GAME to no longer accept games or consoles for trade in from 16th Feb

It’s a dying market I think for game stores, particularly Game which has become a basic toy store, although our local Game is now inside Sports Direct and barely the pre owned section is larger than the main game sections. But their prices are always massively high.

I imagine it will help reduce store space (for more toys) and I think Games best years are for console releases and most of the time the toys are the only thing that sells.

We used to have stores up north called Chips. Amazing, sold tons of retro stock, games, trading cards and such, and Japanese/Euro/US release, the staff were always dead sound and chatty too.

Have fond memories of Gamestation pricing being decent and staff again just passionate about games and fun to talk to as a student. Game has always felt more corporate and clinical especially since the Ashley take over

Gamestation was always my favourite. Always had a great range of retro games and consoles, not just the current gen. But even Game itself used to be a lot better.

I remember back in cov there used to be EB, Game and Gamestation, plus HMV with a big games section (and I think they did preowned for a while). Then EB got bought out and that became a second Game. Same happend to Gamestation and there were three Games. That was obviously ludicrous so first one closed (the old Gamestation), then another (the original Game), and then finally the old EB turned Game closed. Now there's just CEX - there used to be two of those too, now only the one.

Up in Durham there was a Game and a Grainger Games which was great when I was at uni. Now both have gone.

Here in Reading the Game got moved inside Sports Direct not long ago and is now properly awful. There's an independent games shop that is somehow still going, but it has been progressively losing its retro stock so is increasingly uninteresting to go to, and was never like a proper retro place like some are.

In many ways digital is better but you can't recreate the experience of browsing in an actual store.

Very interesting move to stop doing trades though - IIRC pre-owned makes them far more money than new games does. I'm sure I read somewhere that a brick and mortar store will take about 20% of the ticket price for a new game, but about 50% on pre-owned. But last time I went into a reasonably large Tesco there was no game section at all, so maybe with Cex controlling the trade-in market they think there's a space for a traditional specialist store.

I mean, they're wrong, but bless 'em for thinking as such.

OrangeRKN wrote:Gamestation was always my favourite. Always had a great range of retro games and consoles, not just the current gen. But even Game itself used to be a lot better.

I remember back in cov there used to be EB, Game and Gamestation, plus HMV with a big games section (and I think they did preowned for a while). Then EB got bought out and that became a second Game. Same happend to Gamestation and there were three Games. That was obviously ludicrous so first one closed (the old Gamestation), then another (the original Game), and then finally the old EB turned Game closed. Now there's just CEX - there used to be two of those too, now only the one.

Up in Durham there was a Game and a Grainger Games which was great when I was at uni. Now both have gone.

Here in Reading the Game got moved inside Sports Direct not long ago and is now properly awful. There's an independent games shop that is somehow still going, but it has been progressively losing its retro stock so is increasingly uninteresting to go to, and was never like a proper retro place like some are.

In many ways digital is better but you can't recreate the experience of browsing in an actual store.

Similar story where I live. Now the only Game is integrated in to a Sports Direct. That really is the final insult.

Gamestation was always my favourite too. I remember my mate picking up some absolute bargain SNES games in there. He picked up "The Firemen" for £1.99!

In it's heyday, GAME was a good place; absolutely packed with titles plus a decent selection of console packs and game guidebooks.

Round my neck of the woods there have hardly been any game shops for years now. You'd think that the London area would have quite a lot but there are very few; I guess that the rent costs are prohibitive. Near to me there were two GAME stores but one closed and the other moved into Sports Direct. I've not been in there but I've hard it's pretty much just a Top Ten shelf area. My local supermarkets stopped selling games in the past few years; Tesco stopped music and films, too.

I miss the process of going out to a shop and choosing a game; getting an actual box and looking at a manual. Digital has many benefits and I could get on board with it... if only console platform holders/publishers weren't constantly trying to rip you off and stop the use of stuff.

OrangeRKN wrote:I remember back in cov there used to be EB, Game and Gamestation, plus HMV with a big games section

When I worked there, this quartet plus the Virgin Megastore would be a regular feature of my lunch breaks. Checking who had the new releases, and where the best price was. Usually ended up being EB, once the loyalty points were factored in.

The only branches of Game around here are now inside Sports Direct.

One of them is tiny and tucked away right in the corner and most of the time there isn't even a notice outside so passers by wouldn't even know there's a Game inside.

The other one is actually quite big, but only because half of it is dedicated to one of those Game Arena things where you can rent a gaming PC, which seems almost always empty. Admittedly though the pricing on it doesn't seem too bad. £15/month gets you unlimited usage, and they're even kitted out with equipment for streamers too.

rinks wrote:

OrangeRKN wrote:I remember back in cov there used to be EB, Game and Gamestation, plus HMV with a big games section

When I worked there, this quartet plus the Virgin Megastore would be a regular feature of my lunch breaks. Checking who had the new releases, and where the best price was. Usually ended up being EB, once the loyalty points were factored in.

I enjoyed lunchtime game store visits, too :-). In the 90s, Beatties - better known as a diecast model/hobby shop - suddenly became great game stores. I got my PlayStation from one and they had a really good range of games at decent prices.

When I think back to the 90s and very early 2000s, my lunchtime game store trips would include Dixons, Beatties, GAME, WH Smith, Electronic Boutique and Our Price. It was great fun having a walk around and seeing what new games were out!

jawa_ wrote:

rinks wrote:

OrangeRKN wrote:I remember back in cov there used to be EB, Game and Gamestation, plus HMV with a big games section

When I worked there, this quartet plus the Virgin Megastore would be a regular feature of my lunch breaks. Checking who had the new releases, and where the best price was. Usually ended up being EB, once the loyalty points were factored in.

I enjoyed lunchtime game store visits, too . In the 90s, Beatties - better known as a diecast model/hobby shop - suddenly became great game stores. I got my PlayStation from one and they had a really good range of games at decent prices.

When I think back to the 90s and very early 2000s, my lunchtime game store trips would include Dixons, Beatties, GAME, WH Smith, Electronic Boutique and Our Price. It was great fun having a walk around and seeing what new games were out!

With added excitement because, pre-Internet, you could never be 100% sure when things were going to be released! There are no Beatties round here, but I remember going to one at Merry Hill, where I picked up Lemmings 2: The Tribes for Mega Drive. Pretty sure it was Beatties, anyway. I remember a very distinctive yellow and black bag.

rinks wrote:With added excitement because, pre-Internet, you could never be 100% sure when things were going to be released!...

Absolutely! It was great to walk into a store just to see what games were there; it was exciting! Some stores started putting up posters with game titles and dates on them, so you would then rush out at lunchtime to try and get a copy :-).

rinks wrote:...There are no Beatties round here, but I remember going to one at Merry Hill, where I picked up Lemmings 2: The Tribes for Mega Drive. Pretty sure it was Beatties, anyway. I remember a very distinctive yellow and black bag.

Yeah, they were quite a big chain but for years they focussed on models, trains and remote control cars. They tried shifting to gaming and they were brilliant for a few years... but then they went bust. And you're right - they did use very bold yellow/black bags!

It's hardly surprising.

After all GAME probably realised that they are suffering from too much overstocked trade in games, especially when they were still carrying the PS2/PS3/360/GameCube/Wii trade ins yonks ago.

End up have to throw them all away.

In reality they should have refused games such as EA branded sports, Call of Duty etc as I must have seen hundreds of them going for 99p. My local CEX have refused any sports titles recently much to disappointment of my mates (not that they would get more than 10p each though.

My GAME have more toys, lego, controller holders, lava lamps or lights, funko pop and board games than actual game stock with many having stickers saying its out of stock and order at desk if you want it.

I will miss shops like GAME as I usually pop in and have a look around but like most of you, I end up leaving with nothing.

jawa_ wrote:

rinks wrote:

OrangeRKN wrote:I remember back in cov there used to be EB, Game and Gamestation, plus HMV with a big games section

When I worked there, this quartet plus the Virgin Megastore would be a regular feature of my lunch breaks. Checking who had the new releases, and where the best price was. Usually ended up being EB, once the loyalty points were factored in.

I enjoyed lunchtime game store visits, too . In the 90s, Beatties - better known as a diecast model/hobby shop - suddenly became great game stores. I got my PlayStation from one and they had a really good range of games at decent prices.

When I think back to the 90s and very early 2000s, my lunchtime game store trips would include Dixons, Beatties, GAME, WH Smith, Electronic Boutique and Our Price. It was great fun having a walk around and seeing what new games were out!

Jawa here responsible for the death of Woolworths

UPDATE 16/1/24: GAME has now confirmed it will end video game trade-ins, as first reported by Eurogamer yesterday.

"As part of the integration of GAME, we will be phasing out the trade-in, pre-owned and Game Elite offerings in the UK over the coming months," a spokesperson for the chain's owner Frasers Group told BBC News.

"Pre-owned will still be available in our standalone stores across the UK while stock lasts, and Game Elite will still be available until the end of summer."

GAME Elite is the chain's reward programme where you can earn boosted reward points with a £3/month subscription.

Eurogamer understands the move has been prompted by the growing number of GAME outlets now located within Sports Direct stores, which require a separate till that tracks the large back catalogue of items the chain currently accepts for trade-ins.

GAME's till software remains distinct from the software used by Sports Direct, staff have told me, and also requires training for shop staff to deal with. Removing this would streamline the operation further, rather than undertake a costly process of merging systems in an age of declining physical game sales.

https://www.eurogamer.net/uk-retailer-g ... -staff-say

I had assumed that this had ended years ago

Has anyone even still got a GAME store in their town?

It's good to see GAME's confirmation update although we have got a thread discussing them ending trade-in... click here to view.

Jenuall wrote:I had assumed that this had ended years ago

Has anyone even still got a GAME store in their town?

I'm sure I read that my local Game branch is shutting down next month, its barely a game focused shop anymore sadly, you'd have thought with there being so few shops on the high street, that they could have filed a really good spot in the market to try and draw people in, but its essentially a toy shop with a few games tucked away in the corner now, so sadly won't be a loss.

I think there were 3 Game shops in Cardiff town centre at one point, now there aren't any left as far as I'm aware.

Is there going to be a clearance sale?

I remember they've gone under now twice before this as well. Someone who used to run a game store that went out of business due to rising rents in our local shopping center moved to work in one of the 3 game stores we had there and his store was shut down the first time they went under.

Jenuall wrote:I think there were 3 Game shops in Cardiff town centre at one point, now there aren't any left as far as I'm aware.

I forget the history but with the combination/takeover of Game, Electronics Boutique and Gamestation that wasn't uncommon.
I think Oxford had 4 within 5 minutes walk when I was little.