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[qwertz12345]

Considering the popularity of videogames, and knowing how many CEX stores are on the high street, I'm surprised that there aren't that many indie videogame stores in the UK anymore.

I know that everyone states that the high street is dead, and that rents are extortionate, but I don't see why videogame stores can't be located "out of the way" in low rent residential areas. I mean, if corner shops can survive, then why can't "local" videogame stores also find a place in the community?

At the same time, why aren't there many (or hardly any?) videogame stores in the UK that sell imports? We used to have a whole heap of them about 20 years ago. Now, there aren't any that I know of that sell videogame imports. Buying imports from PlayAsia is also incredibly expensive.

Does anyone here run an indie videogames store? Do you sell hard to find imports? How is business going for you?

 

[Kenneth Haight]

Probably because there is fuck all money to be made in it I imagine.

We used to have an absolutely brilliant one in my hometown but when you get to a certain age you just stop frequenting those places. Plus it was full of random Pokémon, dragon ball Z, all the random anime stuff of the day. I’m not judging but I’m sure there’s not much money in that or maybe I’m missing a trick!

The one in my town does not seem to be doing great but it has been there for 20+ years so hope they’re doing well.

Just another casualty of the digital age.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

Had a few awesome ones in Walthamstow and Romford when I was growing up. Used to get games early there all the time.

No money to be made unless prices are inflated. This is likely why GAME sell a bunch of other things outside of video games.

 

[Punished Miku]

Probably because there is fuck all money to be made in it I imagine.

Yeah. I worked at one 20 years ago and it was barely hanging on then.

All day you pay out money from people bringing in their junk to sell. Maybe you make some sales, more around the holidays. But that's gotta be significantly destroyed now with digital sales and a lot of those old systems and games barely functioning after an additional 20 years of aging. And now the internet marketplaces also kind of make them irrelevant if you do have a rare game. Even the stores are likely to put up something like Panzer Dragoon Saga online to get a higher sell price.

 

[Pelta88]

A combination of factors.

#1

#2 AmazonUK pays 0% tax on their 6.1 billion Uk sales. Thanks to that clown Rishi Sunak and the other UK politicians who whore themselves out to any business or entity with money.

Amazon's main UK division paid no corporation tax in 2021 as profits rocketed 60%

Amazon’s main UK division paid no corporation tax in 2021, despite profits rocketing 60% to £204m.

www.thebookseller.com

In short, the indie video game store can't compete against corps who can out price them and pay zero tax while doing so.

 

[Three]

Even big video game stores and retail stores in general are barely hanging on, indie videogame ones have no chance.
Corner shops survive because they sell some household essentials or polish/asian stuff just across the road but why would you go to a game store that often? Especially when you can hit download at home.

 

[STARSBarry]

We used to have Granger Games up North but they expanded south too quickly and closed down, sadly ever since GAME became it and they force that bright white store with blinding lights I just don't want to shop there anymore...

When they bought and closed down Gamestation it was an utter travesty.

 

[Duchess]

In the town I live in, we used to have two indie video game stores.

CEX then opened up in the local mall, and both stores went out of business within 3 months.

One had a notice up in the window as it was closing down, saying business had been tough for a while, but the closure had nothing to do with CEX opening up (it literally named them).

 

[Shut0wen]

Considering the popularity of videogames, and knowing how many CEX stores are on the high street, I'm surprised that there aren't that many indie videogame stores in the UK anymore.

I know that everyone states that the high street is dead, and that rents are extortionate, but I don't see why videogame stores can't be located "out of the way" in low rent residential areas. I mean, if corner shops can survive, then why can't "local" videogame stores also find a place in the community?

At the same time, why aren't there many (or hardly any?) videogame stores in the UK that sell imports? We used to have a whole heap of them about 20 years ago. Now, there aren't any that I know of that sell videogame imports. Buying imports from PlayAsia is also incredibly expensive.

Does anyone here run an indie videogames store? Do you sell hard to find imports? How is business going for you?

In the citys theres none but theres actually quite afew in towns and stuff, probably none in villages but definitely seen afew in towns only problem ive seen though is they will literally use cex as a way to determine how much a game which is pretty fucking pointless

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

1. The Internet
2. The cost of running a small business here, the landlord rents, taxes, business rates...
3. CEX
4. The Internet

 

[nush]

I know about this. way, way back in the day I worked for a videogame wholesaler in the UK as a buyer. There were only 2 companies in the UK doing this business that was primarily selling grey imports from mainland Europe to the indie stores at the time. There was good money to be made and we supplied most of the indies at the time.

But they were hard work and needed babysitting and brought low volume. What killed the indies off was the supermarkets using games as a loss leader to get customers in store on a Friday. As a wholesaler we could not sell games to them at trade price cheaper than the supermarkets were selling the same game at retail. The indies could not buy big enough volume to get the same price from publishers that the supermarkets and Game/Gamestation could.

In the end, we could not make money from indies and they could not make money as a retail business. CEX only survives because they are just a pawn shop selling stolen shit from junkies looking for their next hit.

If you want to be an indie now, just sell your shit on Amazon or Ebay. You'll make more money with no overheads a brick and mortar store is just a vanity project.

Importing is dead because you just need to change the storefront on your console to get those imported games without the import costs.

 

[NikuNashi]

Used to be some amazing indie stores when I grew up in 80's and 90's. The best was a mail order games store that used to advertise in the back of magazines. The shop was just a normal looking terrace house but once inside was three floors of Japanese games piled floor to ceiling. Bought my first Gameboy from there.

Another shop I remember having to save up my pocket money for weeks, get a bus for 1 hour and then stand outside a little shop and wait for the guy to open up so I could get a new game.

Now games can be purchased online and downloaded instantly, it's crazy really how things have changed much.

 

[AlteredForms]

#2 AmazonUK pays 0% tax on their 6.1 billion Uk sales. Thanks to that clown Rishi Sunak and the other UK politicians who whore themselves out to any business or entity with money.

The same thing happened with that fat bastard Sajid Javid. These UK politicians are fast to welcome US corporations into the country, but as soon as they start making billions without paying taxes then the UK government starts bitching. It's as though they want a piece of the pie, but don't have the balls or audacity to ask for it upfront.

 

[nush]

We used to have Granger Games up North but they expanded south too quickly and closed down

They did themselves no favors turing up at a black tie industry awards night in London pissed out of their skulls and being loud and boorish all night. Good work chaps alienating yourselves from all the press and publishers in one evening.

 

[CeeJay]

I don't see why videogame stores can't be located "out of the way" in low rent residential areas. I mean, if corner shops can survive, then why can't "local" videogame stores also find a place in the community?

Difference between a corner shop and a games store is that near enough every single resident living within a small radius of the corner shop and every passing motorist or pedestrian is a potential customer. With an independent game shop probably way less than about 30% of passing gamers would be a potential customer which equates to a very small percentage of the total cohort. Even though gaming is more mainstream hobby than it used to be the majority of customers now buy digital so the potential customer base has effectively shrunk in real terms. For a brick and mortar shop to be feasible it has to have sufficient footfall or be special enough to be a destination shop that customers will travel from far and wide to. Import games are even worse, a niche of a niche of a mildly popular hobby.

 

[nush]

The best was a mail order games store that used to advertise in the back of magazines.

Raven Games, Tokyo Joe and PC Engine Supplies RIP.

 

[NikuNashi]

Raven Games, Tokyo Joe and PC Engine Supplies RIP.

It was Tokyo Joe's, you knew it! Small world.

 

[qwertz12345]

Raven Games, Tokyo Joe and PC Engine Supplies RIP.

Did Raven Games close down? I know that they pivoted to music / merch, but their website isn't up anymore. And they haven't done any Facebook updates for years. If they did close down, do you know how/why they went?

Never heard of Tokyo Joe or PC Engine Supplies.

 

[YCoCg]

England can barely manage to have normal stores and it's set to get worse with many pubs, markets, cafes, etc, saying they'll have to shut down due to rising costs.

So yeah we won't be seeing niche stores for a very long time.

Sadly I think the late 90's was the best period for this in the UK, we had loads back then, hell even dodgy basement stores selling pirated games and would modchip consoles. Those were the days.

 

[nush]

Did Raven Games close down? I know that they pivoted to music / merch, but their website isn't up anymore. And they haven't done any Facebook updates for years. If they did close down, do you know how/why they went?

Never heard of Tokyo Joe or PC Engine Supplies.

No idea, I just used mail order with them in the early 90's.

 

[FUBARx89]

I've got one up in the NE, great lads, known them since I was in school and they franchised a CHIPS (Anyone remember them?). Fucked them off and opened up their own shop. Seem to be doing well and will get import stuff in.

 

[adamsapple]

There's few and far indie stores in the whole or US as well

 

[Team Andromeda]

Raven Games, Tokyo Joe and PC Engine Supplies RIP.

Dreammachines2/Dreamware was the best IMO.

 

[Team Andromeda]

England can barely manage to have normal stores and it's set to get worse with many pubs, markets, cafes, etc, saying they'll have to shut down due to rising costs.

So yeah we won't be seeing niche stores for a very long time.

Sadly I think the late 90's was the best period for this in the UK, we had loads back then, hell even dodgy basement stores selling pirated games and would modchip consoles. Those were the days.

Yep, the UK highstreets are now just full of the work-shy and the drug and piss heads, selling their crap in CEX ready for their next hit

 

[IDKFA]

There used to be an awesome retro video game store in Gloucester, but I'm pretty sure that closed more than 10 years ago. It's where I got my copy of Dune for the MD.

There also used to be an independent VG store in my town, but that closed well over a decade ago.

I think nowadays it's going to be hard to open up an independent VG store. A lot of people buy their games digitally, and those who don't will go to Amazon or another online store. It's hard for an indy store to compete with Amazon (except in the book world, where interestingly indy stores are thriving). Not to mention the rents that need to be paid for the store and increasing energy bills.

As others have said, UK high streets used to be a lot better. Lots of different chains combined with indy stores. Now they're a mess. My town centre is full of discount stores, betting shops, charity shops and a job centre bang in the middle. It's a horrible place that has declined in the past 10 years.

 

[Stuart360]

Well it doesnt help when PC gaming is 99% digital, Xbox 90% digital, and Playstation around 80% digital in the UK.

There is one Indie Videogame shop in Leeds though to go along with Cex and GAME. Cant remember what its called though.

 

[Bragr]

Videogame stores are cool until you decide to trade in 6 games and get 4 bucks in return.

 

[Orbital2060]

I lived in London for a while in the late 90s and just thinking that it was amazing for used games. Constantly trading games in for a decent return, enough to keep going on new releases.

A shame to hear its in the past. I thought it was still pretty good with indie stores. There is still CEX by the sound of it but theyre the worst bottom-feeders. I rarely bought anything from there.

I live in Denmark now and the indie scene is completely gone. I know of maybe one or two indie retailers outside of Copenhagen. There used to be a few sticky shops downtown with all the right imports and modded dreamcasts and all the cool shit. And not too expensive.

Gamestop closed down and that was basically it for keeping up with retail. The only places left are the department stores and supermarkets just like in the UK.

Capitalism at work, I guess.

https://www.gamestop.dk/

 

[mekes]

How old are you Q qwertz12345 ?

In London you used to have local independent stores in most areas. From my perspective I feel they started to close in the very late 90s. Game, meanwhile, started branching out and supermarkets started to stock consoles and games. I much prefer the way things were In regards to options on the high street..

 

[Pelta88]

I lived in London for a while in the late 90s and just thinking that it was amazing for used games. Constantly trading games in for a decent return, enough to keep going on new releases.

A shame to hear its in the past.

This was essential to how we gamed. Trade in for a decent price at an indie store and get a good chunk off the price of a new game. There's always ebay now, but I miss the indie game experience for sure.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Game Station used to be brilliant. Not indie but then GAME viewed them as too much competition, did that merger thing where it’s really just a take over then closed them all down to fuck them off.

Now we are just stuck with GAME. Cunts.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Plus now there’s too many eBay shops where people are sniffing blood and trying to sell something rare and sealed for £50 when it’s worth no more than £10 kind of thing.

A shop paying rent, heating, electricity etc. cannot compete with that kind of shit.

 

[AlteredForms]

Game Station used to be brilliant. Not indie but then GAME viewed them as too much competition, did that merger thing where it’s really just a take over then closed them all down to fuck them off.

Now we are just stuck with GAME. Cunts.

Game Station was the business. I had one right next door to a GAME at my local shopping centre and would check both out.

 

[hinch7]

Unfortunately there's hardly any shops for video games in the UK. The margins are too thin and competition online too much for smaller shops to maintain their businesses. Amazon and the like have taken over with other big retailers pulling from selling them. The only retail shop left that sells games are GAME and Argos.

There's no video game presence anywhere, even most supermarkets/brick-and-motar stores have stopped selling them the past couple of years.

 

[phil_t98]

Places like asda , Tesco took over with most stores being open 24 hours a day and then places like CEX or Cash converters took the second hand market.

Just don’t think the money is there for small game shops these days

 

[Rob_27]

Yea TORC Computer and Video games in Feltham was the nuts. Years ago!

Where I first played Goldeneye on US import and purchased my PS2 from.

But alas the rent these days is stupid money.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

In short, the indie video game store can't compete against corps who can out price them and pay zero tax while doing so.

They can, but you cannot compete on price, but something else - expertise, experience, ambiance, etc. Unfortunately if you are good at it you can make way more money in other fields.

 

[Sybrix]

For the same reason Blockbuster went, streaming/game pass etc.

 

[Zatzuken]

Retail is dying a death in general, and when it comes to games buying digital /eBay / Amazon covers most sales so it will be even harder to get a store off the ground.

 

[tylrdiablos]

I always wonder how CEX also stays in business. It's sure as hell not down to competitive pricing. My local CEX has a pre-owned PS5 in the window for £595, as well as a pre-owned Starlight Blue PS5 for £65.
There's an Argos 200 yards away where you can get a brand new controller for the same price and the console, when in stock, is £100 less.
Also, their stores always stink. It obvious that the staff keep the places clean and tidy but the smell of piss and ale persists.

GAME isn't much better. But in GAME you have to get past the pile of garbage merch that no-one wants. At one point half the local store was taken up by Funko Pops.

As much as people hate Amazon, their prices are usually the best and it's hard to argue with stuff getting delivered to your door/Amazon locker within a matter of hours.

 

[nightmare-slain]

not worth it anymore. i dont know how the hell GAME is still going.

i remember there were three different gaming retailers here in my city. there was at least 6 stores that i can remember. now there is only GAME and they are all inside Sports Direct. dont have their own stores anymore! other than that you have CEX which isnt a game store. they buy and sell games but they also will buy phones, consoles, computers, music electronics, etc off you.

the internet, amazon, and supermarkets killed gaming stores off. i’d say 2007/2008 was when i started to find it less convenient to go to an actual gaming store. i remember trying to get CoD 4 and GTA IV from gaming shops but going to my local tesco was the best option to get a new game at release. or buying on amazon.

supermarkets arent really a good place to buy games anymore. they sometimes have the latest big game on a shelf somewhere but they dont have a gaming section anymore. its usually shit like fifa, cod, and last one i seen was the new saints row.

and then there is the increase in digital games. less and less people buy physical games now. the only ones i buy are switch games. cant buy physical for pc and if i ever get a PS5 or Xbox ill buy games digitally on them. when i buy switch games i will order them from amazon or ebay. i honestly cant remember the last time i went into a game shop and bought a physical game lol.

 

[Pelta88]

I always wonder how CEX also stays in business.

I mean this with all due respect but have you watched the news in the last 5 years?

Right now in the UK where people are due to starve or freeze in the winter CEX is making out like bandits.

 

[nightmare-slain]

I mean this with all due respect but have you watched the news in the last 5 years?

Right now in the UK where people are due to starve or freeze in the winter CEX is making out like bandits.

yup, if someone is desperate for money then taking their console, pc, etc down there is quite a quick way to get money. i dont know if they still give cash out there and then or if they only do bank transfers now.

if you need to eat or keep yourself warm then your console/pc will be sold. its a luxury some people might not be able to afford any longer. CEX is really no different to scum like cash converters who prey on the poor.

 

[Pelta88]

yup, if someone is desperate for money then taking their console, pc, etc down there is quite a quick way to get money. i dont know if they still give cash out there and then or if they only do bank transfers now.

if you need to eat or keep yourself warm then your console/pc will be sold. its a luxury some people might not be able to afford any longer. CEX is really no different to scum like cash converters who prey on the poor.

In the height of covid layoffs I remember an article popped up on UK twitter about how pawn shops were seening a rise in inventory/equity. People were selling their OLED Tvs, graphics cards, and other items just to stay afloat.

With Energy prices causing fuel poverty and our current shambles of a government I imagine CEX and every other pawn shop is making a killing. I watched the news last week and saw prideful Brits, many of whom are in employment lining up for food parcels and cooked meals, talking worriedly about navigating the winter.

I know that's kinda off topic but just imagine if our politicians asked Amazon for the 119+ billion they owe us in tax? That's just one corporation.

It hurts my head to see politicians object to deprived children getting free meals in the summer but when it comes to asking these corps who are literally taking a piss on our economy, corps who collectively owe us trillions on top of trillions get preferential treatment.

 

[qwertz12345]

It hurts my head to see politicians object to deprived children getting free meals in the summer but when it comes to asking these corps who are literally taking a piss on our economy, corps who collectively owe us trillions on top of trillions get preferential treatment.

Problem is that the UK public won't really benefit from these taxes... Instead of the money being spent on bettering sewage, water etc infrastructure, it'll just be spent on expanding the war effort.

Plus... The NHS wastes tax money like you would not believe - like paying £60 for a packet of pasta.

 

[BennyBlanco]

there's 2 different retro game shops within walking distance of me and i never bother going to them

they're cool and all but everything is cheaper online

 

[qwertz12345]

How old are you Q qwertz12345 ?

In London you used to have local independent stores in most areas. From my perspective I feel they started to close in the very late 90s. Game, meanwhile, started branching out and supermarkets started to stock consoles and games. I much prefer the way things were In regards to options on the high street..

i’d say 2007/2008 was when i started to find it less convenient to go to an actual gaming store.

The one good thing about CEX is that they have numerous stores around the UK. They're basically where Cash Converters were about a decade ago, and to be honest, their business model is extremely similar.

Due to the convenience, I used to go to CEX often up until around 10 years ago. But then I discovered online shopping, and realised how expensive CEX are in comparison for brand new games.

To be honest, I think the reason why CEX stays afloat is because they target people on the high street who don't shop online and who are unaware of how much games can be bought for from places like TGC.

I remember talking to someone who bought a second hand copy of MegaMan (PS4) from CEX for £15. Base.com however were selling brand new copies for £12.

 

[nush]

This topic has reminded me of some UK indie game store stories from the early 90's. Share them if you've got them.

Fireman Sam - One store was run by a man called Mark, he had a really squeaky voice that we would imitate *Hello mate*. Short balding man in his late 30's. He managed to build a small indie chain, not through skill more than being the last man standing and having the foresight to buy all the stock at a heavy discount when one of his competitors folded.
Anyway time goes on and in all those years he'd never had a girlfriend, until one day he gets a trophy wife. Blonde, lots of jewelry branded clothes, he'd brought her a car. Everyone can see she's just a gold digger, except Mark.
The real kick in the nuts though was that when he was running his stores, she would be fucking firemen at the local fire-station (Big enough station to have a dormitory). This local gossip was backed up by the fact that if you took the bus passed the fire station lots of us would often see her car parked outside during the day. Mark for cash, Fireman Sam for cock. Poor Mark, of course she left him when the business eventually folded.

Sonic 2sday - My local shopping Center had an attached outdoor market and there were a couple of stalls that sold games and imported games. Sonic 2 was going to be a massive release for Sega and Sonic 2sday (A Tuesday) was the big launch. However one of these market stalls had received the Asian version of Sonic 2 (All in English) on the Saturday before the Tuesday and were selling it including a free import adapter for less than the RRP of the UK version of Sonic 2. They had 100's of copies and taking money hand over fist.

What people did was buy the Asian version from the market, either cancel their pre-order of Sonic 2 now they had it or just go into the game stores for bragging rights about having the game early. Retailers at the time (Virgin, Woolworths, HMV and the like) were throwing an absolute shitfit, calling up Sega to let them sell the game early (Sega says no) or outright sending staff out to the store to try and make them stop selling the import Sonic 2 "Imports are illegal", "Sega will sue you".
I suspect this was a scene repated across the country that day, because that's why even now there's a shitload of Asian Sonics 2's to be found in the UK.

Taking the piss - There was this one game store on a high street that was small, so small it didn't have a bathroom. So if the owner wanted to take a piss he'd have to close the store and walk down the road a little to the public toilet. He ran the store alone a would not shut the shop even for a few minutes in case he missed out on a sale. So he would piss in bottle behind the counter like a long distance trucker. It gets worse.
One day I'm in the store and I'm quite friendly with the owner so he beckons me over to the counter. "Take a look at this" he goes, I look over and see a water cooler size bottle almost full of piss, must be a weeks worth. As the owner continues to tell me some story about saving the piss as revenge for someone that wronged him for something. I wasn't listening, just thinking Jesus, what the fuck dude.

 

[AV]

This topic has reminded me of some UK indie game store stories from the early 90's. Share them if you've got them.

We had one in my hometown for quite a while, when I was growing up the stoner assistant (not that I understood he was a stoner at the time) would let you call your mum from the shop at any age and if she said it was okay, you could buy any game. Didn't need to tell her what was IN the game, just "can he buy this?". Bought GTA 3 at age 10, I think. Not that my mum actually really cared, she wasn't a purse clutcher.

Eventually they smartened up a bit, stoner guy left, shop got a facelift, but they still managed to drive GAME out of town with one key tactic - they would sell EVERY new game a day or two early, and everybody at school knew it. Surprised GAME corporate never found out and went after them for it. Staff there probably didn't care enough to say anything.

Also pretty sure I heard some gossip about the last owner shagging a much younger (legal) girl, but that seems to be the same story in every game shop, so who knows.

RIP Bits 'n' Pieces Macclesfield. Think it was CEX that finally put a bullet in them.

 

[Stuart360]

When i were still console gaming, in the 360/ps3 days, there were 8 videogame stoes in Leeds city centre. 2 GAME's, HMV, Virgin, 2 gamestations, an independant store that i forget the name, and WHSmith and PC world who also sold games, so technically 9 stores and that was just in the city centre, there were also the odd game store out in the sticks back then.

Even though i couldnt live without it now, its a shame how the internet has destroyed so much stuff i used to love.