U.K. Retailer GAME Loses Mass Effect 3

[cookyy2k]

i could really care less.

So you do care a bit? Sorry couldn't help myself.

Whatever, Bioware/EA just make me too angry to use proper grammar i guess

Yeah, I totally agree with your main point. EA took one of my favorite games stripped all the fun out of it and made a cover based TPS with some RPG elements and an attempt at a continuation story. Good old EA: buy IP, make IP into samey rubbish, sell, make profit and repeat. Side effects may include massive stagnation of gaming.

 

[Andy Chalk]

But how is this BioWare's or EA's fault? Neither of them have anything to do with GAME, their only contribution to this mess is EA's apparently refusal to give GAME better credit terms.

 

[cookyy2k]

But how is this BioWare's or EA's fault? Neither of them have anything to do with GAME, their only contribution to this mess is EA's apparently refusal to give GAME better credit terms.

We got off topic due to the stagnation of comments...

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Well, that's really gonna cripple them, since GAME own gamestation, if they go that would largely be the end of specialist games stores in the UK.

Or a huge enough opening in the market for new retailers

 

[vallorn]

Well, that's really gonna cripple them, since GAME own gamestation, if they go that would largely be the end of specialist games stores in the UK.

Or a huge enough opening in the market for new retailers

CEX stores that stock nothing but used games, movies and electrical goods at cheaper prices than both Game and Gamestation are cropping up and outselling both.

way of the future?

 

[mattttherman3]

Wow, I feel so very bad for you guys and gals in the UK, that sucks, I would lose my mind.

 

[vallorn]

Wow, I feel so very bad for you guys and gals in the UK, that sucks, I would lose my mind.

I preordered a whole month ago with GAME. needless to say my rage is so incandescent its illegal to sell in the EU.

However good job EA for redistributing what were Exclusive collectors editions to a ton of other retailers like Amazon and Play for us to get them from. (i have mine preordered from Amazon now )

 

[Andy Shandy]

So are the preorder refunds only coming in the form of GAME gift cards?

I believe it depends on how you pre-ordered it. If it was online then you get a code that gets you £5 off on their website. If it was in store, then I believe they will offer you it in the form of a gift card, but you can ask for your money back. I'm not sure if that's definite though, so I wouldn't take my word as the gospel.

Besides that, a friend is pretty much furious as he had the Collector's Edition pre-ordered as early as possible, then missed out. What added to his frustration was that, he thought he had ended up getting a copy from Play, but they had trouble with his card details AFTER he'd placed his pre-order down and by the time he'd been told everyone was out of stock for it. Suffice to say, he is not a happy camper.

 

[Baron_BJ]

NOTE TO AUSTRALIAN GAMERS (and to an extent, non-UK gamers):

After reading this article I called up GAME and asked what the situation was; I was told that their orders had already gone through and had been fulfilled (as in most of their stock was already in store and ready for purchase on release day). This is because aside from name and monetary relationship (regarding profits and franchising) their relationship with dealers is different and handled seperately.

This implies that all the notices we have recieved so far relating to GAME UK has been limited purely to the UK and not all of their branches across the globe. Keep in mind that although this is the implication other countries may also be affected and it might be a good idea to call up your local store, check and forward the information to others.

 

[Beautiful End]

Wait a couple of months. We'll see a different headline here: "U.K. Retailer GAME Closes its Doors Forever".

I feel sorry for those poor U.K. gamers. At least here in the U.S., we got choices if one retailer were to shut down. :/

 

[xyrafhoan]

The Last Story is still a niche jRPG despite the media attention it got thanks to Operation Rainfall, but Mario Party is a popular family game, Vita launch titles supplement system sales, and Mass Effect 3 is March's blockbuster release. At this point, I don't see how GAME can think it can negotiate better terms when it will certainly die if it doesn't stock the top selling games.

 

[FamoFunk]

Such a shame. I like GAME, I rely on them to trade in unwanted games for something else (I traded in NCIS game for £25 and brought brand new SR:3 for £20)

I can't see a good future for them though, they've already been bailed out, the Gamestation in my city has gone, there's two GAME shops there that might disappear and we won't be left with any shop specialising in games. The also reported having a really, really poor Christmas sale.

The only place to really buy games then (excluding on-line) will be HMV, which are shit, been bailed out and will probably close down too; not to mention the weird, shitty way the randomly price things, or the Supermarket which only stocks a certain amount of games.


I honestly hope something can be resolved, because it would suck to see them go.

 

[LordFisheh]

Finally, a place to vent.

This is a absolute fucking disgrace. I had my copy pre ordered months in advance, only to learn that Game is into selling products it hasn't even secured and be told 'fuck you'. Whether this is EA's fault or Game's, they should never have stocked a product that they didn't know for certain that they'd have, let alone quit on a deal made with a customer. All the other places stocking it have already sold out, so unless Game's retracted copies are being shipped to other distributors as we speak, that's it.

Honestly, in my enraged state I hope they do go bust. Perhaps the market hole will be filled by a new store that keeps its promises. Once you agree to sell something, you bloody well sell it, not 'oh I'm sorry we didn't actually know we'd be able to but we agreed to take your money anyway just in case'.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

Pretty damn annoyed about this. I only bought the game through Gamestation's website because it was the only place I could actually find the Collector's Edition. Now only a WEEK before release they pull this stunt.

I went off GAME as a retail outlet because they were always so exspensive compared to Gamestation (odd because they're the same company) and they had poor trade in deals. Now I might just have gone off both of them altogether. I think it'll be CEX for trade-ins now.

I would buy ME3 through Amazon as I have always done for games but the Collector's Edition is listed only as being "available soon" and I have no idea if I'll have it by launch if I buy that. So do I go for the regular version and hope to find a cheap Collector's Edition later on? Or bite the bullet and maybe have this game delayed? Argh!

 

[aether-x3]

I was only really annoyed about people forgetting to mention that gamestation also lost out on ME3 since we dont even have GAME where I live anymore, then again its my fault for just reading the title instead of reading the articles about it(And me forgetting that GAME owns Gamestation).

and the fact I had Pre-ordered ME3 N7 CE weeks ago instore, buuuut I managed to Pre-Order it from Play.com so its all good now.

 

[Gunner 51]

Don't be mad at your retailers, blame the publisher who sells games to the retailers at rip-off prices. The only reason why Game and Gamestation sell games so expensively is because the publishers do the same to them - as such, the retailers have to sell at a higher price to us to earn any kind of profit.

In short, the publishers are extorting the retailers.

When the the publishers realised that retailers had a life-line in the form of second hand games (as is their right) - ordering developers to make DLC and take chunks out of the game on Day 1 became order of the day.

When the publishers do this in conjunction to treating their developers like crap - I wonder who's the real bad guy.

When the retailer sadly goes the way of the dodo, ask yourself this: Can I trust the publisher to be fairer than the retailers?

Seeing how they have only used their powers as the developer's paymasters for misanthropic - I'll say no - the publishers have only proven that they cannot be trusted.

 

[Baradiel]

Game has been in financial trouble for some time, and this has only worried me. Best I go use my Game cards this weekend, then?

 

[Arkley]

But how is this BioWare's or EA's fault? Neither of them have anything to do with GAME, their only contribution to this mess is EA's apparently refusal to give GAME better credit terms.

Since we don't know the exact details of their negotiations, it's impossible to say who is at fault. It's entirely possible that EA's demands were too draconian and that the situation may have been avoided had they been more reasonable. Of course, it's equally possible that GAME demanded terms far too lenient for a company in such dire straights. Without solid information on the terms proposed and rejected, we can't really know who to blame for the lost pre-orders. All I know is my long-ordered Collector's Edition is now lost and the only other business that seems to be offering them at the moment is Blockbuster, of all places.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

yikes, not good for gaming.
Game going will shrink the variety retail options available, n lets be honest, can anyone see Game lasting beyond a year now?

 

[xxDontknowHowtoDeleteanAccountxx]

I feel quite guilty now, as I have managed to grab a ME3 Collectors edition before they are all grabbed up again.

So, does this mean I have indirectly stolen a collectors edition copy from someone? That makes me unhappy... but not as much as not having a physical copy of the game

And I thought things seemed bad when they cancelled the PSP games, but after this I cannot see GAME recovering...