These days, Gamestation is Game with different-coloured shelving.
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UK Retailer GAME is dead | Brera's Lament
- Thread starter CrunchinJelly
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These days, Gamestation is Game with different-coloured shelving.
MmmSkyscraper
Unconfirmed Member
I'm Commander Shephard and this is my least favourite store on the high street!
Shotgun Kiss
Member
Yup. Gamestation used to be a great place to work (and shop), until GAME bought them out.
MmmSkyscraper
Unconfirmed Member
It'd be like pissing into a thimble.
Coppertracks
Member
I remember shopping in the original Gamestation years ago in York. It was pokey but stacked full of games for all platforms, always crowded and was just generally awesome. The replacement store that opened down the street from it hasn't got a patch on it.
Diablohead
Member
Gamestation was awesome until 2004 or so, I loved looking for golden oldies for the saturn and megadrive ( bought psIV for £14 from them) and they actually sold DC games !
Happened more or less the same in Spain. We had the national "Centro Mail" chain where every shop had an owner who could make direct decisions on mostly everything but decoration and corporate image (as expected).
Then GAME bought the chain rights to turn them into GAME and started to buy stores one by one (as they were owned by different people each). However, even if both Centro Mail and GAME were part of the same chain with the same IT systems and resources all that, there were a fuck ton of owners that didn't want to sell to GAME due to several reasons being the main one losing control over their shops and turning into mere shop managers on contract so as a means of pressure GAME started opening their own shops really near (sometimes at less than a 5 minutes walk or even in the very same mall) to those Centro Mail with a basic premise: "we're going to be stocked much better for all the interesting stuff and releases so you'll have to address people to our shop and eventually people will stop going to yours and you'll go out of business and bankrupt". This ended up with most Centro Mail selling themselves to GAME or going freelance by 2008 more or less creating stupid instances where you could find two GAME shops in the same mall. I don't know if they did the same in other countries but if they did, I'm sure this is part of most of their financial disaster for being overdimensioned.
tea_and_crumpets
Member
Only buying games online for under £25 has a consequences....
God bless you 'Cheap Arse Gaffer Euro edition'
God bless you 'Cheap Arse Gaffer Euro edition'
I have much much more than that and the one thing I want to get isn't sold online. Has anyone seen prepaid 3DS cards in any GAME stores?
Psychotext
Member
I'll barely be able to contain my tears when Game goes out of business.
wackojackosnose
Member
Yeah they're there - £15 and £25 versions. They're in the 3DS section. I'll be in GAME tomorrow to spend the last of my £11 gift vouchers (from abusing the 2009 DSi trade-in promo!) on those eshop money cards.
The damage control is hilarious. Must be some truth to what was said because they're not directly denying it.
I have frequently visited GAF threads where people are told to 'vote with their wallets'. Well, it seems that the consumer has voted not to be shafted by retailers that overprice their games and publishers that allow it.
Maybe it will teach large videogame retailers to not buy up as many stores as they can (to the point where there are two+ within walking distance, plus gamestations to boot), to then be too selective over stock, push stuff the consumer is not interested in and, most importantly, overcharge.
If a shit load of people have to lose their jobs, then that is purely the fault of the company, not the consumer.
If online retailers can sell a game for 25 and still get a profit that means somebody is earning more than they should for selling at 40. Get with the times and do better deals. You don't even have to compete against online retailers FFS: for example in Spain you find most MSRP 50€ games (Wii for example, which is the example I know best) at 38-45€ at Media Markt, pop&mom electronic shops or even supermarkets but in GAME and Gamestop they're always full MSRP. If they can't (or aren't willing to) even match the price from the bookstore which is just across the halway of the mall and that has a much smaller stock (this means, they buy in smaller bulk), they have a problem.
The Emperor
Member
It's almost 5PM and my FFXIII-2 pre-order is still "unshipped"
I dunno but I'm on the verge of cancelling it, I just want the game on the day, pre-order bonuses don't matter
I dunno but I'm on the verge of cancelling it, I just want the game on the day, pre-order bonuses don't matter
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
See my post here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=34743709&postcount=202
Warehouse is likely looking very empty these days.
Plus they've recently changed their pre-order deposits to non-refundable. Probably so they have some cash to pay for the stock with!
Psychotext
Member
That's the really crazy thing. In my city I can get to 5 game / gamestations within a 5 minute walk. Who the hell thought that was a good idea?
Well when I get back from my holiday I'll pop into my nearest GAME branch.
StealthGoblin
Banned
How have they managed to fuck up? They make a killing on used game sales and their new titles are priced highly and they sell a fuck ton of those too.
bitoriginal
Member
Well, after reading through this thread, it's not looking too great. I can understand why people dislike Game, but they're pretty much the biggest retailer of games in the UK and if they go under, it means that brick and mortar stores devoted to selling games and trading are going to be few and far between. If they don't get through this, every high street in the UK is going to look just a bit more dilapidated than it already does. Or have a brand new Poundland.
Why would that happen?
iNvid02
Member
they have too many stores and some are right next to each other
their £40 prices against online retailers and supermarkets aren't helping either
poor management would be my guess as well
Zeouterlimits
Member
The Wii market collapsing hasn't helped.
Game, at it's 2008 high was trading on successes at all fronts. Less so now.
How do you get the site to show only what's in stock? I've got it showing me everything that's out of stock as well which gives me 823 Xbox titles.
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
There's a 'hide out of stock' check box in the centre of the screen.
Problem with Amazon is they don't cover my area (F'n London...) for release date deliveries, whereas GAME and ShopTo have the game sent out days beforehand which reaches me in time for release (or in ShopTo's case, days before release).
I don't even know why GAME are so expensive compared to other websites. Why do they charge more than the competition when they're bleeding money due to low sales? I don't really understand.
Hardly - not when you have HMV, ASDA, Amazon, possibly Tesco.
This is the chicken and egg scenario. Media outlets report it without thinking of the direct costs. Stock price goes down. Panicked consumers refuse to buy. Employees are let go to reduce costs. Store closes.
At a guess I'd say it's being used to help subsidise the red ink from the stores. I expect they believe they have some brand trust/power that makes people prefer to shop there.
Those reward cards can't be helping prices either.
But overall I bet they signed on for too many lease extensions when they were riding high in 2008. All that excess duplicated floorspace must be a millstone around their necks now.
Nocturnowl
Member
I hear tales that cooking mama is one hell of a pancake day seller.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
Gamestation no longer accepts PS2 systems or games as trade-ins.
I remember when there were shelves lined with Mega Drive, SNES, N64, and Dreamcast games. How things have changed...
I remember when there were shelves lined with Mega Drive, SNES, N64, and Dreamcast games. How things have changed...
Yeah, I noticed that earlier. Was checking out a brick and mortar retail today, and the chump salesman said if I put a £10 deposit down, I can use it on something else in-store if I don't want a Vita.
I was very tempted to give them my pre-order just because I'm nice like that, and it sucks that he's probably close to losing his job (and that every commission counts), but then he told me a bit of a fib and said Vita runs all Android apps, so I said I'd "pop in tomorrow" and pre-order. Haha, fat chance of that. Tesco is getting my cash now.
When you go somewhere like GAME as opposed to Tesco or Amazon, you really want expertise and/or advice, and not to be lied to. That, in my view, is GAME's big failing (because nobody buying boxed games these days really trusts them, and they offer nothing Amazon does not, except a bigger hole in your wallet).
No wonder they're in trouble.
While I had no love from the bricks and motar stores, the online service used to be quite good. These days its utterly terrible, and I've had so many issues with them trying to cancel or alter pre-orders far in advance.
Switched to amazon only a while ago and never looked back. I still have the N7 pre-order with GAME, but now I'm worried that it will not even be fulfilled....
Switched to amazon only a while ago and never looked back. I still have the N7 pre-order with GAME, but now I'm worried that it will not even be fulfilled....
Ummm, wtf. I just put down a 'non-refundable' Vita deposit with them. If I don't get my Vita from them it damn well better be refundable
Why do people do this?
edgefusion
Member
Maybe if they stopped selling new games for £45+ when Tesco sell them for £30+ they wouldn't be in the shitter. So long GAME, can't say I'll miss your absurdly high prices and overly keen salespeople.
GAME are actually forcing people to pre-order the Vita. You won't get one from them if you don't put the deposit down.
Fare Godmace
Member
Wow.
I live in Málaga, and there used to be a Centro Mail here. After the GAME buyout I still like to go there from time to time, because they tend to make heavier discounts than the rest of GAMEs around here.
Also, it was the only store we had dedicated to gaming (I bet there were also some indie retailers, but I was a child back then so I'm not sure if they existed). Right now, there's a GAME on every mall, it's unbelievable.
That being said... Call me an idiot if you want to, but I buy 90% of my physical games on GAME. The closest one is just 5 minutes away, and until now I didn't have a credit card (I'm finally getting one next week, I'm on my twenties but I'm lazy as fuck) so I don't buy games from UK. I'll be sad to see GAME go, I found some jewels dirt cheap and even got a couple of free games thanks to store credit.
A deposit is one thing, but paying in full is kindof crazy, no?
I don't see where the poster you quoted said he'd paid in full. He just claims he put down a non-refundable deposit.
As for paying in full beforehand, however, yeah, I wonder why people do that. :/
checkeredknight
Member
Bah. I work in a Game Station store. Hours aren't great as it is. Should I be worried?
I thought it seemed strange we had to stop taking pre-orders for the CE of Mass Effect 3 so early. We're having to turn people away now who want to make pre-orders for it, which really sucks.
Our store still takes PS2, but not Xbox and Game Cube. They just don't sell and when they do, it's only for £2 - £3 each. Due to the low selling price, trade-ins for these games vary between 20p and 50p, which is terrible. I don't blame them for not stocking these "retro" games any longer, it's out with the clutter. It is worth keeping PS2 though, but not the old out-of-date sport titles nobody wants anymore IMO.
Deposit is non-refundable, but if you change your mind you can exchange it for credit. Just seems like the company wanting to keep the money within the company, really. If you want one, you're best to pre-order it anyway. The more pre-orders our shop gets, the more stock we have in. Yet, no-one bothers to pre-order and we get a tonne of customers coming in on launch day surprised we have no stock. I don't agree on having deposits on EVERY pre-order though (like with Grainger Games.)
I thought it seemed strange we had to stop taking pre-orders for the CE of Mass Effect 3 so early. We're having to turn people away now who want to make pre-orders for it, which really sucks.
Our store still takes PS2, but not Xbox and Game Cube. They just don't sell and when they do, it's only for £2 - £3 each. Due to the low selling price, trade-ins for these games vary between 20p and 50p, which is terrible. I don't blame them for not stocking these "retro" games any longer, it's out with the clutter. It is worth keeping PS2 though, but not the old out-of-date sport titles nobody wants anymore IMO.
Deposit is non-refundable, but if you change your mind you can exchange it for credit. Just seems like the company wanting to keep the money within the company, really. If you want one, you're best to pre-order it anyway. The more pre-orders our shop gets, the more stock we have in. Yet, no-one bothers to pre-order and we get a tonne of customers coming in on launch day surprised we have no stock. I don't agree on having deposits on EVERY pre-order though (like with Grainger Games.)
bitoriginal
Member
Interesting you say that because many retro games are all but cheap online, especially snes and megadrive games. I feel like they're missing a trick with retro games tbh, and theres a massive market for it but they tend not to go to brick and mortar for these things anymore cause they're impossible to find. The gamestation close to me shifted a load of og xbox games for 50p each a couple of weeks ago, and I managed to pick up Battlefront 2 for that price. I can sell it for upwards of £25 online.
MarshMellow96
Member
It's almost 5PM and my FFXIII-2 pre-order is still "unshipped"
I dunno but I'm on the verge of cancelling it, I just want the game on the day, pre-order bonuses don't matter
Likewise. I got an email saying thank you for your pre-order at 2:30pm today. I get the feeling this is going to be a quiet Friday!
Hot Coldman
Banned
They should be pushing the Gamespot-founded 'we have exclusive shit' policy way fucking harder if they want to survive. Good luck with that in the face of publishers losing trust in their ability to pay them back, though. Ugh.
Amazon probably ran away with the sales last Christmas.
Amazon probably ran away with the sales last Christmas.
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