Just noticed that following a closing down sale, my local branch of Game has moved inside Sports Direct like so many others. This was part of a plan from the start when Sports Direct started taking them over, which in their head makes some kind of business sense but I strongly suspect it won't work out in the end. They've tried to make some kind of vague connection with eSports but really Sports Direct is just the place where commuters go to buy emergency umbrellas and bagheads go to shoplift trainers. It makes about as much sense as combining roast beef and custard. I think it'll probably alienate their remaining customers more than they expect, maybe the FIFA crowd might think it's alright but it's probably a turnoff for most of the rest. I give it 5 years before it's either completely gone or it becomes a glorified click-and-collect counter.
In some ways I can't say I'm that bothered, but it does strike me as sad overall to see what I think is probably going to be the ultimate death of high street game shops, unless you count Cex but that doesn't sell new stuff. I'm happy to support brick-and-mortar places but Game has been a glorified toy shop for the last few years, more concerned about pushing Funko Pops and throwaway LED junk from China. The only things I remember buying there in recent years were a very reduced price copy of Project Highrise and a couple of used games (I'd have thought selling used games would be at odds with selling the new ones to be honest).
Any time I've entered their stores it always seems a bit directionless, with very little care as to what is actually stocked, jack of all trades and master of none. When you look in the window, the main thing they're trying to push is a confusing mixture of used mobile phones and new Casio wristwatches. Why don't you offer key-cutting services while you're at it? Odd things are often stocked but not given any kind of presence. There's a Retron 5 on a lower shelf with no real explanation of what it is or does. There's one of those huge Capcom Home Arcade sticks with the box getting gradually more and more torn up - I doubt anyone will ever buy it unless it gets reduced to £150 or something. I literally can't remember a single time I've ever been in there and seen a PS5 demo unit that was working, rather than sat there with "an error has occurred" on the screen. Just a general lack of care and attention, they just buy things at random it seems.
Most of the new games are shoved off into the corners, but there's a curiously large display of Numskull sunglasses very loosely themed around Ghostbusters, Jaws and Sonic. Nobody buys them. There's also loads of overpriced bottles of energy pop served at room temperature. Nobody buys them. So much stock in there that nobody buys. Meanwhile there's stock that people want and they won't have it. Been in there so many times and heard people asking at the counter for things like controllers and told "no, we've not got any, try Argos". I'm aware there's been stock shortages of controllers and I'm not ignorant of that, but any time I've heard that I've looked it up and Argos have more often than not had some. They never, ever seem to have any. A game shop should really be making more effort to have this kind of stock over anyone else, certainly they're in a better position than almost anyone to strongarm Sony or whoever into making a bunch of controllers for them specifically. At the very least they could keep quality third-party ones (Hori, etc) in stock. Nope, either really bad rubbish ones or nothing usually.
Then there's the bloody upsell, every time you buy a game - do you want disc protection? No, I've read the terms to it. You're paying a quid so should some problem occur with the disc later they'll stick it in their stupid polishing machine and knacker it up further. If it continues to not work, they'll give you a used disc. If they don't have a used disc, they'll give you their estimation of what they feel the current pre-owned price of the game would be as store credit. Useless.
Basically I'm just confused and angry and don't know where this is going. Bring back Gamestation, they were alright.
In some ways I can't say I'm that bothered, but it does strike me as sad overall to see what I think is probably going to be the ultimate death of high street game shops, unless you count Cex but that doesn't sell new stuff. I'm happy to support brick-and-mortar places but Game has been a glorified toy shop for the last few years, more concerned about pushing Funko Pops and throwaway LED junk from China. The only things I remember buying there in recent years were a very reduced price copy of Project Highrise and a couple of used games (I'd have thought selling used games would be at odds with selling the new ones to be honest).
Any time I've entered their stores it always seems a bit directionless, with very little care as to what is actually stocked, jack of all trades and master of none. When you look in the window, the main thing they're trying to push is a confusing mixture of used mobile phones and new Casio wristwatches. Why don't you offer key-cutting services while you're at it? Odd things are often stocked but not given any kind of presence. There's a Retron 5 on a lower shelf with no real explanation of what it is or does. There's one of those huge Capcom Home Arcade sticks with the box getting gradually more and more torn up - I doubt anyone will ever buy it unless it gets reduced to £150 or something. I literally can't remember a single time I've ever been in there and seen a PS5 demo unit that was working, rather than sat there with "an error has occurred" on the screen. Just a general lack of care and attention, they just buy things at random it seems.
Most of the new games are shoved off into the corners, but there's a curiously large display of Numskull sunglasses very loosely themed around Ghostbusters, Jaws and Sonic. Nobody buys them. There's also loads of overpriced bottles of energy pop served at room temperature. Nobody buys them. So much stock in there that nobody buys. Meanwhile there's stock that people want and they won't have it. Been in there so many times and heard people asking at the counter for things like controllers and told "no, we've not got any, try Argos". I'm aware there's been stock shortages of controllers and I'm not ignorant of that, but any time I've heard that I've looked it up and Argos have more often than not had some. They never, ever seem to have any. A game shop should really be making more effort to have this kind of stock over anyone else, certainly they're in a better position than almost anyone to strongarm Sony or whoever into making a bunch of controllers for them specifically. At the very least they could keep quality third-party ones (Hori, etc) in stock. Nope, either really bad rubbish ones or nothing usually.
Then there's the bloody upsell, every time you buy a game - do you want disc protection? No, I've read the terms to it. You're paying a quid so should some problem occur with the disc later they'll stick it in their stupid polishing machine and knacker it up further. If it continues to not work, they'll give you a used disc. If they don't have a used disc, they'll give you their estimation of what they feel the current pre-owned price of the game would be as store credit. Useless.
Basically I'm just confused and angry and don't know where this is going. Bring back Gamestation, they were alright.
Comment