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The annexation of one evil empire by another. What could possibly be bad for consumers in this proposition?
This will suck major ass if true, GAME in Australia is doing fine, and these stock problems aren't affecting them at all, they have ME3 and SFxT, etc. But if GAME goes backrupt, it will extend to them
Eh ... Gamestop already owns EB Games the main retailer in Australasia so now, if Gamestop takes over GAME then they will have one crazy monopoly in major gaming regions.
Just checking out the prices of their fire sale, sorry, "Spring Cleaning". £5 off still means you're paying more than most online retailers. Two weeks with no new stock, a lack of consumer confidence, and minimal price drops...Yep, they've already made their choice.
Any reports on them having fire sales in other countries? I feel we all need to prosper on the bad buisness sense of others.
The sale started a couple of days ago at my local store, there wasn't really anything worth getting though.
Also, I thought the Gamestop parent company already owned GAME?
Also, I thought the Gamestop parent company already owned GAME?
@Muttonface
They've got their hooks in Canada as well. The only national choices are Gamestop, HMV (which is shit at games), various electronics stores (Best Buy/Future Shop, etc) or Amazon.
They've got their hooks in Canada as well. The only national choices are Gamestop, HMV (which is shit at games), various electronics stores (Best Buy/Future Shop, etc) or Amazon.
Why do people hate GameStop? My local stores are great. The people there are really friendly and do their best to help you. Plus they make it super easy to find a store that has the game you want on their website. Is it only my area that's good or do people online just want something to hate?
They seem to have been teetering on bankruptcy for a while now... at least it's all out in the open and while I doubt that even a fire sale will save them, it might enable them to pay off some of their accumulated debt.
This is the way of the world.
You shouldnt bail out banks, car companies, or health care, you commies.
You shouldnt bail out banks, car companies, or health care, you commies.
Also, good riddance. 75% of the people working there had no fucking idea whatsoever.
I once overheard somebody asking the lady at the till if his Xbox360 could run PS2 games off of a external HD. Her response was "Hold on, I'll check".
I once overheard somebody asking the lady at the till if his Xbox360 could run PS2 games off of a external HD. Her response was "Hold on, I'll check".
Oh joy, so of the four game stores in my city (one game and three GameStop), I will have four Gamestop soon.
... I guess it's Amazon and Digital for me all the way from now on.
... I guess it's Amazon and Digital for me all the way from now on.
I know a lot of people like to slag off Game, but I'll always look at that big purple sign in the middle of the high street with fondness. Yes, maybe they did buy your old games off of you for a pittance of their worth, but even as an eleven year old, I knew it was just business. Now, with some friends of mine facing losing their jobs and the threat of no real major video game specialist on the high street, I can only think this is not a good thing for UK gamers; especially console owners, whose only other option is the monstrous supermarket chains, the dying Blockbuster, or the small independent shops which are so infrequent. RIP Game and Gamestation, unless you're not dead, in which case don't die.
@able to think
Honestly, I'm in the same boat as you. I can understand some of the corporate criticisms, but I've always been happy with my local experiences.
Honestly, I'm in the same boat as you. I can understand some of the corporate criticisms, but I've always been happy with my local experiences.
I'm not gonna pretend I know how to run a business, but surely closing down some of the excess GAME/Gamestation stores would make more money than cutting the price of their second-hand Wii consoles to £40--which is what CEX have sold them at for months anyway... You can pretty much guarantee any town in the country will have at least two stores, and that any reasonably sized shopping centre will have three--in Meadowhall there's two that are practically staring at each other!
I can't believe people are willing this on.
I'm not a game or gamestation employee but out of the three cities in the UK I regularly visit and buy games from I've always found the staff to be helpful and friendly.
Show a little decorum, a lot of people stand to have their lives horribly invaded by unemployment in a time where jobs are scarce.
Also, your ease and ability to get games elsewhere won't help those poor sods in their situation. You're not special because you can buy games online.
I'm not a game or gamestation employee but out of the three cities in the UK I regularly visit and buy games from I've always found the staff to be helpful and friendly.
Show a little decorum, a lot of people stand to have their lives horribly invaded by unemployment in a time where jobs are scarce.
Also, your ease and ability to get games elsewhere won't help those poor sods in their situation. You're not special because you can buy games online.
Although the prospect of a clearance sale is enticing, I really hope GAME survives this. A monopoly is definitely not in the interest of consumers.
This is what happens when your store doesn't have an endorsement from Commander Shepherd him/herself.
As an import customer, I had issues with GAME on my one and only transaction with them. But once I got through to the online customer service department (website troubles delayed response), they were quite possibly the most helpful bunch I've encountered.
Not only did they find me a copy of the Xenoblade bundle that they had oversold their stock on, they upped the shipping for free and gave me a refund too. If that had happened at Gamestop I probably would have gotten a form letter saying 'sorry, here's your money back now go away.' The one experience I had with their online service was positive enough that I would shop at GAME if I lived in the UK.
And to anyone commenting on employees, that's just bad management. It's up to the manager of a particular store to hire people who know what they're doing. Some managers hire sales people above people with gaming knowledge, some would rather have it reversed. Every game store has at least one employee like that in any country, any store in general does.
Not only did they find me a copy of the Xenoblade bundle that they had oversold their stock on, they upped the shipping for free and gave me a refund too. If that had happened at Gamestop I probably would have gotten a form letter saying 'sorry, here's your money back now go away.' The one experience I had with their online service was positive enough that I would shop at GAME if I lived in the UK.
And to anyone commenting on employees, that's just bad management. It's up to the manager of a particular store to hire people who know what they're doing. Some managers hire sales people above people with gaming knowledge, some would rather have it reversed. Every game store has at least one employee like that in any country, any store in general does.
I'm glad my local gamestop is the tits. Cool, knowledgeable staff, and crazy deals that aren't cleared by corporate. Good times.
@muckfoot I KNEW I WAS HELPING ALL THOSE STORES!
@muckfoot I KNEW I WAS HELPING ALL THOSE STORES!
@janklogs
Seriously? What difference does it make if your alternative shop is online or bricks and mortar, the message is the same.
Its also not the fault of the staff that the company is fucked. If you think the staff on the shop floor are to blame then you're mistaken.
Are you being purposefully obtuse or do you just not get it?
Seriously? What difference does it make if your alternative shop is online or bricks and mortar, the message is the same.
Its also not the fault of the staff that the company is fucked. If you think the staff on the shop floor are to blame then you're mistaken.
Are you being purposefully obtuse or do you just not get it?
If Gamestop do take over, I'd usually say "better the devil you know," but can there actually be a shop worse than Game?
My local Tesco in a little village has a better selection of games than the supposed big specialist gaming stores in the capital city. And don't sell second-hand copies claiming that "They're still new if WE take them out the box."
My local Tesco in a little village has a better selection of games than the supposed big specialist gaming stores in the capital city. And don't sell second-hand copies claiming that "They're still new if WE take them out the box."
@janklogs
Is it your opinion that gamestation will be able to give all the game employees a job? Becuase if you think that then you're deluded.
Have you been into a gamestation? Do they seem remotley short staffed to you? Do you believe any company would take on such a massive influx of employees at short notice when they can work their usual staff to the bone and not cut into their increased profit?
Its a nice idea but realistically you can't beleive that even a small percentage of staff would be taken on like that. Unless you know that the entire floor staff have that option you probably shouldn't use it as an excuse to be a brutal prick during a hard time for hundreds of people.
Is it your opinion that gamestation will be able to give all the game employees a job? Becuase if you think that then you're deluded.
Have you been into a gamestation? Do they seem remotley short staffed to you? Do you believe any company would take on such a massive influx of employees at short notice when they can work their usual staff to the bone and not cut into their increased profit?
Its a nice idea but realistically you can't beleive that even a small percentage of staff would be taken on like that. Unless you know that the entire floor staff have that option you probably shouldn't use it as an excuse to be a brutal prick during a hard time for hundreds of people.
As much as I feel sorry for the normal people who work there and will lose their jobs, Game and Game Station always overcharged for their games, so I don't particularly feel sorry for the company. Also, Hot UK Deals has a thread of the bargains that can be had at the firesale if anyone's interested.
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/gamestation.co.uk
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/gamestation.co.uk
Oh well. That does suck, I have fond memories of buying my first game ever, Crash Bandicoot 3 I think, and buy my first grown up game, Medal of Honour Allied Assault. However I also have fond memories of looking at it from across the street at CEX where the games are half the price max.
@able
People hate gamestop for the same reason they hate leeches. In both cases they suck the life from their host while returning nothing in kind. A lack of symbiosis is why they are hated. That your local locations have pleasant employees has no impact on gamestops overall strategy and business model.
People hate gamestop for the same reason they hate leeches. In both cases they suck the life from their host while returning nothing in kind. A lack of symbiosis is why they are hated. That your local locations have pleasant employees has no impact on gamestops overall strategy and business model.
I went in to GAME today and their prices would not get me to buy anything plus it was only like £1 off here or there nothing that I would warrant the use of the term "slashed" for.
I'm filing this one under the "You don't say..." category.
@Harris Hatsworth @Muttonface
Theres plenty of places both brick and mortar and online to get games.. if Gamestop took over or replaced GAME, it wouldn't be a monopoly, just new competition for the rest.
Take Italy for example, one thing Batman Arkham City taught me is that Italy somehow has like 20 game retailers, and I learned that because it was about the only country that got all (or at least most of) the pre-order DLC content.
Also, "HMV (which is shit at games)" wouldn't really hold up in courts if someone wanted to go after Gamestop with an anti-trust suit. HMV does games, just because they may do them horribly doesn't really mean jack, it just means they have a horrible business model for them.
@Harris Hatsworth @Muttonface
Theres plenty of places both brick and mortar and online to get games.. if Gamestop took over or replaced GAME, it wouldn't be a monopoly, just new competition for the rest.
Take Italy for example, one thing Batman Arkham City taught me is that Italy somehow has like 20 game retailers, and I learned that because it was about the only country that got all (or at least most of) the pre-order DLC content.
Also, "HMV (which is shit at games)" wouldn't really hold up in courts if someone wanted to go after Gamestop with an anti-trust suit. HMV does games, just because they may do them horribly doesn't really mean jack, it just means they have a horrible business model for them.
Once Game told me they weren't getting enough stock to fulfil all their Xenoblade Chronicles preorders (PREORDERS!) and my copy would be delayed as a result I was pretty much done with them. I'm also pretty sure they have multiple stores in pretty much every city, some of them less than a minute walk apart. A badly run, bloated company is going down.
As for the fire sale, I picked up Punch-Out and Pikmin Wii for £5 and £2 respectively. If you're hunting down some hidden gems there's some great stuff around.
As for the fire sale, I picked up Punch-Out and Pikmin Wii for £5 and £2 respectively. If you're hunting down some hidden gems there's some great stuff around.
YES. But I will miss GAME oh so much many a memory having arguments with the staff about how the wii is the best console of this generation.
YIPPEE. MORE GOOD YOUNG PEOPLE WILL LOSE JOBS!
Used games sales are pretty much the only thing that GAME could do to actually keep itself afloat, the margin they made on NEW games sales was so damn low.
Oh yeah... SOOOO very evil. The publishers are far worse.
People need to recognize that high street game retailers are KINDA important to the health of the industry (they sell most of the damn games), so I hope they pull through.
Used games sales are pretty much the only thing that GAME could do to actually keep itself afloat, the margin they made on NEW games sales was so damn low.
Oh yeah... SOOOO very evil. The publishers are far worse.
People need to recognize that high street game retailers are KINDA important to the health of the industry (they sell most of the damn games), so I hope they pull through.
Well, I've bought nine games in the past couple of days for about £30... Does that count as helping out?
This is a sign of things to come. I do think with the next generation of consoles digital downloading will be the way to go. It will be more in line with what ALL game companies want to do. Steam has shown it works and with Sony going balls to the wall with some new releases on PS3 going straight to download (mass effect 3) and with the Vita giving the option of either physical or digital copies of the game, things look very grim for all the gaming stores. What we are starting to see is the death of the video gaming stores, just like we all witnessed the death of the Arcade machines. Sure there will still be some around, but it will be like a shitty little corner somewhere in the likes of HMV. Technology sure does fuck things up as well as make things better.
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