Be Excellent To Each Other

I hate them and I'm glad they're dead.

There's obviously a massive amount of wastage happening at GAME. I can't help thinking they'd be in a better position financially if they decided to scrap Gamestation entirely, close the stores and concentrate on GAME itself. What does keeping the Gamestation brand going in a recession offer them? Are kids really taken in by the "cool and funky rad" image and badly designed website?

I designed that website

Rock Paper Shotgun: Oof. High-street retailer GAME’s troubles are deepening, with reports that Electronic Arts will not be supplying them with games, including Mass Effect 3. Pre-orders the store has already taken for the title will only be refunded in store credit. While both EA and GAME have yet to confirm, the official Mass Effect 3 website has updated informing anyone that has pre-ordered ME3 to reorder the game from Amazon.co.uk, Play.com, Zavvi.com and ShopTo.net.

It’s not looking good.

According to reports, both GAME and Gamestation will not be stocking new games from EA until further notice, with snow-boarding title SSX being the last until whatever problems have arisen are sorted out. GAME’s financial difficulties have led to them having to shutter shops and allegedly being unable to stock new titles from Ubisoft for the Sony VITA launch. But EA are in a different league, and losing their titles is significant and hugely damaging.

What could happen if the chain goes under? Eurogamer’s take is rather terrifying: gaming needs GAME.

A taste:

The first thing to consider is where the 2.5 million people that walk into GAME and Gamestation shops every week go. To supermarkets? Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco are regulars on Eurogamer’s many price roundup articles. They’re the obvious alternative. And they may “smell blood”, warns Don McCabe, joint managing director of indie video game chain Chips. “They’re like bloody sharks anyway. They spot HMV and GAME in trouble – if they smell blood and really go for it, they could wipe them out the market and they’ll share the market between themselves and online.”

I’ll update with confirmation/denials from either side if and when they arrive, but if you have pre-ordered Mass Effect 3 you might want to pop into where you bought it and find out what you need to do.

EDIT: Eurogamer have been sent what’s purportedly an internal memo sent to GAME store staff. According to the memo: “We committed to only stocking products on which we could get the right credit terms, regardless of the title or the supplier. We will not stock products if terms or conditions are not right for our business – we will not sacrifice long-term credit requirements for short term sales opportunities. As a result of us taking this position – a position we believe is critical to our long term health as a business – we have taken the very difficult decision to not stock EA’s March releases, including Mass Effect 3″.

It also points out that there will be no pre-orders taken for Fifa Street 3, Tiger Woods 13, or Sims 3 Showtime, and that people affected should be offered £5 in-store points.

There's an existing thread that people have been using to talk about all this stuff here.

There's an existing thread that people have been using to talk about all this stuff here.

Can't Game survive on pre owned titles alone? CEX do, don't they?

Now won't be stocking EA games, including Mass Effect 3, nor Ubisoft, nor Nintendo.

Um. That's a bit bad.

Can you guarantee pre-orders for games that you are currently selling?

Anna-Marie Mason: Absolutely.

CEX seems to be more about DVDs and stolen phones these days. Their preowned game prices are outrageous, especially considering how dirty they are from prolonged exposure to the interior of a typical CEX shop and its pierced, sweating staff (and token girl, "Pixie" usually).

Forbes asked me for my take on the situation GAME are in:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnyegr ... -group-uk/

Quality stuff. The sub-editing on that piece is terrible though - I saw four mistakes while I was glancing through to find your bit.

A report in yesterday’s edition of The Express has claimed that the directors of struggling retailer GAME are considering “pulling the plug” on the entire business.

This is because many at the highest levels of the chain now fear that “insolvency has become inevitable” as it continues to negotiate deals with major publishers on a title-by-title basis.

And should further big releases follow Mass Effect 3’s lead in skipping the retailer, lenders might lose patience completely.

“There is a real risk that Game’s directors will pull the plug because they can’t be sure that the company can survive through the next trading season, and then insolvency becomes inevitable,” a source ‘close to the situation’ is quoted as saying.

“They are in discussions with their legal advisers about whether to shut up shop rather than rack up more losses.

“The immediate response from RBS will be to push for more store closures, but the tipping point for the directors and the lending banks will come when the stores don’t have products to sell,” said an industry source.

“This could happen if more suppliers follow suit.”

With a proposed buyout at the hands of GameStop seemingly in the balance thanks to a disagreement about the purchase of GAME’s Australian stores, it is perfectly possible that a pre-pack administration deal with GameStop positioned as the buyer is in the works.

“Suppliers pulling their products is a stepping stone to administration, but the problem for RBS pulling the plug is that it will be an expensive and complex administration because GAME has 1,274 stores across Europe and Australia,” a further source added.

“Lending banks will only want to consider a pre-pack administration, where there is a pre-arranged buyer, but who would want to buy GAME?”

GAME not stocking Street Fighter X Tekken and Asura's Wrath

Capcom's Street Fighter X Tekken and Asura's Wrath will not be available from GAME or Gamestation.

Both were scheduled for release this Friday on March 9th.

It is the latest in a string of blockbusters not stocked by the High Street chain, including Mass Effect 3, Mario Party 9, The Last Story and FIFA Street.

GAME has lost credit insurance with suppliers following a poor Christmas.

It has been given some support by its banks, but has had to negotiate better credit deals with its suppliers.

The company has failed to secure better terms with Nintendo, EA and now Capcom.

Both Street Fighter and Asura's Wrath will be available at HMV, Play.com, Amazon.co.uk, Shopto.net, The Hut, leading independent retailers and supermarkets.

No decision has yet been made on Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, which launches on March 23rd.

"Unfortunately Capcom must confirm that Street Fighter x Tekken for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and Asura’s Wrath, both scheduled for release on Friday March 9, will not be stocked by GAME or gamestation either in their retail outlets or on their online stores operating in the UK and Ireland," a Capcom spokesperson told MCV.

"Capcom wants to reassure its consumers that both these titles, including the Special Edition of Street Fighter X Tekken, will be available at a wide variety of retailers across the UK and Ireland. For those consumers who have already placed a deposit for a pre-order for any of these titles then a full refund will be available – please contact your local GAME or Gamestation shop or visit the online stores."

Street Fighter X Tekken

THE WHAT NOW?

The guy at Gamestation yesterday asked me if I had a reward card, to which I said no. He asked if I wanted one, and I shook my head a bit sheepishly. He gave me a wan, knowing smile.

Yesterday, I watched a guy trade in several games for store credit, and ask after Mass Effect 3. He was told that EA asked for too much money and that Game would have had to charge £55 a copy, so had told EA to sod off for being greedy, but it should all be resolved soon. I reckon Game will go into administration soon and his store credit will be worthless. I nearly told him, but he ran off quickly and I couldn't catch him after finishing my own purchase.

Yesterday, I watched a guy trade in several games for store credit, and ask after Mass Effect 3. He was told that EA asked for too much money and that Game would have had to charge £55 a copy, so had told EA to sod off for being greedy, but it should all be resolved soon. I reckon Game will go into administration soon and his store credit will be worthless. I nearly told him, but he ran off quickly and I couldn't catch him after finishing my own purchase.

I saw that Game were offering £35 trade in for SSX and Tekken Vs Streetfighter this weekend. That's a lot isn't it? What would they sell them on for? In my eyes, that's a pretty small profit margin right there.