of the people who actually pre-ordered in store got it whereas the others were totally shafted.

 

[chromatic9]

It is sad but its inevitable. Ordering physical is so easy online and then you have the other retail stores who cater for the impulse shopper. ebay has the used market and digital is growing rapidly. Having a dedicated store for games is just not cost effective.

Growing up during the 80s and 90s in the UK, me and my friends used to spend all Saturday doing a tour of the video game stores and arcades. Stores had Sega Nintendo, PC Engine, huge import scene, Atari, Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga, Amstrad CPC. Arcade machines everywhere as well as Arcade halls. Endless video game magazines on the shelf. Truly magical times but these all but gone now.

Here's a shocking bit of info, supermarkets sell games at a loss and recover it on groceries.
.

Sorry but this is a bit of a myth. There have been on occasion loss leaders and I'm sure the occasional one to come but most are sold at standard prices. The loss leader being a thing was quite a while ago when supermarkets where trying to establish themselves as selling games.

 

[Insert Coin]

Hell most online retailers get me new games days before the official street date.
What do GAME offer me?

A weeks delay at four times the cost? Please understand yo