[Mr. K]

I hope they survive. More choice and competition is always good and it'd suck for all those who'd be out of work. I have a bit of a soft spot for GAME, I've bought many games and consoles from them over the years!

[Grumpypants]

Agghh my xmas present was a voucher card as a down payment on my Vita, getting nervous !

[Doctor DooM]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...at-head-office

Always hate to see people lose jobs.

[Grumpypants]

Wonder does its oversea's interests that are being sold off include Irish stores ?

[dmcg90]

Originally Posted by Grumpypants

Wonder does its oversea's interests that are being sold off include Irish stores ?

I'd imagine so. I'll hazard a guess at multiple stores in one city being sold off (one in Cork and a few more in Dublin) and maybe Monaghan. Unless it closes down completely, then that would be a great shame.

[evad_lhorg]

Originally Posted by Doctor DooM

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.

Thats why you preorder games! If you preorder it they will get it in. They arent going to stock obscure games like king of fighters if they dont have a demand for it and the only way they can judge demand is on hom many orders they have.

[Retr0gamer]

Doesn't help sometimes. If they don't have the obscure game on the 'system' they can't preorder it and won't. I'd rather have the choice to buy it the cheapest on the day of release rather than making a blind decision anyway.

[cherryghost]

Bump. GAME announced this morning that they will not be stocking any EA games released in March.

To top that off, GAME shares have fallen over 15% since and still falling. Talk about digging your own grave.


EDIT: Just noticed this was posted on the ME3 thread, not sure why though as it applies to ALL EA Games, not just ME3.

[super_furry]

Yep looks like they're circling the drain. I had both The Last Story and Mass Effect pre-ordered in there and was let down with both so I can't see that I'll be ordering from them again.

They'd be a big loss on the Irish main street, leaving many people just stuck with either Gamestop on Xtra-Vision (who may not be too far behind game).

[degrassinoel]

game dropping out of the market might actually boost sales in Xtravision and Gamestop.

[GT_Dublin]

Quote:

The news was confirmed in a leaked memo sent to staff today by GAME Group northern Europe MD Tom Devine. It was obtained by IGN and transcribed by Edge. Here's the full text:

"Dear all,

Last week we held an event for our partners in the industry and explained the challenges we are facing in the short term - and we asked for their support.

We asked them to trade with us using manageable credit terms, and for them to continue to do that whilst we work through the strategic review and refinancing of our business.

We gave the industry commitments - we committed to integrity and openness in our dealings, and working with everyone equally.

We committed to only stocking products on which we could get the right credit terms, regardless of the title or the supplier. We will not stock products if the terms are not right for our business - we will not sacrifice long-term credit requirements for short-term sales opportunities.

As a result of us taking this position - a position that we believe is critical to our long-term health as a business - we have taken the very difficult decision to not stock EA's March releases, including Mass Effect 3.

As a specialist retailer dedicated to games and gaming, it is never easy to make a decision not to stock a title, particularly one with such a strong fanbase. But it is imperative that we treat every supplier evenly, that we stick to our commitments, and that we don't sign up to payment terms that will hamper us further in the future.

It is even more critical that we manage this appropriately with our loyal customers. We know they will be disappointed regarding Mass Effect in particular and in recognition of this, we will be contacting our Mass Effect pre-order customers and as a gesture of goodwill we will be offering them £5 of reward card / elite points.

I know that many of you will have to manage customer and supplier feedback directly, and I would like to thank you in advance for your support and am happy to answer any questions you have directly - just grab me as I walk around."

Looks like EA might be the bad guy here. I still don't think this was a good decision for Game from a consumer confidence point of view.

[kearneybobs]

Originally Posted by degrassinoel

game dropping out of the market might actually boost sales in Xtravision and Gamestop.

You say that as if that's a good thing. Yeah, it's a good thing for the competitors but not really for anyone else.
In the end, this means bad things for the employees and it's a serious dent as far as competition goes amongst the retailers. As a gamer who loves a bargain/cheap games I cant really see a boost in sales for the competitors as a positive thing.

[degrassinoel]

well, in fairness i'm with ye there on getting the most out of my cash. But i'd rather see one company go bust, than two.

If this decision does put a nail in their own coffin, so be it. At least the other two companies might have a fighting chance of keeping their employees and us as customers.

[super_furry]

Thing is, this whole thing's a vicious circle. They're in trouble because fewer people are shopping there, but their current problems are only going to put more people off from buying there.

I'm also surprised with how uncompetitive GAME have become over the last six months or so. I was in the Ilac Centre's store on Sunday and the vast majority of their increasingly limited new stock was €5 to €10 more expensive than HMV and Gamestop.

[Jester252]

I can see this from EA point of view will you be willing to sell something to a person that might not be able to pay you for it in full