GAME Group what next?

[flameboy]

So today the news came out that GAME will not be stock EA titles past SSX due to their current cash flow and reduced credit problems.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-29-game-not-stocking-mass-effect-3-or-ea-games-past-ssx?status=ok&previous-comment=

 

It almost seems inevitable that they will go from our high streets and or be in a vastly reduced capacity?

 

So the questions are where did they go wrong? (the obvious the pricing although this isn't exclusive to them as a specialist retailer, look at HMV with DVD pricing and such)

 

For me acquiring all their competition at an alarming rate can't have helped? They bought Gamestation, gameplay and EB pretty darn fast.

 

Eurogamer have a fantastic article on the wide reaching impact here:

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-28-what-would-happen-if-game-died

 

I think the biggest thing they mention is how it would create this problem whereby a lack of variety will be available on the highstreet with Supermarkets only stocking top titles so where does this leave publishers of lesser known/lower selling games in the UK? How will that have a knock on effect? Not everyone reads the websites and magazines we do to learn about these titles and may only see them on shelves.

[Shorty]

For me acquiring all their competition at an alarming rate can't have helped? They bought Gamestation, gameplay and EB pretty darn fast.

Exactly, they expanded at the wrong time. Got greedy. They wanted to own the highstreet for gaming at exactly the time the internet was overtaking the market. They can't afford small enough profit margins to compete. I think they're done for.

 

I just pre-ordered SSX from my nearest GAME, funnily enough, just because I have vouchers I want to spend before they become worthless!

[Dcubed]

No EA games at all?! Yeah, they're fucked. No way they're surviving now.

 

Been watching this happen for a while, man the UK VG highstreet situation is grim. It's HMV or nothing now! (who knows how long they'll last as well). How ironic that the UK retail game market will have to survive off of online retailers! (what with the industry's shift towards digital distribution)

 

Edit: They're not stocking Mario Party 9 either?! (and presumably no Nintendo published game at all of Tekken 3DS and The Last Story are anything to go by)

 

Yeah, 2-3 months tops.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Dcubed

[Cube]

Note that this includes not stocking Mass Effect 3 N7 Collector's Edition - which was exclusive to them and they already had pre-orders for all copies of it.

[Hero-of-Time]

They be screwed. It looks as though Nintendo are pulling out aswell, which isn't much off a shock given the Tekken and Last Story incident.

 

GAME Group (GAME and Gamestation) will not be stocking Wii game Mario Party 9, Eurogamer has heard.

 

Mario Party 9 is due out this Friday, 2nd March.

 

Whether this will extend to all Nintendo and Nintendo-distributed games remains to be seen. However, GAME absentee The Last Story was published by Nintendo, and GAME absentee Tekken 3DS was distributed by Nintendo.

 

It doesn't bode well for Wii-exclusive JRPG Pandora's Tower, due 13th April.

 

Here's the email/memo they got for the Mass Effect 3 cancellation.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-29-revealed-games-memo-to-staff-on-mass-effect-3-cancellation

[flameboy]

Exactly, they expanded at the wrong time. Got greedy. They wanted to own the highstreet for gaming at exactly the time the internet was overtaking the market. They can't afford small enough profit margins to compete. I think they're done for.

 

Yeah I mean you look at one point some streets had 3 GAME stores! I think there was a road in York that did because there were already two GAMEs (or maybe a gamestation) one at either end and then an EB got rebranded it is crazy.

 

Like you said it all comes down to the small profit margins and the high overheads. I mean what company in there right mind can afford to pay the premium lease's on 2/3 high street branches in pretty much every major city/town?! It's madness!

[Ramar]

I've been trying to get the Metal Gear Solid HD collection for the passed two weeks and they've not had it in stock. I'm only trying to shift a £20 gift card I got for Christmas, might have to think of something else to waste it on before they go tits up.

[Hero-of-Time]

Here's my thougts on the matter, which I posted last week in the Last Story news article.

 

would I would miss them but quite frankly I won't. The only thing I have used them for in recent times is for trade ins but seeing as HMV do this now AND alot of the time offer a much better trade in price for your games then GAME just isn't a decent option anymore.

 

It serves them right for trying to get a monopoly on the gaming market here in the UK. I used to love going into Gamestation as they had a retro section, better selection of games and better trade in value. GAME swooped in and bought them out, hiked the prices up, got rid of the retro section and dropped the trade in values.

 

It doesn't help when they have stores stupidly close together. Here in the North East we have the Metro Centre. It's a masssive shopping mall type building and there are 3 GAME/Gamestations inside. 2 of them are practically next to each other and the other just a few minutes walk away. After reading GAF it seems this is the case across much of the UK.

 

Over the years GAME have stocked less and less new games and pushed the preowned market. I was in the other day and the new Wii/DS/PS3 section was horrific. It was like shopping for games at a supermarket, except they were twice the price. All they seemd to have on the shelves were the top 10 titles.

 

I really can't see them getting out of this rut. They need the customers to buy games but if they aren't even stocking them then customers are gonna go else where.

 

Bottom line, GAME can suck it.

[Tales]

Is this UK or world wide? I did read earlier that this situation was separate from Norway and I did buy Last Story from them, but since this is getting bigger and bigger I have to ask.

[Shorty]

Note that this includes not stocking Mass Effect 3 N7 Collector's Edition - which was exclusive to them and they already had pre-orders for all copies of it.

 

So this is affecting their website too? I thought this was just instore stuff we were talking about.

[Hero-of-Time]

So this is affecting their website too? I thought this was just instore stuff we were talking about.

 

Nobody seems to be sure yet. If you want ME3:CE I would just order it elsewhere ( Shopto ), just to be safe.

[Cube]

Directly from EA

 

MASS EFFECT 3 UK LAUNCH UPDATE

 

The Mass Effect 3 N7 Collector’s Edition will now be available at the following retailers:

 

- Amazon.co.uk

- Play.com

- Zavvi.com

- ShopTo.net

 

For customers who have pre-ordered the N7 Collector’s Edition please re-order your copies through these retailers.

 

For further information regarding the Mass Effect 3 Standard Edition with the N7 Warfare Gear in-game weapons pack, please check this page later today.

If you have placed a deposit for a pre-order or are uncertain that your existing pre-order will be guaranteed, please contact your local retailer.

Your local retailer is doing everything possible to make this process as smooth as possible to ensure you get your copy on launch day.

[Shorty]

Nobody seems to be sure yet. If you want ME3:CE I would just order it elsewhere ( Shopto ), just to be safe.

 

Well, slightly off topic here but to be quite honest I am completely appalled with the way EA are treating Mass Effect 3. I'm sure the game will be great, but the competitions, the marketing, the products (new hoodie, $74! And that monstrosity of a console 'case'...), day one DLC and pre-order bonuses galore... I won't give them a penny more than necessary to play the game.

[Ike]

Shame Gameplay.co.uk is closing, didn't use them much but they were sometimes cheaper than GAME/Gamestation. It is pointless have 3 different websites though.

 

I don't usually buy from the store unless there's a sale and I stopped using their site after they updated it and broke it for at least a month.

 

Thought they would be stocking Mario Party 9 though. They've been hyping up SSX on Twitter as well and now they're not even stocking it!

 

I have one last preorder with them - Kid Icarus, which I've had since E3 last year? Hope it's safe. Might possibly switch anyway.

[Hero-of-Time]

Methinks I will get rid of my points and store credit this week. I may aswell spend it while I can.

[Cube]

day one DLC

 

The Day One DLC is actually the Collector's Edition content. Instead of waiting a few months and then making it available to everyone else, they're making it available straight away.

 

The main complaint is that the content is too awesome.

[Shorty]

I don't care. You don't make extra content for people who pay more. You make all the content you can and you ram it in the damn game before you go gold. Fuck EA.

[Jimbob]

Goodbye GAME, it was nice knowing you whilst you were around.

 

It's a shame really, they used to be awesome. I recall visiting GAME in my early gaming years, when it was a treat. Most of the time i went to Gamestation and EB Games (when they wern't owned by GAME). Even when GAME bought EB, they were still great to go to. Great staff, great laughs were to be had everytime i went in. And they had awesome pre-owned deals and rates for trade-ins. Had all the big titles, the events and everything.

 

Now, they are a joke. Service isn't as good, they are overpriced and everything. I seriously hope they pull through and don't close, but i can't see a future for them past the end of March, maybe April to be fair.

 

I have re-ordered an N7 edition from Shopto and paid via Paypal, just in case. Not that i have a worry, my SSX order came through perfectly fine. Now i know why they cancelled most of my orders.

[david.dakota]

Here are my thoughts on GAME, posted on the Eurogamer article:

 

GAME are overpriced. Its as simple as that. And I've had it to the back teeth with their insistence that they offer great advice and education; they don't. I'd get better advice talking to a cabbage in Tesco - earlier this week, I popped into into the Shrewsbury GAME store I asked if they had Uncharted 1 and 2 new, "no, we wouldn't have that sorry" was the reply.

 

Why wouldn't you have it? You're a store selling Games; I was offered no further assistance and walked out to HMV where I found them with ease. That's not education, that's ratting me off big time. That's hiring staff who don't give a flying Fox McCloud about out gaming.

 

There was once a time where I could walk into GAME and be greeted with genuine gamers who passionately cared for my purchase; now when I visit I see parents 'educated' by staff ("So, your kid enjoyed Nintendogs - here, try ImaginePets", sorry GAME but I believe that to be as disastrous as you slipping into bankruptcy.

 

GAME used to feel new and sparkly - shelves of new games (chart or archive) but I walk in now and it feels like a car boot sale, packed high with second hand games and cheap-cheap peripherals.

 

I try to support the gaming industry where my tastes and finances can; I buy a huge range of games and I very rarely purchase from supermarkets and deliberately buy from dedicated gaming stores and websites - but I won't be ripped off to prop up shareholder dividends, I won't pay an extra 25% just to say I buy from GAME.

 

Drop your prices and be realistic in what you actually offer. You need a fresh and distinctive approach and to differentiate yourselves from Tesco and ASDA (because from my perspective there is no difference between what you offer and what the supermarkets do). I want a flagship high street store for the gaming industry, I want you to survive these difficult times but no one is in a position to hand over an extra tenner for a game I can get cheaper online or on the retail park.

 

The best option for GAME now is to offload their preowned stock at a reasonable discount - get some cash in the business quick.

 

It also needs to take aim on its pricing structure, it is too expensive - for every three games I buy online I would get 3 from instore GAME. Paying an extra 33% is not an attractive proposition. I understand bricks and mortar have different overheads - but no-one cares about that, no one is willing to get shafted to support shareholder dividends.

 

They need to differentiate themselves from the supermarkets - GAME nowadays is no different to Tesco or Sainsburys. Walk to the shelves, walk to the tills and walk out. Why not following Games Workshop stores and have gamer events and take that opportunity to have added discount on old stock?

 

As tough as it would have been for them, they should have sold Gameplay as a going concern and not rolled it into Gamestation.

 

No matter how Eurogamer present this it is nothing but GAME's own incompetence that's led them down this route, and sadly there is no turning back: they're probably not in a position to pay redundancy and so can't restructure and are deliberately just plodding on until the inevitable happens.

 

Don't get me wrong, its great to have a high street ambassador but GAME have not been that for years. They've been chasing the quick buck in pre-owned titles and commercial claptrap. Clearly what is about to happen is that the business will sink and be in the hands of the Official Receiver by September 2012 (don't pay a penny deposit for WiiU, guys!), but personally I'm hopeful that the majority of the business will be purchased, be streamlined and operate as usual by March 2013.

[Ellmeister]

So no Mass Effect 3 at all? Fuck me. Going to have to go in tomorrow and tell them I want my fiver back. I've also got £43 of store credit I got from my sister.

 

Guess I'll be using that to buy SSX.

[Hero-of-Time]

Here are my thoughts on GAME, posted on the Eurogamer article:

 

I read that last night when I got in from work and found myself agreeing with everything that was wrote. Never knew it was you. : peace:

[Ike]

Even when GAME bought EB, they were still great to go to.

 

It was the other way round, EB bought GAME and they kept the name GAME. I always thought it was GAME who bought EB until on of the store managers told me.

 

Part of the problem is that after the takeover there was multiple GAME stores in one area, I've been somewhere that had a GAME store across the road to another one.

 

Newcastle and the Metro Centre both have 3 GAME stores, although they are big areas it still seems like too many. Of course there is also a Gamestation, Grainger Games and HMV as well.

[flameboy]

Here are my thoughts on GAME, posted on the Eurogamer article:

 

 

 

The best option for GAME now is to offload their preowned stock at a reasonable discount - get some cash in the business quick.

 

It also needs to take aim on its pricing structure, it is too expensive - for every three games I buy online I would get 3 from instore GAME. Paying an extra 33% is not an attractive proposition. I understand bricks and mortar have different overheads - but no-one cares about that, no one is willing to get shafted to support shareholder dividends.

 

They need to differentiate themselves from the supermarkets - GAME nowadays is no different to Tesco or Sainsburys. Walk to the shelves, walk to the tills and walk out. Why not following Games Workshop stores and have gamer events and take that opportunity to have added discount on old stock?

 

As tough as it would have been for them, they should have sold Gameplay as a going concern and not rolled it into Gamestation.

 

No matter how Eurogamer present this it is nothing but GAME's own incompetence that's led them down this route, and sadly there is no turning back: they're probably not in a position to pay redundancy and so can't restructure and are deliberately just plodding on until the inevitable happens.

 

Don't get me wrong, its great to have a high street ambassador but GAME have not been that for years. They've been chasing the quick buck in pre-owned titles and commercial claptrap. Clearly what is about to happen is that the business will sink and be in the hands of the Official Receiver by September 2012 (don't pay a penny deposit for WiiU, guys!), but personally I'm hopeful that the majority of the business will be purchased, be streamlined and operate as usual by March 2013.

 

Makes me wonder if those days are over? Music industry doesn't seem to have one and neither does the movie. Games don't in the US either with Gamestop pretty much being what Game are to us.

[Hero-of-Time]

Makes me wonder if those days are over? Music industry doesn't seem to have one and neither does the movie. Games don't in the US either with Gamestop pretty much being what Game are to us.

 

The digital ages is upon us. This song seems fitting.

 

[Shorty]

Makes me wonder if those days are over? Music industry doesn't seem to have one and neither does the movie. Games don't in the US either with Gamestop pretty much being what Game are to us.

Online purchasing seems different in the US though. If you want a game on launch day there, you have to go queue up at the Gamestops, Wal-Marts etc.. Their online/shipping offerings are typically smaller, central companies or amazon, neither of which will get them deliveries across the continent at a speed which makes it preferable to a bricks and mortar store. Whenever I see US gaming blogs/forums talking about pre-orders, they're never talking about Shopto/zavvi etc equivalents. I think it's a market that hasn't been, or is too big to be, tapped just yet.