UK Retailer GAME Sees Revenue Rise Thanks To Switch, But Profit Is Down Year-On-Year

The UK high street industry as a whole seems to be seeing profits slide as people look to buy their goods elsewhere or, in the case of Game, through an all digital existence. We just had 2 retailers go under within a day of each other not too long ago.

That's nice, why doesn't Nintendo let other computer stores have Street pass back now

Game and HMV are 'weatherproof' compared to clothes, DIY, and Restaurants who have been effected by the snow and general meh temperatures for the last year (we didn't really have a summer). Plus there is still a section of the public that insists on shopping there despite their cost (my Nephew for example). but I do wonder if the profit drop comes from less pre orders, and more people holding back on PS4 and XB1 games that now seem to drop in price within a month?

@Bunkerneath Nintendo's shutting down Nintendo Zone so I think the days of Streetpass are over.

All of these stores are suffering because of online and it's a damn shame.

@Nintentoons No, he works for CIRCLE Entertainment

You go into Game and see a used game for sale more expensive than you can get it new. You walk out again.

The concessions idea sounds a good one. No one browses video game boxes any more. Instead the idea of being able to order something online and pick it up 10 minutes later has merit, if they can get their prices down.

No disrespect to those that work there but I hope GAME dies. Nothing good at all to say about the way the company operates. They mislead and lie to consumers in order to try and make even more money.

@gcunit Yeah, this is the real issue. I would happily buy more of my games from high street shops if they priced them anything like reasonably, but trying to sell second hand games for basically the retail price is lunacy. HMV have made more and more of an effort to at least have big sales and they are definitely doing better with their pricing of music and films, but their games still seem to suffer from the same issue as GAME.

@Mogster The problem with a company like Game dying is that despite the fact we are heading towards an all digital age, the collapse and disappearing of any large gaming retail store would have wide spreading consequences upon the industry as a whole. And I doubt it would be good in the long run.

@Mogster

I much prefer going into a Game store than the likes of CEX or Grainger Games.

I've noticed that no matter what town your in the CEX shops have the same horrible sweaty dirty old man smell to them

I stopped buying from Game purely because they are massively overpriced in my area compared to online retailers such as Amazon or even regular supermarkets such as Tesco. Bayonetta was £54.99 in my area at Game compared to £40 on Amazon.

For the prices they charge, no way. Same thing with their used games. Inconsistent quality, incomplete. I'd rather by a used game from Ebay so I can see what I'm getting before purchase.

Them belong stores are great. Was recently in game in York

Sad, but I'm not surprised. I tried my hardest to support Game this past year because I'd really miss a retail game store on the high street...but...

1. Low levels of stock of titles on launch day (for anything other than a the Big AAA titles) meant I ended up having to order online anyway.

2. Decided to pre-order games but several times they still didn't have a copy for me when I turned up to collect ?!!!

3. Games sold above recommended retail price, where those games are available online for much less. Often as much as £20.

GAME's pricing is insane, I can usually forgo a small price increase buying from a store (typically taps out at £10) but game can sometimes have prices £15-£20 more than not only online but the supermarkets or even hmv. That's not an acceptable.

The screwing around with the reward points and adding another paid reward system makes me want to avoid them further.

I remember walking in to game to buy the first Xenoverse they had it for £54.99 Argos had it for £38.99 and when I said I could get it cheaper else where the guy said "ah but you'd earn reward points" and to him that tiny amount was the same as £15+

@Marios-love-child This made me lol. So true! And not to mention CEX's insane prices!

@FragRed I entirely agree. It would be a shame to lose the highstreet presence, but then again GAME is definitely not a good front for the industry as a whole. Got into a right mess with them a couple of years ago when I was trying to buy a PS4 instore. All their fault, mind.

Sometimes Game's pricing is competitive. Not often, but often enough to justify them sticking around. Pre-owned being more expensive is a fault of many stored. CEX will sell FIFA 18 pre-owned for nearly double the price of Game.

@Mogster I agree that Game aren't probably the best front of the industry as a whole, but unfortunately if are going to say that then you also have to realise that as far as high street retail goes, they are essentially all we have for the industry right now.

There's a company up north called Grainger Games - but they too look like they are about to go out of business if recent reports are to be believed. So that really leaves the likes of supermarkets, Argos (for as long as they remain independent from Sainsbury's stores) and HMV. And non of these places really represent the industry in any meaningful way.

For new games Game is the worst place to go. Tesco, argos, Amazon, compete with them with average 10 pounds different on Switch games. On Wii U and 3ds I safe fortune avoid Game store. Nintendo store without freebies will be same bad for me

I don't like using game really and cannot stand the lack of knowledge of the majority of the staff but now I've got there elite gaming card I earn more out of them than what I'd save by buying online. I get 50% extra trade in credit towards a pre order and earn extra on purchases. When I got my Xbox one and used my elite card I woke up the next day to find I'd earnt 60 quids worth of credit.

I really don’t want them to fail. Sure their trade in values aren’t the best, but they give you a pretty good deal when you trade in your old console for the next generation one

@sqbboyPOLAND Agreed. I'd usually buy off Argos or somwtimes even use my Very account. Very are quite reasonable at times plus I can pay off if I wish.

@FragRed Well, maybe that just indicates that perhaps gaming doesn't need a high street presence to be successful. I imagine if there were money in it, more dedicated gaming shops would exist. Despite the efforts of the last ten or so years, games and consoles just don't seem to have cracked the 'mainstream' in a way that makes a solely game-selling shop sustainable.

I think that's probably because gaming as a whole is an expensive hobby. If you're a film enthusiast you buy a Blu Ray in HMV for £15, if you like sports then the cost of the gear in Sports Direct is usually relatively low, if you enjoy beauty products then nice soaps/bath products etc are around the £10 mark in Body Shop etc. But gaming? Nah mate thats £50 in GAME.

Unfortunately there isn't a Grainger Games near me, and CEX is just as trashy as GAME. Perhaps the high street presence deserves to die if no one can make a good run of it...

Having a brother who works at GAME allows me to be a bit more familiar with how and why they do certain things; the expense of their games is an unfortunate situation out of their control. For instance, in general them selling a brand new game will make them less money than a single of their £1 protection on disc care. They pretty much only earn profit on protection schemes and pre-owned games/systems.

Even with their higher prices though, I still visit GAME rather than buy online. In general I don't like buying online; visiting stores is the most amount of social time I get with people face-to-face, and their is certain joy that is missing from online purchases to me. It also helps that my family are on friendly terms with our nearest GAME store; I think we invited most of the staff to our BBQ.

@Mogster But what you say only makes sense if this is related to video games only. The very fact we have seen a large number of high street companies go under over the past ten years would suggest this is more to do with a massive and pretty sudden change in people's buying habits as a whole.

I don't think it's just due to video gaming being an expensive hobby (clothes buying can be incredibly expensive, if you are one who likes to be on trend and buys on a weekly basis - which has been very much what kept so many shops in business until recently. Look at Next or SuperDry for prices). I think it's more a change in how people as a whole are buying and it's affecting high street as a whole.

Brexit is b*****it.

I wish Gamestation was still a thing, their prices well alot better, and they used to carry retro consoles and other rare stuff.

If you want to be ripped off then go to GAME otherwise shop anywhere else.

Hm. So GAME has ridiculous prices and rarely gives much for trade-in too, eh? I can confirm that GameStop is pretty much the same.

I'm amazed that profits are down when they rip off Switch owners by charging £54.99 for MarioKart & c.£50 for Mario Odyssey.
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Sadly they survived at the expense of Gamestation when they merged, a tie up with Sports Direct shows how low their aspirations go, and they'll be lucky to continue surviving

Simply cost, the Game prices are to high. Their in store games are £5 more than online stores, and their online store is higher than other on line retailers.
Trade in your old games and you have to deduct £5 because that is the £5 you will pay extra on the new game.

I'm amazed they can say Switch helped their profits when they barely stock anything Nintendo and jack the prices up.

Imagine how well they could do if they stocked more than 5 switch games.....

Having visited several GAME stores during my trips to Europe over the years I can say that they have gone the same way as our GAMESTOP stores here in the USA. They have failed to evolve to current standards and let other big box stores (like mainly Best Buy) completely beat them in the space.

I buy a ton off of Amazon however video games are not on that list... I like to go in and pick up a copy in person and have a look, however I am not willing to pay $60 for a game that is $48 using Best Buy Game Pass, or even worse 6-8 months after release paying full price when other stores have it for half price. If they price matched (like all other big box store do now) I would 100% shop there as I like going to a place focused solely on games (have you ever tried to ask a video game question at Walmart or Target...yikes!), however these greedy practices will keep me going elsewhere and ultimately close their stores I am afraid.

**Note** I do not buy used games (hate not giving the devs of a game their dues) so this aspect of their model does not appeal to me.

High street video game retail needs to die, in its current form at least. I had an idea to start a little something (and a plan to go along with it)a while back, but once the numbers were crunched it made zero sense to go up against companies that throw hundreds of thousands towards exclusivity deals and the marketing tripe that comes with them.

I’ve seen companies come and go, but a big chain like GAME will always survive like a fallout cockroach.

GAME totally take the mick when it comes to prices. I've see them charging more for second hand titles than you would pay online to buy them new.

Then again, they are not alone in such practices, Grainger Games and CEX are almost as bad. I guess if people are stupid enough to let themselves be ripped off, who can blame them for trying their luck?

Grainger Games have almost gone bust today it seems. See Eurogamer etc for full article.

Is it just in Northern Ireland or are they removing all the wrappers from the 3rd party Switch games in the rest of the UK? Kind of put me of buying them when you're going for a complete collection. You'd near think they wore attempting to sabotage sales for 3rd party games on Switch. Can anyone in any other part of the UK confirm if this is happening elsewhere?