You'd think they'd use a bit of common sense and close down a few stores to reduce overheads, you don't need 4 or 5 stores in the same city.In Leicester we've got a Gamestation and 3 GAMEs all in close proximity to the town center for instance. Especially with things swaying towards internet shopping at the moment it's the sensible thing to do from a business perspective.

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It's far from that simple. They'll be into all sorts of leases.

I believe there were agreements in place when they took over GameStation that they had to keep most/all of the GameStation stores open too. Which means they'd have to close down GAME stores which generally make more money than GameStation.

They're lacking leadership, outwardly it seems like they've just got their head in the sand.

Totally agree, or just flog them back to customers for buttons, or BOGOF deals. There's all sorts they could do, but don't.

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They seem to be doing the total opposite, offering 25pc extra on trade uns just now.

They always do trade-in deals around kids' holidays, they've actually scaled back this time by making it an 'end of holiday' promotion for the weekend.
The 3 for 2 offer is helping to get through the overstocks in pre-owned (at least in our store) and should continue to do so as long as they stop buggering with the prices all the time.

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What I'd really like to see (not from GAME, but it's an idea) is a real move towards a proper 'experience' based shop.

Game stores cannot compete with online for prices, they just can't for all the usual reasons. So I'd like to see them stop trying and instead focus on a reason to shop there. Imagine if GAME actually had fairly little stock on the shelves, but it had couches, lots of playing pods, hell, maybe even a café, and sold a full range of collectables, and merch and such. Make it a real place to want to visit, rather than just the land of the hard sell.

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Skarjo's Scary Stories...

So, in other words, what the larger HMVs is turning into?

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Pretty much.

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Skarjo's Scary Stories...

They are strawberry floating gash, why wouldn't I choose to play at home , maybe if they actually tried to compete with the online for prices then people would shop there.

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No, you're missing my point. Think of what putting Starbucks and Costas into Borders and Watertones did for making book buying an 'experience' again. Big comfy seats to lounge in, reading the books in a nice environment etc. I want that but for games. Big TVs, couches, a café/snacks/bar etc, in-store competitions, a chance to try out all the latest games, and limited edition merch and stuff. They fundamentally cannot compete with online prices due to basic economics, so they have to offer what online cannot; service and experience.

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Skarjo's Scary Stories...

Would that be the same Borders that no longer exists in the UK, then?

Waterstones already suffers from the phenomenon of people heading into its stores, flicking through a book and, if they like it, scanning in the barcode to the Amazon app on their phones.

At least Waterstones still serves a very wide proportion of the public, not all of whom like shopping on the interweb or who otherwise like shopping for books at a bricks-and-mortar bookshop... which you can't really say for GAME. It's on the way out, surely.

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Also, these kind of changes would require money, which seems like it is not something that GAME has in abundance.

Could GAME realistically offer some kind of "subscription" service?

Weird! I buy games to play them at home in my pants! To get all trendy and drink coffee, sitting on a sofa chatting with fellow enthusiasts sounds a bit 'gay'. It's an even worse business model than ebay they use currently!

They rely on the opportunistic nature of being on the high street. Currently, no one plans to buy a game from them, because of price. I saw a guy considering the datknesd at £40. They need to focus on a select few games on a rolling basis to showcase, at competitive prices! Xx

Indeed, Borders did go under, maybe Waterstones will too once their primary clientèle get old and die. But in that case then every high street shop is doomed for the same reason.

The point I'm trying to make is that high street shops fundamentally cannot compete with online stores on prices. Can't be done. Simple economics will keep online overheads significantly lower than high street ones and that gap, however narrowed, will never be overcome. As such, there is no point in GAME or any other high street store trying to make price their primary battleground. Their prices should be as low as possible obviously, but it's a battle they can't win. Instead, what GAME should concentrate on is what they can offer that the online shops cannot; namely a hands on, interactive, service-driven environment. Play pods, comfy sofas, maybe a drink or something while you try out a game. Hell, have a system where you can pay £5 for an hour's free playing and if you like it, they'll take the £5 off the price of the game.

Would that save them? Don't know, maybe it's simply a business serving a demographic who want to buy online and they should sell up and buy out. All I'm saying is that GAME can't compete on price and should stop trying, and should focus on a battle it can win.

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Skarjo's Scary Stories...

This stock trouble GAME have... how long has it gone on for? Dalagonash maybe of help here... I only ask as at the time i thought nothing of it but in light of recent events it clicked.
When i went into GAME to get Starfox 64 3D on launch day they claimed i could buy anything inshore so long as it wasn't a new release " a problem with the till system" Hmmmm I work in retail, there are many a way around a till system problem like that.

Went Tesco for it in the end.

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Skarj is quite right, GAME's problem, pure and simple, is that there isn't a solitary reason to shop there.

Supermarkets are more convenient.
Online is cheaper.
The service is shite.
They have a moody returns policy (particularly GameStation)

I don't think they can realistically hope to compete in any of those areas, even if the service was great, the other factors would get in the way. They should be looking to offer things that no-one else can, and the things that Skarjo mentions would do the job. I'd add arcade cabinets and later opening hours too (noon-8pm maybe).

I was always a huge supporter of GAME and would often chirp into "we hate GAME" threads to defend them, but now I can't think of a single reason why someone would shop there.

Supermarkets are often cheaper, too. Plus, my local Asda has started doing trade-ins, so I imagine other supermakrets are getting into that game too.

Selling coffee and cakes would also make the chain money. In Japan they have karaoke bars where young people to go and hang out. A lot of there time is spent just hanging out with their friends not singing karaoke. Game could renting rooms for people to go and chill out and play games with friends on systems they won't have at home. I think young people may use the service to have somewhere to hang out with their friends as they would have more privacy than at home.

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I think Amazon has the model right. A sturdy online retail business that has the financial wherewithal to underwrite many of the retail overheads as a loss-leader. From their point of view retail stores are basically localised warehouses (that are co-incidently open for retail sales). Their value to Amazon are in the streamlined distribution and storage potential. Any sales via retail are basically gravy.

Most traditional retailers online offerings are woeful because they're starting from the assumption of commercial, rather than online sales.