GAME deserve our support during these tough times.

Anything to do with games at all.
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KK
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PostGAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by KK » Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:44 pm

MCV wrote:by Ben Parfitt

I wrote this story this morning. And I took no pleasure in writing it.

Let’s be clear about something though – the likelihood is that GAME and Gamestation will be fine. It needs to change, lean down a bit. But I’m sure it will survive.

The scare this morning is that the retailer admits there’s an increased likelihood that it will miss targets set by lenders. If that happens, lenders could in theory take action to recoup their cash. What that doesn’t mean, however, is that lenders WILL do that.

Indeed, a supportive approach is far more likely. GAME lasting and thriving offers them their best financial outcome.

What has upset me more this morning is the relish with which some commentators embrace any negative stories about GAME.

“GAME has only got itself to blame.”
“I wouldn’t miss GAME if it went under.”
“I haven’t shopped at GAME since FOREVER.”
“GAME is guilty for destroying industry creativity.”

That’s a selection (and bastardisation) of some comments I’ve heard online and on Twitter this morning. But let’s just stop for a moment and consider what it would actually be like if GAME went under.

I used to live in Croydon. Back then I spent nearly every weekend hanging out in the handful of decent indies that used to be based there. X-Electrical was akin to a retro gaming museum. I imported Animal Crossing and Viewtiful Joe for the GameCube from them. I sold them my copies of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Burning Rangers for the Saturn.

I rarely went to GAME and Gamestation.

Now all of those indies are closed. There are no indies where I live. There are none where I used to live. There are none in the town in which I work. I couldn’t name an indie within 30 minutes of me.

Now I visit my local Gamestation (Enfield Town) all the time. The staff are great, the prices are OK. They know me, I know them. I go there when Mrs Ben wants to buy clothes. I’ll hide in there if it’s raining. I’ll go in there even if I‘m not buying.

I’d be sad to see it go.

But what if GAME did ‘go under’? First and foremost – thousands and thousands of families would face dire consequences. Mrs Ben lost her job at the height of the recession in 2008. And again in 2010. It was horrific.

We had a youngster who had to be pulled out of childcare. My salary alone was barely enough to cover our 100 per cent Northern Rock mortgage, let alone the bills. Or food. Or clothes for our baby. Or games.

We had to rely on hand-outs from my family to sustain us for a period of nearly two years. My dad was in his seventies and my mum worked part-time. They were happy to help, of course, but I know that they went without. For us. And that’s a dreadful feeling to live with.

I reckon we were within one or two months of being repossessed. And once that’s happened to you, you’re screwed. We’d effectively be ruled out of the housing market for a decade. We’d have to live with parents, meaning a move to Hampshire and, for me, the possible loss of my job. We’d be paying off the penalties for failing to keep up mortgage repayments for years.

It would have been game over.

And if you wish that on anyone simply because a staff member at GAME was once a bit dismissive of you or that you think Gamestation’s pre-owned prices are too high then you need to get a grip and grow up.

You always have the choice of voting with your wallet. You’re always free to shop elsewhere. But to wish ill on a retailer because you don’t like them? Frankly, that’s disgusting.

Secondly, consider what the UK High Street would actually be like without GAME and Gamestation. There aren’t many indies left to fill the gap (unless you want Grainger Games to go national?) and the loss of GAME would do nothing to help indies – they can’t compete with supermarkets and online.

The result would be a huge number of UK High Streets left with no games presence at all. HMV? Maybe not for long. CEX? Rather you than me. Blockbuster? I guess, at a push.

Imagine if the supermarkets were the last place left to buy games on the High Street. The poor selection, the erratic prices, the stagnant back catalogue, the (please forgive me) often clueless staff.

Imagine the next generation of console arriving later this year or next without any dedicated retailers to spread the message.

I guess most of us would default to online, but for me I rely on pre-owned for my gaming. I’m not rich. My disposable income is minimal. I survive as a gamer through the generosity of publishers who send me code and the ability to sell off my old games to Gamestation. Without those, I’d be priced out of my hobby.

Love it or hate it, GAME and Gamestation are most likely more important to your hobby than you realise. And the UK market would be irrevocably weaker were they to vanish.

Despite what you may think, GAME and Gamestation are on your side. They want you to enjoy your hobby and they want to sell you the games that allow you to do so.

Don’t criticise GAME for prioritising FIFA 12 over DoDonPachi Resurrection. Shelf space is at a premium in these tough times. Any retailer that didn’t prioritise the multi-million seller would be mental.

And DoDonPachi will be there, somewhere, tucked at the back. And the guy who really wants it will find it.

If you want to blame anyone for the products that GAME and Gamestation give the most attention to then blame yourself. They are only answering to the buying habits of consumers. Sure, retailers will support product that publishers ‘encourage’ them to, but no retailer on earth will indefinitely support product that is not selling.

And I really don’t think it’s fair to criticise GAME staff for failing to match your encyclopaedic knowledge of games. They are there to serve customers. The internet is there for you to talk games.

You don’t think GAME ‘gets it right’? No, for you it probably doesn’t. But for the family and mass markets GAME targets? Yep – it’s spot on.

And I guarantee you one thing – if GAME and Gamestation were to go and not be replaced (and no, I don’t think GameStop would step in and buy them out) gaming would be weakened.

Sales would fall. And if sales continue to fall here and elsewhere, publishers will have to consider their potential releases more carefully. And in those situations it’s the ‘risky’ (read: creative, innovative) titles that are the first to be dropped.

I’m not urging you to shop at GAME and Gamestation. It’s Ian Shepherd’s job to convince you of that. All I’m urging you to do is get behind them. Because despite what you might think, they really deserve it.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/opinion- ... ail/089526

Best get down to GAME & pay £50 for Uncharted 3, then.

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$ilva $hadow
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by $ilva $hadow » Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:49 pm

strawberry float off game. You vote for capitalism all the time, don't try to guilt trip me into paying to support you. When the chips are up, you'll charge the same price, and your staff the same wages.

I don't want anyone being made redundant either though. Most of the staff in the shops are nice people.

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Trelliz
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by Trelliz » Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:54 pm

I went into GAME the other day, and came out with Bulletstorm, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record and S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Skies (all PC) for under £20. I know I could have gotten them for less on steam during the sale, but it's nice not having to wait half a day for them all to download, and they were pretty much impulse purchases. I think it will be a shame if they go under, and I suppose that we're not exactly representative of the game-buying population as a whole.

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KK
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by KK » Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:58 pm

Imagine if the supermarkets were the last place left to buy games on the High Street. The poor selection, the erratic prices, the stagnant back catalogue, the (please forgive me) often clueless staff.

[scrolls down]

And I really don’t think it’s fair to criticise GAME staff for failing to match your encyclopaedic knowledge of games. They are there to serve customers. The internet is there for you to talk games.

The same point(s) used against the supermarkets in this article have been used in a defensive manner for GAME later on & turned against the reader.

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mitch
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by mitch » Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:58 pm

And MCV would have less readers.

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Garth
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by Garth » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:00 pm

What an utterly bizarre article.

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Saint of Killers
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by Saint of Killers » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:01 pm

I bought Shadows of the Damned from them.

Is everything okay now?

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Grumpy David
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by Grumpy David » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:01 pm

Only companies that charge me the lowest price deserve my financial support. No private sector company inherently deserves our support.

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Minto
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by Minto » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:06 pm

I still hope they go bust.

I'll continue to shop online at a much cheaper price.

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KjGarly
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by KjGarly » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:21 pm

So he's fine calling those good folk who say GAME have themselves to blame because of their shocking instore prices compared to their online site bastards, but completely ok with buying nothing but pre-owned games and basically giving developers a big strawberry float you cause they won't be getting a penny of his well spent mullah.

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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by Mafro » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:23 pm

KjGarly wrote:but completely ok with buying nothing but pre-owned games and basically giving developers a big strawberry float you cause they won't be getting a penny of his well spent mullah.

The devs have already had their money from their initial sale.

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KjGarly
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by KjGarly » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:24 pm

Not from him they haven't :shifty:

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gaminglegend
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by gaminglegend » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:26 pm

Grumpy David wrote:Only companies that charge me the lowest price deserve my financial support. No private sector company inherently deserves our support.

So you'd happily put up with gooseberry fool customer service to get the lowest price? Price isn't always everything, I'm not soley talking about games here. I may be able to get things alot cheaper online but I can't get it at that moment, I'll happily pay more for things that I want that day.

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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by Moggy » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:32 pm

I am struggling to think of the last thing I bought from Game or Gamestation. I remember buying Virtua Tennis 4 from Gamestation on my birthday last year (I had quite a bit on my reward card I wanted to get rid of) but don’t think I have been back to them since.

If they disappear then while it is sad for the people that lose their jobs, I couldn’t really care less. We can’t afford to subsidise archaic businesses, just because it will be a shame when they have gone. Otherwise we would still have thousands employed making bows and arrows and chariots. ;)

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Eighthours
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by Eighthours » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:41 pm

Also worth mentioning that while people losing jobs is obviously horrible, aren't the vast majority of GAME staff only working part-time to supplement their studies?

Sorry, but I feel justified in "wishing ill" on a retailer that rips its customers off with impunity and doesn't seem to have the faintest idea about how to sort itself out (which, by the way, would be very easy). I'm capable of separating my view of the company from my view of wishing people not to be unemployed. To twist a popular political quote: Is employment at any price, a price worth paying?

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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by JiggerJay » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:49 pm

Nah strawberry float them, and strawberry float their overly friendly staff, I'm sick of being harassed when I walk in, I need not your help...

Price wise they are not the cheapest, but they rely on the pre order bonuses to get punters in, when the general public don't care for these things.

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Trelliz
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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by Trelliz » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:53 pm

I thought the plan was for us to become majority shareholders and run it ourselves?

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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by IGM » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:54 pm

I'll need to spend my £7.99 Game... well gamecard soon then. Are they valid for gamestation too?

Forget it, i'll ask the cute gamestation employee who asked how I was the other day :wub: . It happened completely out of the blue, I just walked in and was busy looking at pre-owned wii games for a copy of Karaoke Revolution Glee vol2 and she just walks up and starts talking to me. It was the best day.

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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by emilythestrange » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:59 pm

My boyfriend was working at Game during uni and is now there full-time.
I'm sure they employ plenty of people on a part-time basis, but there are also a great number of people there who have finished education and rely on it for their sole income, or paired with other work in retail to afford to get by.

I think the attitude everyone gives (and I've been guilty of it in the past), just because a member of staff approaches you to say hello and offer help is really gooseberry fool to be honest. Some people want no help what so ever, but some people actually do. And even if you don't, sometimes it's nice just to see a friendly face and be in a shop with visible, approachable staff.

Could never hope for them to fail, like some people do. The high street doesn't look interesting to me at all without Game and Gamestation there.

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PostRe: GAME deserve our support during these tough times.
by Sirus » Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:01 pm

The staff in my local GAME are pretty helpful, but the honest truth is I rarely buy anything from them when it's cheaper to order from Amazon or other online retailers. Occasionally I might find a bargain in the second hand section, but that's about it.


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