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Game (Uk Retailer) files for administration

polycounter lvl 16
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Adam Curtis polycounter lvl 16
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/game-files-for-administration/093137

So after rumblings a few weeks back this has finally happened! I beleive Ea Stopped sending them new titles as well, such as SSX and Mass Effect which must have lost them loads.
Time to start spending those left over gift vouchers etc!

Good luck for anyone who is currently working there.

Replies

  • Tenchi
    I've always check Game's prices when I look around to buy and never gone with them as they are always more expensive, so this is no surprise.
  • Ged
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    Ged interpolator
    There are still rumors that game will be bought out by Walmart aren't there? they would have to cover some of the debt and take ownership I guess. Im really surprised game isn't a profitable company :/
  • Skillmister
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    Skillmister polycounter lvl 11
    Ged wrote: »
    Im really surprised game isn't a profitable company :/

    How is it surprising? Their prices are ridiculous compared to online/ even supermarkets and they give terrible trade in prices.
  • Del
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    Del polycounter lvl 9
    That's their whole business model.

    Overprice the games, and force you to buy pre-owned ones.

    Then give you next to nothing FOR trading games. They were making wayyyy more money on games than developers were for years. They make the lions share of the profit, until people started slowly shifting to using online stores and other places to get their games.
  • ambershee
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    ambershee polycounter lvl 17
    I popped into my local store, and they were still selling some stuff at ludicrous prices. Gemini Rue and Machinarium were both priced at £19.99 when they have an RRP of £6.99 for the boxed versions. Rayman Origins on the 360 was £45.99 - I pre-ordered it for 1/3rd of that D:
  • Rick Stirling
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    Rick Stirling polycounter lvl 18
    The high street games shops are dying out because of online sale and supermarket sales.

    When Modern Warfare 3 came out in the UK it was £45 in game and £43 in HMV. All the major supermarkets were stocking it for £38. Amazon was selling it for £38. If you went to Tesco and spent £50 or more on your general shopping they'd sell MW3 for £30 - that's a massive savings.

    Couple that with the sales patter that the staff are forced to give (I know a guy who worked in Game), where they try to sell you strategy guides, ask you to trade in, ask about preorders, ask about wireless controllers, and it leads to a place where customers don't want to shop.
  • passerby
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    passerby polycounter lvl 12
    think it will be overall good for the industry once they die out and stores like them.

    there quite pushy with there customers trying to sell them used over new copies, which is bad for the industry since neither the publisher or the developer of the game makes money from a used copy.

    and conveince, why go to a dedicated store for games when you can grab it while doing your other shopping at a super market, or just order games online.
  • rooster
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    rooster mod
    the variety in game sucks, but that's nothing compared to how crappy the selection will be in supermarkets
    edit: here's a good article on it: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-28-what-would-happen-if-game-died
  • Ged
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    Ged interpolator
    they give terrible trade in prices.

    thats why I was surprised. A lot of people seem to trade in there and get ripped off I always assuned that meant a good profit for game.
  • almighty_gir
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    almighty_gir ngon master
    just remember that gamestation are owned by game, too.

    so if one goes, they both go. and thank fuck for that!
  • easterislandnick
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    easterislandnick polycounter lvl 17
    It's bad in general for the industry if they go, pre-owned sales are bad news but gamers and developers generally think that everyone is like them. Not everyone buys games online! My builder played loads of games and bought them all on the high street. Us internet kids will carry on as we always have getting games from Amazon and Play but a massive section of our audience buy their games in shops after seeing a poster on a bus shelter! These people don't shop online and don't have their console online.
  • ambershee
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    ambershee polycounter lvl 17
    I'm waiting for decent dedicated retailers to come back. I used to love my local PlayHouse; who were fucking awesome when it came to pre-ordering foreign imports, or selling a huge variety of games of various ages - until it turned into a Game, stocked stopping PC games except the top 5 (lol, World of Warcraft retail boxes) etc.
  • glynnsmith
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    glynnsmith polycounter lvl 17
    Last time I went into GAME, their PC wall was pitiful, and their resale/2nd hand wall was, I think, the biggest in the store.

    I've used their online store a couple of times, for special offers and sales, but play.com usually beats them there, too.

    I think I've read 3 or 4 cases in the past 2 weeks that seem like their upper management were actually aiming for being put under administration. Falling out with publishers, denying investors and bail-out offers.

    As a company, as a store spending more effort in turning a profit from second-hand wares, I'm not really too bothered what they do. I haven't used either their store, or their e-store, in the last 6 months.
  • ambershee
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    ambershee polycounter lvl 17
    To be honest, it's pretty obvious where they failed, and that's complete lack of business sense. It's only what, two or so years ago that they acquired their biggest rival; GameStation in what at the time to most of us would have seemed like a sound strategy.

    The problem is that they acquired GameStation, and then did nothing except change GameStation's policies to reflect those of Game. This meant they effectively had two stores on every other high street, directly competing with each other.


    Then yeah, the crummy business tactics surrounding pre-owned put so many people off going there. Things like having a policy where used copies of games shared shelf space with new ones - and the store staff would be told to put the used copies in front of the new ones...
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    Game stores reek of teenage sweat and grease (and actual faeces, quite often). Not surprised they're going under.
  • Calabi
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    Calabi polycounter lvl 12
    If they go it might make gaming more of a niche. It might be harder to convert new customers when theirs less high street exposure.

    They were rubbish though, they were basically modelling themselves after supermarkets, bright lights and shelves full of paid for advertised games and the current most popular.

    Not alot can be done when idiots are running the place. Perhaps indie stores could take off.
  • Vio
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    Vio polycounter lvl 6
    All I kept thinking about was steam when I saw this on the news. Back in the day these shops used to be full of variety. Last time I went to a Game store the pc games were all on a tiny shelf hidden behind an open staff only door :S
  • Lazerus Reborn
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    Lazerus Reborn polycounter lvl 8
    Checked on the website, a game was £35, to save them posting it i stopped by on the way back from uni. The game was £45 in the shop. Dafuk maoment, brought it up on my phone just to check again was £35. Some ranting and raving with some irrational manager later. I stood in front on the prick and ordered from there site for £10 cheaper using the click an collect system. Picked up the game from there, flipped him off.

    £10 profit.
  • tyddynroger
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    tyddynroger polycounter lvl 6
    feel sorry for those loosing their jobs but GAME have brought it on them selves.
  • Pix
    I once bought a copy of Heroes of Might and Magic 5 with expansions with nice box, but the problem, box was badly damaged I asked them to change it for me, they refused, asked them for better price deal, they did not care. They have poor PC games display in every shop I've been in to, staff was rude.
  • passerby
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    passerby polycounter lvl 12
    i actually wouldn't even worry about the ones losing jobs from this either, not like people were going to get a career from game, it;s just your basic retail job, so should be easy to just work at a diffenrt store for these people.
  • Stinger88
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    Stinger88 polycounter
    Haven't bought anything from game in years. In fact the only time i've been in any of the game stores (grainger games, gamestation, etc) in the past few years was to buy old ps2/original xbox games.

    Can't say i'm going to miss it if it goes away. Feel sorry for the staff though.

    I used to trade and buy pre owned games a lot when I was younger and didn't have much money. I feel sorry for of kids in the future that'll have to pay top dollar when they get rid of trading like this and wont be able to experience as many games as we did.
  • tyddynroger
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    tyddynroger polycounter lvl 6
    passerby wrote: »
    i actually wouldn't even worry about the ones losing jobs from this either, not like people were going to get a career from game, it;s just your basic retail job, so should be easy to just work at a diffenrt store for these people.

    not everyone is in an area where there are a lot of retail jobs going, this could be there only income. loosing a job isn't nice full stop.
  • Vio
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    Vio polycounter lvl 6
    not everyone is in an area where there are a lot of retail jobs going, this could be there only income. loosing a job isn't nice full stop.

    That's a true observation. I think if all the jobs went at my local town of Wrexham, a lot of them would end up on benefits for awhile. Its not the best town for finding any kind of work now that the agencies there can't just send an endless amount of people off to Bank of America to sell PPI over the phone.

    Some of them that work there are like older people who were just happy in retail.
  • tyddynroger
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    tyddynroger polycounter lvl 6
    Vio wrote: »
    That's a true observation. I think if all the jobs went at my local town of Wrexham, a lot of them would end up on benefits for awhile. Its not the best town for finding any kind of work now that the agencies there can't just send an endless amount of people off to Bank of America to sell PPI over the phone.

    Some of them that work there are like older people who were just happy in retail.

    funny you should mention that, as that's the example that popped into my head immediately! i'm sure there are other areas even more worse off than wrexham, going to uni there it seems to me that its an area that's in a bit of a decline.
  • Vio
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    Vio polycounter lvl 6
    funny you should mention that, as that's the example that popped into my head immediately! i'm sure there are other areas even more worse off than wrexham, going to uni there it seems to me that its an area that's in a bit of a decline.

    Well I guess I also have a bias sympathy because when I finish uni this Summer I will practically be in the same boat as them unless I can relocate to a job before my final loan runs out :poly122:
  • tyddynroger
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    tyddynroger polycounter lvl 6
    Vio wrote: »
    Well I guess I also have a bias sympathy because when I finish uni this Summer I will practically be in the same boat as them unless I can relocate to a job before my final loan runs out :poly122:

    join the club

    what you studying?
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    It seems curious that UK GAME is going down while the Australian one continues selling overpriced games. We have far more options when it comes to games retailers than are available in the UK by the sounds of things, and yet they all continue to survive. Lord knows how GAME and EB stick around when you can buy retail games for below online prices in some of the independent stores.
  • ambershee
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    ambershee polycounter lvl 17
    gameme3.jpg

    Image speaks for itself.

    Good riddance.
  • Calabi
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    Calabi polycounter lvl 12
    passerby wrote: »
    i actually wouldn't even worry about the ones losing jobs from this either, not like people were going to get a career from game, it;s just your basic retail job, so should be easy to just work at a diffenrt store for these people.

    Its not like there going to easily jump into another job. We already have high unemployment. If you believe the governments lies then they are all just lazy arses, or it could be a possibility that there arent enough jobs.

    Retail was the only growth sector in jobs for a while that is now declining.

    The future is not looking bright.
  • Vio
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    Vio polycounter lvl 6
    I'm feeling pretty good about the future for private sector businesses in the UK. Our tax system is now closer to Asia than Europe in terms of being competitive. Its quite apt that London has the highest building in Europe again and although a lot of people seem negative about the Olympics, it advertises your country and it couldn't happen at a better time.
  • Tenchi
    http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-03-31-comet-owner-opcapita-reportedly-buys-game
    The BBC claimed the deal will keep open GAME's 333 stores and save 3100 jobs."
    Good news for the employees. Will be interseting to see OpCapita's direction...
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