It's unfortunate that the second hand market is now going to be none existent and that the big publishers will have finally got their way, I can see how the second hand market is a good thing for a lot of people. Apart from that Game have had it coming for a long time, they've had plenty of chances to turn it round it's their own fault, no loss.
In games defence, they dont take scratched games or they'll repair them, and they wouldnt sell a pre-owned for £30 if it didn't include any of the documentation.
i preorderd ME3CE at game over 8months ago and didnt get an email to say there not doing it anymore so i have been running around online like mad trying to find 1 since all the big places have sold out. but there is a place out there thats has some for the 360 and thats hmv
I often pop in there to grab a new console game on day of release, as I too, can't be bothered to be messed about with the post and such like. So, yes, it will be a shame to see them go. I refuse to go into HIV these days as they are typically staffed by common sense lacking hippys.
My experience is if you pre-order online at play or amazon it often arrives before the day of release.
Quote Tesco won`t sell ...Space Marine". i bought Space Marine at Tesco for £15, game wanted £25. I understand your point though. Would they sell these games in the future? On the flip side I bought Shogun 2 at game for £20 and in Tesco it was nowhere to be seen. This is why I like game to exist, for the choice. Maybe they should branch out into selling smart phones to give themselves another revenue stream and to update their image a bit.
That's true but they try to encourage you to trade in old games etc. What they don't tell you is that they'll give you literally nothing for them. I took some PS3 games in to see what I'd get... Crysis 2 - £6, they were selling it pre-owned for £40, brand new for £40 also, makes no sense, that's a huge mark up. Mortal Kombat - £7, they were selling it for £30 pre-owned, £40 brand new again, a big mark up Sing Star - £4, they were selling it for £30 pre-owned and £35 brand new, they also wanted me to give them the two microphones and wouldn't add extra on for them They make out that the pre-owned/trade in is the best bit about their stores but yet it's terrible. Even when I worked there I'd advise people not to trade them in when they asked me about it. If you actually got a decent amount for trading in it'd be fine, but when they sell them for five times more than what they'll give you, it's just taking the piss and the points card system I won't even get into, since that shits all over people aswell. Their tiny PC section forces people to buy online digitally or through their website or another. Their online only deals don't help them either to be honest. £15 for a game online, in store it's £40, this is for everything not just PC games by the way. Their terrible customer service doesn't help either. I've ordered three games from their online store, none of them ever turned up and two of them were digital copies... I pre-order a WoW expansion from them that was I promised release day delivery on, it never came and they wouldn't refund it. Next up a digital copy of Heroes Might and Magic, ordered a digital copy two weeks later I've still not received a key and I have in a queue on the phone for over an hour while they charge me for it aswell to get a refund. The sooner their out of the market the better to be honest, since they won't be screwing over people with prices and everything else.
I've only used Gameplay which they've now shut, the Wholesale Ebay site and the main Game online site for the past five years. Previously I'd have gone in stores and still picked up small bits of hardware or magazines if there were no games I wanted and to spend the points when I didn't have enough for software but in the end I bought the whole console online as well. So if they have/had such a strong online presence that they can drop one brand and were right on the ball with Ebay, I can't see how they've got to the point where they're trying to haggle with EA and Ninty over supply prices, that really is commercial suicide but I suppose they didn't have HMV's freedom to just get out of games if they didn't have the buying power anymore. Like HMV they just need to get on with closing however many stores it takes to survive. If they copy HMV and try to keep some random number like 240 in HMV's case, then they're doomed.
Yeah the pre-owned games are only £5-10 cheaper when the game has just come out, usually because there's no difference other than someone has already owned the game. Sing Star comes with the microphones when you buy it doesn't it? No wonder they wanted the microphones as the game is useless without them.
The pre-owned versions of it don't come with them sometimes. Since people won't trade them in if they aren't getting anything for them. It's just the price difference that annoys me. A five times mark up is insane really, I always check the price they're selling it for before I would trade in. edit: just realised I went on quite a rant without realising at first.
I have worked for both game and gamestation and have seen a massive change in both prices and company structures as long as the fat cat is making money they where not arsed who they upset!! Companies will thrive at the opportunity of new custom so i cant see a hike in prices. I think Bee.com will soon be the new dominant store as they stick to a very good pricing range. Those of you who like me often traded games at a loss give Lovefilm.com a try excellent service and prices saving you hundreds throughout the year (which in this day and age is more important)
Surprised they didn't blame the one eye'd one legged gamers who say "yar!" alot. High Street is moving on now. De centralised retail parks are the normal now. Who wants to add £5 to a shopping trip before you even start to pay for overpriced parking anyways. Amazon and the likes are the pinnicle of this business model.
Weird, when I worked at Game we wouldn't take games without their related peripherals if they were needed, might differ from store to store though.
SingStar is sold in two versions: Standard which comes with the microphones, and Solus which does not. The Solus pack is for those who already have the microphones - like me: I bought SingStar with microphones for the PS2, then bought the PS3 version without because my existing microphones worked fine with the new console.
I never understood why they had so many stores. In Aberdeen there are (or were) two Games and a Gamestation easily within a ten minute walk of each other. Visiting other cities it appeared to be common practice.
Great article. I love seeing these editorials, especially when they help to make people more informed about the potential repercussions of events like this that people can be very quick to mutter "good riddance" about. At least after reading (and considering) an article like this people can state their opinions on the matter in a more informed way, even if the opinion doesn't change. I too am surprised that we haven't heard the piracy argument wheeled out yet, though I wouldn't read too much into its absence.
Indeed. Both the major shopping centres near me (the Trafford Centre and Manchester Arndale Centre) have two Game stores in them. In the Trafford Centre they're pretty much opposite each other, just with one on the ground floor and one on the upper floor.
I much much prefer to buy a physical copy of a game, And buy alot from game.co.uk, Many times better than play.com or Amazon when buying pre-owned 360 titles. Sam
This is not good. This means less choice for the consumer. And will probably mean higher prices across the board once things have settled. And while people may knock Game their stores always had people in them; always. Less gaming exposure is awful for the industry, and for the next generation of potential gamers too.
