Gipsy Danger
Member
How is GAME actually still around when they charge £55 for new games? Like, who's paying that money?
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GAME UK launches 'elite' loyalty scheme
- Thread starter Savantcore
- Start date
itshutton
Member
My wife always buys my Birthday presents from Game. It makes me sad every time.
That being said, they need to do something. I would rather a high street store still existed, just so that the more mainstream audience retains access to games and consoles retain mindshare alongside mobile.
That being said, they need to do something. I would rather a high street store still existed, just so that the more mainstream audience retains access to games and consoles retain mindshare alongside mobile.
Toe-Knee
Member
Never added it up to be honest but it has multiple consoles and vr headsets etc on it so yeah I guess haha.
Still I find game cheaper than anywhere else if you preorder really enough.
Thinking on it there's also all the games trade ins too as they just go straight onto the account too.
hydrophilic attack
Member
Yes.
So for £36 real money you get £36 Game money that can only be used at Game to buy overpriced games. It's a really, really bad deal
Honestly GAME days are marked and it won't be long till they finally close their doors forever.
The other day I went into GAME and it just reeks of desperation to make any money as they have shelves filled with pop culture figures, clothing, mugs and now recently snacks like candy and crisp.
On-shopping really took a bite out of their market but GAME doesn't seem to be interested in working hard to attract customers and even their on-line store isn't any better both in price and in customer's service.
Not surprised, CEX offers a better trade in price than GAME ever did, as I went into game to sell my copy of Triforce Heroes and they offered a measly £12 despite the fact that the game was only a week old and was a Nintendo title.
CEX on the offer hand offered £20 straight away and I manged to push them to offer £4 more, giving me £24 double the amount that GAME was offering.
The other day I went into GAME and it just reeks of desperation to make any money as they have shelves filled with pop culture figures, clothing, mugs and now recently snacks like candy and crisp.
On-shopping really took a bite out of their market but GAME doesn't seem to be interested in working hard to attract customers and even their on-line store isn't any better both in price and in customer's service.
Not surprised, CEX offers a better trade in price than GAME ever did, as I went into game to sell my copy of Triforce Heroes and they offered a measly £12 despite the fact that the game was only a week old and was a Nintendo title.
CEX on the offer hand offered £20 straight away and I manged to push them to offer £4 more, giving me £24 double the amount that GAME was offering.
That is horrendously poor value. I am not a fan of GAME, but I do occasionally buy from them if they (oh so rarely) happen to offer the best deal, and I would definitely be interested in a scheme that rewarded people who purchased a lot of games and game-related stuff.
In this case, though, you'd have to spend a colossal amount of cash at 4% and 10% extra reward points on hardware and games respectively for that £36 to be worth it, and at that point you would've saved more money from just shopping around.
About the only saving grace is you get your money back in points if you don't make up the difference, but that's GAME buxx and not cash in your pocket, so you'd still be tethered to GAME's shitty prices. May as well just save money up front at another retailer and not pay GAME £36 up front for the privilege of being shafted.
This has to be, without a doubt, the shittiest paid loyalty scheme I've ever seen.
In this case, though, you'd have to spend a colossal amount of cash at 4% and 10% extra reward points on hardware and games respectively for that £36 to be worth it, and at that point you would've saved more money from just shopping around.
About the only saving grace is you get your money back in points if you don't make up the difference, but that's GAME buxx and not cash in your pocket, so you'd still be tethered to GAME's shitty prices. May as well just save money up front at another retailer and not pay GAME £36 up front for the privilege of being shafted.
This has to be, without a doubt, the shittiest paid loyalty scheme I've ever seen.
I assume ill informed parents still
stargateheaven
Member
36 a year? thats like half the price of a game in GAME!
when will GAME learn? i don't get it. The company is constantly sold, the next people do the same. "only 59.99" for zelda. What do you mean ONLY 59.99? what the fuck are they smoking? no one likes you GAME.
They say they won't be beaten on price but they don't allow comparison to CEX anymore.
So who exactly are they price matching with? there are no other game-selling shops in town.
when will GAME learn? i don't get it. The company is constantly sold, the next people do the same. "only 59.99" for zelda. What do you mean ONLY 59.99? what the fuck are they smoking? no one likes you GAME.
They say they won't be beaten on price but they don't allow comparison to CEX anymore.
So who exactly are they price matching with? there are no other game-selling shops in town.
Remember when we thought the new management would learn from the mistakes of the old management a ha ha ha
I admit, I got my Switch from them, but that's because they mispriced it on their site so I got it a little cheaper with Zelda, but, as a cherry on top, they also offered a nice looking keyring with every preorder. I didn't get a keyring cos they "ran out". Don't offer something if you can't deliver. I give them a chance and they completely fluffed it up.
I admit, I got my Switch from them, but that's because they mispriced it on their site so I got it a little cheaper with Zelda, but, as a cherry on top, they also offered a nice looking keyring with every preorder. I didn't get a keyring cos they "ran out". Don't offer something if you can't deliver. I give them a chance and they completely fluffed it up.
Daffy Duck
Member
What odd behaviour to display.
GAME sometime get exclusive collector edition where if you want one you have to shop at GAME.
I also suspect that their market is mostly gamer that don't have access to on-line shopping, like I did back in the day before I got my debit card.
Linkstrikesback
Member
I'm sorry but there is no way you can arrive at this conclusion as an informed customer.
It's fine if you don't like shopping around and have the money to pay for the premium, but of the 40 or so retail games I've bought over the last 1-2 years, not a single one has come from game for the price. Occasionally I've bought from them for exclusive special editions, but then I'm fully aware I'm paying through the nose.
At best they end up at the same price as competitors, which is a rarity.
They are typically on level for hardware at least, but that's more to do with retailers sticking hard and fast to rrp near launch of a console than anything in games favour.
Baleoce
Member
Here, pay for this loyalty scheme so if you shop with us a lot it might (but most likely not) help bring us in line with reasonally priced outlets.
Toe-Knee
Member
Most preorders are £37-40 if you do it far enough in advance. The price goes up the closer to release.
I got uncharted 4 and horizon for £37.99 each. I've never seen new games available day 1 cheaper than that without buying from dodgy online stores. I like to support the economy and local retail so I always buy in store.
Most places the cheapest I see ps4 games is & 44.99 like in supermarkets
I think their target market is parents
Mums, nans, and those old men who only buy Football Manager/random as fuck PC games.
Only time I shop at GAME is when they do some decent online deal and that's it. Can't remember the last time I went in store and bought something.
MightBeMagic
Member
Quicker this lot go bust, for good this time, the better.
They are totally irrelevant. If I want a game I have a thousand other options, one of which includes selling organs, which I would rather do than step into another one of those cesspits again.
I would happily pay £36 a year to contribute to their closure.
They are totally irrelevant. If I want a game I have a thousand other options, one of which includes selling organs, which I would rather do than step into another one of those cesspits again.
I would happily pay £36 a year to contribute to their closure.
Baleoce
Member
As Eurogamer points out:
"It's difficult to see much reward in this reward card scheme. Your only hope of profiting from it is by purchasing so many games in a year that you finally make back the money you spent on membership."
"In rough terms, you would need to buy 10 full price (£40) games within a 12 month span, all from GAME, to get another game free - and you're still paying for the privilege."
------------------------------
And you're still paying more relatively for those titles than you would be elsewhere.
"It's difficult to see much reward in this reward card scheme. Your only hope of profiting from it is by purchasing so many games in a year that you finally make back the money you spent on membership."
"In rough terms, you would need to buy 10 full price (£40) games within a 12 month span, all from GAME, to get another game free - and you're still paying for the privilege."
------------------------------
And you're still paying more relatively for those titles than you would be elsewhere.
Injustice 2 I just went and bought in Sainsbury's, £41.99. I went to check game first, £49.99.
I also get nectar and Lego cards so I'm happy, wife is happy and kids are happy.
Literally zero reason to shop in game at present and I used to all the time.
Starwolf_UK
Member
I've had over £30 of credit to spend in their store for years. With no local store and rubbish online deals I've yet to spend it. I'd have almost no credit if I was allowed to use it on pre-orders.
I keep saying to myself I should make the 7 mile trek to my nearest store and buy some steam/google play cards. Turn credit into credit I know but I'm not worried about steam or google going under at any moment.
I keep saying to myself I should make the 7 mile trek to my nearest store and buy some steam/google play cards. Turn credit into credit I know but I'm not worried about steam or google going under at any moment.
Toe-Knee
Member
The Lego cards actually swing me that way currently haha.
boneyjangles
Member
I've gone in twice in the last decade about my switch pre-order. Pissed me off a few times.
First you can pre-order or do anything without getting hassled to sign up for a reward card.
Their website temporarily had a zelda bundle deal which was much less expensive. I went into the store to change...
"sorry the online store is separate, we can't do that deal/bundle"
"Ok cool, refund me my deposit, I'm going to order it on your website instead"
"we can only give you that in store credit, check the terms and conditions of your pre-order".
And when I decided to try upgrade my pre-order to include zelda physical few weeks out, the woman working there looked at me like I had two horns in my head.
Also tried to hard sell me a pro-controller and their shitty ugly third party switch case when I went to pick it up.
First you can pre-order or do anything without getting hassled to sign up for a reward card.
Their website temporarily had a zelda bundle deal which was much less expensive. I went into the store to change...
"sorry the online store is separate, we can't do that deal/bundle"
"Ok cool, refund me my deposit, I'm going to order it on your website instead"
"we can only give you that in store credit, check the terms and conditions of your pre-order".
And when I decided to try upgrade my pre-order to include zelda physical few weeks out, the woman working there looked at me like I had two horns in my head.
Also tried to hard sell me a pro-controller and their shitty ugly third party switch case when I went to pick it up.
Polygonal_Sprite
Member
I was in Game yesterday for the first time in years and was astounded by the prices. I'm surprised they're still in business tbh.
Unclebenny
Member
A few responses like this.
Game only really sell games. These aren't "bulk-buy" items. Plus there are usually loads of people trying to get a piece of the pie in a physical game. Developers, producers, disc production, distributors and the shop itself.
Tesco can sell for less because they don't care if they make any money on games. It's the same reason supermarkets sell Harry Potter books at £5 cheaper than anywhere else. They are only there to get you into the shop and spend some money on food while you're there. Supermarkets make tiny margins on lots of purchases. Game make big margin relatively fewer purchases.
I'm in no way an expert but, once again, if it was easier as lowering the prices to compete with online, they would have done it. They aren't running the company into the ground for larks.
I'm not trying to say everyone should go and buy from Game, their prices are undeniably much worse than their competitors and some of their practices are annoying. Much like music shops however, I like having a shop to go and check out the latest releases and hunt for deals. I personally think the high street will be a duller place when Game goes, which it almost inevitably will. Then we will only be left with Tesco to buy books, music and games from.
Also, to those who are celebrating the potential demise of Game (and subsequent loss of jobs) or claiming this is a "scam", stay classy.
I remember when I bought Destiny 1 from them at release, they had a deal where you could get £20 off a controller if you bought it with Destiny making is £40. Not a great deal but I wanted a white controller so went for it. Finished the transaction and left the shop. A few minutes later I was checking my receipt when I noticed they charged me full price for the controller.
I went back to the shop and pointed out their mistake and they initially refused to refund me saying they could only give me the difference in store credit. I refused and the guy who was serving me said there was nothing he could do. Quite a large queue was forming behind me as it was busy at release and he tried to get me to leave. I demanded to speak with the manager and he claimed the manager wasn't in, finally after a couple more minutes arguing he got the manager.
Initially he claimed the same that he could only refund me store credit. Once again I called him out on his bullshit, this wasn't a refund it was a correction of their mistake and despite that they kept trying to convince me to get a Destiny guide or hoodie to make up the difference. I started to get a bit angry and this point and it was only after raising my voice so the customers behind me could hear they refunded me.
Since that day I have refused to use them and am much happier as a result.
I went back to the shop and pointed out their mistake and they initially refused to refund me saying they could only give me the difference in store credit. I refused and the guy who was serving me said there was nothing he could do. Quite a large queue was forming behind me as it was busy at release and he tried to get me to leave. I demanded to speak with the manager and he claimed the manager wasn't in, finally after a couple more minutes arguing he got the manager.
Initially he claimed the same that he could only refund me store credit. Once again I called him out on his bullshit, this wasn't a refund it was a correction of their mistake and despite that they kept trying to convince me to get a Destiny guide or hoodie to make up the difference. I started to get a bit angry and this point and it was only after raising my voice so the customers behind me could hear they refunded me.
Since that day I have refused to use them and am much happier as a result.
Pancakes R Us
Member
Will they still provide free pubic hair with their games under this membership or is this only reserved for non-members?
Hah.
Hah.
I wish this was a rare thing but i had a similar thing happen to me
Boy Wander
Member
He should have put you on your arse.
hydrophilic attack
Member
How is pointing out a fact non-classy? The fact that it may save some jobs doesn't change the fact that this is a scam
Diablohead
Member
10% more points and exclusive bundles for £33? LULS
The points rate is already borderline rough and as said you can save £5 per new game if you shop elsewhere, instead of earning 0.40p in points
The points rate is already borderline rough and as said you can save £5 per new game if you shop elsewhere, instead of earning 0.40p in points
Game is a joke
Unclebenny
Member
Please, please, please look up the meaning of the word scam and apply it properly.
Words become meaningless if we just attach them to anything that riles us in a certain way.
MarkMclovin
Member
Wouldn't be so bad if they didn't charge an extra 10% on top of everything.
Spiritwalker
Member
lol
EricTheRed
Member
GAME reeks of desperation and I get the same outdated feeling when I walk in one of their stores as I do when I walk in HMV or did just before Blockbusters died (complete with my local store putting a message on their door when they closed saying 'don't buy Netflix'). Just outdated companies that should of died off years ago.
If GAME had any sense they would appeal to collectors and turn their stores into community hubs where multiple consoles are set up to try before you buy. They'd run tournaments and have every single game available in store for every console (unlike supermarkets) for people to take away there and then. Instead they resort to out of touch desperation tactics like these.
If GAME had any sense they would appeal to collectors and turn their stores into community hubs where multiple consoles are set up to try before you buy. They'd run tournaments and have every single game available in store for every console (unlike supermarkets) for people to take away there and then. Instead they resort to out of touch desperation tactics like these.
fly high ~ayunite~
Member
I hope they go BUST.
Jokes are on you tbh. Employees don't make the prices at stores they work at.
I'm well aware that Game can't carry loss-leaders the way a supermarket can, but their survival, for over a decade, has hinged on finding a USP that a specialist, physical games shop can offer. They have routinely failed to do so despite games shops in the US having comparatively great loyalty schemes compared to this bloody terrible one. .
