GAME in serious trouble

super_furry · 01-02-2012 12:50pm #1

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-01-game-in-trouble-as-doubt-cast-on-ability-to-stock-new-games

They're being asked to pay up front for new stock now, something which is going to cause massive problems. At the very least their selection of new games is going to be massively curtailed with only those certain to sell being stocked.

I'm wondering if it's already happening as I was in GAME in Dundrum last week, looking for bother Saints Row the Third and Mortal Kombat - both very high profile games from the last few months - and they had neither. Outside of their "top 20 games", which was very light already they had very, very few new games.

Mr E · 01-02-2012 1:00pm

Damn... that's not good at all.

ShadowHearth · 01-02-2012 1:03pm

gamestop then, GAME now...

bad news so far...

i love brick and mortar shops, but i am being a bit of hypocrite myself now.

ps vita on amazon has an awesome deal which makes ps vita + 8gb memory card + any game for 280eu.

gamestop price - 255eu for machine alone +45eu for game + 30eu for memory card.

i think i will go with amazon deal... :rolleyes:

RobertFoster · 01-02-2012 1:03pm

I walked around a GAME recently for the first time in ages and found it hard to spot the new games among the used games and other stuff like plushies.

folan · 01-02-2012 1:04pm

Game have been on a downward spiral for a while now. Look at the size of their shops in comparisson to 10 years ago. Theyre basically just pawn shops at this stage.

i go out of my way to not buy from game. their staff though have always been good at suggesting new games and giving me info, so for their sake alone i hope they can keep going.

And id prefer to give them my money before gamestop

johnny_ultimate · 01-02-2012 1:09pm

GAME haven't been on form for a very, very long time alas (although I've noticed a significant decline in HMV's quality too). While they can sometimes be relied on to get slightly more obscure, offbeat games their pricing, store layouts and selection are inconsistent to the extreme. Their prices for new releases are frequently five to fifteen euro higher than competitors, although their eventual discounts are often stronger than elsewhere.

I guess its eventual demise will be one further notch on the death knell of high street games retailing. It's a shame that the second-hand market has become the lifeblood of these stores - while their inability (or unwillingness) to keep up with online sales is one (HUGE) factor, I guess the gamers who allowed the model to develop are also responsible on some level.

Paparazzo · 01-02-2012 1:12pm

I normally buy in Game. Hope it doesn't go, always nice going into game on Dawson street to get a big game on release day.

Zeouterlimits · 01-02-2012 1:14pm

HMV, Gamestop in the UK, Game.
This is god awful for high street competition.

Sarky · 01-02-2012 1:15pm

I used to prefer buying games from shops, but a couple of well-placed Steam sales changed my mind pretty thoroughly.

It's kind of a shame that if the shops close there'll be lost jobs, but the only physical copies of games I've bought in years have been collector's editions. And then they all installed via Steam or similar anyway. Let them fall, see what pops up in their places.

Seifer · 01-02-2012 1:16pm

Natural selection at work, good riddance tbh.

TerrorFirmer · 01-02-2012 1:37pm

To be fair, I always found Games pre-owned prices really good.

DarkJager · 01-02-2012 1:39pm

Sad news to be honest. I'm not interested in buying games online or having to spend hours downloading a digital copy. There are some of us that don't have broadband capable of handling this sort of thing and no real wish to have it either. Gaming seems to be moving to this horrible online crossbreed of multiplayer games which forget about the solo player, forcing people to go to websites for a manual for the game they just paid 50 quid for, half the game missing because they want you to pay for it as DLC, online passes....the list goes on.

I am a single player fan above all else (no interest at all in multiplayer). I like being able to go in to somewhere like game/gamestop and browse the titles available, eventually buying a physical copy of the game I want. I have no intention of replacing this process with any other, regardless of how much the gaming industry wants me to.

I've been a gamer for nearly 30 years now, but if it continues and gets to a point where if I'm not able to enjoy the hobby as I want, buy my games in a physical store, get decent Sp titles to play, or finding out that 60% of the game has to be paid for as extra content then gaming can go **** itself.

sweetie · 01-02-2012 1:40pm

Sarky wrote: »

Let them fall, see what pops up in their places.

Seifer wrote: »

Natural selection at work, good riddance tbh.

what the weather like up there on your high horses?

tis a shame to see any business close and whilst not a great customer I like their sales and deals over the years.

Raskolnikov · 01-02-2012 1:42pm

Game will probably end up in bankruptcy, but I doubt this means the complete end of their bricks and mortar stores. Locations in the sticks will close, but profitable shops in major population centres will remain open.

Mr Bloat · 01-02-2012 1:47pm

Sarky wrote: »

I used to prefer buying games from shops, but a couple of well-placed Steam sales changed my mind pretty thoroughly.

It's kind of a shame that if the shops close there'll be lost jobs, but the only physical copies of games I've bought in years have been collector's editions. And then they all installed via Steam or similar anyway. Let them fall, see what pops up in their places.

Seifer wrote: »

Natural selection at work, good riddance tbh.

Look a little further than your own short-sighted outlook, to a future where all games have to be downloaded and there is nowhere, apart from Tesco to go and buy a game. I don't want that and after a while of that future, people like yourselves will be on this forum complaining that there is nowhere to browse games anymore.

DarkJager wrote: »

Sad news to be honest. I'm not interested in buying games online or having to spend hours downloading a digital copy. There are some of us that don't have broadband capable of handling this sort of thing and no real wish to have it either. Gaming seems to be moving to this horrible online crossbreed of multiplayer games which forget about the solo player, forcing people to go to websites for a manual for the game they just paid 50 quid for, half the game missing because they want you to pay for it as DLC, online passes....the list goes on.

I am a single player fan above all else (no interest at all in multiplayer). I like being able to go in to somewhere like game/gamestop and browse the titles available, eventually buying a physical copy of the game I want. I have no intention of replacing this process with any other, regardless of how much the gaming industry wants me to.

I've been a gamer for nearly 30 years now, but if it continues and gets to a point where if I'm not able to enjoy the hobby as I want, buy my games in a physical store, get decent Sp titles to play, or finding out that 60% of the game has to be paid for as extra content then gaming can go **** itself.

Well said. When I was a lad, there was a game shop in Cork that had a room at the back with C64s, Amstrads and Spectrum computers set up. You could pick a game off the shelf and set it up there (if you had an hour to wait for it to load from tape...

) and play it to see if you liked it. It's more of this we need, not everything moving to Amazon/Steam.

super_furry · 01-02-2012 1:48pm

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

To be fair, I always found Games pre-owned prices really good.

They're decent if they're not for anything popular that's been released in the last six months, if they're anyway new then they're usually only €2 to €5 cheaper than buying them new. Only thing is, you can't buy them new - their second hand section is now so large I'd estimate it's 70% of their stock.

When I want to buy a game, I want to buy it. I've been looking to pay for both Mortal Kombat and Saints Row 3 on the Xbox new for a week now but I can't buy them new. The second hand price in €5 max cheaper than buying it new but I'd have to spend another €10 to €12 on an online pass so it works out more expensive.

cloud493 · 01-02-2012 1:55pm

Quite sad news. Pre owned prices really are very good, reward cards and all that/

Mr Bloat · 01-02-2012 2:00pm

I remember when Game came to Cork first and their 10 day return policy. You could buy a game and return it within 10 days for store credit or swap it for a new game! They even took returns of PC games back then! It was bloody great. Unfortunately, everyone abused it (I was one of the everyone...) and they pulled that policy.

ghostchant · 01-02-2012 2:07pm

I prefer brick and mortar stores myself, if only for the fact you have somewhere to go back to if there's a problem. Got a faulty (new) 3DS last year and gamestop replaced it on the spot. Had something similar happen to me with a new phone bought online in the UK, and it took weeks of emails to customer service and posting back and forth to sort it out. Paying a few extra quid to be safe in the knowledge that any issues (especially with hardware) can be easily rectified is worth it to me, and it'd be a real shame if that option were to disappear.

Local-womanizer · 01-02-2012 2:07pm

I hate the way people slate game stores for their prices. There is nothing that can be done really when they have to make a profit to cover staff costs and rent. Of course online stores can do things cheaper as the running costs are practically non-existent compared to a bricks and mortar shops. Pay for the site and storage of products and a small number of staff.

It's always sad to see somewhere close as it leaves people on the dole, and has a negative knock-on affect in the area.

The best thing to do I find is wait for sales in shops, you can get stuff for dirt cheap new. Seen Battlefield 3 in Gamestop before christmas for €34 new. If I hadn't bought it when it was out I would have snapped it up.

GTR63 · 01-02-2012 2:16pm

Not good. If the likes of Gamestop, GAME and HMV shut i'd imagine other places would up their prices. As far as the Vita amazon deal goes is it me or does the Vita have damn all in the way of Launch bundles. I haven't a clue of any Brick n Mortar bundles anyway.

Zeouterlimits · 01-02-2012 2:17pm

Seems like they've been in sharp decline since 2008.
Look at their share prices :

wayne040576 · 01-02-2012 2:18pm

It's the way the world is going. Look at music. CD sales are pretty much dying out. I reckon most people under 25 have no concept of owning a cd anymore. Most of the indie record shops I bought from over the years have closed.
The same will happen with games. These industries are having to adapt to the way technology is moving.

They want to move to online digital copy sales that give them more control over pricing and ultimately what the customer can do with their game/album/movie when they get it.

Personally, with the exception of music, I'm pretty much moving digital with everything due to space at home. And even reducing the cd purchasing as I've got too many (over 2000 at this stage).

Unfortunately these shops will go the way of the Candlestick maker.

ShadowHearth · 01-02-2012 2:18pm

DarkJager wrote: »

Sad news to be honest. I'm not interested in buying games online or having to spend hours downloading a digital copy. There are some of us that don't have broadband capable of handling this sort of thing and no real wish to have it either. Gaming seems to be moving to this horrible online crossbreed of multiplayer games which forget about the solo player, forcing people to go to websites for a manual for the game they just paid 50 quid for, half the game missing because they want you to pay for it as DLC, online passes....the list goes on.

I am a single player fan above all else (no interest at all in multiplayer). I like being able to go in to somewhere like game/gamestop and browse the titles available, eventually buying a physical copy of the game I want. I have no intention of replacing this process with any other, regardless of how much the gaming industry wants me to.

I've been a gamer for nearly 30 years now, but if it continues and gets to a point where if I'm not able to enjoy the hobby as I want, buy my games in a physical store, get decent Sp titles to play, or finding out that 60% of the game has to be paid for as extra content then gaming can go **** itself.

i do agree with SP games point, but wtf it has to do with online distribution lol.

i love my local gamestop. i always can come over there and have a chat about games and newest stuff. if i really looking forward to some title i will always buy it in brick and mortar shop. i just dont trust those no good delivery fellas with my games and misses

.

Azza · 01-02-2012 2:20pm

Pro's of online shopping.

Wider selection of games.
Access to multipal online retailers from the comfort of your own.
No pushy staff flogging pre-orders or game insurance.
Access to internet allows you to instantly access info and review on games to aid with making a purchasing decision.
Shop at any time.
Instant access to new games without having to wait for the store to open in the morning. (Doesn't apply to consoles)
Sales offers tend to be much better.

Pro's of bricks and mortors

Doesn't require fast internet.
Second hand games. (Doesn't apply to PC market)
Easier to have hardware problems resloved.
Collectors/special editions include physical items.

Personally I use both, but more and more I have switched to getting my games online. I can personally live without retails stores.
I can understand peoples dissapointed if they can't get fast internet but if they do have that option I don't see why they wouldn't want to shop for games online.

Kinski · 01-02-2012 2:25pm

ghostchant wrote: »

I prefer brick and mortar stores myself, if only for the fact you have somewhere to go back to if there's a problem. Got a faulty (new) 3DS last year and gamestop replaced it on the spot. Had something similar happen to me with a new phone bought online in the UK, and it took weeks of emails to customer service and posting back and forth to sort it out. Paying a few extra quid to be safe in the knowledge that any issues (especially with hardware) can be easily rectified is worth it to me, and it'd be a real shame if that option were to disappear.

I've had good experiences with the likes of Amazon and Play when returning faulty items. Popped them back in the post, and they were swifty replaced, the price of postage refunded.

On topic, it's a shame to think that staff in GAME may end up losing their jobs.

Potential-Monke · 01-02-2012 2:34pm

I seriously hope that shops don't eventually close. While i understand it's cheaper to buy games online, i much much prefer walking into a shop, deciding to get a game and going home and playing it. You can't do that with online shops (minus pc games, and that requires a wait anyway). For example, i went into GameStop Sunday and bought Lego Batman, Alpha Protocol and Tiger 10.

And returns, so much easier to deal with someone in a shop rather than with a "digital" person. Example: Bought a phone with meteor online on Dec 17th, never delivered, had to buy a physical copy in a shop and wait until Dec 29th for a refund for the online sale.

I don't think shops will forever be gone, but they can be done so much better. If i had/eventually have my own game shop, rather than having every copy of every game on the floor, I'd have 2 copies of each on display, and the rest in a store room. Less mess = less frustration and more control over stock. I'd also have large touch screens for customers to browse the stock, making it easier to find out if I have the game you want. or, just wall to wall interactive screens with screenshots of the titles and the ability to flip the box to read the back of it.

Shops need to learn how to control their costs in order to stay competitive. The current way shops are running just won't cut it anymore!

wayne040576 · 01-02-2012 2:40pm

Potential-Monke wrote: »

If i had/eventually have my own game shop, rather than having every copy of every game on the floor, I'd have 2 copies of each on display, and the rest in a store room. Less mess = less frustration and more control over stock. I'd also have large touch screens for customers to browse the stock, making it easier to find out if I have the game you want. or, just wall to wall interactive screens with screenshots of the titles and the ability to flip the box to read the back of it.

You've basically created an online shop that people have to walk into. I'm not sure that would work... You can provide all of that online and more. Without the need for the customer to leave the house.

Seifer · 01-02-2012 2:47pm

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

To be fair, I always found Games pre-owned prices really good.

The makers of a game see none of the money made from the sale of pre-owned games. It was a detriment to the industry when it made its way into high-street stores.

sweetie wrote: »

what the weather like up there on your high horses?

tis a shame to see any business close and whilst not a great customer I like their sales and deals over the years.

Lol?
Also why as a consumer should I feel emotionally attached to to every high-street chain? If they're not providing a service I can make use of then why should I care?

Mr Bloat wrote: »

Look a little further than your own short-sighted outlook, to a future where all games have to be downloaded and there is nowhere, apart from Tesco to go and buy a game. I don't want that and after a while of that future, people like yourselves will be on this forum complaining that there is nowhere to browse games anymore.

Game hasn't had a decent PC selection in years so that has been the situation. And there is plenty of competition online with Steam, Play and Amazon to name but three.
And what little selection Game had was over-priced compared to online retailers.

Retr0gamer · 01-02-2012 2:49pm

It's sad to see these high street stores closing but to be honest other than a few bargains I never buy in them anymore. It's not even that digital that is killing them, it's the online stores that sell boxed copies. They only stock the big games so it's near impossible to find stuff like Tactics Ogre for the PSP (requiring me to take a trip to the other end of dublin when the closest Gamestop didn't have it). I can find any game I want online. Also they just can't match the prices of online stores with many big games dropping to 15-20 euros in 6 months. You'll find the same game for 40-45 in a high street store.

Sarky · 01-02-2012 3:48pm

sweetie wrote: »

what the weather like up there on your high horses?

It's pretty sweet; On a good day, you can see the bigger picture from here.

tis a shame to see any business close and whilst not a great customer I like their sales and deals over the years.

I'm sure you were just distraught when Sean Quinn filed for bankruptcy. Look, I'm not saying I have no sympathy for people who'll be out of a job because a game shop closes down. But that way of things is dying out because there are better ways emerging. I used to love physical shops, having a chat with staff and getting my hands on a solid box with a game inside. But now I have my own place with limited space for boxes, a nice fast broadband connection so downloading games isn't an issue, and I prefer the sales and deals I can get from something like Steam or Amazon, because they're better deals and sales.

It's an evolutionary transition of sorts. It's not going to be entirely pleasant for some. The SOPA thing in the US and to a lesser extent here is evidence enough that a lot of people don't want to let go of the old ways. But I think it has to happen.

Sephiroth_dude · 01-02-2012 3:52pm

ah this is sad news,I'll be sad if game in cork closes down.

Doctor DooM · 01-02-2012 3:58pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's sad to see these high street stores closing but to be honest other than a few bargains I never buy in them anymore. It's not even that digital that is killing them, it's the online stores that sell boxed copies. They only stock the big games so it's near impossible to find stuff like Tactics Ogre for the PSP (requiring me to take a trip to the other end of dublin when the closest Gamestop didn't have it). I can find any game I want online. Also they just can't match the prices of online stores with many big games dropping to 15-20 euros in 6 months. You'll find the same game for 40-45 in a high street store.

This a thousand times. I would rather shop in bricks and mortar, but they don't service me at all.

I went into Game not too long ago. The newest FG, King of Fighters XIII, had come out, and no where had it in town.

I asked in HMV and was basically looked at like I was insane, then told it wasn't out in Europe (it was) and that I had the name wrong (I hadn't).

My trip into Game was the most telling though, as I was informed I was about the 15th person to ask for it that day, with a shrug. It was all I could do not to grumble "might be an idea to get some in then, you being a game shop and all".

I want to spend money in bricks and mortar, but they don't want me too. I HAD to go to Amazon and wait for it.

ghostchant · 01-02-2012 4:01pm

Kinski wrote: »

I've had good experiences with the likes of Amazon and Play when returning faulty items. Popped them back in the post, and they were swifty replaced, the price of postage refunded.

On topic, it's a shame to think that staff in GAME may end up losing their jobs.

That's fair enough, but I discovered the 3DS was faulty on friday evening (the day of release), and had my replacement on Saturday morning. If I was willing to wait a week or more for the replacement I wouldn't have pre-ordered it in the first place

EDIT: I distinctly remember seeing KOF13 in GAME Dawson St. a few weeks ago, and came across plenty of new (and cheap) copies of Tactics Ogre in both GAME and HMV around the time of release. Gamestop are awful for anything remotely obscure though.

kearneybobs · 01-02-2012 4:01pm

You gotta ask, where are our games gonna come from if Gamestop will pretty much pull out of Ireland and Game could be going under too. Everything online??? or digital?

Gamesnash.ie: Pat · 01-02-2012 4:04pm

It's an unfortunate reality of the current business that credit insurance is practically impossible to get - and credit itself from suppliers is getting harder and harder to maintain.

I'm not going to speack specifically about Game but in general terms the previously untouchable big boys of the industry are now being viewed as likely to default on their debt. In our own case you wouldn't believe me if I told you how tight our current limits are - we're effectively paying cash up front for our stock.

The average price of a game is massive - think of it this way a shop full of tins of beans would have a stock holding value of maybe 1% of the stock holding value of a game store. When your credit terms change / are cut at all you need to have massive amounts of cash tied up in your stock. This is what sunk Zavvi and it most likely will sink more.

Doctor DooM · 01-02-2012 4:12pm

ghostchant wrote: »

EDIT: I distinctly remember seeing KOF13 in GAME Dawson St. a few weeks ago, and came across plenty of new (and cheap) copies of Tactics Ogre in both GAME and HMV around the time of release. Gamestop are awful for anything remotely obscure though.

Yeah, over in the FG forum people started seeing copies of it around the place 2 or 3 weeks after release.

By which time, we'd all bought them online, and now no doubt they won't stock the next one as it sold so badly...

Stev_o · 01-02-2012 7:48pm

Id be pretty gutted to see GAME shut down in its current. However I think it is quite obvious that they'll be scaling towards being a online distribution service in the future since it's the only real viable option for them bar shutting down.

Honestly I don't know why shops like that are given such a rough time, yeah if your a PC Gamer the hay day of having multiple shelves of games is long and truly gone but im still able to go and buy a AAA game or a mid tier game at a competitive price compared to steam (60 quid for the MW games, nice one Valve). Plus iv always had good customer support in their, iv never had a problem trouble returning a game, even for the PC, again if you try this on Steam you'll likely punch a wall and want the Valve HQ to be bombed given how bad the customer service is.

Blowfish · 01-02-2012 9:08pm

Mr Bloat wrote: »

Look a little further than your own short-sighted outlook, to a future where all games have to be downloaded and there is nowhere, apart from Tesco to go and buy a game. I don't want that and after a while of that future, people like yourselves will be on this forum complaining that there is nowhere to browse games anymore.

Out of curiosity, what's wrong with that concept?

The last game I bought in a bricks and mortar shop was 4 years ago and even then it was only because I happened to be in town at the time of a midnight release.

I've over 100 items in my Steam library and yet don't even have a CD/DVD drive on my machine as it's just not needed any more.

If they have any sense, Game will push towards being an online only company with the odd physical shop here and there. Being honest though, they are very very late to that game so may not survive there either.

longhalloween · 01-02-2012 9:21pm

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Game will probably end up in bankruptcy, but I doubt this means the complete end of their bricks and mortar stores. Locations in the sticks will close, but profitable shops in major population centres will remain open.

I'm not surprised to see Game closing. In the Ilac at least they have a fairly poor selection of PS3 and 360 games i.e a whole shelf of the same game and only one of two facings in the used game section.

Used game prices are good, but Smyths, HMV and XtraVision are very similar.

Sad to see them go, but I don't think I've ever bought anything there.

Mr Bloat · 01-02-2012 11:48pm

Blowfish wrote: »

Out of curiosity, what's wrong with that concept?

The last game I bought in a bricks and mortar shop was 4 years ago and even then it was only because I happened to be in town at the time of a midnight release.

I've over 100 items in my Steam library and yet don't even have a CD/DVD drive on my machine as it's just not needed any more.

If they have any sense, Game will push towards being an online only company with the odd physical shop here and there. Being honest though, they are very very late to that game so may not survive there either.

Maybe I'm old school but I love roaming around a gaming shop, picking up boxes here and there and looking at different stuff. I too have an extensive Steam library but I love the physical copy of a game. I have a decent collection of ebooks too but that doesn't stop me from enjoying browsing in the local library or book shops!
I'm not advocating for one second that people should shop in Game to keep them afloat. Game have dug their own grave with the policies and practices they have been going with but I wouldn't like to see gaming retail stores disappear completely. However, if Game moves to online only and Xtravision shuts down and the likes of HMV cater only for AAA titles, that leaves us with Gamestop. While I have no real beef with Gamestop, any company that has a monopoly like they may end up having usually ends up destroying itself. Which is pretty much what happened to Game once they became the dominant company in the UK after they took over Gamestation.

Wetai · 02-02-2012 12:30am

Last time I was in game in Galway I noticed that they've had LOST pre-owned(i think) on PS3 in the hall-type section when walking in the door + going straight for YEARS now. It's still been there for as long as I can remember being in there. It's not strictly their fault, but still :P.

Gbear · 02-02-2012 12:46am

It's just the way of things. It'll be interesting to see what city centres around the world look like when the shops are all replaced by websites..

Will Grafton St. just be a big row of McDonalds?

degrassinoel · 02-02-2012 12:54am

starbucks more likely

calex71 · 02-02-2012 1:48am

There will always be a bricks and mortar of some kind I think, even if it turns out to be the only show in town which means bad for prices and competition etc.

Has the games industry slumped? In my experience no although it is so much harder now for new IP to establish itself without major $ behind it and that is a very big problem imo worse for the industry as a whole than anything else. Companies say pre-owned is killing them and adding all kinds of stuff like on line pass etc. but sure if the games and gamestops were not accepting trade-in's business for all concerned would be worse I think, I know I would not get as many new games, it would cut my game spend in half at least, and them people would simply go to adverts/gumtree/ebay etc to trade / swap.

It's a case i think of the industry wanting to see shops go under to a certain degree, as they would be wholeheartedly in favor of a digital distribution route to market over all platforms, for reasons I don't have to explain.

I think in the next 3-5 years well have seen a massive change in how games are delivered to us, as I said there will always be shops on the high street but will they just be a place you walk into if you don't have a credit card and get your game on a memory key and authenticate online later? thats not likely but one a many possibilities.

Anyway if game go under thats a fair few on the dole

kearneybobs · 02-02-2012 1:57am

EA have even mentioned concern about a major European retailer an investor call earlier today.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-01-ea-concerned-at-financial-health-of-major-european-retail-partner

EA boss John Riccitiello has voiced concerns about the financial health of a "major European retail partner".
Speaking during an investor call earlier today, Riccitiello didn't name the company in question, but explained that the situation could affect the publisher's next set of financials.
"We are concerned with the financial condition of one of our major European retail partners, which could lead to both increased bad debt and lost sales," he said.
Chief financial officer Eric Brown also chimed in later during the call.
"We are focused on some isolated European retailer issues that have recently been announced. A negative outcome could adversely affect our Q4 results."
Could they be referring to GAME? As reported by Eurogamer earlier this week, multiple UK industry sources claim that the retailer has lost credit insurance with a number of agencies.

degrassinoel · 02-02-2012 2:34am

I was thinking why couldnt the likes of game get licenses to sell digitally as well boxed in their shops. I guess there'd be a whole legal can of worms with different publishers and that?

i use steam and origin myself but if i had a choice of keeping people in irish jobs by buying online through their client/website i'd do that rather than blow my cash on steamsales.

In fairness though, Game's selection of pc titles is just poor at best. I still dont understand why they've pretty much ignored that entire market for years in favour of consoles.
Maybe i'm just gettin' old

OwaynOTT · 02-02-2012 2:48am

Everything going online is bad for us all. It may be a tenner cheaper but in the long run its going to cause problems.
Look at 3. They offer an extra tenner off the phone if bought online but if you experience an issue it's straight to the store and expect them to help. They haven't got the comission from The sale and will lose out on more whilst they help. The more phones and games bought online mean the stores will close and any issues will have to be handled over the phone and that's a crappy situation to be honest. Being passed around different representatives from another country or even from here it's all the same.
Meanwhile all these retail stores shut down. Where do the staff to? On the live register. They spend less as a result. Which is bad.
Automation and electronic advancements aren't all great. It's just a way for big business profits to enlarge.

Next time your in tesco go to the person at the till and boycott the self service checkout.

calex71 · 02-02-2012 2:50am

degrassinoel wrote: »

I still dont understand why they've pretty much ignored that entire market for years in favour of consoles.
Maybe i'm just gettin' old

One word sums it up pretty much ..... GREED no money to be made on used PC games. and they can't sell used Steam titles.

Sounds harsh but that's the bottom dollar in a nutshell, they established their current business model around buy cheap used and sell used high.

If i could pay a bookie to take odds I'd be Xtravison, HMV, gamestop to fall in that order

OwaynOTT · 02-02-2012 2:58am

Xtravision been on their last legs for a couple of years. Their games gone to crap can't get credit but people still rent movies. Not everyone has a decent Internet connection and a lot of the country won't see it for years.
I read something the other day that something like only 1 in 5 Irish porple have ever downloaded a movie. I'd believe it as in work I deal with a lot of people using the Internet and watching movies is rarely a priority.
So they(extra vision) will struggle on for a few years yet with rentals and used DVDs. They pay crap wages and name a tidy profit on food and use DVDs/games. 20-30% on food and 30/40% on preowned/previewed.

Helix · 02-02-2012 3:01pm

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Xtravision been on their last legs for a couple of years. Their games gone to crap can't get credit but people still rent movies. Not everyone has a decent Internet connection and a lot of the country won't see it for years.
I read something the other day that something like only 1 in 5 Irish porple have ever downloaded a movie. I'd believe it as in work I deal with a lot of people using the Internet and watching movies is rarely a priority.
So they(extra vision) will struggle on for a few years yet with rentals and used DVDs. They pay crap wages and name a tidy profit on food and use DVDs/games. 20-30% on food and 30/40% on preowned/previewed.

a tiny, tiny fraction of xtravisions income comes from rentals. the majority comes from sales

GAME in serious trouble

Comments