Video game retailers

[Shimmyhill]

It's cheaper in Game than on PSN, £65 quid they want for it

[sandman]

So, I went into the Croydon store yesterday as Sainsburys had sold out of watch dogs on Ps4 (you were ok if you wanted it on the bone). Good god, what a bunch of fuckers they are in there. I stood there being ignored for maybe 3 minutes (which is a long time to just stand there) with 5 members of staff behind the counter, only 2 of which were serving. The ugly looking manager seemed much more interested in pricing up some 3ds games than serving a cash (and it had to be cash as they couldnt process any cards) paying customer with £50 ready to spend. Eventually I got this look from one of the twits and went over. I didnt get a please or a thank you at any stage of the transaction. God, much worse than CEX and thats saying something.

I'll only buy something from the Crawley store if certain members of staff (particularly the excellent manager who has worked for Game for years) are there.

How are they still going? I used to use them 3 times a week and now barely go in there and wouldnt have this time if the supermarket had stock. And some of their pricing is terrible. I dont mind a pound more than CEX but when its a tenner and the two shops are 20 yards apart (as they are in Crawley) it is just plain daft.

[Down by Law]

my CEX finally got a load of nicked copies in off watchdogs that were minty fresh, £45. Had £43 in credit so £2 later and i'm a very happy chappy. Would rather wait a few days then have to deal with the likes of game.

[mushashi]

How are they still going? I used to use them 3 times a week and now barely go in there and wouldnt have this time if the supermarket had stock. And some of their pricing is terrible. I dont mind a pound more than CEX but when its a tenner and the two shops are 20 yards apart (as they are in Crawley) it is just plain daft.

Apparently, they still aren't merely just going, their profitability is rising pretty quickly aswell, which explains how they can come back from the brink of death and be ready to be offloaded back onto the stock market in less than 2 years, seems the core problem was indeed overexpansion and too many shops, not the business model.

Despite shutting 300 stores in the UK it continues to have own a 33pc share of the video game market.

“This is really a story about the rebirth of a brand rather than the IPO process itself. It is certainly an impressive turnaround given its previous travails. If the IPO is successful it will show that the market is prepared to take a fresh look at certain businesses where there is tangible evidence that structural and systemic issues which led to the earlier failures have been fully addressed", Alex Tamlyn, partner at DLA Piper.

Game is 99pc owned by Elliott Advisors, who bought the company out of administration for around £50m, advised by former Comet boss Henry Jackson’s OpCapita investment firm. OpCapita owns an economic interest in the company that is roughly equal to a 1pc equity stake.

Last year it was revealed that Game paid private investment firm OpCapita and its backers £3.2m in interest and “monitoring fees” in the first four months under new ownership. However, Benedict Smith, Game’s chief financial officer, said these interest payments never left the group’s holding company and will go towards the company’s working capital.

The business is still in the process of fighting a Court of Appeal defeat with landlords over unpaid rent during its administration. Game said that it has lodged a permission to appeal with the Supreme Court, but a set £3m has already been agreed with administrators as the maximum burden or win.

Game said it made revenues of £686.4m in the six months to January 25 and adjusted earnings of £50.8m. The group reported adjusted earnings of £47m for 2013, making the flotation value of £400 roughly 10 times. The company will be debt free when it comes to market after a restructuring of the business. However, the company still does not have credit insurance.

[Down by Law]

So basically, the merger with Gamestation should never have gone ahead, and we'd have two large competing chains which would've been better for the consumer , the high street, and the UK games industry afterall.

That competition commision ruling was such absolute bullshit.

[Guest]

So basically, the merger with Gamestation should never have gone ahead, and we'd have two large competing chains which would've been better for the consumer , the high street, and the UK games industry afterall.

That competition commision ruling was such absolute bullshit.

Welcome to 2008.

[Down by Law]

it's nice here. no recession or anything!

[Broker]

Went in today and they've dropped Mario kart to £45. They're offering a free Wii U starter kit and advertising the free game from Nintendo as though it's their promotion.

[MikeF]

I saw that too, but it was still £50 in the Store I was in.

Their prices are bad, Super Mario 3d World was £44.99 and £39.99. Guess which one I bought, even though they still tried to charge me the higher price, and then £40. Didn't budge until they gave it me for £39.99

[bobin]

There's a lack of choice where I live, and I had a game to trade in plus some store credit. While Mario Kart should have been £50, I got it for £25 with the starter kit and a (quite decent) remote wheel thrown in. The sales guy was friendly and not pushy. I'm glad we still have Game - supermarkets seem to have gotten worse lately with poorer choice and steeper prices.

[sandman]

Yeah, I'm glad they still exist as they give CEX some competition and the supermarkets are dire. But they have got worse and worse and it's only the odd store with a decent manager that is still worth visiting. The Brighton store is also utter crap. And I'm one of the rare people on this forum who doesn't really like buying games from internet. If they can't get an old fogey like me to shop there then their simply a dinosaur that will eventually become extinct.

That said, you do see people buying stuff in there, unlike HMV which is a graveyard out of the 6 weeks before Xmas.

[Broker]

I feel so lucky that I live in a place with a Playtime and a Granger alongside our CEX and two GAME stores.

[angel]

There's a lack of choice where I live, and I had a game to trade in plus some store credit. While Mario Kart should have been £50, I got it for £25 with the starter kit and a (quite decent) remote wheel thrown in. The sales guy was friendly and not pushy. I'm glad we still have Game - supermarkets seem to have gotten worse lately with poorer choice and steeper prices.

You still got it for 50 quid you realise.

Straight 40 in my Tesco, and I got my machine bundled version for 199 online off them. Its like night and day.

[gossi the dog]

They're like cex in the way they get you to build up your credit with them, and then you just swallow the price hike at the till as youre a captive audience. That and the 2.5% back off the loyalty card. If youre a regular then youre effectively knocking 2.50 off every 2 games and getting the voucher offers. If youre a casual customer, you're punished.

It's only 2% nowadays, you no longer get double points for pre-ordering and they cut loyalty points on trade ins to 1% from 3%. A bit shit really. Having said that you can use trade in credit online now which for ages you couldn't.

[Transient Curse]

they cut loyalty points on trade ins to 1% from 3%. A bit shit really.

I think it's actually unnecessarily generous to give credit when trading in, especially when they price match and beat their competitors. Obviously there are other issues with how competitive they are but in isolation their trade ins are surely the best deal out there.

If their online prices are competitive and that credit can be used online it might be a happy situation for everyone.

[Dudley]

You still got it for 50 quid you realise.

Straight 40 in my Tesco, and I got my machine bundled version for 199 online off them. Its like night and day.

Equally, I have a huge Tesco Extra near me and they basically just have a top 10 for all machines plus maybe a couple of not-very-cheap games. And they can usually be relied on to have maybe 3 of the top 10 in stock at any moment and are still trying to get £48 for most of the next gen launch games.

If this is the future I don't want it. It's good, maybe, for major release day games you forgot to order online, if they bother putting them on the shelves before 9pm, or had stock in the first place.

[T Pot]

I think it's actually unnecessarily generous to give credit when trading in, especially when they price match and beat their competitors.

Yeah.. Not quite. We did a test, printed off a receipt of our trade prices and had a customer take the game and receipt as proof as what he would get. They refused because our trade in value was too high for them to match.

[angel]

It's only 2% nowadays, you no longer get double points for pre-ordering and they cut loyalty points on trade ins to 1% from 3%. A bit shit really. Having said that you can use trade in credit online now which for ages you couldn't.

Is it still 3 quid to buy one aswell?

Equally, I have a huge Tesco Extra near me and they basically just have a top 10 for all machines plus maybe a couple of not-very-cheap games. And they can usually be relied on to have maybe 3 of the top 10 in stock at any moment and are still trying to get £48 for most of the next gen launch games.

If this is the future I don't want it. It's good, maybe, for major release day games you forgot to order online, if they bother putting them on the shelves before 9pm, or had stock in the first place.

Mines hit and miss too, the prices bungie up and down constantly. Next gen Tomb Raider did the standard Eidos drop to 25 quid, now its 40. Halo 4 goes from 20 to 40. I pity any poor parents buying presents, sometimes you get a bargain, sometimes you get robbed.

[Paulando]

I just trade in all my shite and get them to pricematch CEX, then I just get PSN credit or, more recently, I spend it on their website. Works pretty well for me

[sandman]

Much nicer experience today at the much better Crawley branch and bought borderlands on vita. Pleasant staff with no upsale

[Pekoe]

Yeah.. Not quite. We did a test, printed off a receipt of our trade prices and had a customer take the game and receipt as proof as what he would get. They refused because our trade in value was too high for them to match.

When they give bollocks on their trade in price match promise, you should take them to task.

http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/8/Game-Retail-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_231547.aspx

[Gabe]

When they give bollocks on their trade in price match promise, you should take them to task.

http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/8/Game-Retail-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_231547.aspx

You did read that, right, and saw that the complaints weren't upheld and Game got away with it?

[decider]

I think the important part is probably this bit:

Game said they were confident that the complainants' experiences were isolated incidents within specific stores. They explained that in response to those store discrepancies they had communicated to all stores the importance of following their brand promises to Game customers. They said that message had been reinforced in verbal communication to all regional managers, and via a written statement to all stores stressing the importance of honouring the offer.

So, they claim that honouring the offer is 'important', even when it won't result in a profit for the store.

Funny that they claim that it must've been a series of isolated incidents though, since when I asked them to price match CEX on a handful of old games last week the manager told the lad who was serving that they could refuse to match the price if the trade in would come too close to what they're selling it for. Seems strange to quibble over something being bumped from £4 to a fiver, but they happily gave me £39 for Wolfenstein when I traded it in yesterday, as opposed to their comical standard trade in of £20.

[Pekoe]

You did read that, right, and saw that the complaints weren't upheld and Game got away with it?

Because they claimed that they were isolated incidents and that do offer the price match even at a loss. There is nothing in the t&c's of their offer about the profitability of the exercise, despite any protestations you might get from some member of staff/manager, so people should enforce it and not be fobbed off.

[gossi the dog]

I think with GAME it does come down to the store. The one in Croydon has never been good or the one in Westfield. My local one in Lewisham is actually pretty good. The store itself is a dump that could really do with being redecorated but the staff are friendly, seem to know their games and will happily price match the CEX at the other end of the high street. I can't complain.

[dreamylittledream]

I think the important part is probably this bit:

So, they claim that honouring the offer is 'important', even when it won't result in a profit for the store.

Funny that they claim that it must've been a series of isolated incidents though, since when I asked them to price match CEX on a handful of old games last week the manager told the lad who was serving that they could refuse to match the price if the trade in would come too close to what they're selling it for. Seems strange to quibble over something being bumped from £4 to a fiver, but they happily gave me £39 for Wolfenstein when I traded it in yesterday, as opposed to their comical standard trade in of £20.

Never had a problem with their promise myself and they gave me the £26 (£27 in fact as they beat it) for my boxed DS lite the other week and the girl commented that was more than they sell them for...

[Broker]

I think with GAME it does come down to the store. The one in Croydon has never been good or the one in Westfield. My local one in Lewisham is actually pretty good. The store itself is a dump that could really do with being redecorated but the staff are friendly, seem to know their games and will happily price match the CEX at the other end of the high street. I can't complain.

There's two in Nottingham, one which used to be gamestation, has pretty decent staff and aren't too intrusive or pushy (just a bit in line with game policies). By contrast the other one has always been game, is bigger, poorly organised, the staff are pushy, rude and useless and I've actually heard them lying to people on multiple occasions.

[gossi the dog]

I think I know the one your talking about. When I lived in Nottingham the staff there were the usual GAME full of themselves.

[Rev]

Not GAME, but HMV. They've hired Gerry Berkley back. Cracking CV:

Gerry Berkley has returned to HMV as head of games.

He previously worked at the High Street retailer between 1992 and 1998 as computer games manager.

Since then Berkley has had held roles at a number of other retailers, including Woolworths (Um?), Blockbuster (Oh?) and Virgin (Erm?). He also worked at CentreSoft.

Recently he worked in consultant roles at Natural Heat Centre and GJB Associates.

“I am pleased to let you know that we will be strengthening our presence in the games category by adding a focussed head of games role to our management team. Gerry Berkley will join us in this role on May 20th,” said the retailer’s CEO Ian Topping.

“Gerry has extensive experience in the games industry and was the original manager responsible for HMV’s initial move into the games market in the early 1990’s.

“He has subsequently worked in various roles in the industry for Woolworths, Shop Direct, Centresoft and latterly GAME. This wealth of experience will be particularly useful as we embark on a much more active push into the games market over the next few months”

I predict no problems for HMV in the future.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/berkley-rejoins-hmv-as-head-of-games/0133416

[SeanR]

my BILs gone back to HMV