dreamcastmaster
Banned
They'll be budget games.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
UK Retailer GAME is dead | Brera's Lament
- Thread starter CrunchinJelly
- Start date
- Status
They'll be budget games.
Publishers pay for shelf space so that space has to go to that game, even if there is no actual stock. If EA pay for half a bay of space but the game sells out in two hours, the staff aren't allowed to just switch that shelf space for another game
The queue is because their POS machines are archaic, and unless your game is in the little glass cabinet, they have to spend 2-3 minutes just locating it in their random draws of discs and manuals, then spend more time sticking those bloody seals on them, scanning your reward card, selling people on second hand versions instead, and pre-orders etc. etc.
McBradders
NeoGAF: my new HOME
Whoah, I just laid down the cash for the ME3 N7 edition online and they took the money. Motherfuckers better fucking deliver, it's the only place you can get it in the UK.
Coppertracks
Member
CEX are doing quite well at the moment I think, they've just expanded in a town near me. I wonder if they'd ever branch into new games?
This isn't great news. I rarely buy games on the high street but when I do I use Game. I know that in Game I can go up to the counter and ask for a new release and it will be sealed. If you buy a game in a supermarket or in HMV they give you the battered box from the shelf and pull the disk and manual from some crusty old drawer. I refuse to let someone else open my games for me. As far as I'm concerned that should be considered used.
..guess I'll forever buy online then
..guess I'll forever buy online then
I'm glad I held off preordering online. It's because the N7 Edition can only be acquired from GAME that I'm even considering giving that dump my money.
Anywho, if I do end up getting it (which I most likely will), it would only ever be in-store. That way I know for certain whether or not I'm getting it without having to risk putting money down.
I'd suggest others do the same too just to be safe.
Additionally, while I despise GAME, not seeing any game stores in town would be quite a depressing sight. They're a staple of your typical high street.
CharmingCharlie
Member
I can't say I will be sorry to see them disappear (sucks for the employees though). As a PC gamer I have found GAME to be largely irrelevant to me. This year I was going to buy my first ever game from them for the first time in living memory. That game was Mass Effect 3 the collectors edition. The only reason why I was going to buy it from GAME is because they have exclusivity and you can't get it anywhere else (nice competition).
I have since cancelled my ME 3 pre-order (for unrelated reasons) so this year I will be buying absolutely nothing from GAME. I am not going to celebrate the fact GAME is going tits up though. There are thousands of jobs at stake here and we should remember that.
I have since cancelled my ME 3 pre-order (for unrelated reasons) so this year I will be buying absolutely nothing from GAME. I am not going to celebrate the fact GAME is going tits up though. There are thousands of jobs at stake here and we should remember that.
Diablohead
Member
cex a purely a pawn shop though and they take in most electronics not just games.
twisteddeeds
Member
wow total opposite for me, every new game i buy from game instore hasn't got a seal and they put that sticker on the side.. whereas even in tesco the games are sealed.. weird
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
Zavvi now isn't the same Zavvi as the retail outlet.
That explains why Soul Calibur V and FFXIII-2 just completely vanished from the site for a few days then. Was making me worry about my online pre-orders with them. Hopefully the pre-order emails they sent today means they should ship out to be delivered on Friday.
I just got an email about it, seems like mine is getting ready to be processed, so they must have stock?
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
This comment on EG made me laugh:
I second the opinion of closing down more stores. I know of several high streets that have 2 stores within walking distance, ridiculous!
They need to better price their used games as well if they want them to sell. I saw a used copy of a game the other day for £1 cheaper than new, talk about front.
They need to better price their used games as well if they want them to sell. I saw a used copy of a game the other day for £1 cheaper than new, talk about front.
The Emperor
Member
Well they said the copies are in their warehouse and their getting ready to dispatch them. I am still worried they might miss launch day delivery
But if they are dispatched today then we should get them by Friday.
Coppertracks
Member
It's very true. It's rare that Game are the cheapest for anything and with games being so expensive people usually shop around.
show me your skeleton
Member
whilst they're not great, the uk doesn't need more people out of work right now. eesh.
That sounds a lot like Bradford's Gaming Shops.
We have a Game and HMV next to each other. But as you travel uphill (Bradford's town centre is all on a hill), you can find another GAME and CEX won't be too far. Travel more uphill and you'll find a Gamestation and an independent game shop called 'Game Trading'. And inside the shopping centre, you'll find Granger Games. And a bunch of Cash Generators and Converters.
Huh, we actually have too many game shops. I'm surprised not one of them has closed up yet.
They need to get south of Leicester-ish soon... but then rapid expansion might be really unwise for them. Although they could easily eat up the market if we do lose Game.
Heck, I wonder how they're doing, financially? Could they buy up a chunk of Game to get an identity in the south?
Willkiller
Banned
StalkerUKCG
Banned
Where abouts are you?
Something is most certainly going on, I pre-ordered SC:V CE on the 24th and i got a email on the 25th
Game said:
Iv been using the site for almost 3 years now and since the change over in august to the new site design things have been diabolical. Since October they started the trend of issuing customers with email like this one
Game said:
What they don't tell you however is that if when trying to take the money early (up to 3 weeks in this scenario) and your bank refuses the payment because of lack of funds then they will cancel your order outright and may or may not tell you via email.
Iv found myself constantly checking my bank and the Game website now to make sure i have the money a decent amount of time prior to the games release and they have not cancelled my order. Which arises another problem. Games are released in the UK to closely match pay days, to ensure the maximum amount of people can buy the game on release. If you take the money 3 weeks early you are undermining that entire strategy and that strategy is based in logic.
I dont really care if Game goes out of business , sure its going to be a loss to the market but it also means amazon/play/shopto ect are able to secure what where previously Game only limited editions and thats always a great thing.
As a previous employee of gamestation still in contact with employees and a manager of GAME iv seen how that company is run and i expected some form of downfall before now.
CaptainRizla
Member
Oh shit. I traded in my PS3 stuff for credit in anticipation of the Vita.
Going to be mightily pissed off if I'm left with a £300 piece of paper.
Going to be mightily pissed off if I'm left with a £300 piece of paper.
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
This is based on a tweet GAME made on their Twitter account, but it misses out the following:
1) They are only covering MGS:HD pre-orders. The game isn't even listed on the site any more.
2) they are not even carrying NeverDead, also out on Friday.
3) Konami has 'declined to comment'
Coppertracks
Member
North Yorkshire. It opened up in Scarborough, been there for a month or so I'd guess. Only there once a week due to work so I don't pay the greatest attention to the shops. Keep hoping one will open up in York itself.
StalkerUKCG
Banned
Ahh, Im in hartlepool and my partner works in the newly opened CEX here, turns out its fantastic for cheap blu-rays and older games but they never stock new so iv been forced to use game.co.uk, ill be changing to amazon/play shortly.
Iv only used Gamestop.co.uk once but i had a good experience
That's the worst part of this but this isn't great for us consumers either. Game/GS/Gameplay are often the company to lower game prices online like they did last Christmas. On the other hand Amazon is great but they rarely drop prices unless Game or Play does it first.
People may think they don't need Game because they never use them, but the reality is without them prices will increase/games will not price drop as quick on the places they buy stuff and then they will miss Game...
For me, Amazon UK is shite. Can't seem to get a game on the release day from them. I'm in London though. ShopTo are way better. Even though they're banned on GAF.
Same here.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
I work at a Gamestation, and I can tell you that most people are now savvy enough to know they can get stuff cheaper in supermarkets/online. We have hardly any pre-orders for the Vita, and that's in no small part due to the fact that you can already find places to pre-order it online for £30 less.
If Game/Gamestation can stay alive until the next generation of consoles hit, they'll be fine, but that's not so certain. Shares are worth less than they've ever been, and they're attempting to combat decreased sales by hammering in the "Gamestop" mentality of shoving as much crap down every customer's throat as possible (ie. asking if customers want to pre-order something, asking if they want to buy anything else, pimping out accessories, signing everybody up for a loyalty card, etc). However, this is only driving customers away, as people are not only tired of being given the Spanish inquisition every time they buy something, but all those mandatory questions mean that people are standing in line a lot longer than necessary.
On that note... I wonder how much debt they're in *with their own customers*? Admittedly, it's not a normal debt given that they're obliged to pay it out immediately on request... but is it actually an asset that could be reclaimed if the company goes bust?
Bizarre as it sounds: Much as can happen with banks, could we see a small *run* on a *games store*?
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-01-game-in-trouble-as-doubt-cast-on-ability-to-stock-new-games
UPDATE 3:
GAME removed Metal Gear Solid HD Collection from its website "as we reached out [sic] pre-order allocation," the shop said. "Your order is safe and should be shipped today."
UPDATE 2:
Eurogamer has this morning talked with GAME about its current credit insurance and stock difficulties.
A GAME spokesperson guaranteed the launch of Sony portable console Vita in its shops.
"The games coming out this weekend, Final Fantasy, SoulCalibur 5 and Metal Gear Solid, are moving through our system as we speak," we were told. "They're all booked in for launch on Friday in our stores and that's exactly what we'll be doing.
"In terms of things further out like Vita, as you'd expect we're working closely with our industry partners and have got big plans for those launches."
On Vita specifically: "There are pre-order campaigns in store. We're very excited about it. Yes [we can guarantee Vita will launch in GAME]. We have big launch plans for Vita."
On the loss of credit insurance with agencies, GAME said: "You work with each supplier to come up with an answer and that's what we're doing."
GAME is investigating the removal of Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection from its website and reports that pre-orders for Mass Effect 3 are being turned away.
Konami, which publishes Metal Gear and NeverDead, declined to comment when contacted by Eurogamer.
UPDATE 1:
Eurogamer readers have reported that GAME is not selling Metal Gear Solid HD on its website, and that the shop has been turning away Mass Effect 3 pre-orders.
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is currently not listed on GAME's website.
UPDATE 3:
GAME removed Metal Gear Solid HD Collection from its website "as we reached out [sic] pre-order allocation," the shop said. "Your order is safe and should be shipped today."
UPDATE 2:
Eurogamer has this morning talked with GAME about its current credit insurance and stock difficulties.
A GAME spokesperson guaranteed the launch of Sony portable console Vita in its shops.
"The games coming out this weekend, Final Fantasy, SoulCalibur 5 and Metal Gear Solid, are moving through our system as we speak," we were told. "They're all booked in for launch on Friday in our stores and that's exactly what we'll be doing.
"In terms of things further out like Vita, as you'd expect we're working closely with our industry partners and have got big plans for those launches."
On Vita specifically: "There are pre-order campaigns in store. We're very excited about it. Yes [we can guarantee Vita will launch in GAME]. We have big launch plans for Vita."
On the loss of credit insurance with agencies, GAME said: "You work with each supplier to come up with an answer and that's what we're doing."
GAME is investigating the removal of Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection from its website and reports that pre-orders for Mass Effect 3 are being turned away.
Konami, which publishes Metal Gear and NeverDead, declined to comment when contacted by Eurogamer.
UPDATE 1:
Eurogamer readers have reported that GAME is not selling Metal Gear Solid HD on its website, and that the shop has been turning away Mass Effect 3 pre-orders.
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is currently not listed on GAME's website.
TheLegendOfMart
Banned
Does no one use their brain anymore. Game cant afford to compete with supermarket price wars and online price wars, they have lots of shopfronts with thousands of staff, they have more overheads than Amazon and Supermarkets.Game shot themselves in the foot a long time back. They overprice and just generally aren't an attractive option when it comes to actually buying games. If they priced more competitively I would use them, as it stands Amazon sells everything they sell, but cheaper.
I will miss them, but only because I think less competition in the marketplace will lead to higher prices elsewhere.
Its not like they want to price themselves out of the market just to annoy you specifically.
Diablohead
Member
hang on isn't GAME the only place to pre-order the Mass Effect 3 CE? :/
I'd imagine that game will close their stores soon and then go online only and try to recover, it's what zavvi did and in a way hmv was close to doing that too.
I'd imagine that game will close their stores soon and then go online only and try to recover, it's what zavvi did and in a way hmv was close to doing that too.
CaptainRizla
Member
After a bit of badgering I've managed to get a statement to say that instore pre-orders and credits are safe. How much water that holds, I don't know.
ChimpanzeeThat
Member
I wonder if this will in turn effect Gamestation too.
I have no love for GAME whatsoever but like most here i would be disappointed to see people potentially lose their jobs.
It figures this would happen the week i decide to go to my local store on Friday to pick up Soulcalibur V and the MGS HD collection.
I have no love for GAME whatsoever but like most here i would be disappointed to see people potentially lose their jobs.
It figures this would happen the week i decide to go to my local store on Friday to pick up Soulcalibur V and the MGS HD collection.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
I can confirm that we aren't accepting Mass Effect 3 pre-orders at Gamestation. Entering the pre-order code results in a "DO NOT USE" message appearing on the till monitor.
I find them reliable, but very anxious to not be seen to break street date; they will only send a preorder out as late as possible.
StalkerUKCG
Banned
I doubt any, in store pre-orders can be cancelled at the drop of a hat even if you have money towards the product, Credit will be safe until the stores close and then its going to be lost forever .
Would it not be better to take a risk and price competitively and go for volume, rather than have no one buy new because Amazon / Supermarkets are earlier and cheaper, and no one buy used because of eBay and CEX?
Hell, Im of the belief that publishers should be going for volume at a cheaper price - or at least variable pricing based on budget.
Everyone is being so risk averse when it really is time to make the plunge. We see it with films, books and music also. Time to adapt, or go out of business.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
Anything that affects GAME will affect Gamestation. The two chains are becoming more and more intertwined in how they're run.
Coppertracks
Member
Just remembered I have £6 saved on my reward card, guess I better spend it sometime soon.
- Status