Game (UK Retailer) Discussion

[Badnik Mechanic]

Well GAME is still going to have the most in-depth knowledge of any other store that sells games for a start.  But it's also the fact that the vast majority of GAME's profit comes from... well games.

 

Supermarkets can afford to sell stuff cheaper because they make it all back on food.  Other electronics stores sell other electronics and DVDs so they have those to balance things out.

So the justification for higher prices is in-depth knowledge of the product? Even though I can get the same kind of knowledge at virtually any store that has a game section and this has been common practice for any store for years?

 

As for the retro section thing well... yeah time just moves on, sadly.  If you want what has become a specialist product you have to go to a specialist store.

You're not listening to what I'm saying. It's not so much that they got rid of the retro section.

It's that they destroyed the games.

[JezMM]

So the justification for higher prices is in-depth knowledge of the product? Even though I can get the same kind of knowledge at virtually any store that has a game section and this has been common practice for any store for years?

 

You're not listening to what I'm saying. It's not so much that they got rid of the retro section.

It's that they destroyed the games.

 

Really?  I mean I can only work from Mollfie's knowledge but she said they (kind of equally depressingly but still) just got put into indefinite storage at her stores, if I recall.

 

Regarding the other thing I really can't see someone going into Curry's or Sainsburys and being able to say "my son really likes Mario 3D Land but he didn't like Mario & Luigi Dream Team, what other games might he like?" and them being able to give the same kind of knowledgeable feedback that you'd get from GAME.

[kimplix]

I don't know what's wrong with the staff at GAME. Yesterday in the afternoon, I went to GAME to purchased a Steam code so I can buy a few games. But turns out, they printed me out a PSN code. I had to rush back to complain about this and in the end, they managed to change it. It's either the eye sights, or the fact that there were quite a few customers on the day

[Badnik Mechanic]

In 2007 Game bought Gamestation, Gamestation had a much higher retro population than Game did. In 2008 less than a year after the purchase, Game ordered all branches of Gamestation to destroy any Game which had come out before a set date, there were however some exceptions to this rule, most noticably PS2 and Xbox games.

 

I won't give his name since he's not said I can, theres a dude who now works for Team 17 who has been to several Summer of Sonic's who I've met at a number of meetups and who used to work in the Hull Game and Gamestations as well as several others around the Humber area. He has said to me on numerous occasions that Game did indeed instruct Gamestation to destroy their old stock of retro games, a handful of stores refused to do this, but the vast majority didn't question it because like many stores which led upto Game going into administration, the managers of said stores didn't understand their own markets. He told me that many stores had in their store rooms boxed complete copies of games like Snatcher for the Mega CD, Panzar Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers, in almost mint condition... but none of it was allowed to go out on the stock floor, even though the normal staff who were gamers knew it was worth a fortune and would have sold had it gone out.

 

Fortunately, the store in Hull was one of the larger ones so he was able to convince the store manager to put out an old retro title in the window and usually it would sell within a day or two. Hell it turned out I even bought one that he put there when I spotted a boxed copy of Snatcher one day.

 

Aparently, one reason why when you looked in the retro stock and only saw sports sims and FPS' is due to Game not understanding their own market. it boiled down to "Well we sell a lot of FPS and sports titles are always popular... so we'll allow retro sports nad FPS games to be put out, but nothing else."

 

Game ordering Gamestation to destroy old stock was wildly reported at the time.

 

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=281108

 

http://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?/topic/180208-gamestation-destroying-retro-stock/

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/forum/thread/109183

[Mogtaki]

Okay, so a lot of GAME hating going on here, but I gotta say...maybe it's just your stores that are the problem, not everyone else's.

 

The GAME store up here in Inverness is pretty cool, even if they are selling phones and tablets nowadays it's still the same people. There's this one guy who draws an illustration in pen (no pencil sketching, just straight on pen) on a A1 sketchpad to advertise their sales and special deals, there's two guys who are so passionate about games that will even tell you what's right or wrong about certain games before you buy them to prevent you from making a mistake in buying a certain game, they'll even chat with you about games casually. It may be small, barely the size of two large bedrooms, but the staff are lovely and all have their own styles.

 

As for the online GAME store, I've had generally good and a few bad things go on with them. Their customer service are friendly and quick to respond, if a game gets lost in the mail they'll quickly give you the information to either refund it or receive a new copy of the game instead of just give you an automatic refund and that's that. I enjoy the deals they have on preorders, I mean...that Wind Waker Wii-U preorder that's coming up, ohhhhh man...

 

Another thing, in regards to them recommending games in store, they're great at it. I don't know what it's like in Hull's store or wherever else, but some are great and where I'm from, I really appreciate the fact that there's a store that is passionate about video games in an isolated city like Inverness. We only have one shop that sells games and consoles primarily and even if it's small, I still can't imagine the city without it.

[buba]

I'm not sure if this happened anywhere else, but GAME here in Portugal upgraded to New Game:

 

 

They don't have a site yet, but their Facebook page has lots of contests and shit like that.

Oh, and for the first time here, there will be one of those midnight launches for a game. It will be for GTAV.

 

 

[JezMM]

Ahhh the stock destroying thing makes a lot more sense now if it was a Gamestation thing.  Mollfie has only ever worked at GAME, so no wonder she has no memory of having to destroy stock.  The current GAME she works at used to be a Gamestation, but she joined the team only a month or two ago.

Edited September 15, 2013 by JezMM

[Detective Shadzter]

Okay, so a lot of GAME hating going on here, but I gotta say...maybe it's just your stores that are the problem, not everyone else's.

 

The GAME store up here in Inverness is pretty cool, even if they are selling phones and tablets nowadays it's still the same people. There's this one guy who draws an illustration in pen (no pencil sketching, just straight on pen) on a A1 sketchpad to advertise their sales and special deals, there's two guys who are so passionate about games that will even tell you what's right or wrong about certain games before you buy them to prevent you from making a mistake in buying a certain game, they'll even chat with you about games casually. It may be small, barely the size of two large bedrooms, but the staff are lovely and all have their own styles.

 

As for the online GAME store, I've had generally good and a few bad things go on with them. Their customer service are friendly and quick to respond, if a game gets lost in the mail they'll quickly give you the information to either refund it or receive a new copy of the game instead of just give you an automatic refund and that's that. I enjoy the deals they have on preorders, I mean...that Wind Waker Wii-U preorder that's coming up, ohhhhh man...

 

Another thing, in regards to them recommending games in store, they're great at it. I don't know what it's like in Hull's store or wherever else, but some are great and where I'm from, I really appreciate the fact that there's a store that is passionate about video games in an isolated city like Inverness. We only have one shop that sells games and consoles primarily and even if it's small, I still can't imagine the city without it.

This is all of the stuff I love about GAME, but as I said in my previous post, while I love this stuff, price is still a BIG issue. For about 6 months before the administration, I decided to support a couple of my local Gamestation stores (one of them closed in the administration  ) and was buying pre-owned and new games from them, even though I could have gotten them about £5 cheaper elsewhere. Following the administration though, the prices are much higher and I just can't afford them. Xbox 360 and PS3 games used to be no higher than £39.99, unless it was a Call of Duty game (£44.99), but now they're all hitting the shelves at £42.99-£44.99. New Wii U games are often £49.99, while everywhere else sells them for £39.99 or less. 

 

It makes me sad really. I genuinely want to support them, but the prices are just crazy. I'm going to get my Zelda Wii U console from them next month, but with their prices, I don't know if I'll be buying any games from them for it, unless they do any good bundles. 

[Swiss]

At my GAME store we've got a big box of Dreamcast, Mega Drive and Saturn games just sitting in the stockroom. Such a shame they can't be sold, but at least they weren't destroyed!

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

At my GAME store we've got a big box of Dreamcast, Mega Drive and Saturn games just sitting in the stockroom. Such a shame they can't be sold, but at least they weren't destroyed!

So wait, they are just stuck there in limbo, and there is nothing you can do with them? that stinks, to bad you cant get some of the saturn ones and send them to me XD

[Swiss]

I'm going to ask at some point after the GTA hype dies down if they're available for us staff to buy, there's a few in there I'd love to have!

 

Also, I'd love if GAME got the Retron 5 console in stock when it's out. They got the Ouya and another less heard-of console (can't remember the name) recently, so I'm sure it's not completely impossible!

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

I'm going to ask at some point after the GTA hype dies down if they're available for us staff to buy, there's a few in there I'd love to have!

 

Also, I'd love if GAME got the Retron 5 console in stock when it's out. They got the Ouya and another less heard-of console (can't remember the name) recently, so I'm sure it's not completely impossible!

Well, just to wait and see then, maybe if you end up getting the lot of them you can ship some of the extra saturn ones to me XD though I still need to track down an AR plus to play them, well good luck

[Doctor MK]

I must admit price is one of the main reasons I've not been shopping in GAME as much any more. I always (and I mean always) used to go in-store to buy my new games, even when several of my friends had gotten into online shopping and kept telling me to do so as well because it was cheaper. But I absolutely loved the thrill of getting out from a long day at school, being driven to the shopping centre and picking up a shiny new game off the shelf. You just couldn't replicate that experience by going onto a website, clicking a button, and waiting for it to turn up in the post. For me, the few extra pounds I had to pay were worth it for the atmosphere alone.

 

But, as time has gone on, finance has obviously become a more pressing issue. While I still in principle prefer to go in-store and buy my games - I absolutely insisted I went to a midnight launch for the Wii U rather than buying it online - if I can buy the latest titles for sometimes up to a tenner cheaper elsewhere, and have it delivered straight to my door, and usually get it a day or two early... well, sadly, there's no competition, at least when it's not for something that feels genuinely "special" like a new console.

 

That's not to say I'm completely against GAME though. While some of the staff aren't very open minded with regards to gaming tastes, you do get a few really enthusiastic ones - heck, there's one guy at my local GAME who is an absolute Nintendo nut and you can't help but soak up a little bit of his passion whenever he talks to you (which he does often, being a friendly and approachable type who really knows his stuff). And it is nice to have a shop on the high street that is devoted to selling videogames, even if it's not as all-encompassing as the likes of Gamestation once were. But at the end of the day, money talks, and sometimes it just isn't enough to truly justify paying what are, by comparison, rather inflated prices.

[Detective Shadzter]

I must admit price is one of the main reasons I've not been shopping in GAME as much any more. I always (and I mean always) used to go in-store to buy my new games, even when several of my friends had gotten into online shopping and kept telling me to do so as well because it was cheaper. But I absolutely loved the thrill of getting out from a long day at school, being driven to the shopping centre and picking up a shiny new game off the shelf. You just couldn't replicate that experience by going onto a website, clicking a button, and waiting for it to turn up in the post. For me, the few extra pounds I had to pay were worth it for the atmosphere alone.

 

But, as time has gone on, finance has obviously become a more pressing issue. While I still in principle prefer to go in-store and buy my games - I absolutely insisted I went to a midnight launch for the Wii U rather than buying it online - if I can buy the latest titles for sometimes up to a tenner cheaper elsewhere, and have it delivered straight to my door, and usually get it a day or two early... well, sadly, there's no competition, at least when it's not for something that feels genuinely "special" like a new console.

 

That's not to say I'm completely against GAME though. While some of the staff aren't very open minded with regards to gaming tastes, you do get a few really enthusiastic ones - heck, there's one guy at my local GAME who is an absolute Nintendo nut and you can't help but soak up a little bit of his passion whenever he talks to you (which he does often, being a friendly and approachable type who really knows his stuff). And it is nice to have a shop on the high street that is devoted to selling videogames, even if it's not as all-encompassing as the likes of Gamestation once were. But at the end of the day, money talks, and sometimes it just isn't enough to truly justify paying what are, by comparison, rather inflated prices.

That's exactly how I feel. Before the administration, I had been in my locals and had some good experiences with staff and decided the extra few quid was worth it along with the points, but since the administration the prices have just gotten too high :-/ 

[Doctor MK]

That's exactly how I feel. Before the administration, I had been in my locals and had some good experiences with staff and decided the extra few quid was worth it along with the points, but since the administration the prices have just gotten too high :-/ 

 

I think that's what makes it feel especially apparent at the moment - the fact that, even after being saved from the jaws of death, it seems they haven't learned their lesson. It's the high prices that probably caused their administration problems in the first place, so to see them repeating bad habits, you kind of lose sympathy for them.

 

What bugs me a lot of the time is that the in-store prices are vastly different to those on the website. Again, I understand there are added costs involved, but new releases can be up to £5-10 more expensive if you go in to the shop to buy it - excluding any money you've paid in petrol/bus fares to get there, too. And GAME's online prices are far from the cheapest out there to begin with. Unless there's a really good offer or an exclusive bonus I couldn't get elsewhere, I tend to find myself on places like ShopTo instead.

 

One recent example that I can think of - New Super Luigi U. Just under £20 if you buy it digitally. If you want the boxed version? About £27 on ShopTo. About £30 on GAME's website. And in-store in GAME when it first came out? £34.99. That's, to put it frankly, obscene. If you bought it from the latter you'd be paying almost twice the price just for a plastic case and a sleeve. I know it's a "new" Mario game and therefore a guaranteed seller (so why not milk a few extra pounds out of it, right?), but you really just can't justify such a price difference for what is, at the end of the day, glorified DLC.

[Mr Loopone]

I actually miss Gamestation since back in the day, they were cheaper than Game, had good customer service and had more choice even if the place absolutely stunk. Even back in the days when they sold import games and the store was overcrowded.

 

Anyway Game has a like and a dislike relationship to me. I don't like that they are more expensive than most places [now HMV post-administration is about par with them] when Cex does them cheaper pre-owned and Grainger Games does them cheaper new retail wise. For the latter, I might have to explain this one since they are from the North of England but it is sort of like Game as in a game retailer but like Cex as in that they sell DVDs/Blu-rays and phones/tablets plus they stock a free gaming magazine Gamereactor. In some areas, there are no Game shops but there is a Grainger Games shop such as Castleford town centre. Supermarkets can even be cheaper but they only have the big ones so for the more nicher titles, have to go elsewhere. Since the supermarkets and HMV now have very poor choice compared to say 6 months ago, there aren't many places left on the high street that sell games so I'm glad that Game, Cex and Grainger Games are there otherwise it is going to be online only and I don't want that. I actually prefer buying games retail with cash since it is safer (pretty much against ordering anything online unless it is in top up form due to a bad experience), it is quicker, easier to take it back if it doesn't work and in some cases actually cheaper.

 

When I do go to Game, it is just for the PSN top up cards since I don't often buy games from Game due to the price. I even broke my non-online rule for the first time and got Splinter Cell: Blacklist (Wii U version) from Amazon since it was half price compared to elsewhere (Game £50, Grainger Games £40, nowhere else sells it). Game does sell the PS3/360 version for £25 like Amazon and HMV but not the Wii U version. Yes, I know a lot of the cost is due to rents especially in city centre locations and wages for the staff compared to online retailers when they only have a few staff members and warehouses but the UK has lots of competition and people go for the cheapest place. That's why people order from Zavvi using codes from HotUKDeals or the Gaf even though their customer service is awful.

 

It does seem judging by the posts that your area either has a good Game store or a complete rubbish one. The Wakefield one is actually pretty good in terms of customer service plus they had an event going off regarding FIFA 13 and the staff seemed nice when dealing with my order. My local isn't as good but I do remember the staff were talking about Metal Gear Rising and Platinum Games stuff when that game was coming out to each other which gave me a little smile. Don't know if its the same now since a good store can turn into a bad one and vice versa due to the staff that a store can have. I mean Game is actually okay for like families to get advice or a quick pop in for a chat if you know the staff really well but for anyone else, it is just better to look at reviews/gameplay footage [not trailers]/people's impressions and decide where to go. As for advice, it really depends on your store and the staff member at the time. Some might have only played the big ones and haven't played or don't want to play some of the other games. Then again there are some people whose gaming diets only include latest FIFA, latest Call of Duty or Battlefield or both, latest Halo if they have a 360, latest GTA and a couple of other mass marketed titles so for some advice is not even needed.

 

There was one good story, me and my dad were shopping in the city centre and popped into the local Game after looking at Cex opposite (since I am currently at an original Xbox kick, get the games before November when they are going to stop selling them), didn't have any PS3 games or Wii games that I wanted so I drived to the now-gone PS2 section to flick through out of curiousity and found an Xbox game at 24p. The game in question was a football game but it was Pro Evolution Soccer 5 considered by many as the king of all football games. Plus Cex was charging £1.50 at the time so it was a bargain even if it is a mouldy oldy sports game. Since retro gaming is larger than it has been, why can't Game do a trial having the most wanted or most regarded titles (so no FIFA 99) in one small section near the back and sell them cheaper than eBay? That way they can get rid of their old stock and with enough sales, they can lower the prices of the newer titles too.

[TrueBlue]

I like the stores, but the pricing is awful. Pokemon Black/White 2 should not be £32.99 pre-owned in store.

[Scott]

My Game store is a bit difficult to put in short, so prepare yourself for a wee story....

 

There used to be only GAME in my area. Complete with employees dressed in smart clothes and a purple theme - going for a professional look that seems so uninviting. When you buck up the courage to go in, you take a look and end up realising their prices are so extortionate and then you walk back out, having not purchased anything.

 

In about 2006, I have my first experience in a Gamestation store in Stirling, Scotland (A wee drive away) - I had never heard of the store beforehand. I walk in and I'm completely blown away - Employees with piercings, tattoos and just simply look like the average gamer along with a black/metallic theme that seems relaxed. The shop contains games of all generations and likewise, the staff are well-versed on their gaming trivia. I buy my first Sega Saturn with Sonic Jam, Alien Trilogy and Bust a Move 3 instead of a Nintendo DS Lite on release day.

 

Fast forward about late 2007/early 2008 - a Gamestation opens up in my area of Falkirk, I'm overjoyed. Once it opens, me and my friends find it better than our local game. It was exactly like the building in Stirling, everything from there, was also here - Gamestation seemed like the shop that put in the effort. It was the Falkirk one where I finally managed to buy a Gamegear, as I had always wanted one. Bargains everyday - I had no idea then that it was going to be short-lived.

 

The news is released that GAME buys Gamestation and everything gets shit - Retro games are soon taken away, less merch in-stores and more. The quality staff and prices still remain in comparison to GAME and we eventually see GAME's downward spiral...almost.

 

GAME are resurrected an alongside them is their terrible prices, boring staff and their horrible purple theme! Did they learn anything? The short answer would be - NO!

 

It then gets worse - every Gamestation store will now become a GAME store. In Falkirk, what started with one GAME store ended as one GAME store. My store still has the black/metal theme on the inside with the same quality staff thankfully despite the outside bearing that hideous logo. But unfortunately, due to regulations and such, their prices suck. And that is the story of why I buy games online.

[Detective Shadzter]

GAME UK has a new Christmas ad campaign out featuring the stereotypical clueless mother in a game store. 

 

There are two ads, one 31 seconds and one 20 seconds (just saw it on ITV 2) with two different mothers, but the same GAME assistant.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/video-here-s-game-s-2013-uk-christmas-tv-ad/0123783

 

Here's the longest one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baD0ntoWW5U

[JezMM]

I think the joke is good but (it was close to not working but since it shows him looking at an ACTUAL game before saying it, it kinda works).

 

But the "only at game" bit feels painfully unnatural no clerk would ever say that and... why use "epic" as a buzzword.  Why.  Whatever advertising person in charge type thing thought epic is still a cool word is only one step away from being the mother character in the advert.

 

 

Would have been nice to have some variations on the joke which didn't use the most cliché match-up of teenage son and confused mother though, just to try and modernise it a bit.

[Detective Shadzter]

Went into a local GAME store this afternoon and they've had a BIG makeover. As soon as you walk in you see a load of blue and green. I looked up and immediately noticed a sign hanging from the middle of the ceiling with a pic of Master Chief on the left and Nathan Drake on the right saying "Which side are you on?" It said Xbox with a left arrow and PlayStation with a right arrow.

 

There's a huge aisle for Xbox on the left with Xbox One and Xbox 360 games, with an Xbox One console set up running video demos. On the right there's a huge aisle full of PS4, PS3 and PS Vita games. A PS4 was set up with 2 customers playing FIFA 14 on it really enjoying themselves and a PS Vita was on display but it was off and you couldn't play it anyway, because it's enclosed in a plastic bubble. 

 

The PC has been reduced to one of those small 2 sided shelf displays on the right side of the store, while Wii U has been reduced to just one side of one of those on the left side of the store  with Skylanders and Disney Infinity on the other side. 3DS has also been reduced to one side of one of those displays. I think Wii and DS were on the other side.

 

The tills have been moved from the right side to the far end of the store. I heard a staff member on the right side sorting a guy's Xbox One pre-order out and when it got to payment, she said he would have to go to the left side to pay. I was thinking, is this to do with the Xbox and PlayStation store split? They can't surely be diving the tills between PlayStation and Xbox purchases. Where would you pay for PC and Nintendo stuff? 

[Jolt_TH]

Yeah I've seen this in all three of my local stores, seems like a redesign of the store nationally, not sure about the redesign of the tills in those stores, haven't shopped in them in quite a while

[Swiss]

We've had the same at mine, haven't spotted the 'Which Side?' sign yet though! Funnily enough, our Wii U and PC sections have actually grown in size since the store move! Tills are in the same spot, I think what you saw Shadz was the 'Get Gaming Quicker' thing which is basically letting people pay for their consoles in advance so that on the day they can just come in, grab their console and head home. It's dealt with seperately so the tills can be free for regular customers and the GGQ customer can have a more personal time with the staff.

 

Still...the console war stuff is bloody awful. 

[SilentDoom]

Went into a local GAME store this afternoon and they've had a BIG makeover. As soon as you walk in you see a load of blue and green. I looked up and immediately noticed a sign hanging from the middle of the ceiling with a pic of Master Chief on the left and Nathan Drake on the right saying "Which side are you on?" It said Xbox with a left arrow and PlayStation with a right arrow.

 

 

Upon seeing something like that one would almost feel inclined to leave the store, go home, bust out the laptop, boot up Steam and say "PC".

[Doctor MK]

Where would you pay for PC and Nintendo stuff? 

 

Don't be silly Shadzter, nobody buys Nintendo stuff!