When was the last time you walked into a high street games shop and picked up a copy of the latest hot release? If the answer to that is "can't remember", you're far from alone.
The latest sales figures suggest that specialist retailers such as GAME are facing dire conditions, as online competition and supermarket rivals carve up a market made even tougher by perilous financial conditions. But while buyers benefit from lower prices, this could mean huge - and unwelcome - changes for the games industry overall.
GAME saw its UK and Ireland Christmas sales slump 17.6 per cent year-on-year, forcing the company to admit that it might struggle to meet debt repayments. Then HMV reported that its gaming performance had been terrible, leading to the sacking of its games boss and the possibility that it will quit games altogether.
But gaming is big business. Brits spent £2.52bn on games in the UK last year, so what's going wrong for specialists? Well, for one thing, while overall sales are impressive, they still fell by 13% from the previous year. With bricks and mortar retail under attack from both supermarkets and online, chains like GAME are having to scrap to win a smaller chunk of a shrinking market.
Death by 100 cuts
Tesco and Asda are happy to sell games at cost price - or even at a loss - to get you in-store. GAME cannot afford to do the same. Nor can it compete with the crazy discounting seen online. FIFA 12 was available for between £45 at GAME and Gamestation at launch last September. The same game could be found for under £38 online and, amazingly, just £25 in the supermarkets.
"Under attack from supermarkets and online, GAME has to scrap for a chunk of a shrinking market."Why can Tesco and Asda do this? If you head into store to buy a copy the chances are you'll pick up some shopping too. If you do a full family shop then the supermarket has already recouped its loss. If GAME offered the same price it would effectively be paying you to buy it.
It's now a very real possibility that in the next few years supermarkets will be the only place where you can buy games off the shelf. So what, you might ask. Well, that means that if a game is any more than a few weeks old, it will be nowhere to seen. And have you tried trading in your games at Tesco? It's a shocking experience.
Of course, you'll still be able to get the less blockbusting titles online, but don't underestimate the damage that losing spontaneous sales from the wider market will do to the industry. With less money coming in, publishers will be increasingly unwilling to take risks. So that's a bye-bye to new ideas and hello to more sequels, then.
The good news is there's a way all this can be avoided. Get to your local specialist retailer and spend some money. Yes, you'll pay more. But what you're buying is a future for games on the High Street. Is that a price worth paying? And therein lies the problem. The only hope for retailers is for you to choose to pay more. And let's be honest - that's not going to happen. At least not in large enough numbers to make a difference.
Comments
58 comments so far...
Windowlicker79 on 2 Feb '12 said:
Doing your bit to help the high street retailers eh?
http://www.webpagescreenshot.info/i/516397-22201251807pm.png
gmcb007 on 2 Feb '12 said:
Hasn't GAME just opened 2 new 'concept stores' that are basically like a Curry's store? I don't think they'll be closing any time soon.
However I wouldn't like to see the closure of any shop (except Paul's Scum Boutique). I may not use them but I rather live in a place where I have the choice to use such facilities. Online shopping is handy but sometimes a social vist to high street with friends to have a nice physical browse of products can be quite productive.
@Windowlicker
Well spotted.
Barca Azul on 2 Feb '12 said:
Do people care though?
With Supermarkets and Online retailers offering very competitive pricing, as a consumer ive not been in a game shop for over 2 years and not bought anything from them for almost 10 years.
sjholland87 on 2 Feb '12 said:
Really does anybody care?
Online, supermarkets and small time media shops are undercutting them and gaining profits due to having a selection of other items.
Game and Gamestation raise prices to try and make profit and turn people away.
High prices =/= profit if it doesn't get people in through the door.
Its a good thing if anything and it will stop people being held to a premium because of the old "specialised" BS. If I saw something £10 cheaper down the road, I'd go and buy it there. Not buy it for a more expensive price because its a specialised store.
Ali_ on 2 Feb '12 said:
Game need to radically rethink they're pre-owned pricing and trade in values to tempt more people in. And also filter what they do take in for quality, not quantity. It's the one USP they still have.
One big reason I often shop at Tesco, rather than Game, is the fact that our local Tesco still keep games in locked perspex security boxes as well. This gurantees you a sealed and non molested copy. I've lost count of the number of times a Game or HMV employee has taken the stained box I took of the shelf (the best one I could find) and stuffed, roughly, the various inserts and disc into the box, with little care, leaving my £40 game looking second hand before I even leave the shop.
If you're going to be a specialist retailer, you need to be completely customer-centric. Game still has a Currys/Comet mentality, employing cheap labour, with little pride in their work and, all too often, very little knowledge either.
coolpro on 2 Feb '12 said:
Its not the end of the store on the high street ... if people haven't noticed, we are in a global recession!! Even people with expendable income are looking for the best deal at the moment. Even when the economy's of the world were in a much healthier position there was always a form of madness linked to buying a game full price in a store.
The worse thing that Game ever did was open so many stores. I can think of a couple of high streets that used to have two stores in them never mind one. They also don't help themselves when their retail prices are higher than their online ones (which aren't that great). I once asked a guy in a game why they couldn't match their own online prices & he quite bluntly replied that the additional cost paid his wage ... to which I replied "fair enough!" ... I then went home & ordered the game I was looking at online form a different store because it was cheaper!
The only time I ever see the store where I work look busy is the night before a new COD comes out with nutters in sleeping bags desperate to be the first one to play the game ... other than that its empty.
Some stores will keep going but they need to thin out the numbers & offer more incentives to buy in store ... how about all the exclusives they do only be available form the stores? You always end up paying full whack for these offers anyway.
INDY MANAGER on 2 Feb '12 said:
Welcome to the Recession!
It's not the death of bricks and mortar shops but this is the state of things at the moment, for those that don't know game also own gamestation so there all in the same boat and if one goes so will the other, it's hard times in the games market and when selling new releases at £39.99 shops are lucky to make £2.00 on a game, the problem with game group plc is they've insisted on keeping shops open that are practically right next to each other (as in a game shop at one end of the street and a gamestation at the other) this is all done to make the public choose a side and stick with it (i'm sure some gamestation customers would consider it hell on earth to go to a game shop....but there the same company!
Put simply Game group are to big to go under, they will get a lot of help from publishers simply because if they do go under publishers wont sell half as many games.
Publishers have also bought the problem upon themselves by discounting titles to supermarkets, driving prices down meaning game shops and companies make hardly any money on new titles, do you really think supermarkets will keep low prices if they don't have any competition?
lastly to just buck the lets buy online trend it's cheaper, do you not think prices will rise when the government starts charging VAT on all the companies that are based in tax free Jersey in April? (thats play, shopto, game online etc)
Oh what joy and fun!
Put simply
jamiestogden on 2 Feb '12 said:
When I can buy games cheaply online then trade in something like Batman Arkham Asylum back to Amazon for £28 three months later I'll not be sad to see the death of high street gaming. Cheap prices and great trade in values are all gamers want, quite simple really, well, that plus the games being good in the first place
WHERESMYMONKEY on 2 Feb '12 said:
I could have some sympathy for Games position if it wasn't all there own damn fault. They haven't done much inrecent times to actually get people through the door. Most of the time they're trying to upsell you some crap you don't want and hasstle you while you're trying to browse. and 99% of the time the game will cos you less from another vendor so why bother.
What game really need to do is loko at how inde stores manage to survive and emulate it to an extent. I remember the little games shop i used to go in i luton when i was growing up was brilliant because it was run by gamers and you nkew it. they got to know their regulars and there wa a proper sense of community to the place because they had all kinds of competitions and events which got the local gamers together. It worked. you'd want to go in just to talk games and more often than not you'd end up walking ot with something whether you were initially going into or not. They let everyone test everything. they would strive to get you whatever game you wanted at a reasonable rate whther it was relased over here yet or not.
They need to become more of a service and less of a shop. gming is all about community and thats something i feel that the big retailers often lack.
Sentinator on 2 Feb '12 said:
I actually just bought a game at Christmas in one of my local shops. I would never buy from those super markets! NEVER! I don't care if they are willing to sell at a loss. I've bought several games from Asda on PS2 and only one of them worked properly. So there is definitely something wrong with their games. As for Tesco I don't trust them either.
All I can say is if Game go bust the only shops I will trust is HMV and Gamestation. I'm not buying stuff from CEX because those guys don't even have booklets or even cases most of the time. I picked up Naruto a week ago and it came in a wallet with the booklet.
If they go, well Play and amazon will serve me well. One HMV has already closed in my area. I fear at least one Game will as well.
Headsrinker on 2 Feb '12 said:
This has been coming. I wasn't expecting Game to die quite as soon as it is doing though. Its not just Game that are losing out to online underpricing, its the whole high street. Game has been hit harder though because most gamers have a internet connection, so cant shop around online. Game is too expensive, always has been, im glad us gamers have more choice now regarding where we buy our games. This is a good thing!!! If it means the end of Game, so be it. Their stores are no where near as good as they used to be. I take no enjoyment in visiting their stores now, i used to though.
kenbadguy on 2 Feb '12 said:
Ex game store manager & cant wait for them to go, in fact, im counting down the days!
Personal reasons of course, I was made redundant on xmas eve 2009 despite numerous assurances that my job was safe. Then as soon as borders went under that was it, goodbye, through no part of my own.
Still very bitter to this day as u may have guessed
Cazy008 on 2 Feb '12 said:
You honestly expect people to pay more for a game to keep high street stores open
It is not the supermarkets fault either, it all comes back to the manufacurers and developers. The developers will have to reduce prices so that retail can get them cheaper and thus sell them for less. I realise that the supermarkets would then sell them for even less, but, if a game was £20 in a supermarket and £25 pound in specialist store then if the specialist threw in a few worthless but exclusive pieces of dlc to their sales, then the consumer is much more likely to spend the £25 in the specialist store then they are now. This model does not work when you are tring to sell for £45 when you can get the same thing for £35. And the poor trade in offers don't help either
.
jonbwfc on 2 Feb '12 said:
Have you tried trading in your games at Game? It's not any better.
lordirongut on 2 Feb '12 said:
I hope not. Granted it's rare that I buy new from GAME (although I do order from them online from time to time), but there's something nice about walking into a store and perusing the used bit in the hopes of something good. I've found plenty of awesome games that way and I'd hate to not have that option. There's always eBay and Amazon for used games but it isn't the same as having the box in your hand to look at. There are also the consumer safeguards of checking what you buy before you buy it and ease of return, especially with regards to eBay where a lot of sellers can be awkward and unresponsive. It's also nice sometimes, for a game that you're particularly excited about, to go to the store on release day and ensure that you get a copy rather than relying on Royal Mail.
zombiesinmyhead on 2 Feb '12 said:
The problem with game and hmv is that they're run by complete wankers. Their aggressive over-pricing alienates people and gives them a bad reputation.
Here's an idea, how's about a high street games retailer that doesn't treat its customers like walking cash machines? That has reasonable pricing and a good selection of games, and can order in rare titles for you? I don't mind paying a few extra quid for titles I'm excited about on release day, it removes the anxiety of waiting for the postman, so why don't they try something around those ideas? I know that sounds utterly mental, but the current model of more greed more often isn't really working.
Trutch on 2 Feb '12 said:
Their most recent offer isn't going to help them either where you can trade in a new release within 2 weeks and it will only cost you a fiver.
Going by their current pricing that means the customer spends £40, gets £35 back, the game then has to be sold as second hand and to get any margin on the game, Game have to sell the second hand game at a high price. The whole reason they are in this mess is because of their rubbish second hand prices, so this deal wont help.
The only thing Game has been good for IMO has been some bundle deals on consoles, apart from that they have brought this on themselves.
Rhumor on 2 Feb '12 said:
Game never has any good offers i walk In see what i can get all over priced £44.99 for a new release is alot of money to people this days especially during a recession when ALOT of people are struggling and are unemployed. I have a Local games shop who is more competitive than game and im much happier to give Them my money than these greedy bastards deserve what they get.
Bjsfreaked on 2 Feb '12 said:
Working for game, I can understand why its happened, they tried to do to much stuff like unnecessarily re-vamp both gamestation and games websites when there was no necessity but they head office made it all go to pop and to be honest, most stores especially mine try to the best do with what they can, head office though never see the bigger picture from inside a brick and mortar shop. I for one try my hardest to give a customer a good deal whatever way i can.
I use game to help me get through uni with work, if they go, i'm going to struggle financially.
So i really hope game doesn't go under.
TheLastDodo on 2 Feb '12 said:
The internet is whats killing them, it's now so much cheaper and easier to get on the internet than it was pre-2007 and with mainstream gaming going online with PS3 and 360, you had to be online to get the most out of your chosen console, unfortunately this meant millions of people were exposed to the wonders of amazon, play etc that can undercut Game.
So losing out on new sales, Game's reaction is to push the second hand market instead and make money off pre-owned titles, however because of losing out on new sales to online retailers they can't afford to offer good trade in value to people looking to trade in games, so you get low trade in prices and new game prices on pre-owned games, the same high prices that drove people towards amazon, play etc in the first place.
Bottom line:
Online retailers such as amazon, play, Shopto are cheaper so why buy new games from Game?
Game's pre-owned prices are too high, you can buy new games from online retailers cheaper.
Game's trade in prices are so low, you can get better prices at CeX, HMV, ebay, ASDA, literally everywhere.
So unless you get price matching (which my local Game doesn't), what reason is there to still shop at Game?
I've said it time & time again, the only reason Game are still going is because there are still enough people that are totally oblivious to the wonders of the online shopping.
danhalen74 on 2 Feb '12 said:
they treat the customer like an idiot and we're supposed to lament their passing? do me a favour.
the trade-in values they offer and the price of their second hand games are a slap in the face to gamers. like any savvy consumer we vote with our wallets, it's not down to us to save them, its down to them to make their business worth saving in the first place.
dwhlufc on 2 Feb '12 said:
In the end anyone with common sense will always go to the cheapest option unless of course you've got more money than sense.
Bjsfreaked on 2 Feb '12 said:
The only games that have been £45 are the games where the companies like activison's call of duty are telling them too or who know that there are people who are so desperate to have them will pay that for them.
03b2wgm on 2 Feb '12 said:
Meh, I still order my 3DS games from GAME.
I have no idea why.
But then again, personally, I've never had a problem with GAME. But that's just me. It seems that most people here seem to dislike them, which I guess is fair enough if you've had a poor experience with them.
OH WELL.
skabone on 2 Feb '12 said:
had a little walk through Game & Gamestation on the way home from work, looking for something cheap I might have missed, or a bargain...maybe GOW3 or something.
...but everything over priced and lots of stuff gone up since xmas in both. Fallout New Vegas is there in the 2 for a £10er range which made me laugh...broken piece of s**t. but stuff like mirrors edge and alpha protocol were just under and over £10 which is waaaaaaay out....I've seen mirrors edge for £2 before...I've seen ashtrays made out of alpha protocol..
went CEX and got company of heroes on pc for £3......installing it as I type - you don't get better than that.
somebody was talking about community and events and stuff and its true - i remember the local shops running competitions and big fun turnouts - nearly won a tekken comp years ago for a dreamcast. Game used to be cool, but hasn't been for a long time - they only do midnight launches to get you in the shop and upsell, kinda crappy - I got my local retailer years ago to import the japanese version of MGS1 AND chip my PS1 so it could played months before release....happy days....
they won't even break the street date of stuff when its reported that big titles are arriving days early from play or something = I started ordering from play especially for that reason - no matter i'm a regular and friendly nice guy and they know me...I mean c'mon...dudes...its me....they won't budge.
No promo boxes of MGS HD in either store - there's a rumour they're not going to have some new releases. They'll stock SC5 but will they have a copy of MGS for me?
flyfletch on 2 Feb '12 said:
Same here, i have 3 Game stores within a mile of me, and i have an independant retailer in the same street as one of them paying more than likely the same rent and overheads, and they are always at least a tenner cheaper on new releases. So if they can do it why cant Game? I dont buy this overhead bollox, no one is asking to have the games free, we just want fair prices, and it seems Game have been dealt a hard valuable lesson. We are not the little lemmings they thought we where, we have spoken with our wallets!
Its not too late for Game if they just see sense though, but based on what we all know Game is like, i really doubt this will ever happen.
Sentinator on 2 Feb '12 said:
CEX sells nothing but stolen goods which thieves and hustlers have gone out of their way to take from honest people like us. The cases, booklets and games are often in terrible condition. Even as a last resort I don't like using that shop but in some cases you just can't find particular games and I end up suffering because of it.
alan666 on 2 Feb '12 said:
the irony that everyone who loves buying cheap games from Tesco, hates the idea of download games only - the fools
GAME closing will be a bad day for all UK gamers, FACT !
Windowlicker79 on 2 Feb '12 said:
I think you're jumping to some pretty daft conclusions there. To sell something to CEX you have to provide them with photo ID, which is enough to put off most of the dodgy folk. When they buy mobile phones they check the IMEI numbers on a database to make sure they aren't stolen.
Admittedly the stores can be a bit uncomfortable to visit sometimes because they are usually full of unpleasant folk with their countless benefit kids selling their belongings, but they don't buy stolen goods.
Every game I've ever purchased from them has been fine. Just make sure you check it before you take it. I recently picked up a Lego Batman/Pure bundle pack for £3 from there.
I think the worst thing they can be accused of is inflating prices on some hard ware. Like when Kinect first came out and all the shops were out of stock they were selling pre-owned ones for £20 more than RRP.
skabone on 2 Feb '12 said:
I agree - I go there for stuff I can't find anywhere else or I'm happy for a cheaper scuffed copy. I know the stuff can be robbed but you need I.D etc so its no different really to Gamestation etc...just more pikeys use it
dunno if i'll be sad for Game to go? I think its inevitable really as sooner or later it will all go digital - but I got my PS1 from there and that brings back memories and i like physical media....but I also went to a midnight launch once and it was just a rubbish excuse to keep trying to sell me extras - it was like that episode of southpark where the parents go to aspen for a free holiday providing they attend a seminar on timeshares...but they never get to leave the seminar and enjoy their holiday as the salesmen spend all weekend pressuring them...
I was hoping for a bit of gaming or banter....cheerleaders,...wet t-shirt competition...
damoxuk on 2 Feb '12 said:
Not shopped on the high street for over 10 years, can get all my DVD's, blu-rays, games, clothes etc online hell even lotto
For food is the supermarket of course can't be arsed ordering all that online.
But yes can't even remember what my highstreet looks like anymore.
It's funny when people at work say bought some top make clothes from trafford centre for £200 and i'll go yes but you could get those for like £60 online.. but I paid more so they are "better" yea alright i'll keep my £140 thanks.
Sentinator on 2 Feb '12 said:
Please don't mistake this for generalising by any means. I know not everyone there is like that. If thats how its come across I apologise to anyone who took offence to it.
It is definitely a better target though. I have had some right shady looking folk come up to me asking if I can sell stuff in there for them. And not just kids either. Admittedly I'm actually scared to go in that shop so I wait outside for my brother when he is finished. Of course thats when I'm approached. I'm terrified to even look people in the eye let alone tell people where to stick it. I've even been offered money and declined.
But I'm sure there are a fair share of honest people in which case I salute you. But the point you hit on here is precisely why I don't like it.
Paul_Boland2 on 2 Feb '12 said:
"When was the last time you walked into a high street games shop and picked up a copy of the latest hot release?"
Last weekend, at my local GameStop. I always shop there first, online second. There is something to be said about going into the store itself and seeing the titles on the shelves. Online is grand for browsing at home, but I'd rather a trip into town and a day out over sitting on my ass ordering at the touch of a button. Plus with postage costs and the horrific exchange rate between the euro and the pound, shopping in stores is cheaper then shopping online.
Malmo on 2 Feb '12 said:
Its the same in just about every industry though, it started off with things like woolworths, and now major specialist stores are struggling, be it game, hmv or even clothes shops. yes there is huge competition from supermarkets and online shopping but the ultimate problem is that a select few high street stores have fought off or bought out all the competition and built up a franchise too large scale to maintain. Eventually such businesses will cease to exist, we could well be looking at the closure of every dedicated game shop, movie and music shop, even major clothes shops. However, once they're all gone, it'll start over again. In a town that has no place to regularly buy dvds, games and music or whatever other product it may be, people will start opening such shops again because they'll get business. They'll also offer much cheaper and more competitive prices due to the fact that they are not having to uphold the finances of a huge multi-million pound corporation. And from there, businesses will grow, and the successful one(s) will eventually buy out others and expand and become the huge retail giants we seeing crumbling now. I'd hope that we'd learn from our mistakes and not lead ourselves into having very few dominant retail companies once again, however greed has always gotten the better of people. We're talking about process that will take years, probably decades, but ultimately the only way the financial crisis will be resolved is once it's all fallen apart and has to start over again.
coldburner on 2 Feb '12 said:
The government needs to step in and bail out GAME!
GAME is too big to fail. We could all go into triple dip global recession!
rip_it_up on 2 Feb '12 said:
The reason game are in trouble is because they have a awful business model.
They bought out game-station to try and get domination on the high street.
This worked for gamestop in the us, but not for game in the uk. My guess is simply that its easier logistics in small uk!
Other companies realised their was profits to be made in the sales of games, and considering Game have always tried for maximum profits on software its was not hard for supermarkets to undercut them.
Heck even my indie game stores sold new release gamecube games for £33 quid compared to £40 from game.( and better trade ins.) So if game city can do it then i have no sympathy for game.
If game go tits up and the supermarkets put the prices up, Their always a new Gap in the market for the new kid in town to set up shop.
My final point is s**t but game could sell bread+milk
Bond James Bond on 2 Feb '12 said:
Brick n' mortar stores are dead, it doesn't matter if you get your games at a specialist retailer as they'll soon be gone too. I haven't bought a boxed game for ages.
I moved house recently and it just reminded me how much i hate boxed goods. Boxed games, DVD''s, CD's, etc, are just clutter and an inconvenience.
Cazy008 on 2 Feb '12 said:
Download only? Have you seen the psn stores retail game prices lately? Cause that's what would happen if games went download only.
Stryker89 on 3 Feb '12 said:
GAME have come to a deal with their lenders at a loss of £18million- their overseas establishments are in big trouble and their future plans need massive rethinking, but GAME as a company are safe for the time being and will continue for the foreseeable future.
Baggie1993 on 3 Feb '12 said:
Probably a good thing considering they've got a poster still up advertising Fifa 07...
FunSponge on 3 Feb '12 said:
I am from Ireland so I'm not sure if Tesco/Asda hold midnight launches in the UK but they don't over here. GAME going out of business would damn near eradicate midnight launches here especially with Gamestop going bust in the North of Ireland and HMV thinking of pulling out of the industry altogether.
What gamer doesn't enjoy midnight launches? Or even being able to talk to the register guy/girl about what they're looking forward to this year? Specialist stores going out of business would be disastrous for game retail and if you, like me, have a preference for buying in-store rather than online then you will feel the same.
As for Tesco, they bring in major releases at best and thats that. At least with GAME you have options, variety and most of all, people who know what the f**k they're talking about. Yes we are in a recession but forking out that little extra to support people who dedicate themselves to the games industry isn't so bad. I have never purchased a game in Tesco nor do I plan to.
GAME!
Lionx on 3 Feb '12 said:
New Games - Best Service and Price on Amazon
Older Games - Steam or Ebay used at a better price.
So whats the big deal?
Bazcube85 on 3 Feb '12 said:
3Ok so everyone is bitching how rubbish GAME is and how online and supermarkets are alot cheap I understand on trade ins But just do a quick price check : Metal Gear Solid HD
Game: £29.99
Play: £29.99
Amazon: £27.91
Shopto: £29.99
Tesco: £27.91
Asda: £27.97
Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning
Game: £39.99
Play: £39.99
Amazon: £37.97
Shopto: £38.86
Tesco: £41.97
Asda; £37.97
So one game that out today is only £2.07 cheaper and a game out next week is £2.03 cheaper and is also more expansive in a supermarket and these prices may or may not include postage in time for release.
radiocat on 3 Feb '12 said:
The thing is that in the past I could buy a game and then trade it in or sell it for at least 66% of the retail price. So, in the good old days, I could realistically play as many games as I wanted. I could take my recently finished game and get a brand new one for a tenner.
Nowadays, we're expected to download a game from Steam for forty or fifty quid, and it has zero resale value. When I finish that game, I'll have to spend another fifty or sixty quid to get the next big thing. The game that I previously bought is worthless.
This is wrong, and I'm not going for it.
flyfletch on 3 Feb '12 said:
These are Games online prices i assume? They are usually in and around the same online, thats not whats on debate, its their in store prices.
flyfletch on 3 Feb '12 said:
Gamestop going bust in the north? Im from Belfast, and thats news to me? Not saying your wrong, but i have heard nothing about that, i pass Gamestop on the way to work every day, and its very much open.
rhyfel on 3 Feb '12 said:
its all right for CVG to say "support your local game shop" but as a parent and a mortgage payer it makes sence for me to buy my games from the cheapest place and if thats online or supermarkets so be it, and all GAME are interested in is profits for there share holders and out of all the places you can buy games GAME is at the bottom of my list plus most of the staff who work at game haven't a clue thay might as well work in a pet shop.
superfruit on 3 Feb '12 said:
Bang. Reality bomb. I used to have a lot of disposable income to do what I felt like with. Now as a parent I don't, so if I can save £8 that's £8 I can spend elsewhere. I'd have trouble justifying anything like keeping a clueless corporate game shop open on principle of it being a game shop.
It wasn't long ago that GAME were the bad boys for taking Gamestation over but now where's supposed to feel sorry for them? I certainly won't pay over the odds to subsidise bad pricing and decision making, it's perverse. Hopefully CEX will expand as they at least have a better understanding 2nd hand prices.
ricflair on 3 Feb '12 said:
That's just nonsense! I wouldn't buy hardware from them, although you do get a 1yr guarantee, but that's usually because they're barely cheaper than you can get them in deals elsewhere (a boxed PS3 is £195!). I've never had a problem with second hand games from Cex though. Probably about a dozen games all told and while the manuals have sometimes been a bit scuffed, I can see what condition it's in before I accept them.
I occasionally go in to the one in Camden and it is quite funny seeing people trying to sell broken cameras etc and acting surprised when the staff come back and say "it won't switch on".
skabone on 3 Feb '12 said:
you know not a soul has mentioned the green cost of digital vs physical media. I imagine companies are looking everywhere to offset carbon taxes etc and scrapping boxes and manuals is most definetly an option. I also like the idea of instantly having something - like today I want MGS HD but I need to go aaaaaalllllll the way into town to grab a copy - and I'm feeling lazy today.
EA have scrapped manuals for their sports games and some other titles and it makes sense. Don't get me wrong - I prefer having a physical copy but its only vanity.
Someone pointed out the pricing for steam etc and I'm happy with it - older games are cheap and sales are well publicised - you want a new game you pay premium.
I can see Game going under if it doesn't change.
On another note I had a look at the PSvita in Game yesterday - joysticks felt really loose - anyone able to confirm if thats how they're supposed to be - might have just been caned by schoolkids but makes me wonder if worth waiting for the inevitable re-design a year from now
gusswan on 3 Feb '12 said:
Any business that charges a premium price has to provide clear, demonstrable value to the consumer that justifies the price. Game does not. HMV does not. On that basis they are doomed. They offer some value for the impulse purchase of titles, but not enough to justify the difference in price. They could offer a service value as well, but the internet means it's quick and easy to get a whole range of expert opinions on what to buy before you go into the store. Internet retailing is also a fact of life, and is destroying the whole inefficient concept of shipping large numbers of identical products to 'showrooms' for people browse. Delivery by network is the final network in the coffin. Plus, i have a real gripe with the appalling customer service particularly at Game. I went in there last week. They had a PS Vita on display. Now - that is value. I could play it there weeks before it's on sale which i couldn't at Tesco or on Amazon. The spotty little teenage retard tending it, who seems typical of Game employees, seemed loathe to let me have a go, never mind extol the virtues of the hardware and try and sell me one. I'm the kind of person they should be trying to coax disposable income out of. The have a loyalty system that they don't seem to make any effort to use as a sales tool. They need to get rid of all those kids they employ loitering around the store doing f**k all.
lordirongut on 3 Feb '12 said:
I've played on three Vitae (one at the Eurogamer Expo, one in a mall in the US and one in GAME) and none had loose sticks so it was probably just that one. I thought that they were a bit small, but I had no problems with the resistance of them - if fact, if anything I'd have gone the opposite and said that they were perhaps a little too stiff. If I could get used to the PSP analogue nub, though, then I can get used to anything.
BOYD1981 on 3 Feb '12 said:
Death on the high street for games started with Special Reserve going bust, used to love being sent their catalogue mag.
FunSponge on 4 Feb '12 said:
http://www.independent.ie/business/iris ... 98893.html
rbt2 on 4 Feb '12 said:
Lord Irongut, I love the fact that you used the word Vitae as the plural for Vita. I'd have called 'em vitasasasasess meself.
But then I'm a bit of a ficko really.
As an aside, we own a Lexus......nowt that posh but a nice car. So what is the term used to describe the gathering of more than one Lexus?
Is it Lexi?
If not, it bloody well should be.
Anyhoo, I think it's more sad that the indepents (or should that be indepenti?) are fast disappearing.
But it's all about price nowadays.
Game/Station can't possibly compete with online retailers so they'll die.
Fact of retail life I'm afraid.
flyfletch on 4 Feb '12 said:
I am from Ireland so I'm not sure if Tesco/Asda hold midnight launches in the UK but they don't over here. GAME going out of business would damn near eradicate midnight launches here especially with Gamestop going bust in the North of Ireland and HMV thinking of pulling out of the industry altogether.
What gamer doesn't enjoy midnight launches? Or even being able to talk to the register guy/girl about what they're looking forward to this year? Specialist stores going out of business would be disastrous for game retail and if you, like me, have a preference for buying in-store rather than online then you will feel the same.
As for Tesco, they bring in major releases at best and thats that. At least with GAME you have options, variety and most of all, people who know what the f**k they're talking about. Yes we are in a recession but forking out that little extra to support people who dedicate themselves to the games industry isn't so bad. I have never purchased a game in Tesco nor do I plan to.
GAME
Bloody hell, i could swear the one i pass in Belfast is still open, ill be keeping a better eye out on Monday....Thanks for the update
sjholland87 on 4 Feb '12 said:
Just to clarify... The RRP of xbox 360 games, for example, is £44.99.
So Activision and company are not, I repeat NOT, telling high street stores the prices to sell them. If the store feels like it is a major release, it will up the price to the RRP to maximise profits. This is a simple marketing and business technique.
sjholland87 on 4 Feb '12 said:
Woolworths struck a deal with their lenders 6 months before they announced that they had entered administration...
What happened after that exactly!?!