GAME (UK) rescued by OpCapita

[Hom3r]

It looks like both Game & Gamestation are about to go into adminstration.

Struggling video games retailer Game Group has confirmed that a number of its suppliers are now refusing to do business with the company, sending its shares down 55%.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17336697

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Hom3r

It looks like both Game & Gamestation are about to go into adminstration.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17336697

Its seems its totally following the trend of Music shops as people purchase and download games increasingly online.

[Graham M]

Well I preordered Mass Effect 3 from them and they let me down, ended up buying it off Origin, luckily I spent the 15 quid worth of points from the ME refund and the purchase of my PS Vita already.

[Stephen]

Its partly down to the price that the Game have been charging for new titles recently when Supermarkets have been charging a lot less and also online prices.

However the main reason for the lack of supply of titles is the credit standing of the company. They used to be supplied with titles on credit and pay for them once sold, however they have been aked to pay up front and simply don't have the cash to do so.

Its a shame that it is happening though. But its their own fault for keeping their prices so high. Even recently new 3DS titles are between £35 and £40 however most Supermarkets are selling them for around £30.

They also don't do themselves any favours by selling pre-owned titles at nearly the same price as new. Why buy secondhand when the new version may only be £3 more? They used to be great around 2001 pre-owned titles were always at good prices.

[jamiefrost]

They have really struggled to adapt to both cheaper supermarket pricing and the ability to download games.

The pre-owned market used to be a good deal but now seems to be less and less of a good thing. And everyone is getting in on the trade-in market now so not many places for them to go.

I don't know about where you leave but they seem to have a crazy policy on shops. There are two in Leicester and within 500m and there are two in Meadow Hall in Sheffield one the upper mall and one on the lower.

[v0id]

Here's hoping for a fire sale

[Hom3r]

Well my local supermarkets only do the top 10 -20 titles accross the boards and thats it.

HMV have equal quantity plus CDs and movies, but there prices are just as bad I saw the complete 24 box set £200, play.com £50.

Its no wonder stores are going to go under.

The trouble is buying online is cheaper, but in the past I have not been allowed to deliver private goods to work.

[Rob]

The writing was on the wall as soon as they publicised they could not get hold of Mass Effect. That will have sent ripples round the industry and all suppliers will have looked closely at their credit limits.

It does seem odd that one company has continued to run to "rival" chains of stores, where the business model overlaps. As the online sales, especially the increasing use of download purchases, reduces physical media one has to wonder how executives at Game group were not rationalising their leases to reduce this overlap whenever possible as break clause options came up in the last two or three years. They've seen what happened to Zavvi, how HMV are struggling, and all sorts, yet it seems from the public viewpoint that the execs had developed ostrich syndrome.

[Gavin78]

In some respect to game I have found some of thier prices not too bad and its always been a case of shopping around.

Thing is you have companes now like metaboli and that other one live or something like that lets you pay a monthly fee and play as many as 500+ games.

Then you have the only download like steam and EA I find the Game digital download really expensive and in some respect the games have cost around £10 more to download than the boxed version in the shops.

Same with Steam its great for the weekly and weekend bargains but a lot of their games cost more than the boxed version and when the games come down in prices after a month or so in the shops you'll find steam still selling them at the same prices as it was 6 months ago.

I always thought that going digital would mean cheaper prices but its going the other way.

Hmv I wont buy from any more as I had some Vouchers given at christmas I wanted the Big Bang Theory box set online it said £32 when I got in store they were selling it for £45.99 I couldn't use my vouchers online and simply refused to pay the shop prices compared to there online price.

I also went in to buy real steel on bluray....online price £15 shop price £20

DVD version online price £10 store price £12 again HMV total rip off so I just buy from other online places now.

[Uncle Peter]

What a messy situation. The platform holders need outlets like Game, Gamestation and HMV to showcase their hardware. On the other hand: Third-party developers would undoutbedly be glad to see the back of the pre-owned market on the high street.

Rumours of DRM locking titles to console/account on next generation consoles will also bode badly for any outlet basing a meaningful chunk of their revenue on the pre-owned market as this will effectively disappear. I can't see your average market town having a dedicated, high-street gaming outlet when and if that time comes.

[jamiefrost]

New games are already coming with single online multilayer access, the includes a single code allowing access to multiplayer which is then tied to the account. If the game is sold on then you need to purchase a new multilayer code.

[MarkC1984]

This would be a shame if they do close. I use GAME and sometimes eBay to buy games cheap. I can't afford to pay the prices when games are released. I'd rather wait 6 months til I can get it for roughly half the price it was when released.

[cimt]

Originally Posted by Stephen

They also don't do themselves any favours by selling pre-owned titles at nearly the same price as new. Why buy secondhand when the new version may only be £3 more? They used to be great around 2001 pre-owned titles were always at good prices.

Another thing is that you'll see the pre-owned games like £5/10 more expensive sometimes.

[Alan Fry]

If Game goes, what about HMV?

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Alan Fry

If Game goes, what about HMV?

Well according to reports their finances are in a perilous state.