News GAME Group enters its final day

[brumgrunt]

Investment led by RBS may save GAME Group, but time is running out.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/...up-final-day/1

[Musicboffin]

We all know how good RBS are with investments...

[FelixTech]

So when do we make a dash for the closing down sales?

[NuTech]

As shitty as GAME was, still disappointing to see another major source of major employment shutting down.

[Woollster00]

Just hurry up and close already and no doubt closing down sales will still be more expensive thna the internet this is game we are talking about...

[chris66]

Wow! Some posts on here are incredible. 6000 jobs at risk in an already failing economy - yet to some, the odd cheap game bargain is of paramount importance. I can now see why the UK is and will continue to be totally borked. Can't see past our own noses..

[modfx]

:<

[p3n]

Originally Posted by chris66

Wow! Some posts on here are incredible. 6000 jobs at risk in an already failing economy - yet to some, the odd cheap game bargain is of paramount importance. I can now see why the UK is and will continue to be totally borked. Can't see past our own noses..

Its a shame, I certainly wouldn't want to be unemployed in this climate but a shop assistant is a shop assistant, game never kept to any standard of knowledge to their employees and so they failed to make the experience worth anything over amazon etc. As for the management etc they clearly failed each other.

[lysaer]

Originally Posted by chris66

Wow! Some posts on here are incredible. 6000 jobs at risk in an already failing economy - yet to some, the odd cheap game bargain is of paramount importance. I can now see why the UK is and will continue to be totally borked. Can't see past our own noses..

Of course it is not fair to see people put out of work, but blame the management at the top of the GAME group for lining their pockets and ripping off the public.

It's pretty obvious the only business model they followed was what makes them cash, once they've milked it, just shut the company down and walk away.

Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using Tapatalk

[Kamikaze-X]

Originally Posted by chris66

Wow! Some posts on here are incredible. 6000 jobs at risk in an already failing economy - yet to some, the odd cheap game bargain is of paramount importance. I can now see why the UK is and will continue to be totally borked. Can't see past our own noses..

That is an extremely short sighted statement. So we should all shop at the most expensive, often badly lit, smelly, hot stores just so that they can keep trading exactly how they want, to save 6000 low paid, unskilled jobs? I hope you had the same level of outrage when nurses, firemen, police and the armed forces were made redundant on numerous occasions.

Many of the reasons that our economy, and Game themselves, are in such a bad state is that they got comfortable doing the same crap that they did back in the 1990s. It is of course always sad when people lose jobs, being on the receiving end of it a couple of times myself, but in this instance, I can feel no sympathy for the company.

[Revil0]

http://www.game.co.uk/wcsstore/holdi...?storeId=10151
Game over

[RealWeaponX]

I've been shopping at GAME for around two decades - more or less since they opened. Back then I was barely into double digits, and the high street was the only place to get software. It seemed like a magical place for a kid into gaming, with rows and rows of nothing but PC games, and a couple of units at the back for consoles.

Towards the late nineties their PC selection started getting poorer, and this whole interweb doohickey was really taking off. By the time I could afford my own broadband connection in 2001, I rarely bought anything in store anymore, since it was much cheaper online. Added to that, I was older and much more aware of how little their staff actually knew about games, consoles, PCs, or the industry in general.

By the time the 360 came out, the PC selection in local GAME stores was relegated to one sad little shelving unit at the back of the store, and most of those were occupied by WoW boxes. Not only that, but selection of titles for all formats was becoming poorer, with very little new stock brought in. More and more frequently you would be asked if you had pre-ordered when enquiring about a new release, with no guarantees that they would be getting in more than those ordered.

With the selection so poor, and no added value from staff knowledge, there was less and less reason to visit the retailer except to rummage in the bargain bin, but even then you'd rarely find anything cheaper than the deals online. Their profiteering led to them stocking mainly pre-owned titles, which I personally have no interest in purchasing, especially since they were rarely much cheaper than a new copy.

The brand, GAME, holds a fair bit of nostalgia for me, but I have no real attachment to Game Group, plc. as they operate today.

I wish their many staff (around 10,000 across europe) all the best through what will be a tough time.

[Guinevere]

Game had nothing to offer gamers and therefore died a slow and drawn out death. In this day and age, what's the point of having a retail presence if you're not going to make use of it?

Look at Apple, the only reason they have retail stores is to increase the lust factor. They want the touchy-feely effect to increase demand. It works... if you have the products.

But for computer games? What could retail have to offer that's fresh? Mini LAN parties? Tournaments? OTT tri-screen rigs to play on? Motion control rigs? 3D? Guest pro-gamers? A DJ in the corner?

All could be done for the added bling factor but would they bring in the money?

Nope.

Bye bye retail. Like the 1980's you're time has been and gone.

[Roskoken]

Good

[johnnyboy700]

I've been shopping in Game since they first appeared, hell I bought the original Half Life and Grim Fandango from Game, so I'll be sorry to see them go but their pricing was just mad.
They simply couldn't compete with e-tailer prices, I reckon their main pricing strategy was to rely on big event lauches and non-tech savvy people who were buying things for realitives/kid/friends and either had to have something specific "RIGHT NOW" or didn't know you could get stuff a lot cheaper (usually) online.

Over the years though I did get quite a few bargins, mainly PC stuff, I don't recall getting or even seeing any good console bargins.

For me, it will be a bigger loss for Game Station to disappear than Game.

[NuTech]

Originally Posted by Guinevere

Game had nothing to offer gamers and therefore died a slow and drawn out death. In this day and age, what's the point of having a retail presence if you're not going to make use of it?

Look at Apple, the only reason they have retail stores is to increase the lust factor. They want the touchy-feely effect to increase demand. It works... if you have the products.

But for computer games? What could retail have to offer that's fresh? Mini LAN parties? Tournaments? OTT tri-screen rigs to play on? Motion control rigs? 3D? Guest pro-gamers? A DJ in the corner?

All could be done for the added bling factor but would they bring in the money?

Nope.

Bye bye retail. Like the 1980's you're time has been and gone.

Still have a vivid memory from around 1997 of being a clueless 13 year old stumbling into Electronic Boutique after finally convincing my parents to buy a new PC. After about a 30min chat with the sales assistant there, I walked out with The Neverhood and Blade Runner.

I played the hell out of those games and that one sales assistant is basically the reason I got into the point-and-click genre.

But with the ubiquity of the internet, I don't really think experiences like that are possible anymore...

[mrMonkeyChunks]

Game now in administration, offical statement here: http://t.co/UQxdle64

[mars-bar-man]

Originally Posted by mrMonkeyChunks

Game now in administration, offical statement here: http://t.co/UQxdle64

Read through that link, and one persons post perked some interest:

1. No refunds can be given for any pre-order deposits which have been paid.

Thats called theft generally. You're holding on to money which people paid to you in good faith in order for you to supply a product or service. Now that you cannot provide this product and/or service you are legally obliged to return any monies paid.

2. Until further notice, we will not be able to offer refunds or exchanges for products purchased either before the administration or for products purchased from the date of the administration.

Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 it is also a criminal offence to mislead a consumer about his/her legal rights. Examples might include stating ‘no refunds’ or ‘sold as seen’. If a customer was sold a product and the receipt states they have X amount of time to return a product you must honour that return as stated by law.

4. We have also had to suspend GAME gift cards. The value on these cards cannot be redeemed. If this changes, we will let you know. We apologise for the inconvenience this causes.

This amounts to wholesale theft of customers monies which you are holding for them to spend at a later time. Similarly to a bank you are legally obliged to return any monies to the customer upon their request within a reasonable time. Failure to do so goes against trading standards practices.

Curious as to whether this person it correct? Or are laws like they outlined 'discarded' during the period on administration? I'll talk to a mate later and see what she thinks, although her specialty is family law.. so I'm not hoping for much :P

[rollo]

Game never adapted to the modern ways

Asda and tesco are main reasons game has gone under under cutting most of the major releases with loss leaders in there stores, doing what game did to electronic boutique back in the day. Do I care not really bring on the sales is all I can say, 6000 people still rather small compared to wollys yes I feel sorry for em as they are mostly students who work there

Pc gaming in game died 10 years ago been that long since they had a major selection

Game has too many stores in a too small an area

Between Durham Sunderland Newcastle metrocentre

There's 8 gamestores and 4 game stations

Within 10 mile

[chris66]

Originally Posted by Kamikaze-X

That is an extremely short sighted statement. So we should all shop at the most expensive, often badly lit, smelly, hot stores just so that they can keep trading exactly how they want, to save 6000 low paid, unskilled jobs? I hope you had the same level of outrage when nurses, firemen, police and the armed forces were made redundant on numerous occasions.

Many of the reasons that our economy, and Game themselves, are in such a bad state is that they got comfortable doing the same crap that they did back in the 1990s. It is of course always sad when people lose jobs, being on the receiving end of it a couple of times myself, but in this instance, I can feel no sympathy for the company.

Sorry - I was thinking about the 6000 staff about to lose their jobs - many of which may end up on benefits.

As the UK borrows ever greater amounts of money, much more than it earns, then we are on a downward spiral.

How many of that 6000, I wonder, used to buy products/services that you earn an income from - and won't any longer? Losses like this do have knock on effects - I guess we can bury our collective heads in the sand and continue buying cheap crap from the Pacific Rim countries - but there will become a time when we have to ask what are we going to buy when we don't have any earnings? We can't all be in the public sector without borrowing even more money because of ever dwindling private sector tax receipts.

It's the knock-on effects that we need to look out for - that's anything but short sighted.