Game (UK Retailer) Discussion

[Rucdose]

Yeah, so I went to my local GAME today and they've had a makeover as well. It's worse in my opinion.

First, their big PC section at the back of the store has now been reduced to a single shelf near the Wii U stuff, which sucks because they used to have 2 big walls with PC Discs on one and all digital Steam/Origin download codes on the other. Second, they've still got all their old Game demos and stuff with the non-functioning controllers and a PSVita that's been frozen most of the time I've came into the store. Lastly, there was a PS4 in the store, but it was just the console behind the counter and when I asked, they said that they aren't getting any next gen demo stations.

I'll think in future, I'll most likely visit the Argos and this other smaller shop that's in Cannock unless if GAME have anything worth buying in the sales. Oh and Amazon.

[JezMM]

I hope this sort of thing is just a temporary marketing thing, but temporary or not I do not approve to pandering that console war is a normal and okay part of gaming society.  It's fucking childish.

 

Having a small PC section isn't too big a deal though IMO.  Why even try to compete with Steam when it's growing into something more accessible to casual AND hardcore players every year.

[Brad]

GAME in the Bullring in Birmingham got a redesign recently. It's literally left wall Xbone, right wall PS4. Then you kinda have PC, Wii U, Wii, 3DS and DS scattered among the rest of middle shelves, with entire shelves dedicated to Disney Infinity and Skylanders. 

 

I also handed in my CV to one of the GAME stores in the Pavilion. Hopefully they get back to me on it, GAME seems like a decent place to work, plus I'd actually know what I'm talking about for once.

Edited November 20, 2013 by Symbotic

[Chronozoah]

Same for my local GAME store. Left side for the Xbox One, right side for the PS4. Everything else in designated rows in between. As much as it may pander to the console war mentality (which unfortunately wouldn't actually be a problem anyway if people weren't so stupid), it does look very organised and makes it very easy to seek out products and information for the upcoming launches, so, on the whole I approve. It might help that I haven't actually encountered any of this 'X console is better' commentary in there (apart from one person), and the employees seem fairly neutral on the subject (apart from one guy - thought he has since been fired, it seems).

 

I will probably hand in an application to them soon. I'm a Uni student with a surprising amount of time on my hands and could probably do with the extra cash.

[PSI Wind]

And you wonder partially why Wii U games and systems are barely selling in the UK

[Chronozoah]

Yes - they're certainly not doing it any favours to help alleviate its struggles, which is unfortunate, because it seems as if it has genuinely interesting titles coming in, and that's coming from someone who has precisely zero interest in Nintendo as a company and in the vast majority of their products.

Edited November 20, 2013 by Chronozoah

[Badnik Mechanic]

And you wonder partially why Wii U games and systems are barely selling in the UK

 

Because theres nothing on offer?

 

This whole 'it's not Nintendos fault' is really weak when you look at the fact that for the last year theres been bugger all out on the system. When was it that news got out that HMV had slashed the price of the Wii U's? I actually went in to see if the prices were real, and they were... just one problem, every game they had for the Wii U with the exceptions of 2 were either coming to other systems or already out.

 

So if theres been bugger all out for it, of course retailers are not going to give it prime store space.

[Chronozoah]

On some level it's obviously Nintendo's fault for not releasing a steady stream of compelling software which will sell the system. I don't think anyone claimed otherwise (feel free to correct me on that, though), however, it would be ignorant to pretend that major retailers actively diverting customers away from Nintendo products or making them difficult to find or as obscure as possible isn't at least having a partial effect on their exposure and sales, because that would have a pretty large effect on sales numbers as a whole, especially when it seems to be something which is happening a lot. Ultimately it's a vicious cycle - but implying that any one party is solely to blame is absurd.

 

I'm not sure how many stores operate like this (but from the consensus, it seems like a common problem), but at my local GAME store the Nintendo section is tiny and out of the way, and one of the main employees out on the floor makes it his personal goal to stop people from purchasing a Wii U as much as humanly possible. It wasn't advice - he was blatantly diverting people from the Wii U, including the unfortunate person who actually went in to look into the Wii U. There were more than a few laughs shared at the expense of this customer amongst some of those looking into the other next-gen consoles when the employee pretty much denounced him.

 

Again, I'm not sure if Nintendo customers are subject to stores making it actively difficult to find products they want, or subject to being ridiculed for their preference in entertainment the world over (or, at least, more so now), but I should certainly hope that such behaviours don't occur elsewhere, because they're disgraceful.

Edited November 21, 2013 by Chronozoah

[PSI Wind]

Because theres nothing on offer?

 

This whole 'it's not Nintendos fault' is really weak when you look at the fact that for the last year theres been bugger all out on the system. When was it that news got out that HMV had slashed the price of the Wii U's? I actually went in to see if the prices were real, and they were... just one problem, every game they had for the Wii U with the exceptions of 2 were either coming to other systems or already out.

 

So if theres been bugger all out for it, of course retailers are not going to give it prime store space.

I said partially. Yes, it's also Nintendo's fault.

[AzureHedgehog]

I remember game, we had them in Australia too, but they all dissapeared.

 

howeverthereareotherbettervideogamestoresaroundherehohohohohoho

[Doctor MK]

Went into my local GAME to pick up my pre-order copy of Super Mario 3D World and, surprise surprise, none of the pre-order bonuses (the furry sleeve and keyrings) had come in. I'd let it slide but this kind of thing has happened to me far too often now, and it makes me resent buying from GAME in-store even more - I only really did it this time because I had money on a gift card to use up and the promise of the extras. Certainly won't be doing it again in a hurry.

 

I know GAME's priority today has been the PS4 launch, but still, don't advertise pre-order bonuses if you're not actually going to provide them. Now I've got to ring up or check back every so often until they do get them in, if at all, and that's assuming they haven't just given them away willy-nilly to any person that buys the game by that point. So after all that fuss I could end up with nothing anyway.

 

Anyone else have this same problem? Or is it just my local store that's dropped the ball?

[Detective Shadzter]

Went into the upstairs GAME in my local shopping centre and it's been given the same Xbox One and PS4 makeover that the downstairs one has. 

Went into my local GAME to pick up my pre-order copy of Super Mario 3D World and, surprise surprise, none of the pre-order bonuses (the furry sleeve and keyrings) had come in. I'd let it slide but this kind of thing has happened to me far too often now, and it makes me resent buying from GAME in-store even more - I only really did it this time because I had money on a gift card to use up and the promise of the extras. Certainly won't be doing it again in a hurry.

 

I know GAME's priority today has been the PS4 launch, but still, don't advertise pre-order bonuses if you're not actually going to provide them. Now I've got to ring up or check back every so often until they do get them in, if at all, and that's assuming they haven't just given them away willy-nilly to any person that buys the game by that point. So after all that fuss I could end up with nothing anyway.

 

Anyone else have this same problem? Or is it just my local store that's dropped the ball?

Didn't see any ads for the bonuses in the store I went into today, so I guess they didn't have any in either. I really doubt they would have run out already if they had had any in. The boxes on the shelf looked like retail copies, but they didn't have the furry cover. 

[Your Vest Friend]

Wait a minute, two pages ago we were discussing how games before a certain date weren't allowed to be sold? But I got sold Diddy Kong Racing at Game a month ago...

[Doctor MK]

Went into the upstairs GAME in my local shopping centre and it's been given the same Xbox One and PS4 makeover that the downstairs one has. 

Didn't see any ads for the bonuses in the store I went into today, so I guess they didn't have any in either. I really doubt they would have run out already if they had had any in. The boxes on the shelf looked like retail copies, but they didn't have the furry cover. 

 

The guy who served me went to pick up one of the boxes from the back and then when he realised they were only the normal copies he asked another member of staff about the pre-order bonuses (without me prompting him, I might add) - only to be told they hadn't come in.

 

So they're aware that there should be something, it's just failed to materialise.

[Gabz Girl]

Went into my local GAME to pick up my pre-order copy of Super Mario 3D World and, surprise surprise, none of the pre-order bonuses (the furry sleeve and keyrings) had come in. I'd let it slide but this kind of thing has happened to me far too often now, and it makes me resent buying from GAME in-store even more - I only really did it this time because I had money on a gift card to use up and the promise of the extras. Certainly won't be doing it again in a hurry.

 

I know GAME's priority today has been the PS4 launch, but still, don't advertise pre-order bonuses if you're not actually going to provide them. Now I've got to ring up or check back every so often until they do get them in, if at all, and that's assuming they haven't just given them away willy-nilly to any person that buys the game by that point. So after all that fuss I could end up with nothing anyway.

 

Anyone else have this same problem? Or is it just my local store that's dropped the ball?

 

You're not the only one! Picked up SM3DW today from one of the GAME shops here in Plymouth (which have got the PS4/Xbone look btw) and they had nothing on display in the New Releases, except for the Wii U section itself which is tiny and right opposite the Sony one. My partner asked for the game, which was NOT on display behind the till, so the guy went to get it and came back saying they haven't had the pre order bonus delivered to them! In fact, they told us the same thing happened with the Link Between Worlds treasure chest. It took four days for it to finally get to the store for people who pre ordered the game!

 

They think the Mario bonus will arrive tomorrow, but we'll wait until Monday. =/ Still, it's not very good and we were both disappointed with GAME's incompetence .

[Doctor MK]

You're not the only one! Picked up SM3DW today from one of the GAME shops here in Plymouth (which have got the PS4/Xbone look btw) and they had nothing on display in the New Releases, except for the Wii U section itself which is tiny and right opposite the Sony one. My partner asked for the game, which was NOT on display behind the till, so the guy went to get it and came back saying they haven't had the pre order bonus delivered to them! In fact, they told us the same thing happened with the Link Between Worlds treasure chest. It took four days for it to finally get to the store for people who pre ordered the game!

 

They think the Mario bonus will arrive tomorrow, but we'll wait until Monday. =/ Still, it's not very good and we were both disappointed with GAME's incompetence .

 

Yikes, that is bad. Especially for the Zelda one, seeing as the treasure chest was a real incentive to buy the game from there over other, cheaper retailers.

 

Let us know if you have any luck with the Mario pre-order stuff, and I'll do likewise - we want to stroke Mario's furry tummy, dammit!

[Detective Shadzter]

One of my two local GAME's has made some improvements to the Wii U and 3DS sections. The Wii U section now has the console to play on, except that while the GamePad was working, the TV didn't seem to be :-/ As for the 3DS section, it now has a 3DS XL and a 2DS to try out, too. 

 

Oh, and before I forget, they now have Mario occasionally wishing everyone a "Merry Christmoose" on their radio. 

[JezMM]

Yikes, that is bad. Especially for the Zelda one, seeing as the treasure chest was a real incentive to buy the game from there over other, cheaper retailers.

 

Let us know if you have any luck with the Mario pre-order stuff, and I'll do likewise - we want to stroke Mario's furry tummy, dammit!

 

I know this was a while back but from talking to Mollfie I just want to say this isn't really GAME's incompetance.  If they don't get deliveries the fault lies with either Nintendo or the delivery service itself.

[Detective Shadzter]

Looks like GAME had a good Christmas, which I guess isn't a surprise with two new consoles launching and their overpriced bundles for said consoles. 

 

GAME reports 83% jump in Christmas sales
Retailer widely rumoured to be considering a return to the stock market
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/445409/game-reports-83-jump-in-christmas-sales/

[Swiss]

Yeah, just reading back on the pre-order bonus issues I can echo what Jez is saying; it's down to Ninty not sending the required number of bonuses out (if any at all in some cases), not GAME. We only got 6 out of 27 treasure chests for Zelda! Apparently they get this problem with Nintendo a lot, at least recently anyway.

[Doctor MK]

Yeah, just reading back on the pre-order bonus issues I can echo what Jez is saying; it's down to Ninty not sending the required number of bonuses out (if any at all in some cases), not GAME. We only got 6 out of 27 treasure chests for Zelda! Apparently they get this problem with Nintendo a lot, at least recently anyway.

 

Fair enough! I take back some of what I said then. I was only under the impression that it was their responsibility due to never having problems with receiving pre-order bonuses on time from other retailers on the odd occasion there's been any, it just always seems to be GAME that has left me disappointed in the past - but if it's Nintendo dropping the ball rather than GAME themselves, well, not a lot that can be done I guess! Here's hoping Ninty can be a bit more punctual with deliveries in the future.

[Tricky Vicky]

Darn, this has put me off buying new games or preordering them for a while, but theres a massive game store called "cex" a few blocks up and the games are cheap in there! 

[Jolt_TH]

Ahh good old Cex...just don't go and look at the trade in prices against what they sell them for...

So I was looking on the GAME website today to see if I could find anything I wanted for cheap (Fit Meters are coincidentally) and I noticed that for quite a few Wii U games the prices for the preowned ones were actually higher than the price for the brand new copy of the same game! Surely it's a mistake right?

[Doctor MK]

So I was looking on the GAME website today to see if I could find anything I wanted for cheap (Fit Meters are coincidentally) and I noticed that for quite a few Wii U games the prices for the preowned ones were actually higher than the price for the brand new copy of the same game! Surely it's a mistake right?

 

I've noticed that before in-store a while back, actually. Sometimes there's only been a slight difference (maybe only a pound or two), but because the brand new copies of a game - say, Darksiders 2, because I think that's one I remember being an example - were temporarily on sale they were actually cheaper than the pre-owned copies that obviously weren't on sale. You'd be silly to buy a second-hand one in that instance

[Tricky Vicky]

I saw that Sonic Transformed was cheaper new than it was preowned, I hope it stays that way so I can buy a copy!