Those in the UK (and others with access to the internet) are likely to be at least dimly aware of the current plight of the GAME group. With unsolicited opinions being offered left, right and centre, I have no real wish to add another, except for the fact I feel a little bit bad about my post at the end of January (visible on the journal front page at the time of writing) detailing some awkward exchanges with members of GAME staff. The intention was to make fun of my own awkwardness, more than anything else, but with all that’s going on at the moment it might now seem in slightly poor taste, so I’ll just add a brief thoughts as follows:
1) GAME isn’t what it used to be – back in the day their stores were almost always a better option for range and price than rivals Electronics Boutique (until EB ended up buying GAME) – but I still go in and buy games there. Whatever mistakes they’ve made, and if I had an opinion on what they were, I don’t think it would be a particularly informed one, I think there’s still a place for them on the high street.
2) Speaking of uninformed opinions, I’m pretty sure those putting forward the ‘OH ITS THERE OWN STUPID FALT FOR BEING SO SHIT I WENT INTO GAME THE OTHER DAY AND THEY DIDN’T EVEN HAVE WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR’ argument (also available in slightly more eloquent and reasonable-sounding forms essentially amounting to the same thing) don’t have the first idea what they’re talking about, no matter how much they claim to know about ‘basic business’. Plus, it’s mean-spirited and nasty, and that’s not called for when people are going to lose their jobs.
3) I’m sure there are good indie and second-hand shops out there (on a related note, Gamestation, also now part of the GAME group, was once but a single second-hand shop in York that I used to frequent quite regularly, until it became a chain, then part of Blockbuster, then a GAME ‘brand’) but anyone espousing the virtues of the likes of CEX might want to head to the Tottenham Court Road branch before claiming that the prices are better and the staff more friendly.
Posts
Back when I worked within walking distance of a GAME I’d often go there at lunchtimes. And flip through the 2-for-£15 shelves to see if anything tempting had arrived at that price point.
I have no idea how much could have been done to prevent this. Maybe online purchasing is the inevitable way forward. Always sucks when people lose their jobs, tho.
March 23, 2012 @ 1:39 pm
Yeah, I like the 3-for-£10 and 2-for-£15, although whether they actually make much money from those deals, or whether it’s just a way to get rid of stock that isn’t in the charts, I don’t know. I picked up Dead Space, Mass Effect and Burnout: Paradise that way (3 for £10).
Although it may sound silly, I’m willing to pay slightly more for a boxed copy than a Steam copy. Something has to be pretty much around the £5 mark on Steam for me to be tempted. Also, I browse in shops but I don’t tend to browse GOG or Steam unless Twitter or somewhere else tells me they’re having a sale.
I hope they manage to sort something out anyway. Picked up some mega-cheap PSP games in there the other day and almost felt bad for taking advantage of their position.
March 23, 2012 @ 2:44 pm