Game & Gamestation: GAME credit woes

[EvilBoris]

Lego Lord Of The Rings Xbox on game.co.uk= ?37.99

same game/format on Shopto= 30.99

But the game one is EXCLUSIVE and comes with a tiny Lego Elrond!
I think the difference is often negliable, especially but the time you factor in the supermarkets and their prices too.
Also, I don't like to hang onto my games, I can't trade them in at Shopto.
You've picked a good example there, but lets try a few more

Need for Speed Most Wanted ?36.85 Shopto ?37.99 GAME

Borderlands 2 ?32.86 Shopto ?19.99 GAME

Halo 4 ?37.85 Shopto ?39.99 GAME

I can't impulse buy online either, sometimes I like to go into a games shop, have a browse through the hundreds of games, pick up boxes, look at accessories. I can't do this online.
I buy both online and on the high street.
Also, if I was 12 years old I wouldn't be able to buy my games online, I can still see a need for highstreet retailers, even if I don't choose to buy there 100% of the time

I actually miss the indies, I always like it when I go to france or other european countries where the high street wasn't crushed by GAME and co and you can actually find lots of indies who sell new things and retro stuff.

[Adam]

Just why would anyone in their right mind buy from Games website and you even get reward points from Shopto. Its not even if its a pound or 2 out, were talking a ?7 and thats not to be sneezed at. Seriously what is the point of Game having a website if its not even going to try compete with the online market.

I know 2 people who are regular GAME shoppers (instore), they seem addicted to the points or something. Popping into GAME after work on a Friday is a thing they like to do. I tut at them.

[gIzzE]

I just dont understand why anyone would buy new games from the high street nowadays unless you pop in a buy something random whilst out shopping.

You can apply that to everything though.

You can buy a TV online cheaper, you can buy a Fridge online cheaper, you can buy a watch online cheaper, bed linen, curtains, trainers, shoes, clothes, sofas .... well sofas probably not actually, but you get the idea.

I guess it comes down to whether you want any shops left or whether you are happy to have a purely online shopping experience in the future?

For many, price is not such an issue, they simply want to be able to spend the day in town shopping and coming home with a few new bits, if I buy 4 games a month and spend ?200 instead of ?160 does it really matter? I wake up on a Sunday morning and realise I have wasted far more than that the night before.
Sure, I want the best deal I can get, I have just bought a Fuji X100 camera and wanted to buy from a local store, but he was ?699, John Lewis was down to ?611 and then saw Fuji was selling it on their webstore for ?499 refurbed, and there was a 10% voucher for all camera purchases bringing it down to ?449, so guess where I bought it? Yep, Fuji direct.
So I am as guilty as the next man, but I don't try and save a tenner to try and support the high street as often as I can.

My main grip is most of them shut at 5.30, so I can't get to them as I work 10 miles out of town. I really wish Woolworths had become media megastore when they closed, selling all sorts of CDs, Films, Games (new and used and retro) and stayed open till 8pm or later every night. That is something missing imho.

[gambit6613]

I know 2 people who are regular GAME shoppers (instore), they seem addicted to the points or something. Popping into GAME after work on a Friday is a thing they like to do. I tut at them.

The funny thing is this used to be me about 18 months ago. I used to blindly go into Game, pre-order something weeks in advance and go in a collect at weekend. But when a friend pointed out just how much of a saving i could make online i have never looked back. As for the points thats what kept me shopping in Game but nowadays i 99.9% of the time buy from Shopto because now im in the gold tier of their points system im getting really good value of points, pretty much ?1.50 minimum per game which is brilliant when saved over a year, even at the basic bronze level you still get a really good return.

[gambit6613]

You can apply that to everything though.

You can buy a TV online cheaper, you can buy a Fridge online cheaper, you can buy a watch online cheaper, bed linen, curtains, trainers, shoes, clothes, sofas .... well sofas probably not actually, but you get the idea.

I guess it comes down to whether you want any shops left or whether you are happy to have a purely online shopping experience in the future?

For many, price is not such an issue, they simply want to be able to spend the day in town shopping and coming home with a few new bits, if I buy 4 games a month and spend ?200 instead of ?160 does it really matter? I wake up on a Sunday morning and realise I have wasted far more than that the night before.
Sure, I want the best deal I can get, I have just bought a Fuji X100 camera and wanted to buy from a local store, but he was ?699, John Lewis was down to ?611 and then saw Fuji was selling it on their webstore for ?499 refurbed, and there was a 10% voucher for all camera purchases bringing it down to ?449, so guess where I bought it? Yep, Fuji direct.
So I am as guilty as the next man, but I don't try and save a tenner to try and support the high street as often as I can.

My main grip is most of them shut at 5.30, so I can't get to them as I work 10 miles out of town. I really wish Woolworths had become media megastore when they closed, selling all sorts of CDs, Films, Games (new and used and retro) and stayed open till 8pm or later every night. That is something missing imho.

You are right, this isnt just a problem for Game its the same problem facing every High Street retailer, maybe with the exception of clothes/shoe shops etc for obvious reasons. But you cant compare buying TV, fridges and other electrical appliances to video games because you need to see them in person to make sure you are buying something suitable.

Price is definitely king for most people you cant be serious and say you are quite happy paying ?200 for 4 games when you could have saved ?40, that just does not make any sense but if that makes you happy then fair enough but i would much rather bank the ?40 thanks very much.

[noobish hat]

I wouldn't mind too much spending a little extra to support high street shops, if the high street shops weren't such an open putrid wound on the face of the games industry. Think I'm going to pay extra to keep GAME in business, after their own colossal greed destroyed the independant shops, the retro market, and finally themselves? Think again.

[wakka]

Popping into GAME after work on a Friday is a thing they like to do. I tut at them.

You tut at them? Seriously? I find this totally understandable. Sure they're paying a bit over the odds and I'm sure they know it, but going to the shop and picking out a new game at the start of the weekend is fun. Just plain old fun. You get it in your hands right there and then, it's a different experience to buying online.

[Adam]

If they spent money more wisely they could be playing alot more games. Or spending it on something entirely different. Point is, you can spend a huge amount less on this hobby if you try. GAME just happen to be the ones that charge the most, most of the time. I don't think of it as an experience to pop into a shop and buy a game, unless it's a midnight launch or something. The games are usually beside my frontdoor in the morning of release, the same game you got.

[Daragon]

Wouldn't mind if GAME matched their online prices to their instore ones.

In most cases however, there's a fiver's markup which I find really baffling - most stores, even con merchants like HMV will at the very least offer a click and collect service!

The PC version of Borderlands 2 for example in-store was ?20 when it was ?15 online. They kept their console version pricing the same online and in-store, so why not for PC? I'd have bought online if there was stock. Sort your act out, you've got this second chance so don't **** it up. No one is going to be saving you from a second visit by administrators.

[teddymeow]

Borderlands 2 is ?15 in store.

[Daragon]

Not in any of the ones I've been in. 19.99 in Trafford Centre, Warrington and Leigh :-(
Shame too as they still had the premier club on the shelf.

[Neon Ignition]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-12-23-game-blames-low-last-gen-sales-for-pre-christmas-slump

It's not in Administration or anything but GAME has announced that sales have failed to meet targets citing steeper than expected last gen sales (a weak excuse), it resulted in them losing 34% of share value

[wakka]

Unsurprising. They'll lose out on hardware sales thanks to deep discounting by Tesco etc, and their reputation with gamers is mud.

I haven't actually been in a GAME in years as they appear to have left London completely (the Oxford Street flagship is long gone). However I did dip into a Gamestop on a recent trip to Dublin - they had a few battered copies of the latest AAAs out and the rest of it was 'kitsch' t-shirts and mugs with Back To The Future and stuff on. Oh and posters. And those 'Pop' Nendoroid-style toys. Assuming GAME is similar now (perhaps someone can correct me if not), I just don't know what the market is for that kind of shop. It's mostly novelty tat.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Unsurprising. They'll lose out on hardware sales thanks to deep discounting by Tesco etc, and their reputation with gamers is mud.

I haven't actually been in a GAME in years as they appear to have left London completely (the Oxford Street flagship is long gone). However I did dip into a Gamestop on a recent trip to Dublin - they had a few battered copies of the latest AAAs out and the rest of it was 'kitsch' t-shirts and mugs with Back To The Future and stuff on. Oh and posters. And those 'Pop' Nendoroid-style toys. Assuming GAME is similar now (perhaps someone can correct me if not), I just don't know what the market is for that kind of shop. It's mostly novelty tat.

Not entirely true.

GAME's flagship store in London is now the one in Stratford City Westfield. They have concessions in Central London though - Hamley's Regent Street and West One in Bond Street Tube Station. They've also recently returned to Walthamstow's Selborne Walk Mall as well, amongst others. They do still have a presence in the capital but it's just much smaller.

Their stores are the same as they ever were - games and novelty tat together.

Definitely right about their rep being trashed with gamers though, but I would've thought that was more down to them being awful online in recent times (the Splatoon and Super Mario Maker debacles not helping matters).

[VR46]

They have been advertising the fact they now have 25 stores in and around London, not sure how vague/what exact area they mean.

Was in the Brentwood store yesterday and the 360 presence is much increased from my last visit - it's taken over about a third of the Xbox One store space too.