Not surprised really, I buy all by physical copies of music and games off amazon or play because they offer better value for money. It seems Game is becoming the latest high street name that has failed to adapt to a changed market.
The UK "Game" store is not doing very well financially, I found out why!
- Thread starter Seraj
- Start date
Susurrus said:
For a start Amazon has basically wiped out HMV anyway, they have been forced to sell the most profitable part of business, Waterstones, in the last 12 months. Largely for similar reasons as game, they had become over leveraged in the boom years and shrinking sales. They don't have make a 28% mark up, they have to make a mark up which is (28%-whatever Liechtenstein's corporation tax rate + additional costs of running shops) higher than Amazon and there's the heart of the matter. Places with physical shop have to make a higher margin than Amazon to start with but in addition they have make an even greater margin to achieve the same profit due to they way Amazon uses corporation tax.
It's usually head office that make all these 'fabulous' deals.
And even the employees, the ones with a discount, aren't impressed with them, what does that tell you.
Honestly...the best deals GAME ever do are usually around Christmas... and even then I can't absolutely recommend buying from there than online.
It's sad. I did like working there, my Manager truly liked gaming and runs the store to the best of his ability, it's obvious when watching him deal with customers, but there's just something too corporate and inapproachable about GAME now, I'm not surprised it's come to this.
And even the employees, the ones with a discount, aren't impressed with them, what does that tell you.
Honestly...the best deals GAME ever do are usually around Christmas... and even then I can't absolutely recommend buying from there than online.
It's sad. I did like working there, my Manager truly liked gaming and runs the store to the best of his ability, it's obvious when watching him deal with customers, but there's just something too corporate and inapproachable about GAME now, I'm not surprised it's come to this.
Does EB Games operate in the UK yet? If not, you can bet once Game start screwing themselves enough with the '75p on' sales, and alike, they'd move in toward the end, to shove them out.Seraj said:Courtesy of Squall5005 from HUKD for the picture.
Recently I read [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115952-UK-Retailer-Wont-Sell-Ubisoft-Titles-For-Vita-Launch] on the escapist that "Game" considered itself as "the only specialist store in the UK".
No. no. no. no. "Game" is where old people go to buy their grandchildren games and get ripped off. It is cheaper to get games from pretty much *ANYWHERE* else in England (not including the other shops GAME owns, such as Gamestation).
Black Ops was still going for about £40 when MW3 was released at £45. Is it really a surprise they're going out of business?LJF21 said:
Here's another awesome deal from GAME (although I suspect this one was just bad maths on the managers part)
You make a GRAND amazing saving of -£0.75.
Yes, that is minus £0.75. You pay an extra 75p to buy 5 games. Well done "Game", deal of the century!
Seriously though, if the manager can't do simple maths, how on earth did he get that job?
/Rant.
Personally, I can't wait for "Game" to go bust and we see the independent game stores that "Game" elbowed out of business ~8 years ago come back.
And I hope they have more imaginative names than "Game"...
Funnily enough, I ust to go to a GAME store for a while, and when I stopped going there it closed down (this is in Australia btw), they aren't doing too well over here either, so yeah, considering some of the rip off stuff I've heard here, I'm glad they could be forced to change their ways and/or go broke.
I have all those nearby too and my attitude is about the same really. Except my refusal to use CEX is due to their lack of familiarity with alphabetical order.wooty said:
My usual retailer isn't bad either, the prices are admitedely high - but there's a girl who works there who can sell snow to Eskimos and is a massive gamer and all around geek. (And she's as cute as a teddy bear to look at.)Elementary - Dear Watson said:
But the nice thing about my usual retailer is that once they come to know you, they're completely honest with you - and even avoid charging you for use of their CD repair machine. Once you get chatting with 'em, you know that they're enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their craft.
Folks like them is why I prefer retailers - you just cannot get that kind of service with an online source. Bless 'em all I say.
while they may the the last or at least near last actual game shop in the uk, the only other one that im aware of is game station which is in fact owned by them anyways from what i understand, i wont be too sad to see them go when it happens. Ill be sad for the job losses from it mind you but..
asda and tesco are usually good to buy from, i think i bought BF3 for about 32 quid when it just came out. my guess is that supermarkets makes less profit on games because its not their primary product. also you can buy beer while you buy a game you cant do that at game
I agree with that entirely! My local is the same! I have been going there for years, and I know them quite well! They always give me good reccomendations, and they are a great source for rumours! Not only do they read all the reviews, but they get stuff off of other customers too!Gunner 51 said:
They are so much more enthusiastic than the GAME staff, and you can tell that they love to play games as well as sell them. And they are allways honest... they won't let me buy something that is crap, well not without warning, and a reccomendation of something better!
Having worked in a store in the same building as a GAME, the staff sort of knew each other a bit. Anyway a friend I worked with had a chat about GAME hiring policies with them. Apparently GAME aren't too keen on hiring staff who actually know too much about games at the start. They have some sure, but if you know too much and seem like you're a bit too honest they won't be that big on you. Staff members aren't overly encouraged to offer advice as to whether a game is good or not. They apparently describe it as 'being inappropriate to influence the customers decision to a large degree', when what they really mean is that they'll loose profits on their ridiculously overpriced second hand or older games. Seriously? Full price for a game thats been out 6 months? Even still charging £20 for a second hand game at least 18 months old? I wish there were a better option in my area, sadly there is not.
i used to go to a similar shop when i was at college they had a few xboxes linked together and would let us play at lunch time for a few quid, also they had a ps3 set up so you could try a game out on the xboxes or PS3 before you bought it. they also had good advice and sold games a few days before general release (basically when they got the delivery)Elementary - Dear Watson said:
HMV has been terribad on pricing for at least 7 years, though I believe even longer than that.albino boo said:
As a case in point, when there was a Zavvi and an HMV in my town (And Virgin, before it became Zavvi), I could guarantee on picking up anything I wanted 50% cheaper at Zavvi than HMV, even when stuff wasn't as ridiculously priced as HMV's Futurama deal, above. Yes, Zavvi went bust, but I'm given to believe that was a cash-flow problem relating to the reduction in loans available from banks, rather than actually being balance sheet insolvent.
HMV are just terrible. They can't price even vaguely realistically, so anyone and their mum can undercut them. I'd PREFER to go into a music store and browse, and maybe pay a little more to buy stuff there. Same with DVDs - when I buy them, its usually on a weekend, and I'm buying them because I want to watch something tonight and there's nothing on TV. I hate having to order, but when it's so much more cost effective, there's no reason not to. If I was paying a bit more, fine, but to pay 400% (and the Futurama example I gave is by no means unusual) more is something noone with a brain is ever going to do - and if charging prices like that in the hope that people are going to buy is the only way they can realistically meet their costs, then they're already broke and good riddance, frankly.
The only problem with amazon I found was the delivery, they can fuck it up big-time on many occasions. I found Game are alright for consoles as they're about the same price as other competitors, but truly fuck you over when it comes to game prices.spartandude said:
I have heard some people having problems with Amazon sodding up the deliveries, but personally ive never had any problems with at all, so atm il still swear by themTerribleAssassin said:
however i will say Game is best for pre-orders
I prefer Game online pre-orders. Got Arkham City 2 days earlier with the Robin expansion pack cheaper than Amazon.spartandude said:
There is ALWAYS a cute girl in Game and Gamestation that just happens to be a massive gamer and geek. It is clearly intentional. You are being manipulated. Corporate is squeezing money out of your penis.
The only reason I ever shop at game these days is when they go for 'clearance deals' on games that are a week old and sell them for about £20-£25.
Other than that, I'll head to a Cex or Gamestation, as prices are usually at least a bit cheaper. I've found staff in Game and Gamestation to be about equal in terms of customer service, and they generally give me their personal opinions if they've played the game themselves.
Maybe my local branch is just a one-off, but I do quite enjoy the atmosphere in store, particularly when I end up chatting with a given member of staff as I browse the pre-owned ps2/xbox section of it. I mean, it's clear that I'm not spending any real money given that every game is a 3 for £15 affair but they still stop and chat about games we enjoyed.
Other than that, I'll head to a Cex or Gamestation, as prices are usually at least a bit cheaper. I've found staff in Game and Gamestation to be about equal in terms of customer service, and they generally give me their personal opinions if they've played the game themselves.
Maybe my local branch is just a one-off, but I do quite enjoy the atmosphere in store, particularly when I end up chatting with a given member of staff as I browse the pre-owned ps2/xbox section of it. I mean, it's clear that I'm not spending any real money given that every game is a 3 for £15 affair but they still stop and chat about games we enjoyed.