Game in biiiiiig trouble?

[Keef Monkey]

Rumblings are that Game are in seriously dire straits right now, have heard talk of them suspending wages and being unable to get in much in the way of new releases because of bad credit with suppliers. The wages thing might just be scuttlebutt, but certainly I know a couple of people who have been told this week when trying to buy a new game that from now on the only new stock coming in will be for pre-orders.

I don't have a lot of love for Game (for a start they ignored 7 customer service emails I sent them over the course of a couple of months, and that was me trying to give them money) but working in games I'm a bit distressed about the prospect of games having little to no visibility or shelf space on the high street. Game bought out Gamestation so if both go under then that's pretty much specialist games retail dead except for indies, and if the big chains are struggling that badly then I worry how the indies are coping. I guess supermarkets and online sales are killing it off, but supermarkets will only really stock the biggest releases and while hardcore gamers are probably buying all their stuff online nowadays anyway, I'd imagine most more casual or mainstream gamers make most of their purchases wandering into a store and looking around, and I'd imagine that's who a great deal of game sales go to.

The times they are a-changing.

[Link Prime]

Would hate to see Game go...nuthin better than a bit of Game / HMV browsing while the missus spends my money elsewhere.
I was in a Game store in Dublin a few days ago and was surprised they'd already sold out of Resident Evil Revalations (considering only about 6 people in the whole country own a 3DS).
Your posting has therefore hit a chilling nerve Keef...

[radiator]

I heard they have just secured some investment, guaranteeing their short term future...

They're living on borrowed time though, as are HMV.

Id be sad to see them go, but in all honesty I very rarely buy any form of media on the high street any more.

[Pete Wells]

Yikes! I've got a £30 Game voucher in my wallet, best go and buy the Metal Gear Solid collection sharpish!

[strontium71]

£23 in ASDA , Pete!

[I, Cosh]

... but certainly I know a couple of people who have been told this week when trying to buy a new game that from now on the only new stock coming in will be for pre-orders....

Blimey. I realise this may be a knock on effect of not paying their suppliers but it would also seem to be shooting themselves in the foot. For a while now I've found it frustratingly hard to find anything but the newest of new releases in Game or any other high street shop. Try and find something that was out six months ago and you've no chance of a new copy and it's blind luck if you'll find a second hand one anywhere.

I don't have any particular affection for Game either but I like being able to browse shops and buy things then and there on a whim. I like the serendipitous finds (Dodonpachi Resurrection for six quid while Christmas shopping, for example) and I actually do still buy a significant amount of stuff from real shops in preference to online, but I'm only one small pebble standing against the tide of history.

[JamesC]

In my experience Game is a terrible, terrible shop exemplified by bad customer service (scruffy, sullen looking grunters from what I've seen) and poor choice.
Anything that's more than a few months old seems to be classed as a 'hard to find' title which you may find in the pre-owned section if you're lucky. More often than not their pre-owned prices are more expensive than the price of a new copy on Amazon.
Don't expect any support if you buy a console from them that turns out to be a relatively low seller - Gamecube and PSP owners were always relegated to a dingy coner at the back of the shop - which I could understand if 5 square metres of wall space wasn't taken up by a million copies of the latest GTA or Tour of Duty.
Add to that the fact that their bundle deals are always inflexible and a total rip off (a way to offload low selling games).

I don't think that a lack of high street presence does any harm to the perception of games as a medium. Spotty nerds queing up in the town centre at midnight to buy a copy of a game that lets them murder people at an airport is about as bad as perceptions can get.

I would much rather buy games from a supermarket or online. I fully expect that in the next ten years almost all digital media will be sold primarily as downloads anyway - you'll be buying your games from the same online hub as you get your music and films from.

[Arkwright99]

Ten years ago, I used to buy pretty much all my games in Game, mostly in the budget range - I was perfectly happy in those days to wait a couple of years to play the big games like Baldur's Gate - but at some point their focus seemed to switch away from PC games and more to consoles and consequently - since I don't (or rather didn't) own a console - I found less and less reason to go in. These days I buy my PC games online (via Amazon) in any case. It's kind of sad but it's also emblematic of what's happening to the High Street in general. Bricks and mortar shops are just so 20th Century.

[Rog69]

Yes, it was the shabby treatment of PC games that stopped me shopping there too. I don't even know why they bother stocking PC games nowadays, the titles they do carry are horrendously overpriced and stuck on a little rack at the back of the shop like some dirty secret. It's been a while since I've been in a Game branch, I expect the PC section is now behind a beaded curtain with some sleazy music playing.

[chris_askham]

Yikes! I've got a £30 Game voucher in my wallet, best go and buy the Metal Gear Solid collection sharpish!

Same here - got a £25 gift card burning a whole in my wallet. Better get spending...

[Buttonman]

I like the serendipitous finds ... but I'm only one small pebble standing against the tide of history.

Sounds like you made a serendipitous find from a man in a mac in Paddy's market.

I fully expect that in the next ten years almost all digital media will be sold primarily as downloads anyway - you'll be buying your games from the same online hub as you get your music and films from.

You shut up, that was my idea!

[Jared Katooie]

Yes, it was the shabby treatment of PC games that stopped me shopping there too. I don't even know why they bother stocking PC games nowadays, the titles they do carry are horrendously overpriced and stuck on a little rack at the back of the shop like some dirty secret. It's been a while since I've been in a Game branch, I expect the PC section is now behind a beaded curtain with some sleazy music playing.

Pretty much yeah.

I also love the fact that PC section in GAME stocks twenty different "hidden object games" a staggering selection of simulators (including Subway Simulator, Garbage Truck Simulator, and - my personal favourite - Street Sweeper Simulator), but apparently can't spare any shelf space for Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Also, why is it that every GAME store is required by law to have several copies of Theme Hospital at all times? I have nothing against Theme Hospital, it's a good game. I'm just curious.

[Dr Feeley Good]

The game near me is terrible, will not use it out of principle ...

[Rog69]

Pretty much yeah.

I also love the fact that PC section in GAME stocks twenty different "hidden object games" a staggering selection of simulators (including Subway Simulator, Garbage Truck Simulator, and - my personal favourite - Street Sweeper Simulator), but apparently can't spare any shelf space for Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Also, why is it that every GAME store is required by law to have several copies of Theme Hospital at all times? I have nothing against Theme Hospital, it's a good game. I'm just curious.

You forgot to mention the full price copies of MMO games that since either gone free to play or shut down months before, I once found a copy of Hellgate London on sale in one branch a good 12 months after the game closed.

[I, Cosh]

Got to say, while I agree about the poor selection, the rest of  this isn't really my experience at all.

In my experience Game is a terrible, terrible shop exemplified by bad customer service (scruffy, sullen looking grunters from what I've seen)

Last couple of times I've been in I've had to consciously remind myself that these girls aren't really flirting me. Even though I like Child of Eden!

Add to that the fact that their bundle deals are always inflexible and a total rip off (a way to offload low selling games).

Again, bought my 360 from Game and they had no problem swapping the bundled games. Even turned down my offer to pay the difference.

I didn't think people actually still bought physical PC games. I assumed it was Steam or nothing.