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[JosephManderley]

I'm hopeful that something positive will rise from the ashes of Game. When a big tree falls in the forest it makes room for smaller plants to grow.

Maybe we will get some proper niche game shops that sell a decent range of products.

I view the death of Game as potentially a positive thing in the long run.

 

[show me your skeleton]

#RIPGAME May they rest in pieces, then come back to life as a Draugr so I can slay them.

this tweet made me giggle.

 

[ace3skoot]

Same here. Fuck Game. I made some good friends there but fuck the upper management and the fucking idiots at head office

yeah truly the worst employer I ever had, the stupid thing is they have such a brilliant , vibrant and enthusiastic work force who care about games and customers but somehow the managment is appauling its like they have no idea who there demographic is (i'm not talking just the hardcore gamer here)

As a worker its like a crime to have a free independent thought that isn't toeing the companies proceedure...actually burn in hellfire grrrr now i just made myself angry lol

 

[mclem]

Out of interest...

I've always thought Game had approximately the same MO as Gamestop over in the US - heavy focus on preowned, actively seeking retailer-exclusive offers, pricey but a good range of product...

How come GameStop's thriving while Game... isn't? Just through massive overexpansion with the Gamestation purchase?

 

[Sephiroth503]

Out of interest...

I've always thought Game had approximately the same MO as Gamestop over in the US - heavy focus on preowned, actively seeking retailer-exclusive offers, pricey but a good range of product...

How come GameStop's thriving while Game... isn't? Just through massive overexpansion with the Gamestation purchase?

I wouldn't say Gamestop is thriving, they're pulling out of parts of Europe too. Northern Ireland and Portugal were the first ones to be announced I believe.

 

[mclem]

Are GAME familiar with the dreamcast?

You don't so business in this industry without the support of the industry's most powerful publisher.

I agree, this doesn't bode well.

I'm confused by the article's wording though. Is this just for March?

English needs brackets. I'm pretty sure the "in March" is only intended to be read relative to the SSX (so stating when SSX is released), not that the lack of product is only in March.

It certainly makes more sense for it to be an end rather than a break, because if you were going to make it a break barring one game, *surely* you'd have the break after ME3?

 

[herod]

I think online competition is more prevalent in the UK as well.

 

[madmackem]

Time to use that game credit i have left then.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

So, can they simply not afford to stock as many copies as EA would like, or can they not pay for the shipments as soon as EA would like?

 

[Pie and Beans]

Out of interest...

I've always thought Game had approximately the same MO as Gamestop over in the US - heavy focus on preowned, actively seeking retailer-exclusive offers, pricey but a good range of product...

How come GameStop's thriving while Game... isn't? Just through massive overexpansion with the Gamestation purchase?

Over here in the UK, theres a store called CEX which is literally JUST pre-owned stuff. Everywhere. Pre-owned consoles, huge store spaces filled with games. Gamestation used to be the de facto game trading place before Game bought them and "brought them in line", removing the retro novelty and character of the stores by seeing Mega Drives and Snes systems + games in shop windows. CEX just kinda exploded from there, and now GAME is stuck being a jack of all trades with retail new and pre-owned in store, but master of none.

 

[ace3skoot]

So, can they simply not afford to stock as many copies as EA would like, or can they not pay for the shipments as soon as EA would like?

there going under, and aren't restocking basically

 

[mclem]

Do they usually ship a day or two early? Never ordered from ShopTo before

Everything I've preordered from them I've recieved on the day before release.

 

[mclem]

BTW isn't it time that Shopto is removed from the banned sites list?

www.***********

And add "Game"! I'm sure that won't cause *any* problems!

 

[Cheesecakebobby]

CEX started opening stores in the states a few years ago. Not sure how many.

When I have visited the US, I have noticed that generally the vast majority of games are priced the same everywhere at launch. You can shop around, but if you want that big new release the day it is in stores, you are going to pay $59.99 + tax or close to that, regardless of where you end up (including online). Over here in the UK, there is much more of a discrepency. A title might cost £44.99 on release day at GAME, cost £36 on most of the websites, and if you're lucky and it is a really big release, supermarkets might start their own price war going lower still. I remember picking up Gears of War 2 for £27 on release day at a supermarket. I don't think you see that so much in the states, and this could be a contributing factor.

 

[mclem]

Over here in the UK, theres a store called CEX which is literally JUST pre-owned stuff. Everywhere. Pre-owned consoles, huge store spaces filled with games. Gamestation used to be the de facto game trading place before Game bought them and "brought them in line", removing the retro novelty and character of the stores by seeing Mega Drives and Snes systems + games in shop windows. CEX just kinda exploded from there, and now GAME is stuck being a jack of all trades with retail new and pre-owned in store, but master of none.

Cex has never struck me as a countrywide presence, really. Heck, I only really associate the place with Tottenham Court Road, although I know they're now a chain these days.

I do hope that Grainger Games starts to seriously consider heading southwards a bit further. They do sound rather good, but limited to places north of Brum.

 

[Facism]

PC version is £10 less!

wow! what a bargain! £55! Amazing price! All games should be this cheap!

<3

 

[Zafir]

Meh, I already cancelled my preorder before I saw that you could get a £5 voucher from GAME. Mind you, it isn't like there's an whole lot to use the voucher on...

 

[LiK]

GAME over man, game over!

 

[CorrisD]

Good job Game, considering you are suppose to be the big gaming retailing, you've managed to destroy yourself from the inside out.

So how do we go about getting this £5 voucher and where do we pre-order for that armor/weapons pack now?

 

[masterkajo]

I like how when I look at my game.co.uk ME3 CE order it says "Unshipped" but when I click on it it says cancled... no email from them about the status of my order yet. So if I wasn't on the internet right now, I would have no idea my order will not be fulfilled.

 

[dc89]

GAME are seriously done for.

Add this to the fact that Mario Party 9 is being pulled from them, no Ubi Vita games, Last Story orders cancelled.

I genuinely feel sorry for the staff on the sharp end. They will have angry customers to deal with now and I'm pretty sure they don't agree with all policies being made by the heads of the company.

But what really does suck is the fact they won't hand over the £5 cash deposit people paid for their pre-orders, instead it's given back in store credit. I seriously would like to know what trading standards would say about this. Technically speaking under the Sales of Goods Act when a retailer can't uphold their part of a contract (i.e - can't supply it to you, or something breaks and they can't have it fixxed) they have to put you back in the posistion you were before you made the contract.

If it was a failed console, well it either needs repairing, replacing or refunding. But they can't do two out of those three. A refund is the only option. I don't know how they are getting away with it, unless there is a loop hole.

 

[PrematureQuiche]

I have a preorder of FIFA Street there :/ I'm guessing they are not getting that in either now I have £100 in gift vouchers there I am going to have to spend very quickly it seems.

 

[StuBurns]

As rocky as the Vita launch has been, Sony are so lucky all this shit didn't hit a month or two earlier.

 

[shinobi602]

You had a good run GAME.

 

[mclem]

As rocky as the Vita launch has been, Sony are so lucky all this shit didn't hit a month or two earlier.

Well, you never know, I'm sure some people would start waving around "The launch was *so* bad it took down the UK's largest games retailer!".

 

[dc89]

LOL! Got a email from Zaavi:

Buy any EA game including Mass Effect 3 Collectors Edition and receive:

Double Reward Points
Exclusive content on selected products
Recommend a friend & earn double points
Automatic entry into competitions
Breaking news.

They are really rubbing it in. Stay classy Zaavi.

 

[slaughterking]

Well, I hope this wont affect UK's bomba pricing in any way. Such a wonderful thing mustn't go away.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

I love how instead of trying to secure one of the biggest new releases of the year, they have decided to hand out £220 cash for pre-owned Vita's to anyone who walks through the door.

Just shows you where managements priorities are.

 

[TheDrowningMan]

GAME are seriously done for.

Add this to the fact that Mario Party 9 is being pulled from them, no Ubi Vita games, Last Story orders cancelled.

I genuinely feel sorry for the staff on the sharp end. They will have angry customers to deal with now and I'm pretty sure they don't agree with all policies being made by the heads of the company.

But what really does suck is the fact they won't hand over the £5 cash deposit people paid for their pre-orders, instead it's given back in store credit. I seriously would like to know what trading standards would say about this. Technically speaking under the Sales of Goods Act when a retailer can't uphold their part of a contract (i.e - can't supply it to you, or something breaks and they can't have it fixxed) they have to put you back in the posistion you were before you made the contract.

If it was a failed console, well it either needs repairing, replacing or refunding. But they can't do two out of those three. A refund is the only option. I don't know how they are getting away with it, unless there is a loop hole.

Again, that's Eurogamer being tabloid. It's a refund AND £5 'apology' credit.

 

[StuBurns]

Well, I hope this wont affect UK's bomba pricing in any way. Such a wonderful thing mustn't go away.

Not at all, that's the supermarkets butting heads, our bargains are safe.

 

[Neko Mimi Mode]

This is why we can't have nice things.

All over for GAME confirmed, just a shame they had to drag the previously awesome Gamestation down with them.

 

[LiK]

LOL! Got a email from Zaavi:

Buy any EA game including Mass Effect 3 Collectors Edition and receive:

Double Reward Points
Exclusive content on selected products
Recommend a friend & earn double points
Automatic entry into competitions
Breaking news.

They are really rubbing it in. Stay classy Zaavi.

zavvi rules

 

[slaughterking]

Not at all, that's the supermarkets butting heads, our bargains are safe.

That's good to hear. I have no idea what makes these prices possible over there, but I certainly don't want to go back to regular old price drops.

 

[123rl]

Want to know a fun inside secret about Game's priorities? We were told to chase cash payouts for stock because it made our performance figures look better. When I was there, stores were judged on KPIs and most of them were a % of something against total revenue for the day (ie preowned percentage vs total, accessory % vs revenue). So a store that took £1000 and sold £150 of accessories did ok. That's a 15% attach A store that took £1000 but had a £400 cash payout (ie £600 revenue) and sold £150 accessories did much, much, better (25% attach). The price things were bought and sold for had no relevance to management at all.

As I've said several times, they are fucking stupid.

 

[SnowHawk]

you don't get it. it's not possible to stock every game. =P

 

[Carbonox]

LOL! Got a email from Zaavi:

Buy any EA game including Mass Effect 3 Collectors Edition and receive:

Double Reward Points
Exclusive content on selected products
Recommend a friend & earn double points
Automatic entry into competitions
Breaking news.

They are really rubbing it in. Stay classy Zaavi.

Does it count if I ordered the CE before I saw that email? :lol

 

[Kyoufu]

I've heard Zavvi horror stories. Are they good/bad?

 

[IdreamofHIME]

I think if GAME goes under, it will be bad for the UK industry. While a lot of us, myself included, refuse to shop there, many-a-parent will feel intimidated if there's no high street presence for them to buy games for their kids.

Whether we like it or not, GAME filled that role, and unless someone is going to step up to the plate and become "the specialist" on games, there are going to be a lot of confused buyers at and around the gift giving season.

However, I don't buy for a second that this will hurt the niche game industry. GAME had already stabbed the "middle class" gamer and said games' publishers in the back, and with a GAME-shaped hole in the UK industry, hopefully some of those games will get in front of more customers.

As someone who doesn't really play AAA blockbusters, but goes for some of the less marketed games, this won't affect me at all. But if they go under there will be serious ramifications.

I don't buy that. I can't think of any parent that would rather buy a game from GAME than HMV, Tesco or ASDA.
Sure the indie stores will not see casual traffic, but the other big retailers will still get sales...probably give the supermarkets even more price-setting power than they already have.

 

[mxgt]

zavvi rules

They really don't. Never got a game on release date from them.

 

[A.KU.MU]

 

[Jocchan]

I've heard Zavvi horror stories. Are they good/bad?

From my experience, they are usually good, but when things go bad they go horrifically bad.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

When even EA won't put their stuff on your shelves, you're pretty much fucked beyond redemption

 

[PaulLFC]

Want to know a fun inside secret about Game's priorities? We were told to chase cash payouts for stock because it made our performance figures look better. When I was there, stores were judged on KPIs and most of them were a % of something against total revenue for the day (ie preowned percentage vs total, accessory % vs revenue). So a store that took £1000 and sold £150 of accessories did ok. That's a 15% attach A store that took £1000 but had a £400 cash payout (ie £600 revenue) and sold £150 accessories did much, much, better (25% attach). The price things were bought and sold for had no relevance to management at all.

As I've said several times, they are fucking stupid.

After the interview I read on Eurogamer last week, I have to agree with the last sentence. Quotes such as "we can't stock every game!!" (yes, because Rayman and Lumines on Vita are so obscure) and "We don't compete on price. That's not what we're about." (well, maybe that's one of the reasons you're in so much trouble now), just confirmed to me that management don't seem to have a clue what their customer base wants.

 

[LiK]

They really don't. Never got a game on release date from them.

I heard EU peeps have a bad time with them but my orders have always been good and timely. US here.

 

[j0hnny_385]

Oh come on, who didn't see this coming?

On Feb 1st, John Riccitiello said EA was concerned about health of a "major European retailer". Then and there I knew it was GAME.
Honestly, I'm not surprised and frankly, I don't give a crap but I am sorry for all those people working there because it's gonna be brutal the next couple of months.
Who knows, maybe we'll get a smaller, leaner and BETTER retailer as a result... *fingers crossed*

 

[Kyoufu]

Grainger Games need to set up shop here in Watford.

 

[Spookie]

Who knows, maybe we'll get a smaller, leaner and BETTER retailer as a result... *fingers crossed*

Don't think we'll see that happening unless they replaced the top tier management.

 

[Lunchbox]

they do know EA has fifa right?

in the UK as a game retailer without fifa and every other major sports franchise


good luck bros

 

[PaulLFC]

Grainger Games need to set up shop here in Watford.

I think if Game go, they'll expand. Less competition obviously, and a much better chance of gaining more business, they'd be wise to open more shops. The one by me is great - best prices on trade ins because of their preowned price guarantee, and the cheapest store retail price for games because of their "cheapest in town" guarantee. Win win situation for customers.

 

[Kyoufu]

I think if Game go, they'll expand. Less competition obviously, and a much better chance of gaining more business, they'd be wise to open more shops. The one by me is great - best prices on trade ins because of their preowned price guarantee, and the cheapest store retail price for games because of their "cheapest in town" guarantee. Win win situation for customers.

Are you in Liverpool? My mate there loves GG lol.