-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
It's joever
Kenneth Haight
Gold Member
Sad to see but it's always been a shithole. Trying to upsell you needless stuff, extended warranties etc. Blinding non technical Mums/Dads/Grandparents with science
Some fond memories of going to GTA San Andreas Midnight launch and all the staff were dressed up as gang bangers lol, that is when these stores had a semblance of personality. They were never going to survive long term with faster broadband becoming cheaper. The digital future marches on.
Some fond memories of going to GTA San Andreas Midnight launch and all the staff were dressed up as gang bangers lol, that is when these stores had a semblance of personality. They were never going to survive long term with faster broadband becoming cheaper. The digital future marches on.
Shake Your Rump
Member
Where do people in the UK buy games? I'd hate for my local GameStop to close down. The trade-in deals are extremely good over the past year.
Kenneth Haight
Gold Member
I imagine most people are going all digital or buying from online stores, shopto used to be my go to for physical as it was so much cheaper than everywhere else or even amazon.
If you have nerves of steel you can go to CEX and trade your games in but you have a high chance of catching an STD by simply walking in the door.
TransTrender
Gold Member
Yeah, I figured this is just a step in the process to wind down their physical retail operations.
Wherever hotukdeals tells me is cheapest..
Lucifers Beard
Member
Our online retailers are thousands of times better than GAME in most cases. We still have some independent brick and mortar stores that sell games, but The Game Collection and ShopTo are my go to outlets for games. Currys (Appliance store) are also great and have good deals on new games.
Some online stores do trade-ins but I typically sell stuff privately or go to my local Computer Exchange (CEX).
GAME closing down is probably a great idea, the parent company have no idea how to run operate a video game store and after speaking to staff who I've known for years at GAME, they're saying the same thing.
Werewolf Jones
Member
JUST BEEN TO ASDA AND SAW RED RED 2 PS4 FOR £15 QUID, GET DOWN TO STOCKTON-ON-TEES M8
I was on GAME Elite and went off it weeks before they announced the closure of it and currently, I don't have the money to pay for full price new games anymore either so RIP GAME. I supported my local that's in a Sports Direct for at least 3 years. Remember going in there and some fella came all the way from Chester to buy some Golf game, was like fucking hell.
Mr Reasonable
Completely Unreasonable
It's pretty interesting, Game have been dead so many times now, I am practically certain their reanimated corpse will rise again at some point.
I'd love to know what their online sales are like, because their prices are always worse than the competition.
If they are closing at the end of the year then they could quickly adjust their online business to be more competitive. They must have a decent amount of customer email addresses to market to and brand recognition. If they're aggressive, they could establish themselves as an online retailer.
But, I assume the reason these stores are closing is because physical is indeed dying. So, even online retail for games will be on deathwatch soon.
I'd love to know what their online sales are like, because their prices are always worse than the competition.
If they are closing at the end of the year then they could quickly adjust their online business to be more competitive. They must have a decent amount of customer email addresses to market to and brand recognition. If they're aggressive, they could establish themselves as an online retailer.
But, I assume the reason these stores are closing is because physical is indeed dying. So, even online retail for games will be on deathwatch soon.
Mr Reasonable
Completely Unreasonable
JUST BEEN TO ASDA AND SAW RED RED 2 PS4 FOR £15 QUID, GET DOWN TO STOCKTON-ON-TEES M8
"Just been there, bought all the copies for ebay"
West Texas CEO
GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief and Nosiest Dildo Archeologist
RagnarokIV
Battlebus imprisoning me \m/ >.< \m/
GAME? More like LAME! - LMAO!!
TGO
Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Online since the early 2000's
The cost of traveling to a place with a store + the higher price point makes it a no brainer when you get it delivered to your door still sealed.
Myself I either go with Shopto, Game or Amazon depending on what they're offering and who is the cheapest.
Last edited:
jimmyjimmyo
Member
I was a store manager back in the electronics boutique days and left a few years after the transition to game but it was always going to end in tears. EB told us to run it like it was our business and let us decide what to pay for trade ins Game made the business side shite with aggressive pushes for loyalty cards and shit console bundles, was there from the metal gear solid days on PS1 to the Xbox one launch in some capacity. Good staff but awful company at one point we literally were being kept alive by selling £2k a day in Pokémon cards
Dr.Morris79
Member
I'll never forgive them for buying out Gamestation/Electronics boutique. Our local one was utterly strangled to death whilst they kept their 'Game' shop thriving. In the end it shut, became some weird Indian phone repair shit shop.
They can die in a ditch.
It's a shame the physical space is dying, and it's especially shit these arseholes were the ones to help.
Sybrix
Gold Member
Theres one being built near me lol
I thought they were closing down then i see a new GAME coming.......
Putonahappyface
Gold Member
I pre-ordered all my consoles from Game and went to midnight launches. Depressing news.
Last edited:
Putonahappyface
Gold Member
There final death rattle.
Putonahappyface
Gold Member
I buy physical games from either Amazon or Ebay.
Proteus Maximus
Member
I've been buying my phisical games online almost exclusively for 24 years. That's what most people do in the UK.
Last edited:
West Texas CEO
GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief and Nosiest Dildo Archeologist
Why? Preordering guarantees you a copy day 1.
Putonahappyface
Gold Member
Consoles I'll always pre-order, but i'll never understand potentially pre-ordering a broken game on release.Why? Preordering guarantees you a copy day 1.
I always wait to see if the bugs are ironed out before buying any game, because the general consensus with developers is to launch a game with a day one patch.
Dr. Suchong
Member
They were pretty cool during Gen 5.
Buying Breath of fire 3 and 4 for peanuts was a great day for me.
Had some great deals of the week or whatever name they went by.
Me and a friend popping into our town centre, fantasising how great it would be if Devil may cry 3 was deal of the week, getting to Game, and it was! lol
Good memories of being instructed by my boss to go there to buy him a Gameboy with Tetris, after curiously trying mine on my break.
Finding Katamari on Ps3, cheap as shit.
Always being there first thing in the morning to buy a new Nippon ichi release for Ps2.
Queing up for my Wii with Twighlight princess.
Buying my Dreamcast at launch.
Being handed a 3ds to try out before launch.
Just kicking about there with mates trying to find a bargain.
Writing on the wall for Game, and it's a shame.
Thanks for the memories.
Buying Breath of fire 3 and 4 for peanuts was a great day for me.
Had some great deals of the week or whatever name they went by.
Me and a friend popping into our town centre, fantasising how great it would be if Devil may cry 3 was deal of the week, getting to Game, and it was! lol
Good memories of being instructed by my boss to go there to buy him a Gameboy with Tetris, after curiously trying mine on my break.
Finding Katamari on Ps3, cheap as shit.
Always being there first thing in the morning to buy a new Nippon ichi release for Ps2.
Queing up for my Wii with Twighlight princess.
Buying my Dreamcast at launch.
Being handed a 3ds to try out before launch.
Just kicking about there with mates trying to find a bargain.
Writing on the wall for Game, and it's a shame.
Thanks for the memories.
KormaChameleon
Member
It's only a matter of time but they fully go bust. Thanks Mike Ashley. Fat cunt.
cash_longfellow
Member
The thing is it will increase people taking chances on independent stores. I have a retro shop in my area and he’s been booming for 20 years and just had to move to a bigger storefront. He also gets limited copies of new physical releases but says he makes chump change on those per unit. He also runs game nights with board games and shit too. It’s all about keeping yourself relevant, being personable, and not gouging your customers…all of which Game and GameStop have failed miserably at.
Have good memories of going to GAME and Gamestation when I had free time at University, and Zavvi when they were still on the high street. Looks like CEX will be the only high street way of getting games, and they only deal with second hand games.
Nowadays GAME mostly sell Funkopop/merch, if they've not already been absorbed into SportsDirect.
Nowadays GAME mostly sell Funkopop/merch, if they've not already been absorbed into SportsDirect.
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
A retro shop sounds amazing and it's great to hear business is booming as well.
Here's to another 20 years!
Audiophile
Member
I miss the days of jumping on the bus with my dad a couple Saturday's a month. First stop polar bear records to grab an on sale CD, I'd pop over to the music store to look at guitars I wouldn't be able to afford for many years, then into the city centre to browse GAME and Gamestation; I'd grab something for my PS1/2/3 and he'd usually grab something for PC (or Dreamcast early on). GAME was nice and clean but the offers weren't as strong, whereas Gamestation had better deals at the risk of you catching some sort of fleas from their smelly carpets. Then we'd grab a Burger King or KFC; and I'd spend the bus ride super excited with ants in me pants, super-impatient to get home and play the game.
On the other Saturday, we'd go straight into town, browse the shops, then do the cinema, Pizza Hut or Old Orleans and finally browse HMV and Virgin Megastore/Zavvi for a DVD/BD to watch in the evening. Occasionally we'd do a long walk home through the back of the parks.
Now the city centres and surrounding areas lack any comprehensive physical media stuff; all the shops are basically woman's clothing/attire and artsy fartsy coffee shops and the cinemas completely suck. KFC is now Kentucky Fried Sparrow, Old Orleans was replaced by a boring posh restaurant and there isn't a single Pizza Hut in the entire city now. Beyond going for a walk there's barely any reason to venture far out here any more for the those more regular, little routine outings.
On the other Saturday, we'd go straight into town, browse the shops, then do the cinema, Pizza Hut or Old Orleans and finally browse HMV and Virgin Megastore/Zavvi for a DVD/BD to watch in the evening. Occasionally we'd do a long walk home through the back of the parks.
Now the city centres and surrounding areas lack any comprehensive physical media stuff; all the shops are basically woman's clothing/attire and artsy fartsy coffee shops and the cinemas completely suck. KFC is now Kentucky Fried Sparrow, Old Orleans was replaced by a boring posh restaurant and there isn't a single Pizza Hut in the entire city now. Beyond going for a walk there's barely any reason to venture far out here any more for the those more regular, little routine outings.
Last edited:
