Retailer GAME is reportedly facing credit insurance problems that could hamper its ability to stock new releases.
An anonymous publishing executive told the site: "No credit from the agencies means no stock for the stores. It's going to get worse before it gets better. You won't find a new release this Friday."
However, the retailer told MCV that rumours this week's big releases won't be available in GAME stores are untrue, and that the company's currently processing Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V.
GAME also said the non-appearance of Resident Evil: Revelations online last week was down to "website errors" and not credit issues, and denied rumours that staff wages haven't been paid recently.
Earlier this month, GAME Group reported a year-over-year sales decline of 14.7 percent for the eight week Christmas period ended January 7.
Comments
77 comments so far...
ChotaDon on 1 Feb '12 said:
Actually I received an email from game saying my copy of Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection was cancelled as there not stocking it?
I think GAME's days a numbered.
shanusanus on 1 Feb '12 said:
Another example of greed unfortunately
I pre ordered a 16GB PS VITA memory stick from game for £44.99 and then found the Sainsbury's a few shops down are doing it for £39.99 - went back to Game to ask if they Price Match and rather than say yes and at least keep teh sale and make 'some' money they refused and said GAME dont price match = lost sale to Game then!
Each and every time I see games priced so over the top as opposed to everywhere else online or in the high street its no wonder people are not buying from them.
And for gods sake, MW3 PRE OWNED up at £39.99 !! WTF And when I asked hopw much trade in was for the same game I was told only £8 !!! There crazy - totally crazy
I wish GAME was like it used to be in the old days when it was FUTURE ZONE and then ELECTRONICS BOUTIQUE - people there KNEW games - and sold them at good prices !
Seems we'll be saying goodbye to GAME stores very soon then
shanusanus on 1 Feb '12 said:
SOOOO Glad I didnt get mine from GAME - I ended up getting it from Zavvi and amazingly it arrived Monday!! Been playing on the PS3 with it - very happy
Mmmmgrolsch on 1 Feb '12 said:
Why haven't they been buying stock with profits? Surely they'd always keep a set amount of profits as back up for this sort of thing?
martinawatson on 1 Feb '12 said:
but firm insists it will be selling big new games this Friday
yehh only not to me...dickheads
superfruit on 1 Feb '12 said:
They won't see the year out.
I'm not quite sure what's happened to gaming. I remember gaming being a lot smaller (I'm talking back to zx spectrum early days and onwards) but yet seemingly more capable of supporting independent shops. I guess supermarkets have destroyed it and now the potential lack of physical product is making things worse.
Thank f**k I've had a good 30+ years out of gaming, as it stands now I may not give it many more.
shanusanus on 1 Feb '12 said:
You sound liek the same era as me mate - I think gamings hey day was the 90's - after 2000 its gradually gone downhill - shame cause the games themselves are good - just the 'politics' and money scamming around it is spoiling it
Josh298 on 1 Feb '12 said:
the problem is the prices they expect people to pay for the s**t games nowadays example that neverdead £40 your having a laugh with people having less money to splash out nowadays they are only gonna spend it on good games not take a chance like people use 2
karlrobert23uk on 1 Feb '12 said:
This could be the beginning of the end for Game, you loose your insurance your creditors are less likely to trade with you, look how quick Virgin went down as soon as they lost there insurance,,,Gamestation will also go as owned by the same group, and if HMV lasts beyond the year i will be impressed.So if your town doesn't have a Huge warehouse style morrisons, tesco etc, just look forward to buying your games online.. I for one have no sympathies for the way the company has been run, most if not all of Games problems have been self inflicted.
El Mag on 1 Feb '12 said:
I've got some games to sell you GAME.
£55 each but I'm not telling you if they're new or pre-owned, you'll just have to trust me with the seal I've put on them myself.
adgr19 on 1 Feb '12 said:
It's sad that people are going to lose thier jobs. Good luck people of game, hopefully your next job will be better.
Can i just say at least GAME contibuted some tax to the uk economy, something that amazon and a few others seem to be able to avoid. Maybe this and thier overheads lead to thier downfall.
budge on 1 Feb '12 said:
That explains why Game still haven't shipped my pre-order of FFXIII-2. I'm gonna cancel that motherf**ker right now!
captain savaloy on 1 Feb '12 said:
Whenever I go into a GAME or Gamestation store (which isn't that often), they are bloody RAMMO with people, huge queues at the checkouts, tons of people browsing etc etc, really, really busy.
If they can't make any money with that amount of trade, then they are wholey screwed.
shanusanus on 1 Feb '12 said:
HMM - strangely if you try and view your FF13-2 Collectors Edition Pre Order you get the OPPS SCREEN - its no longer listed on GAME
Anyway cancelled my Pre Order with them that hasnt even shipped yet so would never have arrived by Friday and found the same Collectors Edition £5 cheaper on ZAVVI !!
Now pre ordered with Zavvi - and baring in mind my MGS HD Collection arrived Monday I have confidence they'll ship by COP today
Sorry GAME - you just cant be trusted anymore.
Agent75 on 1 Feb '12 said:
The last time I bought a game from GAME was when the Dreamcast was on the go. They have way too many stores, plus they bought Gamestation. Being an ex retail manager, the cost of running these stores is very high and that's excluding staff costs and stock, to name a few things. I've lost count at how many times I've read about things not going well for them, but it doesn't surprise me. Their prices are a joke, more so their used games. I've read stories about GAME staff buying games from other stores which are still cheaper even if they used their staff discount, they won't sell you a console unless you buy games with it, used games selling for the same price as new games which I've seen with my own eyes. I've got no time for stores anymore, GAME included. I don't think it has much of a future. But I only buy online now which I've been doing since 2000.
Agent75 on 1 Feb '12 said:
If GAME was serious about making money, they should shut all their stores, maybe keep some open in major places, just go online, but I bet they'd still be dear.
Sentinator on 1 Feb '12 said:
Am I the only one that will miss Game if they go under?
G00N3R on 1 Feb '12 said:
I bought Serious Sam 3 for PC a couple of weeks ago, usually I buy from Game but they didn't have SS3 in stock, so I bought from Amazon instead. I've just checked again and Game have it listed for release on Friday this week. It actually came out back in November. LOL. I really don't think I'm going to trust Game with my ME3 order
Codename21 on 1 Feb '12 said:
I've used GAME for all my pre-orders for years, and they've been great. There seems to be a story about them folding every 6months....there's been so many now I'm actually starting to get worried they might.
So long as I get my pre-ordered copy of Mass Effect 3 N7-Edition before they shuffle off I'll be happy!
MPH on 1 Feb '12 said:
A primary function of a shop is to make profit. If it isn't happening then you have to look into the reasons for it. In Game's case, they charge far, far too much and people won't shop there. It almost seems like Game viewed themselves as so big that no matter what they do they cannot fail, but the profit ratings are proving otherwise. I know some people may not like it but I hope Game collapses, at least then we may see a batch of independant game stores cropping up with realistic pricing. Maybe even populated with some 'decent' ex-Game employees?
tsazio on 1 Feb '12 said:
I currently work for GAME (Kensington branch - although that might change soon!) and i've seen this coming for a few months now. E-mails/memo's sent internally getting leaked to sales assistants, hours getting 'reduced' with no warning and 're-structuring' of shop's business and plans - i.e, job losses and closure!
Trust me, GAME is going to collapse, and in two parts...
1. All non-flagship and 'concept' stores will close (especially in major cities such as London - i know this because it's happening to my shop!)
2. Then a few months down the line (late 2012/early 2013) GAME will cease to exist becuase they are stubborn bastards and won't accept that a) people shop online and b) people ACTUALLY go to other shops on the high street to buy games!
If it turns out this way, i won't actually care that i've lost my job because i can get another job. GAME close down, GAME can't open up again...
People are speaking with their wallets, and about time too.
tsazio on 1 Feb '12 said:
I currently work for GAME (Kensington branch - although that might change soon!) and i've seen this coming for a few months now. E-mails/memo's sent internally getting leaked to sales assistants, hours getting 'reduced' with no warning and 're-structuring' of shop's business and plans - i.e, job losses and closure!
Trust me, GAME is going to collapse, and in two parts...
1. All non-flagship and 'concept' stores will close (especially in major cities such as London - i know this because it's happening to my shop!)
2. Then a few months down the line (late 2012/early 2013) GAME will cease to exist becuase they are stubborn bastards and won't accept that a) people shop online and b) people ACTUALLY go to other shops on the high street to buy games!
If it turns out this way, i won't actually care that i've lost my job because i can get another job. GAME close down, GAME can't open up again...
People are speaking with their wallets, and about time too.
NEO_SUPERMAN on 1 Feb '12 said:
GAME OVER
dicky1993 on 1 Feb '12 said:
i hope they DON'T close down, even though they are a small amount a bit more expensive they stock games no one else would, they actually do good pre order offers as they secure bonus items,
their Reward Card system is brilliant espesh double points on pre-orders
and fun for a fiver isn;t bad you can get soul calibur for £40 now and if you give it back within 2 weeks you will get £37 back?
how is that not good?
KK-Headcharge78 on 1 Feb '12 said:
I think the only independents that will be cropping up are those on crack. I don't understand why some people do not see that Game's failure is not about greed, yes they want to make a profit but that's not greed, their failure is that the game market is now multi channel- high street, supermarkets, convenience, wholesale and online. This means smaller margins and a smaller consumer base, the result is fewer people buying your games and making less per game. Game group has got to the point that the oversaturated market is in overdrive so good deals on big releases are just really tough to propose and they need to get back every penny they can (hence the upselling you get when you go in store) If you see this is as greed that's your issue, no one has to pay it and they will go to the wall, along with HMV. Don't be surprised though that when the high street is dead the beloved supermarkets stick much closer to RRPs for new releases, the same online. The prospect of an independent is nigh on impossible, any low overheads will be swalloed easily by staffing and high buying costs (i.e Tesco get games cheaper than Game Group, you do the maths)
It's the archetypal market strangle, fluctuating value, less choice, fewer buying channels= consumer loss.
I for one think it will be a sad day to see the dedicated games retailers hit the wall
Currychips on 1 Feb '12 said:
Did wonder why I hadn't received my usual shipping notice from GAME. Oh well, looks like I'll have to cancel it then.
Was looking forward to playing that tomorrow night as well. Won't be pre-ordering from them again in a hurry!
jakeydood on 1 Feb '12 said:
This link says it all
http://www.game.co.uk/en/games/playstat ... S3-_-deals
Top entry, original price v preowned price lol.
fiasco2k3 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Yes I know this sounds cruel - but they got what they deserve. The company has been run so badly, and basically they've lost customers from offering bad prices for pre-owned games. I hardly ever go in there anymore cause of their pricing. Sorry Game but tough - it's your own fault!!!
Currychips on 1 Feb '12 said:
Just cancelled it. Found it on Amazon for £33 for PS3. So happy days for me as I've saved some cash, sad days for GAME as they've lost a sale and I don't think I'll risk a pre-order with them again.
ricflair on 1 Feb '12 said:
Considering in most stores it looks like 90% of their stock is preowned, I'm surprised this is even an issue for them!
gavedge81 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Only got one preorder with GAME at the moment and thats ME3 Collectors Edition, ordered it months ago. If i get an email saying i won't be getting it I will consider sending them a Krogan in a box as a customer complaint...........
Toasted_PSP on 1 Feb '12 said:
Capitalist greed...
Gamers, Publishers and Retails are all to blame IMHO
Gamers are a negative whiny bunch that want everything for nothing.
Retails want to make as much profit as possible for themselves without considering that the people they screw over to get those profits (Publishers and Gamers) are the people keeping them in a job.
Publishers because they have they have perfected this model of saturating the market with a certain type of game because if popular until it becomes unpopular then saturates the market with the next big thing, very few companies want to build the next big thing, they just want to jump on once its been established.
Mostly it is a simple case of short sighted greed.
G_R7 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Die GAME Die!!!! I'm not bitter about my time working there, which made my life Hell, but still.... Die GAME Die!!!!
illage2 on 1 Feb '12 said:
I know this all too well. Game took MGS HD collection down off the site even though I had pre-orderded it 2 months in advance, so I cancelled it today and re-ordered it on Amazon instead. Good timing as I could have been charged £29.99 for a game that isn't in stock.
As long as MGS HD isn't delayed again, I'll be happy.
dannyraven1 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Just like everyone on here I'm not surprised, where I live there is a Game and Gamestation almost next door to each other. Both of them selling games at stupid prices, sometimes the pre-owned version is more expensive then buying it new.
My brother won't be happy hearing this, he's had FFXIII-2 Crystal Edition pre-ordered since October last year.
Moorpheus on 1 Feb '12 said:
THIS!
It's not as if ME3 Collectors Edition is available anywhere else either (and it's now fully out of stock anyway)
Assuming everything goes according to plan, I think ME3 will be my last preorder from GAME
illage2 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Same with MGS HD collection which is why I cancelled it. I suggest you do to.
Noobsaibot on 1 Feb '12 said:
Hopefully a consortium of staff can split and make a proper, good value game chain. Hate to see all those jobs gone but at the same time, Game have made absolutely no effort to change with the market or provide good value. Unlike HMV who have branched out into tech, clothing etc...
thesnowman86 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Are people here crazy? This not a good thing - game/gamestation closing down will simply mean less competition for the supermarkets which means higher prices we will all have to pay if we want to buy in store. Also greed is the problem?! I don't think so. In fact anyone saying that is being insane - if they are having to close due to lack of profitability then clearly there pricing has nothing to do with greed (how are they greedy when making absolutely no money overall?!) its just the fact they have far smaller margins than the supermarkets/online retailers and therefore higher prices.
GAME - Making big losses, struggling to stay afloat due to being massively undermined by supermarkets = Greedy
Supermarkets - Undercutting everywhere, loss leaders to get you in store to spend money on other items with bigger markups = Not at all greedy
Don't base your ideas of greed on the prices of items as these don't reflect greed at all!!!!!
KK-Headcharge78 on 1 Feb '12 said:
The irony of this situation is that if high street retail dies a very large segment of the pre-owned market (together with the exchange and guarantees they carry) will die with it giving certain publishers exactly what they want. Sure you'll still have Ebay and the supermarkets will perhaps continue to offer some pre-owned but I doubt they will fully embrace it to the same degree so that Saturday afternoon browse and picking up Red Dead for £8 may well be thing of the past soon.
I for one will miss that choice.
Oh and what the Snowman said too, I feel some people just hate Game because their local store has a tosser or two in it, a far cry from the real ramifications of the potential high street tumble.
woodins on 1 Feb '12 said:
Writing was on the wall back in 2009. Remember all the BS on MCVUK back at the end of 2009? The gaming industry was proudly proclaiming how it was "recession proof" in the aftermath of a great xmas, pretending ignorance that financial damage can take awhile to filter through. The Directors of GAME at the time weren't. They quickly left, sold off their shares at their falsely inflated rate, and then ran off into the sunset. Young cousin of mine did some temp work over the recent xmas period at a South London branch. He regaled us all with stories of how hardly any hours were offered and that the stores in the area were "dead" and their was a deep sense of desperation from management with regards to what they could do. The shop-floor management were fully aware of what needed to be done (price-match etc.) but were literally hamstrung by head office. The till system itself is apparently locked in such a way that staff and sometimes even managers can't "bend the rules" if it would help put more pound notes in the till . My cousin was personally uncomfortable with having to aggressively push add-on sales at the till for 5hit that wasn't relevant to the customer (COD limited edition headphones, pre-owned s**t etc.) and be berated if he didn't .Great example was the price drop on Skyrim. Play.com knocked it down to £22 - GAME followed suit 7 days later then head office wonders why they are running out of stock, then promptly told them to whack it up to full price 7 days later. Even before this rumour and speculation kicked-off, he told me xmas eve that he expected them to fold by the end of the year just from his own narrow experience of the company as an 18yr old temp lol.
I know theres alot of negativity towards GAME, but 10yrs from now, when we are all buying our games digitally exclusive to our online accounts, we will perhaps be in a more lamenting mood when we think of the demise of high street gaming and what we lost. Its inevitable though, business is Darwinian.
WHITEyy118 on 1 Feb '12 said:
I would usually be sympathetic to hear things like this but because it's GAME I'm not. You could say I'm harsh but IMO they've been doomed for a while. For me the way the business it set out is all wrong, they buy a second hand game for like £5 and sell it for £20+ yet say they can't compete with other businesses. Yes online shopping and supermarkets are much cheaper but price isn't the only thing that accounts for a game sale. If that's the case why would people grocery shop at M&S/Waitrose and not ASDA?
Give me a shot and I bet I could turn GAME's situation around!
Moorpheus on 1 Feb '12 said:
Agreed - those awesome offers on new release games like FIFA 12 (spend X instore and get FIFA 12 for £25) will disappear when the supermarkets don't have to fight GAME etc.
KK-Headcharge78 on 1 Feb '12 said:
It is true that Game Group has adopted a very aggressive policy to sales, the up selling is a joke. You can't walk in Gamestation at the moment without some poor sod trying to up sell you a Vita when you have just bought a new Xbox controller. The staff are forced now to up sell with a 5 power question technique (I know several people who work in the group) and most of, if not all, staff hate this. Gone is the valuable return policy and also the 'advice' which was very good in certain stores.
It is sad to see the business on it's ass but I'm sure if the group had remembered what made it appealing in the 1st place instead of adopting American-esque sales patter they would be in a better position, the only thing which can negate higher prices is exceptional customer experience and I feel the management of the group has ignored this in the quest for hard sales which just does not work in this market.
ensabahnur on 1 Feb '12 said:
Just been on the Game website and they've defo taken MGS HD Collection off there, they're still listing the 3DS version but not the collection.
At the same time i was doing this they sent me an email for taking ME3 pre-orders, i think i'll just stick with shopto thanks.
Surely the supermarkets will start pricewars with each other if they're left as the sole stockist. Game were never really competitive with the supermarkets anyway, maybe if they had been they wouldn't be in the state they are.
Toasted_PSP on 1 Feb '12 said:
Anyone who thinks the Supermarkets are not as greed or greedier then GAME are morons, but GAMEs own greed shows through whenever you walk into a GAME shop. The old Gamestation used to just be gamers selling games to gamers for the most part always happy to stop and talk about games if the shop wasn't busy, but since GAME took over you cannot browse in peace without someone jumping on you to try and make you buy something. GAME have been unable to move with the times and rather than reshaping their business to stay competitive they simply bought out the competition along with moving their focus onto used games because they have a larger profit margin. This p**sed the publishers off big time who fought back with online passes making the used market less appealing, you now have to do internet research when buying used so why then go into town to buy used when eBay is probably cheaper and your already on the net anyway.
I remember when game stores differentiated themselves by been the shop that sold merchandise or imports or retro, these type of thing draw you into the shop and you often walked out with a standard new UK game, but it was the speciality that got you into the shop. The problem with things like imports and retro is the profit margins are very small so when GAME took over Gamestation they ditched the very thing that made a lot of people like myself venture into the store, the retro section.
KK-Headcharge78 on 1 Feb '12 said:
For entertainment goods you'll find most of the supermarkets stick to cyclical prices and also (although it won't be acknowledged) price fix between them. Games will never be pivotal area for them as margins in food and beverages are massive compared to any electrical goods, games like alcohol is a footfall technique, get people in the store. You might get the odd game on a deal but it is highly unlikely you will see AAA releases heavily discounted once the perceived competition has gone. Look at other categories such as clothing, cosmetics and spirits and the trend is clear to see.
rbt2 on 1 Feb '12 said:
If I can use a football analogy. And I think I can, then Game seems like they're in administration.
Dual Shock pads at 54 quid, p**s poor trade in prices, top end retail prices on new releases and ugly, ugly sales personell......
....Quelle surprise!
metallicorphan on 1 Feb '12 said:
so this is why they have not shipped my MGS HD collection yet?...not got an email saying its been cancelled though,and if i get one i will be very p**sed because they have had ages to send me an email to warn me about it
EDIT: from Gamedigital twitter
Drusus on 1 Feb '12 said:
GAME OVER YEEEEEEEEAH!
No but seriously I shop online because it's cheaper. I stayed with stores for longer than others due to some misplaced loyalty but all I received was longer waiting times ill-informed staff trying to sell me anything that wasn't nailed down (including once a girls aloud CD when they were pushing CD's a while back), low trade in value and insanely higher prices. So off to the net I went and haven't looked back since. Bye GAME.
gmcb007 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Go with shopto.net mate. They send it first class for free and even send you a picture of your game being dispatched!
Agent75 on 1 Feb '12 said:
With me being an expert at bargain hunting online which I've been doing since 2000, the problem is that the less places there is to buy games etc., prices will rise because there's less competition. Play.com have got a little more expensive since they got bought out, I've noticed that Amazon are going that way also. The best way to place games cheap as chips, is to swap your games, buy them used when they've been out for a while. There's plenty of free online places that you can advertise on, plus free ads in local papers. People need to use their head more often.
Agent75 on 1 Feb '12 said:
I've used Shopto 30 times upto now. 99% of the time, you get games the next day. But they're not always cheap, but I use about 15 online places anyway, so it's a matter of finding the cheapest. I might get a Wii U this year, I'll be getting it online defo.
Sammy_bham on 1 Feb '12 said:
ok the main issue is...
Who is going to sell the N7 collectors editio of mass effect 3 now?
im currently pre-ordered in store with gamestation.
way things are going, it isnt going to happen is it? Especially as Game own them!
nowhere else is selling it, bioware have got to sell through someone else sharpish!
also, because of this news on many websites etc, shareprice will fall, and more money will be lost and the company will fall fast. so anyone hoping for me3 special edition to be delivered or in stock, are going to be in for a shock in a months time!
fzeroman on 1 Feb '12 said:
Game can go die a slow painful death.
I once traded in my copy of Lego Star wars II on Ds and got 4 quid for it.
Later I see the same game selling for £14.99 second hand.
Cheap old bastards...
Gamestation & Play.com from now on for me..
Josh298 on 1 Feb '12 said:
the problem is they are way to expensive game. when you buy online so say zavvi.com gamestop.co.uk shopto.net etc if i buy a game which i think will be good ill buy it off the site and pay maximum £36 thats how much i pre ordered ssx for and others but when you go in store £40 for a s**t game like neverdead or £43 which ive seen some priced at and when it comes to trading in games they don't want to give you anything for a game which is more a less new with other website doing better deals and people not having as much money as we use to game are deffo going to struggle and sadly gamestation are going in the same route
MakoChanX on 1 Feb '12 said:
Had FFXIII-2 Collectors edition on pre-order with GAME since last year, just cancelled it. A little disappointed as it was a good little bundle with DLC.
Just ordered it with shopto.net, 3 minutes later they have dispatched it! Love them.
KK-Headcharge78 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Gamestation are part of the same group mate, if Game go then Gamestation (in it's current form at least) will too.
Sammy_bham on 1 Feb '12 said:
gamestation is owned by game mate
not sure if youve notice but theyve dropped all trade in prices (that youve received for trading). 15 quid for mw3. jokes.
if game die, so will gamestation. theyve even started pricing the same now.
amazon / play / base /sendit are the places to shop.
thesnowman86 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Also as an add on to my earlier comment are prices really that bad in GAME/Gamestation? Maybe if you're buying new/on release day but otherwise they have some great deals - only yesterday in their two for £10 promo I bagged, Infamous/Borderlands/Fallout 3 GOTY/Crysis 2 - these are great deals!!! Have had many similar in the past from gamestation you just have to shop smartly and wait for some promotions!
And everyone saying "well they only gave me £1 for my copy of Fifa 12 what a joke"......you do know gamestation and game both pricematch other stores (HMV replay app they pricematch/CEX prices ....) - gamestation even pricematch and add on an extra £1!!! So anyone being offered stupid amounts its really there fault for lack of being aware of their pricematch policy and making use of it.
A great example is me buying Tangled DS/Marvel Super Hero Squad 3DS from play for £4.99 and £8.99 respectively - then trading in after price matching and gamestation gave me £9 for tangled and £18 for Marvel! Its for these kind of reasons I for one would hate to see them go under.
The Bossman on 1 Feb '12 said:
Electronics Boutique, I remember that but not the one before, I'm not that old. They're raising prices to make more money but alienating 90% of the customers who find better deals online, it's going to happen to every major game shop out there over the next few years.
alan666 on 1 Feb '12 said:
i agree, with both comments, there used to be loads of independent games shops around, what happened to them all ?
if games are not available on the GAME site then maybe they have pre-sold their allocation of games, this happens on every single site, GAME may only have 5000 MGS HD games available to them.
if GAME do go under it will be a sad day for all gamers everywhere.
as for all you lot cancelling games, one will only make things worse for GAME & secondary, they have photos on their facebook page of the games in the warehouse.
i really think CVG should maybe get in touch with people before they run this type of story
Sammy_bham on 1 Feb '12 said:
problem is, they wont be doing that for long, pricematching is first to go, along with offering money / great deals for trading. game have always been pretty terrible.
and in regards to finding great deals on old games, you can do that anywhere mate, i bought alan wake, dead space and gt5 all for under a tenner on amazon, that doesnt mean anything, getting rid of stock is usually the reason for such low prices, its either destroy them or make a quick buck.
the problem is the new releases. which most people are interested in, game and gamestation charge nearly full rrp now. amazon 9 times out of 10 charge £10 quid less.
play usually do the odd deal on new releases too.
thats why game is going out of business, or soon will be,
all those copies of mw3 that was bought around the uk, i wonder how many were from game? i gurantee not many, sainsburys, asda and online were the cheapest, but ultimatley made the most money.
cam123 on 1 Feb '12 said:
While it'll be a great thing to see GAME go I will feel sorry for the staff, even though some of them don't know a thing about games they're quite friendly.
More on topic though, I entered a GAME today and saw LEGO INDIANA JONES 1 for £19.99, right behind it was LEGO INDIANA JONES 2 for £19.99 too! Absolute ripoff, on PS3 by the way.
Not only this but most crappy old games sell at ~£12.99 and games that must be REALLY bad that don't sell get reduced to £4.99. Yesterday I was palying a PS Vita and it was just me and my mate in the GAME store. In my opinion its a silly thing as if my mate had kicked the clerk in the balls I would've been able to run out of the shop holding the Vita and go sell it down the road at my local Graingergames.
On another topic, HMV are probably going to go soon. Today I entered HMV and saw the GHANDI blu-ray for 2 for £15. WHAT A RIPOFF! I CAN BUY THE GHANDI BLU-RAY FOR £5.99 ON AMAZON!! Furthermore, I saw COD:BO for £39.99n NO WONDER THEY'RE HAVING PROBLEMS!
I hope to see BOTH of these shops disappear of the market as they are BOTH complete ripoffs.
On another note, I made friends with a homeless man who sits on a bridge asking for change with whom I gave 2p out of the kindness of my heart (my friend gave 70p)
theheavy on 1 Feb '12 said:
GAME unfortunatly have had this coming for a while.
If it decided to just be more competitive with titles price wise then it probably wouldnt be in the situation its facing.
Having 2 or 3 shops in pretty much the same location is a pretty silly idea too !
Also - throwing huge events in 5* star hotels for your management team and giving them all consoles to walk away with, even when they knew they wasnt going to turn a profit for the financial year seems pretty stupid !
It'll be sad to see more people being made redundant and unemployed, purely because right now the job market is dire !
flyfletch on 1 Feb '12 said:
You will be doing yourself a favour anyway, cuz according to the reviews i have read it blows! Which is a shame
flyfletch on 1 Feb '12 said:
I am truly sorry to hear that you and thousands of other staff are on the verge of loosing their jobs, its a real shame because as you said, its their own fault, it does not have to happen. Just last year game where doing the price match and i really thought there was hope for them, i myself went and and told them that Currys 2 doors down where offering Kinect cheaper and the manager matched it, and gave me £50 of vouchers off, which i used, this encouraged me to buy more games in store. It really worked, so why did this really good idea get killed off? its crazy!
Dropping the prices of 2nd hand games and binging back the price matching would probably go a long way to saving Game, but if they are too stubborn to realise, then they have only themselves to blame, what makes me really wonder how the directors of the company work is, do they not realise they will be out of a job as well? would it not be in their interest, never mind everyone elses to do what they can to save the company? although my worry is, even if they realise now, it may be too late! Its a real shame to be honest, maybe some company with half a brain will step in and save them, because somewhere in there is a viable company, just need the right type of people to step in and turn it around.
Spectre1985 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Lol no doubt you've bought one of the final 2 copies in stock of a new game. Those final two live copies are removed from the case so the case on the shop floor is live (with a barcode so it can be sold).
Spectre1985 on 1 Feb '12 said:
One of the main reasons they don't price match is places like ASDA, who get limited stock of a game, offer it for dirt cheap until all their stock is gone and they tend to make a loss on all those items. GAME don't want to make huge losses on new releases, they'd be going down the pan even quicker.
WHITEyy118 on 1 Feb '12 said:
I understand people saying that supermarkets have a impact on GAME and similar stores but that's not the complete story. Supermarkets mostly offer a game dirt cheap to get you instore to by other things, kerching, so although they might take a loss on the game they still make profit. Especially on deals like 'a game for £ X when you spend £ Y instore' or 'a game for £ X when you buy another chart game/DVD'. However these deals only last for at most a week or so, or until they shift all the stock. Then they are just as expensive, if not more, than other 'game' stores. Also for a teenage kid/young adult with their own money, that doesn't buy groceries, aren't going to buy a game from a supermarket because those deals don't appeal to them.
What people are forgetting is that brand new games aren't the sole item in a GAME store. They have far more games console bundles than supermarkets/electrical stores, more accessories/peripherals and second hand games. It's just GAME has been going downhill for ages and nothing major has changed to compensate for it. I remember filling in a questionnaire about the GAME experience, ideas and improvements etc. etc. a year or so ago and, to my knowledge, nothing has changed. I think with GAME now it's not a case of if but when.
And just to finish when was the last time you saw a GAME TV add? I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw one. As someone above said it's like bosses at GAME just expect customers to come running and fall at their feet.
WingZeroSys on 1 Feb '12 said:
Out of curiosity which version of MGS HD Collection did you supposedly receive on monday from Zavvi?
If it's the Ultimate HD Collection one then I call balls**t as mine was only sent out today.
dwhlufc on 1 Feb '12 said:
I know your not asking me mate but my cousin received his ultimate collection today,he won't open it though,said its going on eBay in a few years time.
rhyfel on 2 Feb '12 said:
what game needs to do is sack 90% of its staff because a chimp with a banana stuck up its arse knows more about games and gaming than thay do. and also not stocking new releases thats what thay are practically doing now when you walk into a game store nowadays you can hardly find the "new release" section because 90% of the store is taken up with used games and thats all the staff seem interested in is flogging you a used copy at £2 or £3 cheaper than a brand new sealed copy, greed on games part has got them to where thay are now and thay can go bust for all i care.
Paul_27 on 2 Feb '12 said:
im sorry but game needs to close sooner as the pricing is a joke
browse my local game store and they had mw3 brand new for xbox 360 and ps3 for £39.99 and they had it preowned for £37.99 now if i went online i could get the game from anywere between £19.99 to £24.99
mw3 hardened edition for both ps3 and xbox 360 which they have for £79.99 and again online at £49.99
weres the sense if that and the dualshock ps3 controllers are £49.99 and online is £29.99
game and gamestation need a reality check and need one fast
they are greedy lil s**ts
i sold mw3 without scratches and complete with everything and they gave me £13 trade in
wtf is all that about and they go and add 90% on
Barca Azul on 2 Feb '12 said:
So, they posted crap earnings and had their credit rating slashed!
WingZeroSys on 2 Feb '12 said:
I received mine today (PS3 version), I won't be selling mine though as I'm a huge MGS fan and it's the reason why I bought it (along with a normal copy of the 360 version, I was nearly tempted to get the Ultimate version for that too).
peteuplink on 29 Feb '12 said:
I'm from a similar era of gaming. First started out with a ZX81 when I was 7y/o, then moved up to a C64 and later an Amiga 500. I can remember buying games for £1.99 and I had over 500 titles for the C64 alone.
Gaming was a lot smaller. My favorite games store was a little place called Microbyte in Manchester Arndale, that was put out of business by the arrival of Game. But I don't think it's the size of gaming that's the problem, I think it's the rip-off nature of the publishers (Like Codemasters saying they'd like to release half a game and get the gamer to pay for more content), and the lack of innovation these days.
Almost every game now is a FPS, where if you look back 15 years ago we had flight sims, strategy games, RPG's, platformers, puzzle games, text based adventures (old hat now but some were good fun), point and click adventures, and a whole host of other stuff. Sure, some of thses types of games get released now, but they're very few and far between when compared to the latest GPU heavy shooters.
I think people are slowly starting to get bored with "same old, same old"