"I just had my interview with game for management. I think they are a good compnay"

Of course you do. :)

Wasnt there some dispute about Game buying out Gamestation? Im guessing it turned out it was OK that a company has no major competition in the field they work in? Bloody roggers!

I worked for game a few years back as a Christmas temp and the main opinion I have of them since then is that they are one of the most destructive components of the UK video game industry.

The majority of managers do not have the first clue or interest in the products, they expect exploitation of their staff and customers at any given opportunity, they charge too much for their games in order to push the pre-owned section into a more favorable position and they will happily whore their whole company out to EA whenever the next sub-standard installment of a lifeless franchise is released.

This is the first I had heard about Gamestation being bought and I have to say it really worries me. I have been loyal to Gamestation since they opened a branch near me 3 years ago due to the goopd prices they offer on trade-ins and the fact they seemed fairly independant. Thankfully though, HMVs game section seems to be getting better and better all of the time, in fact, in my opinion: over the last few years it has grown to be a more legitimate video games retailer than Game has been since it was sold off by Electronics Boutique.

To keep on subject though, Game having an online download presence is not something to worry about. The online market will always be less easy to monopolise as it doesn't have the same physical location constraints that a high street does. And if they're offering good games for a low price I definatly won't be compaining; hopefuly it will spur Steam to lower it's UK rates!

It would make sense seeing Gamestations main success was with exchanged games and older consoles.

double2: Yeah, the buyout of Gamestation's been pretty low key, really. Since Gamestation so far runs like normal, nobody's really has reason to suspect anything. I agree it IS worrying, since I always like to live near a Gamestation and have been a huge supporter of them for years. Perhaps it's nearing the time, however, to declare high street retail dead and keep game buying online.

You say evil band of megalomaniacs like that's a bad thing...

@Kerri

I'm glad to hear that everyone in your store is clued up on their games as this has not been my experience. Now, this depends on how you define "clued up"...I define it as having a wide knowledge accross all platforms. Most people I worked with only played PS2 and a lot of them used to physically tell customers to not buy Nintendo products as it was a dead system (this was literally just after the release of the Gamecube, when it was actually doing quite well).

And to say GAME are more financially successful is a bit of a weak argument; Tescos and Nestle are financially successful but are still baby killing nazis (sorry if I am being a bit "Daily Mail").

Before I forget, just to mention: If you are lucky enough to have an Eplay branch in your city, I highly recommend it as it is a comparitavely small company who actually care about games and give slightly better trade ins than GAME. I don;t work for them, don't worry, but I thought it was interesting that no one had mentioned them :)

Silly brit's and thier conspiracy theories..

@Banj

You generally only pay an extra £5 max to buy a newly released game from a reasonable high street shop rather than online. Personally I see it as a good investment to get to play it as soon before I go out for a Friday evening drink. Oh and I always check shops on the thursday for street-breakers!

you can always count on jim for the bleeding edge british game news.

Bloomin onion!

@Jim
You don't need to be a git about it. 2 out of 3 game stations I have been to have had bad staff who don't know anything about the products they are selling so they are not this AMAZING haven you make them out to be.

GAME brought them out, they must be doing something right? Most of the game stores I have been too have knowledgeable staff who are helpful and can deal with most questions I ask. Why not apply to get a job at a company who is obviously doing very well for its self right now!

Anyway its not about GAME or gamestation its about your local! If your lucky it is a good store. It's a shame you haven't had a good game store.

@atheistium
very good point regarding each store having its own strengths and weaknesses; such is the nature of all retail branches. Thus you can only base a general opinion on the general ethos of the company.

GAME's ethos is appeal to the lowest common denominator and to side with publishers who share that same interest. Unfortunaly, living in the UK, more often than not the fact a company is successful is usually an indicator that it's managed, ran and funded by baby killing nazis.

BABY KILLING NAZIS.

GAME offered me £5 for a fully functional Dreamcast several years ago. I told them to stick it, went somewhere else and got £20 I also found a £1 coin on the floor in GAME which paid for my car parking so I had the last laugh.

There's a short jerk who used to in the Gloucester store who obviously had a short guy complex.