Game / Gamestation

[Fzero]

Whats all this then about closing up shop and going into administration blah blah?


Business not going so well i guess?


Bit of a shame, there arent too many shop options around here besides them, online places of course but to pop into off the high road these were about it.


And, more importantly, I guess i should go claim up a little something on my loyalty card QUICK before its wasted.


And, what about my deposit for my R2D2 xbox which i was meant to be getting offered at end of the month, guess thats out the window now?


I just caught a little headline on the BBC news 24 taper when having lunch.


shame

 

[Prometheus]

Good riddance. I knew there was something fishy going on with them as early as 2005, when they were labelling used games as new and selling them for new prices in some of their branches, including one local to me (they gave me a £20 voucher as compensation for the deception, when I fell foul of this).


It also no doubt didn't help them when they kept giving more shelf and floor space to things that weren't selling very well and very very little to what people actually wanted to buy, for what I can only assume were either political issues, or maybe even backhanders of some sort. (I wouldn't say that it was due to fanboy issues, since GAME was never the sort of chain with the sort of passion to employ even those sorts.)


I mourn more for the losses of all of the independent places that GAME caused to die off (including their only competitor, GameStation, who, when GAME were quite wrongly allowed to buy them out, were made to destroy lots of their stock in order to get tax breaks for GAME for disposing of "electronic waste" - do read this entire thread, it's very eye-opening), than for GAME.


If our competition commission hadn't been so spineless, at least there would have been one national specialist video games retail chain left, today!


EDIT: I'd like to say that GameStation were the only competitor that they were allowed to swallow up, but I also remember that they were allowed to buy out a once-very-well-known online retailer, too, Gameplay. They turned that to crap as well, of course.

 

[mattman]

Unfortunately High Street game sales are crashing at the same time high street prices are really going up.


It is hard to justify the cost of buying high priced high street versus cheaper on-line suppliers, especially when you hear loads of nightmare stories continuously streaming from unsatisfied customers like Prometheus.


I have also had bad experiences from high street shops. especially in Ireland its seems no Irish shop knows the actual value of a software product and charges well above what it is in other countries.

 

[Prometheus]

The severity of the problem is emphasised by the fact that online retail, if my memory serves me correctly, only accounts for around 11% of British retail sales overall. If the majority of sales are at brick-and-mortar retail, then I can only assume that mismanagement of some sort (as was the case with Woolworths, I seem to recall) is to blame here.

 

[Fzero]

Until today I didn't even know game and gamestation were linked, I thought were competitors.


Not read that link yet, will in a sec if it's long thread, but didn't know they were responsible for the demise of independent shops, I guess to think about it the day they popped up everywhere it would've obviously been bad news for other shops bit didn't know of any buy outs or the likes.


Used to have a blinding little independent near me when growing how that was a good place time shop and hang out in, atmosphere you wouldn't get in a game branch. Was a shame this happened eh, I'm thinking good riddence too, maybe some better ones will pop up again?


I buy online mostly myself, pretty much always get the item hassle free.


What of my pre order monies though, I'd better pop down gsmestation at weekend and get it back


Edit- read that other thread now, what a waste destroying all those games, can't see why though? Surely that can't benefit for tax in any way, you'd think a clearance sale on them would be the normal and actract shoppers.

 

[Asmo]

HMV are on borrowed time too, the rumours are swirling about their ongoing problems coming to a head.


Game were a pretty rotten shopping experience. If you can't approach online prices (bearing in mind it also costs money to go into town) you have to have stuff that provokes an impulse buy and offers of interest. They didn't.


I may not be alone in preferring to buy online for another reason: when I buy from Amazon, I get a shiny pristine disc shrinkwrapped and unblemished. In Game (and HMV etc) most of the games (unless it's a pile of just in Call Of Duty X titles) are kept rubbing up against their manual in a sleeve, in a drawer - often marked if not scratched. Pay top dollar for what is effectively a secondhand disc? Not I.

 

[Prometheus]

What of my pre order monies though, I'd better pop down gsmestation at weekend and get it back

I gather that suppliers won't give them stock, so yeah, I'd definitely do that!

Edit- read that other thread now, what a waste destroying all those games, can't see why though? Surely that can't benefit for tax in any way, you'd think a clearance sale on them would be the normal and actract shoppers.

I gather that there are EU tax breaks for destroying electronic waste.


Some folks said that GAME had no choice but to order the destruction because all that was left was super-common stuff that nobody wanted, but that was proven untrue by many eyewitness reports. I know one chap who rescued a Virtual Boy, for example (not common in the UK by any means, and not something that Gamestation sold cheaply on the rare occasions they popped up), because the management at one store went against GAME's orders and offered the goods up to the public instead. I think the same place had a MultiMega, too, which are hardly common or unwanted.

HMV are on borrowed time too, the rumours are swirling about their ongoing problems coming to a head.

Another rip-off chain! I can't say I'll miss them, either.

I may not be alone in preferring to buy online for another reason: when I buy from Amazon, I get a shiny pristine disc shrinkwrapped and unblemished. In Game (and HMV etc) most of the games (unless it's a pile of just in Call Of Duty X titles) are kept rubbing up against their manual in a sleeve, in a drawer - often marked if not scratched. Pay top dollar for what is effectively a secondhand disc? Not I.

That is another good reason, and one that never really crossed my mind before... I simply stopped buying from GAME after they tried to con me with a used-but-marked-as-new game, and the niceties of paying less than GAME and getting shrinkwrapped, untouched goods didn't really occur to me... It is good.

 

[craigix]

Time to keep an eye on Granger Games.

 

[Jumpman]

I don't know whats happening across the pond from us, but I wish Gamestop here in the states would have a similar ending. Sadly they appear to be growing with no end in sight.


Chris

 

[DaMummy]

I miss FuncoLand

 

[Sugar_Kane]

I desperately need to get down there and spend my £15 christmas gift card before they sink into the murky diarrhoea, unfortunately that discount will only make whichever game I buy the actual price it should cost

 

[Fzero]

I was just on the gamestation site looking at what 2nd hand games to spend my £30 on ..... then all of a sudden this page


http://www.gamestation.co.uk/wcsstore/holding_page/gamestation/index.html?storeId=10651


Which is now the only page that loads, even from the homepage.


looks like it will be up and running again soon, though i'll have lost the games i shortlisted down to in the cart no doubt.


Wasnt that much on clearance though, no more than the usual really, so not sure if these shops are closing up or not.


Maybe they'll not do much of an online clearance anyway and just brutally destroy any old stock under some 4" heels

 

[Asmo]

Just passed my nearest branch and the shutters are down, sign scawled on door "SHOP CLOSED".


There was activity inside and a sign hanging saying "Spring clear out! Massive discounts on hardware and software" - though whether this was something from previous weeks or a planned clearout to come I have no idea.


EDIT: Just saw on the news that the administrators decided to close all branches with immediate effect. So no firesale.

 

[gadgetoid]

Good riddance to game, and sorry to those who lost their jobs... which, as I gather, weren't particularly great jobs by any stretch of the imagination, due to being constantly under the thumb of a completely detached corporate who just wanted to run a chain of rip-off merchants designed to do nothing more than overhype games and shove full-priced pre-orders down people's throats before those artificially inflated release prices drop to sane levels.


Didn't like game. Still shopped there from time to time, it was the only was I was comfortable buying a console... pretty screwed now if something goes wrong.


As mentioned, GAME's complete suckdom and inevitable failure had little to nothing to do with the growing trend of shopping online.


Computer Exchange seems to be doing well in Norwich, now. They were absolutely choked full of shoppers the last time I popped in.

 

[Prometheus]

As mentioned, GAME's complete suckdom and inevitable failure had little to nothing to do with the growing trend of shopping online.

Exactly. It was everything to do with how they viewed and treated their customers.


I heard earlier that RBS was considering misusing their taxpayer-funded position to have the taxpayers prop up GAME's dead business, but this was broadcast earlier than Asmo's comment about how all branches are being shut with immediate effect, so hopefully that's the end of that.


Good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

[Cas]

Good riddance. I knew there was something fishy going on with them as early as 2005, when they were labelling used games as new and selling them for new prices in some of their branches, including one local to me (they gave me a £20 voucher as compensation for the deception, when I fell foul of this).


It also no doubt didn't help them when they kept giving more shelf and floor space to things that weren't selling very well and very very little to what people actually wanted to buy, for what I can only assume were either political issues, or maybe even backhanders of some sort. (I wouldn't say that it was due to fanboy issues, since GAME was never the sort of chain with the sort of passion to employ even those sorts.)


I mourn more for the losses of all of the independent places that GAME caused to die off (including their only competitor, GameStation, who, when GAME were quite wrongly allowed to buy them out, were made to destroy lots of their stock in order to get tax breaks for GAME for disposing of "electronic waste" - do read this entire thread, it's very eye-opening), than for GAME.


If our competition commission hadn't been so spineless, at least there would have been one national specialist video games retail chain left, today!


EDIT: I'd like to say that GameStation were the only competitor that they were allowed to swallow up, but I also remember that they were allowed to buy out a once-very-well-known online retailer, too, Gameplay. They turned that to crap as well, of course.

Yup, I had a row in my local branch quite some time back on this very issue, then another row on the phone to their office regarding the practice, in my case I never bought the game, I walked out and left it on the counter and never went back.

 

[mattman]

its done in ireland and NI. all game shops have closed their doors as of midday monday.

 

[Sugar_Kane]

They aren't redeeming gift cards :angry: That's £15 down the potty! I can see how reward points and refunds won't be processed, but gift cards are basically your money, they should refund all of these immediately as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Fzero]

So the sites down, with a statement saying "If you need to get in touch contact customer.services@gamestation.co.uk"


I clicked that and sent an email about me claiming back my credit, and it effing bounced back!


-----


Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:


customer.services@gamestation.co.uk


The e-mail address you entered couldn't be found. Please check the recipient's e-mail address and try to resend the message. If the problem continues, please contact your helpdesk.


-----


Really lame

in that case, they are complete c(_______________________________)**s


I feel like smashing their shop windows but doubt they would pick up the cost

How did you contact them to find this out Kane?


you got a number?


I want to give them a piece of my mind and some verbal abuse

 

[Sugar_Kane]

I just read the update on Techradar http://www.techradar...tration-1073757


Shopto.net were offering a £3 discount if you gave them your gift cards, but they've pulled the offer now after they were met with a massive backlash from people accusing them of bad taste.


The administration company are restructuring the business while they try to sell it on, it'll definitely be bought by someone as it's worthless now, but whether or not that someone decides to honour gift cards is anyone's guess.