What are the implications of the possible bankruptcy of the GAME/Gamestation group? http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/xbox-360/2012/03/01/game-over/1
Haven't been to game since I was a lot younger, my abiding memory is everything being overpriced, bored looking assistants and sub standard service. A lot of the distribution is online anyways, sure for Space Marine on consoles it's a loss, but we can get it much cheaper and a lot more easily with a few clicks. Glad the terrible places are going
GAME deserve everything they get, although I do feel for Gamestation... tried to do something different but eventually gobbled up by the GAME group. GAME's downfall was moving away from PC games and focussing on consoles, it still amazes me that there are more pre-owned games in the sotres than PC games! They shut out the very punters who got them onto the high street in the first place and now look surprised that 99% of their market (consoles) prefer to buy content online instead.
Interesting point you've made about the closure of Game affecting prices but i'm not sure it's one that I agree with. I've found that Game tends to be one of the more expensive retailers, whether in store or online, so I can't see how their closure would mean that the competition would all increase their prices. The remaining retailers still have to compete with each other after all.
I recieved two letters from GAME yesterday, they gave me 2 x 1000 points to redeem because our shop is closing down in two days; it really has begun.
Can't say I've been in a GAME store for a long time now, but I have on occasion ordered from them online. I guess I should try to use up whatever reward points I've got left before it's too late...
As bad as it would be for the staff, that's not justification enough to warrant having to put up with an overpriced and extortionate company that has always been money- and never customer- centric. The country needs to be rid of these companies. Aside from a lot of the indie stores out there, the original Gamestation (pre-Game buyout) was the only high street retailer with a strong customer focus, and the store competed strongly against Game because of it. It's a shame Game killed off everything Gamestation had to the extent that they were just Game stores with a different colour scheme and name above the door. If their collapse turns out to be true, good riddance, I say. It won't leave a gap in the market-place. Other things will just consume that space, including other stores, e-stores and digital purchases.
I agree i don't mind going into the store for purchases but when my local store stopped stocking PC games at all i was angry and upset. Why should a loyal game customer be shut out like that. They deserve everything they get in my opinion been going there since i was a child. Bought my first PC games there. Half Life and Medal Of Honor Allied Assault. Sad to see them go at the same time but have no sympathy.
You say Game is closing to due everyone going the way of digital distribution and then proceed to use the argument that because only supermarkets will stock the top 10 it'll hurt game sales? If people are using digital disruption it doesn't matter what supermarkets stock.
To be honest, I don't buy any games online, because my Mac's are too old to run Steam/App Store, and I pretty much exclusively get my games from GAME and GameStation now, because of old loyalties, and the fact that I've made some good friends with GAME employee's over the years. I'll be sad to see these shops go, because they're a part of my adolescence, and I have many fond memories of some of the people I've met, and the discussions we've had. And I really don't want hundreds of people losing their jobs. I've been forced out of a job onto the dole for 13 months, it's the most soul-crushing, hateful, hellish experience of my life. I've worked for nearly all my life since i was 16, but then I lost my job and I just gave up on life. So I hope they stick around
Another closure of a large high street retailer is a bad thing and it was handy if you found some spare time and needed a new game to fill it with. They just cant compete on price though. At xmas amazon is selling skyrim £27. Game matches this but two days before xmas when i go to get a copy its gone up to £47 as its too late to order online. All the retailers did this including tesco. £20 on a game that is £27 just shows how uncompetative they are or conversley how low amazon can take prices for chart games. Im looking at getting forza 4 and it appears amazon is cheapest. Add free delivery and student discount they are cheaper again.
Times change, brick and mortar stores of digital goods are all dying (e.g. Blockbuster). Everything is switching to download - or at least mail order via the internet. That said I do feel for all the employee's who are loosing their jobs.
It's always bad to see an established high street store in strife and in danger of closing down but does it really affect PC gaming and PC games developers? I don't think so. Steam is well known for championing the indie dev. This is purely going to affect console gamers. Mainly very young console gamers who don't have the payment methods available to buy games online from Amazon. To be honest my local branch of Chips usually has a bigger PC games selection than my local branch of Game.
GAME has been my "Go-to" source for games for years. I never much cared that they were more expensive than Amazon or what have you, because I could go there and get the thing I wanted at that very moment, not having to wait for some half-arsed postman to drop it through my door a week later. It was at a stage where the staff of my local GAME knew me by name, and all said hello/did the usual small talk - Even outside the store. For the members of staff that still live in the area (The manager moved on to another job some time ago), that still happens - Even the ones that don't work there any more. I'll be sad to see my local GAME go, I'll be sad to see all GAME stores go. They're more expensive, yes, but more often than not the atmosphere is good - Even with a trend towards casual games. The business moves over the last decade or so, reducing the facing of PC games, more often than not moving the PC games to the back of the store, and maximising the space at the front of the store for - And let's be honest, this is how it is - The more popular games, and to be honest, that's how they make their money. I'll miss GAME, but it is a sinking ship. It's been going down for some time, the fewer number of limited editions shipped to store should have been evidence of this a long time ago. There was a time where, at my local store, it wasn't entirely necessary to pre-order the collectors edition, there would always be one or two in store at the end of the day. That went down to "Must be first in store" to "Must preorder" to "None at all". Ah well, given the world of big business, I don't think there's anything we - The consumers - can realistically do. They need cash injections that they aren't likely to get.
The people who are losing their jobs, yes that is really awful for them and I do empathise, however GAME as a company is a dinosaur. Their "PC section" has been an utter joke for the last 5 years or so and they relied too heavily on the used game market. Sure it's always nice to have competition but in general the high street stores for all media are going away and rightfully so, they refused to move with the times and it's come back to bite them in the arse. Sure the supermarkets and online shops have their problems; limited selections, rollercoaster pricing etc but they offer people usually pretty good deals and often can claim rewards points on the purchases in an account used for multiple things. Even they will have to move with the times, as Amazon in the US has done, to get into the digital space, with plenty of expectation of digital distribution being a major part of the next gen of consoles and already making up the majority of the PC market it's difficult to see how GAME think they can exist any more when smarter retailers will be struggling. As someone who hasn't been into a high street shop in many years with the serious intention of buying something I find it hard to see how this will actually effect me. I primarily buy Indie PC games which never show up in shops or even get a boxed release. There's plenty of space in the DD market I don't see how this will have any effect on PC gaming at all beyond lower sales of the Sims.
There is another issue here. How many of you started playing computer games from "going into the game store!!! WOW!!!" when you were a kid. And playing on the consols that were put about the store. Not having a mainstream store on the highstreet is just another way of making gaming more niche, which is really not a good thing. It also removes a cheap way of advertising games, which means they'll need more marketing. Overall I would like Game to be taken away from its current management and given to someone who can bring it back to what it should be. But thats just my opinion. I still think they haven't capitalised on the fact that they have a network of stores across the country.
I think you over estimate how much the UK market is worth. MS and Sony aren't going to design their console around the fact the UK has no brick and mortar dedicated game stores. As you have pointed out we still have supermarkets, online sales and even HMV. I think it's far more likely that HMV will expand it's business than the next gen consoles catering to our needs.
While GAME & Gamestation might disappear I can't quite believe that the vacuum won't be filled. There won't be NO games retailer on the high streets. Even if it's only semi-dedicated (more so that HMV or Supermarkets though). Gamestop are apparently considering buying out Game Group, probably during administration, so a certain number of stores might come back under a different banner. Also there's the posibility that Game Group's fall will allow smaller independent game shops to reclaim a bit of the market. So, while I can see that this is unlikely to be good for the gaming industry, certainly in the short term. I can't see it being a real hammer blow. I'm optimistic.
It'd be a shame for themt o disappear completely but I wouldn't mind it happening in my area. When there was only a GAME in town, some brave soul decided to open a game shop. They beat GAME on selection, stock, price, trade-ins, customer service...just about everything. Business boomed and they moved out of the tiny cupboard of a store. Not 2 months later, GameStation was opening over the road and their business almost stopped overnight. This was a few years ago and they've managed to survive so far. I'd love to see them get the business they deserve and this could be leading towards that happening once more.
Meh, no sympathy for Game. How many friendly, small, independent and most importantly local game businesses did they kill off with "aggressive" pricing. Reap... Sow....
