News UK Game sales fell 18 percent over Christmas

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2010/01/12/uk-game-sales-fell-18-percent-over-christma/1

Games retailer The GAME Group has revealed that boxed game sales fell 18 percent over the Christmas period.

 

So game sales fell for two of the most overpriced retail stores after a significant and continuing period of economic downturn? Revelatory.

 

well if you think about it the pc games they sell are not any good and how hard is it to pirate now adays you just type the name of the game in google then dowload hit enter and you have millions of links metiforically speaking of course

 

aha, the steam masterplan is unfolding!

 

well there is another service which is similar to steam but seems a lot better it is by amd i can't remember the name but you dont need to log into there servers to play the games only download them and to play online

 

They had it really good last christmas because every man and his dog were buying Wiis and DS lites and games to play on them.

Now that people realise the Wii is overpriced crap they've stopped buying games for them.

 

I, too, blame Steam. The root of all evil. Cost me an arm and a leg over the holidays...

 

I haven't bought a boxed game for ages. In fact the only boxed games i bought in the last couple of years were ones that weren't due to appear on Steam around the same time as the boxed version was released. Now they are almost simultaneous releases, i just go for the digital download version.

 

I doubt the 18% decline has anything to do with Steam. Most PC gamers were using Steam last year as well, and I don't know anyone who would buy someone a game as a Christmas present on Steam, rather than a physical copy. Besides, PC games only make up a tiny proportion of GAME's total retail sales (just look at how little floor space they dedicate to them).

The issue is that GAME are losing sales to supermarkets and Internet retailers who are able to sell them for a much lower price. Just look at Modern Warfare 2 - by far the biggest selling game of the year and supermarkets were selling it for half the price of GAME. People aren't stupid, they're fickle and are going to buy it from wherever they can get it the cheapest. The sooner GAME dies, the better.

 

I did.

 

Down 18% compared to last year ... AND market cap down 6.37% today. Not good.

And even worse that they dare suggest to focus on their money grabbing second hand sales, publishers will not thank them for that. Expect a future of digital distribution to happen quicker than ever.

 

I only ever buy my games from three places:

1) Steam
2) Play.com
3) Amazon

Anytime I've ever gone into GAME for a browse, everything I've been interested in purchasing has been more or less double the price I could get it for online. Bricks and mortar shops dedicated to games are likely to die out unless they diversify in a unique way.

 

Game and Gamestation are shockingly over-priced or should I say they only sell at RRP.

I find their second hand games not much value now either if its a latest release (only out 1 or 2 weeks) tend to find the second hand one being sold at £2 less than new. So second hand is £37 but you'll only get like £19 trade in.

Normally get releases via web from anywhere between 25-40% reduction on the RRP so why shop at Game in store?

Their internet pricing also tends to be the higher than anyone else too.

And as smc8788 pointed out Supermarkets sold the the 3 triple AAA xmas titles at huge discount.

FIFA 2010, Modern Warfare 2, Assassins Creed 2 and Uncharted 2

Both Modern Warfare 2 and Uncharted were sold at £26 cant remember FIFA price

I have lost count now of the number of times I have walked into Game seen their sticker price and then walked out. I am sometimes prepared to pay a couple of quid premium to pick up something there and then but when Im looking at £10+ difference. I'm suddently prepared to wait a few days for delivery and order online.

 

It's more of the expensive sticker price.

With that said, GTA IV can be had in stores for $19.99 whereas it's more expensive online.

 

GAME are ridiculously overpriced even compared to the likes of HMV.

I buy games from:

Play.com
HMV
Amazon
and now..
Steam

HMV sometimes have some great deals on. I got Street Fighter IV and Halo Wars for £20 each a week after they came out. GAME weren't even offering that for pre-owned games.

I used to like it when it was called Electronics Boutique as they used to have games tournaments every couple of weeks for different games: Gran Turismo, Tony Hawk, Pro Evo etc.

 

i'm pretty much the same, but a friend of mind put me onto shopto.net, just another option for you guys.

but places like game will die out of they dont offer something unique, and this is why some of the special editions of triple AAA titles that will be out this will only be available in retail stores, which is poo

 

Supermarkets. Need I say more.

 

Me too, I bought my friend the Half Life Generations Pack on Steam, for about £4 something IIRC.

 

It was in the Steam holiday sale for $6 to $8. Depending on country location.

 

Well my local game stopped selling PC games a while back then as it was also in Borders, its now gone.