Following reports that GAME Group is being denied new titles by suppliers the company has put itself up for sale and warned shareholders that their equity in the firm may be worthless.
Sports Direct’s takeover of Game Digital has edged closer as the company revealed on Monday it now owns 84% of the high street retailer, which has applied to be delisted from London Stock Exchange.
Gamer Headlines writes: I’d like to think that we UK gamers are quite savvy when it comes to finding the best deal when buying games. And let’s face it; everything is generally cheaper online from the vast number of websites like Amazon, ShopTo, Zavvi, Game Collection and deal forums like HotUkDeals when comparing prices to high street stores like Game, HMV, Argos or the local supermarket.
Well gamers, it would seem that more than half of all physical games are still sold in traditional bricks and mortar establishments according to last year’s stats.
A lot of stores did. But they saved a few after they found a buyer for the company. Just this week though, they announced they're ditching their pre-owned games department.
I bet most of the consoles sold in high streets and supermarkets are bought by parents (in other words, the uninformed buyers)
Dealspwn writes: If you'd like to play Grid 2 a month early you should get yourself down to one of the Game stores listed below. It's lock in season again and Game have teamed up with Codemasters to let gamers get their hands on the eagerly-anticipated racing title pre-release. There will be a fastest lap competition at each event too, with the winner netting themselves a copy of the game when it's released.
A member of the Codemasters dev team will be on hand to answer questions and offer hot tips to shave seconds of your lap times. Soft drinks and pizza will also be available. Good times. Places are limited, so visit your store, phone them or tweet them to reserve your spot. Venue details and dates follow after the break.
We'll have to see if anyone buys them. If not, you could consider them a lost cause; worthless. They're not making money, have tonnes of stores creating a large expenditure, and a market that is slowly going to the internet for its cheaper gaming needs. GAME may not be worthless, but it will be unless it changes how it manages itself.
GAME tried monopolising hte market by buying up Blockbuster, Gamestation and Gameplay and look where that got them...
Im glad they are in trouble, after years of ripping people off with terrible trade in prices/high game prices they deserve it. I have avoided them for years.
But I do feel bad for employees who will lose their jobs, Its not their fault, its the fault of senior management.
I feel sorry for the workers on the shop floor, its not a good time to be out of work if the worst happens to GAME/Gamestation/Gameplay but they are being led by idiots. They bit the hand that feeds, they promoted used games over new and then wondered why publishers took steps to take their trade away like online passes, exclusive DLC and moving faster towards digital sales. The supermarkets selling blockbusters like FIFA and Call of Duty each year at knock down prices hurt them further but I felt no pity for GAME because they built a monopoly and squeezed out the small independent stores in the same way years ago. Their greed in increasing their monopoly saw them take on too many stores, even with my untrained eye, having so many stores was not sustainable.
Nobody will want a company that is millions in debt. Not in this economy. I think GAME are finished tbh, its been on BBC news with that awesome ME3 trailer.
The only positive I can see is that independent game stores will do better. When (its a question of when) GAME/Gamestation close down my local independent shop will probably do some better trade, but its the online retailers and supermarkets that will ultimately benefit.