Agreed. Everytime I go in game its the same everytime. Prefer to shop online or digitally now.
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UK Retailer GAME is dead | Brera's Lament
- Thread starter CrunchinJelly
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Agreed. Everytime I go in game its the same everytime. Prefer to shop online or digitally now.
Shipped for me!
Exactly, it is a small punt, I can afford to lose a bit, but the potential for making shitloads is immense if they can get past this rocky stage.
The share price has barely budged at this news, didn't even send it back to 3p. They will make a deal as it's in no ones interest for them to be gone (apart from a value for money point cos they are a rip off!)
As an aside; it would be nigh on impossible for GAME to do this. GAME do not own the stores; they rent them and most (if not all) are on very long leases of 5+ years. This is why Woolworths and Zavvi and others like them can't just shut down stores to save money as they will be hit for breach of contract and it would cost far more than each store is losing. The only way to avoid this hit is to either become profitable again, survive the lease and then don't renew or declare bankruptcy. This is also why you can see 2 or 3 GAME/Gamestation stores within minutes of each other - it is too costly to shut them down.
EvilRedEye
Member
My FFXIII-2 Crystal Edition hasn't dispatched either. It's... it's tearing me apart inside!
most town centres have had 2 GAME stores next to each other or near by for donkeys years. The leases must be for life or something. They should have chosen their locations a bit better. I can see what they might have been thinking as you see loads of Maccies and Tesco express stores in the same area but games are not the same as food!
The gamestation near a Game thing is genuis though. You are your biggest competitor. A lot of gamers dont even know its the same company!
The gamestation near a Game thing is genuis though. You are your biggest competitor. A lot of gamers dont even know its the same company!
frankie_baby
Member
I'm pretty sure most 'gamers' know they're the same company maybe not the clueless parents buying presents for little johnny though
EvilRedEye
Member
GAME's Twitter account:
I pre-ordered the most expensive thing they're releasing on Friday but my order's one of the last to be sent out!
I pre-ordered the most expensive thing they're releasing on Friday but my order's one of the last to be sent out!
CadetMahoney
Member
Ruh Roh
Probably counting all the monies from abandoned Vita deposits already.
AzureSkies
Member
GAME and GameStation are both ran by the same company, so if GAME did fall through all of the stores would just change into Gamestation and barely anything would change.
Other than the fact that GAME would actually have a decent used section for once.
Other than the fact that GAME would actually have a decent used section for once.
GAME Australia seems to be doing well, all of GAMEs external locations are.
They plan on selling them off.
Make trade-in prices more competitive for starters. Maybe even reduce the price of games by about £5. The problem is you can get everything much cheaper online that the only reason you should go in is if you want it immediately.
And even if you want a game second hand you can just go on eBay or CEX and buy it there.
And even if you want a game second hand you can just go on eBay or CEX and buy it there.
I'm guessing every cancelled vita pre-order is a free £25 in the bank!
Game will get past this. They are mainstreaming gaming in the UK. The own the 2 biggest chains and the biggest website.
To all the haters on rllmuk, I hate Game as much as the next gamer and the only game i've ever bought new from there was Mario Galaxy and that was £5 below RRP, but if you look at it objectively, they are doing bad, but the future is looking good!
killer_clank
Member
it really isnt.
CaptainRizla
Member
Call me paranoid but I'm almost terrified that I'll lose my £300 credit which I've used some to cover deposits for Vita, mem card and game.
killer_clank
Member
but it sounds like GAME's problems are more to do with horrendous mismanagement and a bloated number of stores, rather than not selling games. not getting credit is a really bad sign, i wouldn't be shocked if they never made it to the Wii U launch, let alone the 720, which is probably late next year.
KennyLinder
Member
The problem with video game shops is that they aren't specialist stores, but they should be. I don't know what it's like outside of the UK but here the problem is that GAME (and Game Station) are just run like shops with product on the shelves you pick-up and buy. I see this as a major problem because video games are very specialist and unless you know exactly what game you want to buy, it's a hugely confusing experience.
They treat every customer like a hardcore gamer who knows what game they want, knows what day it comes out and they come in, grabs it off the shelf and heads to the till. They aren't catering for the rest of the market (which is much, MUCH bigger than the hardcore market) that generally don't know what's good and what's bad, and more importantly what's suitable for whoever is going to be playing the game.
If you were to go into GAME and say "I want a Wii game for my 7 year old daughter, it's got to be fun and colourful and easy to play and nothing nasty etc", a typical GAME employee wouldn't have a clue on how to recommend you. They would most likely pass you Mario Bros. Wii, which would be completely unsuitable as it's a hardcore game. FOR EXAMPLE.
GAME, or any other shop that sells just video games should be like a Hi Fi shop, or a car showroom, staffed by people who know what they are talking about, have knowledge about every game on the shelf and can sit down (yes, sit in a sofa in a nice area of the shop like there used to be) and demo the game to the customer and talk to them. I would put money on that most of the staff in GAME know very little about the games they are selling, and for the staff that do, it would only be basic knowledge on the big AAA games like FIFA, or Gears or Halo. "Yeah this FIFA has the 2012 roster, and they've now got 8 player co-op" or whatever. Basically they've just read the back of the box. Sure, there are gamers that work there, but they don't play everything that comes out or would even have decent knowledge on them.
I put the blame with GAME for not looking at what a video game shop should be about or training their staff properly. I remember when Future Zone (which changed to Electronics Boutique, which changed to GAME) would let you play games before you bought them to see what they were like. I don't know why they changed that as it was a great idea.
Would people abuse it? I don't think so, and people abuse anything so thats BS and can't be used as an excuse. It's the same as going into a record shop and listening to it before buying it. Shops like Fopp/Head allow this and it should be the same with video games.
That's my thoughts anyway. Gaming is too specialist for it just to be a shop that sells stuff, it needs to be more than that. Is this the reason GAME are going down the shitter? Most likely no, but I can't say I've ever had decent customer service in there when I've been, they just try to see you crap, recommend the Used version of the game and tell you how good the game is when it's only been out a day.
They treat every customer like a hardcore gamer who knows what game they want, knows what day it comes out and they come in, grabs it off the shelf and heads to the till. They aren't catering for the rest of the market (which is much, MUCH bigger than the hardcore market) that generally don't know what's good and what's bad, and more importantly what's suitable for whoever is going to be playing the game.
If you were to go into GAME and say "I want a Wii game for my 7 year old daughter, it's got to be fun and colourful and easy to play and nothing nasty etc", a typical GAME employee wouldn't have a clue on how to recommend you. They would most likely pass you Mario Bros. Wii, which would be completely unsuitable as it's a hardcore game. FOR EXAMPLE.
GAME, or any other shop that sells just video games should be like a Hi Fi shop, or a car showroom, staffed by people who know what they are talking about, have knowledge about every game on the shelf and can sit down (yes, sit in a sofa in a nice area of the shop like there used to be) and demo the game to the customer and talk to them. I would put money on that most of the staff in GAME know very little about the games they are selling, and for the staff that do, it would only be basic knowledge on the big AAA games like FIFA, or Gears or Halo. "Yeah this FIFA has the 2012 roster, and they've now got 8 player co-op" or whatever. Basically they've just read the back of the box. Sure, there are gamers that work there, but they don't play everything that comes out or would even have decent knowledge on them.
I put the blame with GAME for not looking at what a video game shop should be about or training their staff properly. I remember when Future Zone (which changed to Electronics Boutique, which changed to GAME) would let you play games before you bought them to see what they were like. I don't know why they changed that as it was a great idea.
Would people abuse it? I don't think so, and people abuse anything so thats BS and can't be used as an excuse. It's the same as going into a record shop and listening to it before buying it. Shops like Fopp/Head allow this and it should be the same with video games.
That's my thoughts anyway. Gaming is too specialist for it just to be a shop that sells stuff, it needs to be more than that. Is this the reason GAME are going down the shitter? Most likely no, but I can't say I've ever had decent customer service in there when I've been, they just try to see you crap, recommend the Used version of the game and tell you how good the game is when it's only been out a day.
xxczx
Member
There's three where I live, all small sized shops as well. They could just close all three and open a bigger one.
Yeh, there's certainly some identity crisis on what a GAME shop is and while they deliberate on it they'll put themselves extinct. At the moment it's just an HMV with games instead of DVDs (yeh, HMV sells mostly DVDs now) and a loyalty scheme.
It can't compete with supermarkets in terms of retail price, can't compete with Amazon in terms of online delivery and can't compete with Steam in terms of DD. GAME won't be able to survive without their high street driftwood magnets. The crowd that GAME tries to cater to know about better places to buy their stuff.
PumpkinPie
Banned
Why are all large stores completely oblivious to the reasons for their problems and then act all surprised when they go tits up? HMV are the same, they changed to selling fucking Ipod accessories and hipster T-shirts and then they complain about consumers buying their stuff elsewhere. I'll be glad when they close, greedy swines.
EvilRedEye
Member
Ditto, not going to pre-ordering from them again in a hurry.
My pre-order of MGS HD hasn't shipped. They've acknowledged that it exists, but no more.
I'm not so bothered about getting it late or not at all anyhow. I've waited long enough after the US launch for it, and now I have FFXIII-2 delivered yesterday from ShopTo to play while I wait.
If it takes too long I'll just switch to Amazon, Play or ShopTo.
Edit: Actually, that's a lie. I love MGS too much, and I really feel like playing some MGS2 tomrorow!
I'm not so bothered about getting it late or not at all anyhow. I've waited long enough after the US launch for it, and now I have FFXIII-2 delivered yesterday from ShopTo to play while I wait.
If it takes too long I'll just switch to Amazon, Play or ShopTo.
Edit: Actually, that's a lie. I love MGS too much, and I really feel like playing some MGS2 tomrorow!
checkeredknight
Member
May I ask... if some of you are concerned on whether or not your game has been shipped from the website, why don't you pre-order in store? At least then you know you're guaranteed it 9am launch day.
I can understand it if you live too far away, or if you work a full time job. But even then, we get quite a few customers who pop in on their lunch break to grab their copy.
I can understand it if you live too far away, or if you work a full time job. But even then, we get quite a few customers who pop in on their lunch break to grab their copy.
On the subject of FFXIII-2 are any stores breaking street date on this? I notice GAME and Gamestation's websites are both showing as "In Stock" although the release date isn't till tomorrow, could I expect to be able to pop in to one and pick it up? And/or would it be worth trying somewhere like ASDA or Tesco?
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
Because clicking a button on a website is much easier than going to a store to pre-order and then going back to pick it up.
There's NO excuse in 2012 for a website to not get you the game on the day of release. 0.
checkeredknight
Member
Then why not make the extra effort and go in and collect it?
Though, I do agree with you. Especially if you've had it on pre-order for a while. To send it ready for day of release is the least they should do. GAME have tough competition with online sales and they're not helping themselves by doing this.I don't think you'll find any GAME / Game Station stores breaking the street date. I popped into Graingers this morning to inquire about the MGS HD Collection. They have it in stock but aren't breaking the street date either.
EvilRedEye
Member
I've been keeping track of tweets to GAME's Twitter account all day. Someone posts a tweet saying their FFXIII-2 Crystal Edition pre-order has just been cancelled for no explained reason. "Oh fuck," I think. Bing-bong! I have a new email. Oh... oh no... It's shipping confirmation - my copy has been dispatched. Relief.
I'm never ordering anything from GAME ever again.
I'm never ordering anything from GAME ever again.
Sites have them in stock on their website because it's going to take at least a day for the game to arrive so it's not breaking street date.
In-store nowhere seems to be selling it early, except maybe some smaller stores, like GForce in Glasgow.
checkeredknight
Member
Game is dispatched before release. Never shop there again. Wat?
Gameplay.co.uk did a similar thing to me a while back. I had a game on pre-order with them for about two months. Then, a day before release, they tell me my order had been cancelled. I wasn't too concerned on getting it launch day, but what really bugged me was that I lost my pre-order DLC.
I still to this day have no idea why they cancelled my order.You can do this. It's called Click and Collect.
IMO it'd be nicer to order something in the shop and have it sent to you at home, though. Great for out-of-stock products.No they wouldn't. They are both owned by Game Group, and it's Game Group that is in trouble. If they go then it's bye bye to Game, Gamestation and probably Gameplay.co.uk.
radioheadrule83
Banned
This is becoming a self-fulfilling doom cycle...
let me get this straight: someone anonymous tells the internet their order has been cancelled, and complains on Twitter, whereas you get an email telling you your copy is happily on its way - on time - and you think thats a reason to never shop with them again?
GAME didn't cause you any stress, you were looking for a reason to stress online as a result of this story
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
Their twitter feed has been pure damage control since the news broke. Trying to just laugh everything off, but I guess they can't tweet "we're fucked, send help" to their customers.
MarshMellow96
Member
If you're okay ordering from
ShopTo
Right on the button. Especially when going into a store often doesn't guarantee you the same level of service as the online stores. You have a lesser chance of getting pre-order bonuses and I've often paid more when pre-ordering in store.
The last two times I pre-ordered in store I've had problems. I had to ask for the MvC3 steelbook (a promotion which was plastered all over the store) and I didn't receive Army of Two: 40th Day's
don't judge me!
FF XIII-2 shipped, by the way. Not expecting it tomorrow though.
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