GAME is to close 127 UK stores over the next three-and-a-half years, the firm has revealed.
The news comes after the company this morning posted a 28 per cent profits drop - prompting CEO Lisa Morgan to resign.
According to industry site MCV, only 550 GAME and Gamestation outlets will remain on the UK High Street by Christmas 2013.
Until recently GAME had 695 stores across the country, but in February it announced the closure of 18 additional outlets, as well as all 25 of its Debenhams concessions.
"We continue actively to review our UK store base, with a view to minimising store overlap and maximising opportunities from lease expiries, breaks and rent reviews," chairman Peter Lewis stated.
"Operationally we have continued to derive benefits from the integration of GAME and Gamestation. We have also rationalised our store and head office cost base which, in conjunction with the store closures, will result in savings of a further £5m in each of the next two years."
maybe this is a result of charging over the top prices for new release games & accessories, trade in prices are rubbish & used game prices suck to. As your mum used to say when getting told off. YOU HAVE ONLY YOURSELF TO BLAME.
So where are people buying games. Games bought in more cash than movies last year. Im sure there is more gamers out there than ever before, so why are game struggling? I get all my xbox games from Game and my Xbox live subscription and Marketplace points....I find this worrying
Liverpool has three Game stores and two Gamestations stores all with in walking distance of each other. Surely all five stores can't be turning a profit
Internet shopping has to be the culprit. You can get some amazing prices online and they usually get shipped early. Lots of people are becoming real savvy about their game purchases, especially during the recent recession.
High street stores can't match the prices so they're suffering.
I've got to say I'm not particularly sad, GAME are overpriced and they feel like a branch of Dixons. Games are fun and the place you buy them should be too. Plus I do not want someone talking down to me and offering me some random s**t when they do not know one iota more than me about games.
I stopped buying games from brick and mortar stores about ...blimey must be 7 years back.
I stopped buying packaged products online about 2 years ago.
Steam, GOG, direct2drive, stardock and kalypso.
If Game are just *now* starting to wind down their 7 years out of date operation and focusing on the 2 year out of date one, I'd say somebody isn't doing their job tbh.
This is great news. - I'm all for less of those monopolizing GAME stores, staffed to the hilt with employees who clearly have no idea what they're talking about. Not to mention those extortionate preowned prices. - That said, they run a pretty decent online service with fast and free delivery. Much better than play.com in my opinion.
...And while we're on the subject, GameStation need to sort themselves out as well. Why do the vast majority of their stores reek of musty old carpets and is it written in their contracts that you have to be some sort of spotty-faced, greasy-haired mosh-head with a love of the psuedo-satanic to work there? - Gaming is supposed to have moved on.
Its wierd, I'd have said online shopping would have killed "bricks and morter" stores long before now, I can't remember the last time I brought a game in one, but the reality, from what I've witnessed, is far from that.
Everytime I've ventured into a GAME or Gamestation, even recently, they've been heaving, infact, the big one in Norwich, the queue for the till on a Saturday is unreal.
But I've said it before, GAME stores are very over saturated in most towns / cities, we have 4 in Norwich, all within spitting distance, when in reality, they only really need one.
So I imagine they are just planning on shutting down the stores in over saturated areas
A few weeks ago I went in to a GAME store, and they were selling Bayonetta (PS3) for £43.99. It was available on Zavvi's website at £17.95 at the same time. They were also selling Band Hero (PS3, game only, no instruments) for £43.99 long after it had been released/peaked.
It doesn't take a genius to see why they're struggling, and it's certainly nothing to do with the recession. Quite simply, their pricinf compared to their competitors is horrible.
Only an idiot would buy games on the high-street in this day and age.I've said before that my experiences in Game (over the years) have been dreadful.Good riddance.I won't shed a tear if Game and Gamestation disappear altogether.
It's rare that I ever buy a new release from GAME these days, as they're nearly always available for far less elsewhere (usually on-line).
Plus, their second-hand games are often more expensive than brand-new games elsewhere.
As others have said, there are simply too many GAME stores within close proximity too. In the Trafford Centre, there's one on the Upper Mall, and if you look over the banister to the Lower Mall, you can see their other one. And on top of that, there's another subsiduary one within the Selfridges store just a few minutes' walk away.
So, between a saturated high-street presence and over-priced stock situation, this surely can't be surprising news.
Never really understood why there was a GAME and Gamestation a 100 yards away from one another on Union Street here in Aberdeen, plus another GAME in the shopping centre. Aberdeen isnt that big a city.
The internet is obviously going to be a factor in the decrease of sales, but I honestly think it's more to do with their prices. Charging, in a lot of cases, £10 more than online (or £5 more than most other stores) is a ridiculous way to do business.
I have a feeling that GAME have been relying very heavily on their brandname in recent years. And that's not something even remotely bankable anymore.
The internet hasn't killed the high street - people still like the immidiacy of being able to walk in and grab what they want. But at the prices GAME are touting, I think the vast majority of people are going to think twice.
In Warrington there is a GAME, Gamestation, HMV, CEX and a Game Exchange all within spitting distance of each other and all with practically identical prices. - There is just no need. Particularly when i can save the busfare, go online and buy at much lower costs.
I am surprised with the amount of overlapping stores around the country. We have 2 GAME's and 1 Gamestation literally a minutes walk apart. Seems like that kind of scenario is everywhere.
I get all my xbox games from Game and my Xbox live subscription and Marketplace points....I find this worrying
Then you sir have been getting shafted. Their prices are absolutley ridiculous and for the most part(see below) their trade in values are tantamount to highway robbery. Dirt 2 has been the only thing, other than my original 360, that i've bought from Game this gen. And the only reason i got that from them was because they were giving me £25 off for trading in Transformers 2 on a special offer.
Talking of stupid business, our local Game stores are in the shopping centre, one on the first floor, one on the second floor right above it, but with different staff and management. F"cking crackers.
And I agree with most here that the last game I bought from "Game" about 2-3 years ago was Uncharted second hand- the disk was that scratched I refused to pay it and so I got a new one for 20 notes.
Don't care abt GAME as I can't remember being served by someone who wasn't a complete dick and most of the time they know sh1t abt games. All I can do now is use my damn points as soon as possible.
To be honest a cull of stores should have happened ages ago. It was a syptom of how GAME grew - we had 2 GAMES locally when GAME took over (the far superior Electronics Boutiques). Then Gamestation - meaning in some cases saturation and 3 stores in one plave.
Anyway like many here I buy online now unless there is a good deal at the supermarkets / other stores. Been a very long time since I bought from GAME / Gamestation.
As much as I'm not a fan I did work for GAME probably about 15 years - ago in the green polo shirt, PsOne, Sega Saturn days... so don't want to see them go!
I think all the love for GAME in these comments tells its own story. Maybe they're not pushing stuff hard enough at the till. I bought some MS points from there once and I got asked if I needed a controller and a subscription to xbox live. Well duh.
Well, I work for GAME and I am now worried about my job. I may not like it that much but a job is a job at the moment. But, I'm lucky, I get offered over time in other stores all the time and a few of them have asked me to move so if my store goes I can go else where.
(Please note how I am NOT trying to defend the company!)
hardly a shock i mean who buys over priced games on the high street anymore i no i havent in years.. For instance Mass Effect 34.99 instore at Game brought on gameplay for 14.99 and gameplay is part of game which makes no sense!
I really feel for anyone working at Game, but the company needs to get it's act sorted with pricing. I mean, I can usually get things with at least £10 off from Play.com or ShopTo. Sometimes, though, it's nice to go in to a shop and just browse, or to just drop in on my way home to pick something up.
Re the posted above if you work for game it's worrying and I hope your ok when they decide on the closures.
But as many people have stated the game prices in the shop don't even come close to even game's own online store let alone the likes of play, shopto (had a bad exp with them though but they are the cheapest and won't be going back ever!)
I've always found new release games at about £5-£10 cheaper online in game, with no incentive to buy instore.
Hopefully they will finally realise that they charge too much but I doubt it.
By and large brick and mortar stores are more expensive than online in particular for new games - but for second hand games and at seasonal sales time they do have some real bargains that far outstrip what you can find online - I picked up a full rock band set for £50 at xmas in store, you wouldn't see that online.
here in Manchester we have two in the Trafford Centre,pretty much directly over each other,one used to be EB games(before GAME bought them out)..hopefully just one will close and not both
i don't mind GAME,the MS points aren't bad,while other shops sell for £19.99 for 2100 points,GAME sells for £17.99
their part ex prices are annoying when i buy a game on Friday for £39.99,complete the damn thing over the weekend,and take it back on Monday and am lucky to get £28 for it
I too live within a few minutes of the Trafford Centre.
I buy if instore all my games from HMV there. I used to always use GAME until I came to trade in 13 PS3 games I'd accumilated, GAME offered me just over £90 so my lad and I went upstairs to HMV and they offered me over £200 for the same games. Never been to game since.
Whenever my store credit runs out I will buy online from whomever is the cheapest and then when ready trade in at HMV.
I just find like others have said that GAME is way overpriced and there staff constantly harass you as soon as you walk in their store.
I always considered Gamestation a place wherein their staff members were always a lot more passionate about games. Since the GAME takeover however, it's just been about figures and selling as much as they can without any consideration. In some respects, GAME dragged Gamestation with them.
Well if I go to town I have a gamestation and 3 game stores all within 10 mins walk of each other. No wonder they are losing money, Not to mention all the stores selling the stuff £5 or £10 cheaper in most cases if not more.
But I hardly ever go there now because I can make at least a tenner saving ordering online for a new release and normally get it at the latest the day before release, if not earlier.
They are just behind the times, the days of these type of specialist stores is dieing (what with supermarkets willing in some cases to sell with no profit to get people in the store), they either need to increase there range of products and sell things other than games or go to a mainly online company and keep there prices close to what other online retailers sell for.
Do Zavvi still exist? I thought HMV bought them out?
Its a shame as I have been a customer of Game for some time. I use there online service quite alot due to the fact I get lots of reward points and always get my preorders at least a day early and its free!
One good thing about gamestation is there 10 day return policy, so it you finish it quickly like most games these days at least they give you a credit note for the full price you've paid for it even with pre owned also. That something you can't do with online shopping really and consider GAME owns gamestation it seems strange that they don't go back to this idea themselves.
Series the last time i bought anything from game myself was at least 18 months ago, heck i haven't bought anything online from them for even longer, they really do suck as a company, i buy games from online stores like play or supermarkets, and my PC games i just download from clients like steam or EA store.
yea i'm glad game is cloing down should be all of them really, with there sky high rip of prices. i stopped shopping at game when they stop you bring back games if you dont like them lol. but in life you need to move with the times... and they clearly didn't. think about it,, internet is cheaper, plus you get game in advance. plus cheaper, or if u want cheap high street prices you go ASDA or tescos , look at call of duty 2 £50 / 60 game or £25 sainsburys were are you gonna go. lol
yea i'm glad game is closing down, should be all of them really. With there sky high, Rip of prices. I stopped shopping at game, when they stopped ,, bring back games, if you dont like them... lol. but in life you need to move with the times... and they clearly didn't. think about it,, internet is cheaper, plus you get games in advance. plus cheaper. or if u want cheap high street prices, you go ASDA or tescos , look at call of duty 2 £50 / £60 game or £25 sainsburys were are you gonna go. lol
When Game first came to the highstreets it brought the world of gaming to the foreront, then they just got stupid building stores 2 minuters apart and then buying out Gamestation to take total control over the highstreet. With no competition they could charge what they wanted and then gamers who are not usually crap at modern technology were able to find better deals elsewhere.
the prices that GAME charge in-store are no different to any-other high-street shop that sells games, HMV are far worse than GAME.
i get many of my pc,wii,ps3 & 360 games from GAME online or Amazon & i do buy the odd game from a GAME shop, the staff in my local one are quite knowledgeable about games & consoles, the shop is always packed with customers, shame if gaming shops die out used to be nice places to chat to fellow minded gamers, & i'm not going to get sucked in to buying games from Tesco that they have on release day for 1/2 price because once all the GAME shops have closed down Tesco will put up the prices & the none release day games are more expensive than GAME anyway, games on Amazon are only something like a few pence cheaper than GAME online.
hope my local GAME doesn't close
it's a bit sad of everyone to cheer about GAME closing, because you will miss them when they are gone & will ultimately end up paying more, competition = lower prices
I'd love to shop at game, i have tried many times to shop at game, but about 8 out of 10 times i tried to buy a game there, they couldnt find the bloody thing, i bet i've wasted hours waiting, while some lad goes through those draws and then runs off upstairs only to come back empty handed. last time was boarderlands for £12 on pc (brand new) 20 minutes on my dinner hour i stood there!! so i bought it on steam, shame its rubbish!
Liverpool has three Game stores and two Gamestations stores all with in walking distance of each other. Surely all five stores can't be turning a profit
Where is this third GAME store in liverpool exactly as i work in the Liverpool 1 branch and i have never heard of it.
In Northampton, we have a GAME and a Gamestation within less than a minute's walk from each other.
The second-hand prices in GAME are shocking. They actually sell second-hand games for more than they cost first hand. I regularly point this out to their staff, and on more than one occasion I have been asked to actually leave their store just for pointing out that they sell games way above the RRP, and sell second hand games for more than they sell first-hand.
Simple fact is the stores have been run badly from the top down, stores no longer want to sell hardware because if the staff dont sell an extra pad and extended warrenty with it, it actually works against the figures they have to achieve. Yup, selling hardware in a game store is actually a bad thing unless you know your getting extra's with it, I know most stores will turn away people who dont want anything with a console just to balance out the KPI's the stores have been set.
In Northampton, we have a GAME and a Gamestation within less than a minute's walk from each other.
The second-hand prices in GAME are shocking. They actually sell second-hand games for more than they cost first hand. I regularly point this out to their staff, and on more than one occasion I have been asked to actually leave their store just for pointing out that they sell games way above the RRP, and sell second hand games for more than they sell first-hand.
GAME are a f**king joke.
Another Northampton boy, eh? What are the chances...
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yea i'm glad game is closing down, should be all of them really. With there sky high, Rip of prices. I stopped shopping at game, when they stopped ,, bring back games, if you dont like them... lol. but in life you need to move with the times... and they clearly didn't. think about it,, internet is cheaper, plus you get games in advance. plus cheaper. or if u want cheap high street prices, you go ASDA or tescos , look at call of duty 2 £50 / £60 game or £25 sainsburys were are you gonna go. lol
