Retailer GAME Is Officially Ending Physical Trade-Ins (UK)

I’ve now got no reason to go to into Game again.

I forgot Game existed actually. I've not been in one for years now. Still, good news for CeX at least.

The last time I went to GAME was because there was a legendary Pokémon distribution that was exclusive to them. The GAME location in Sutton used to be on the high street and fairly visible and decently busy, but when I went to the Sutton location previously for my Pokémon code, their shop was now tucked away in the corner of a shopping center where literally every single other shop was closed or under construction or something. We were the only customers in the whole shop, and they were mostly selling Pokémon plushies, Minecraft T-shirts and other not-actually-games mechandise. It was a little depressing.

If I want used games, it's CeX for buying in-person, otherwise eBay for if I have something specific in mind. If I want new games, I can usually get them on Amazon, or the respective publisher's online store (My Nintendo Store, Square Enix Store, etc). GAME has no reason to exist for me any more.

I'm calling it now:
Switch 3/PS6 will be digital only.

There are a LOT of stores driving the market away from physical media, and to say that's worrying would be an understatement.

"WhO BuYs PHysIcAl MeDiA AnYwaY?" - Meanwhile, Cex continues to open stores world wide.

I used to love EB/Game back many years ago. N64/Gamecube era mostly. It felt so FULL. Wall to wall of games! And the bargain bin was actually decent. You could easily spend a good time browsing. There was always a console or three set up too with a new release. The handful times I have gone in...it just has no heart.

Minecraft T-Shirts, cards for Fortnite and Roblox etc (I get it...that is what kids love. Not my generation anymore). Oh, and boxes....with codes inside to download the game. I know times have moved on for many brick and mortar shops, but all I am saying is CEX seems to have done nothing but expand on an ethos that is nothing BUT 2nd hand.

@LadyCharlie I’ve got a sneaky feeling that the Switch 2 is going to be a purely digital hybrid console….I haven’t seen any evidence of that and it’s very unlikely but I’ve just got this gut feeling.

I stopped using GAME years ago as their trade in prices were shocking, on Ebay I can get atleast two thirds of my money back.

you walk into a store now maybe 50% of it or over isn’t even games it’s just merch and stuff.

To think that a videogame store has an entire wall dedicated to Funkos and other non-gaming s#!t, while the actual videogames have a space as small as a cupboard is particularly painful. Might as well change your name from GamePlanet to Funkoland.

My city was a rare exception in Mexico and we had a Cex here, but during the pandemic it closed. It didn't help that it was located in a mall so far away you might as well call it a mall on the road.

While not amazing, it was probably the best option we had for second hand 3DS games. Nowadays, you either buy online or go the pirate way as nobody is selling retro games (and yes by this point I consider 3DS and Wii U retro) and those who do sell mostly games everyone and their grandma already own.
I still regret to this day not buying that copy of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes they had for a reasonable price.

I always forget they give you that option. I love physical shopping, so anything that damages their business is a real shame for me. Still, other than their merch, it's difficult to want to buy anything from GAME in any case- their prices are too high.

@LiquidNinja I wouldn't be surprised if you were right. But, I don't think Nintendo would be willing to do that now.
There's a market for physical editions on Switch that's so prevalent, it's practically a subculture. Plus, it's worth noting that a big marketshare of physical copies tend to come from older generations going into a store, to get "the latest Nintendo" for a kid's birthday present or a little cousin's holiday surprise.

Rumour has it Game are taking all their games down CEX for cash trade in. 😂

I just use eBay (or the equivalent in my country) when I buy and sell used games. You get a lot better prices that way because there's no middleman (besides EB games closed down in my country years ago anyway).

So they want to stopped physical trade in, may as well change their name from Game to GameStop since they're stopping it.

I feel sad about this as Game has so many good memories for me, particularly in the Gamecube and wii days but then again I can't remember the last time I bought or traded in anything there so I'm part of the problem

Haven't traded to Game in years! They offer peanuts!!

Personally, I couldn’t care. I buy 90% digital, 10% is physical but is all purchased new online. All retro is dealt with by emulation.

But I’m gutted for young kids, people who can’t afford new prices or who deal with a physical collection. But then again, Game are such an awful company to buy from, I stopped buying from them over a decade ago, and they’re meant to be awful as an employer.

As others have said, I thought their terrible prices, poor trade in value and heavy pre-owned stocked favoured this. Maybe pre-owned is no longer their money spinner?

It's because they're on the way out I think. They've really gone downhill as of late, they don't stock releases that they absolute should be getting in, I always have to end up pre-ordering and at that point you may as well use Amazon :/

CEX will probably offer less for trade-ins as a result.

I can see Game going bust within a year or so though after this though. Always overpriced.

@LadyCharlie I've JUST realised who your profile picture is of as I've just finished with LiS Before the Storm and the Farewell dlc.
I grew to like the characters and will not admit to having a tear in the eye after I put the control pad down.

I thought game stores made a lot of money from selling used games? Is this just a precursor to them shutting down so that there's less inventory?

@OldGamer999 i hope they get a poor cash value like they do to us.

Makes no odds to me because all three of the GAME stores I go to have shut down! Haven’t seen a single store anywhere in months! Besides, their prices for new games are absolutely awful.

@dazzleshell i never thought about cex giving less.
This could actually be a bad thing...

Wait... Wasn't like second hand games how stores like GAME made their money in the first place? Like, maybe other second hand stores and websites ate that part of the market too and are now just surviving on new games and merchandise?

@CharlieZee yeah I only played LiS/BtS for the first time a year ago — such a sublime pair, rarely have I been so emotionally moved by a game series

I think it's because of Microsoft. The September Xbox leaks showcase that Microsoft are ditching physical completely this year ("adorably all digital" Series X replacing the current disc model). Microsoft now owns Activision so last year's CoD is likely the final CoD with a physical version which would mean retailers lose lots of money.

The end result being that game retailers shut down and the multipurpose retailers that sell games (e.g. more general electronics stores, supermarkets) ditch physical completely.

@UltimateOtaku91 Wow. So GAME is much like my country's GAMESTOP. Store credit here has sucked for the past 20 years. Which is a record of the worst kind.

@LiquidNinja
For the love of all things good, please let your gut feeling be wrong.

Now's the time to open your own retro gaming stores in the UK!

I no longer go to Gamestop to trade-in games like I did when I was younger, but I always appreciated the service. When I was younger buying a game was hard. I would often trade in multiple games just to get one "new to me" used game.

I prefer digital these days.

I thought my local GAME had shut down but they shut the store and gave it a tiny corner in a Sports Direct store. Every time I walked by the original store it was empty and they were still promoting Borderlands 3 in the window despite it being 2023 when it shut.

I still shop there for new games. Their sale stuff is usually on par with online. Rarely bother with pre-owned as I don't buy many games so this doesn't bother me, and CEX gives more for trade-ins.

My locals GAME stores closed down, I think they're meant to be opening one in Sports Direct, though to be honest, I mostly buy digital games on Switch.

The few physical games I have are from CEX where I've traded stuff in for vouchers.

@CharlieZee
Yes £5 the lot.
I’ve been to your football ground back in the 80s
When you played Westham.
It was all a lot different then and a bit rougher.

@dkxcalibur Yeah, but that's what makes Gamestop terrible. You lose more than you gain. I stopped shopping at Gamestop in 2010, when I realized thanks to mom and pop shops, and as the years went by; Ebay, reddit, and various legit trading groups; That you get way better deals that don't cost half of your entire game collection.

Seems a weird decision for them, then most of what they do is utterly confusing. Their postage is so bloody high and they still charge you to have it delivered to a store for pick up, which defeats the whole point of having it delivered to a store for pick up. Then you have ShopTo who do free delivery on most stuff. And better prices. Who are you going to buy from? Game’s delivery is more than it costs to get bulky deliveries from where I buy toys. And those shops aren’t part of a giant chain. It’s laughable.

@dazzleshell I wouldn't be surprised if CEX offer less thinking people have no choice but to use them but this will just see Ebay getting a lot more sellers (and buyers).

thank goodness we still have gamestop as best buy and other major retailers plan to phase out physical games soon

where i live we have independent game stores that sell a lot of physical nintendo games so i have no worries even if gamestop stopped selling physical games..

They make more money from merch, so I don't blame them.

@jump Got a giant score of Xbox games for 99p each from my local one a couple of months ago.

You'd think they were preowned but no, all the day one edition/DLC codes worked for all of them, and there were a lot of em so it couldn't have been pure luck.

I think that'll start to happen more often as the excuses like profits going down from the preowned exit pile up and they decide to either close stores and put them all inside Sports Direct stores, or become even more a toy shop than they already are.

That said while it is sad to see new games no longer sold widely on the high street, I would most certain keep an eye out in-case they just attempt to get rid of stock at crazy low mark downs.

First GAME then the world! 💲

GAME has been going downhill for years into an avenue of 'geek-merch' and sometimes just plain toys which is far removed from what most people want out of a 'game' store and this is just another nail in its coffin.

I remember when my closest town (Swindon) had three GAME stores. I used to visit all three whenever I went to town.

Now just the one remains and I haven’t stepped foot in it in years.

Mike Ashley.

Say no more

@TheRealMr_Carpainter Oh I hope I’m massively wrong. My gut feelings usually get it wrong so luck is on our side 🤣

@LadyCharlie Yeah I don’t think we have anything to worry about, like you say, there’s still huge demand for physical Switch games. Myself included in that.
Nintendo keep things so close to their chest though, they love to throw a curveball 🤣.

… “from next month”? What does that mean?

Seems totally at odds with being bricks and mortar. Especially after all the hoohah about Nintendo games being out of print. If physical media ever ceases to be, current games' prices will go through the roof! Like land, they stopped makin' 'em. Very odd. They must either have a very serious restructuring of their business model, or they are looking to sell up (by having less capital tied to buying stock - which is a bit of a grey area when evaluating a business.). Weird.

Aaaand there goes my last reason to check every GAME shop I see. God knows I don't want those vile funko pops or to pay full price for the latest release when I could get it for way cheaper online. I never sell games I own physically but I do buy a lot second hand.

You are much better off buying games online, then selling them on E-bay, a much better deal all round.

Hi!

Oh tribalism, how I love you. You make otherwise smart, intelligent people speak incoherent nonsense as they see everything as US vs. THEM.

If you're on TEAM PHYISCAL then this has to be a attack on you personally. This is TEAM DIGITAL threatening your way of life, and you need to react quickly with anger and emotion.

But this has nothing to do with how game are published now or how they will be published in the future, nor do any of the recent decisions to remove physical game from stores. This is about DISTRIBUTION. While the number of people who buy physical games is falling, it's still a billion dollar market and it's declining at a slower rate today then it has been in previous years (simply meaning it's "bottomed out").

Physical games and console that play them are not going anywhere. But just like literally every other market in every sector ... STORES are going away and moving online.

It's just a logistical nightmare to keep that much inventory on hand, and it's a huge risk. Having a huge storefront devoted to media sales just doesn't work any more, and I love how basically every "angry" comment confirms how this is absolutely the correct decision.

If the ONLY REASON people go to GAME is to have GAME give them credit for a product that no one seems to be going to buy unless they already have credit ... where do they make enough money to pay for inventory management, shrinkage, loss prevention, rent, and labor exactly?

So GAME have an outdate business model, and like all businesses with outdated models they are going to fail and go away. In it's place, we're going to see more and more online distributors of physical game, and I would predict that very soon someone will take a go at a mail-in physical game "trade in" service to fill the gap caused by the failure of the retail model.

Wait is that just ebay? That might just be ebay.

CEX aren’t bad for picking stuff up, but they’re horrendous for trading in, especially for cash. Always have been, right since they were running just out of Tottenham Court Road.

If anyone is going to see an uptick in this, it’ll be eBay et al.

Ohhh wait, could this be tied in with the new tax legislation surrounding the selling of second hand goods in the UK? (As of 31st Jan, sellers have to pass on details of anyone earning over £1000) Who knows, it could curtail scalping to some extent. Hmmm...

@GrailUK

I'm not an UK tax expert, but highly unlikely. It's nothing new for the store, they have always had to pay VAT, and for the seller ... I don't think a lot of people are selling over $1000 of games a year.

Even if they were, trading for store credit would leave your capital gains in an unrealized state. You could only be taxed again if the goods were sold for cash.

The tax mostly targets people buying used good at wholesale or though discount stores and selling them online, on mass, as a side business. This SHOULD be taxable and would be if they were selling though a registered business. it's the "selling online" and not having to register a business part that made enforcement hard.

A new tax LAW doesn't always mean a new TAX. This is one case where the new law just helps collect a tax that currently exists but is being evaded by a large group of people.

@Andee i'm at that stage where I'm looking out the window and STILL THINKING about the characters.
Either this is some powerful story/character building or i just need to get out more.

@LiquidNinja this is extremely unlikely. Nintendo sells more physical video games than anybody else. Their first party games usually have a 50/50 physical digital ratio if not favoring physical. Its easy to be all doom and gloom seeing stuff like this but physical games still sell.

I’m fairly certain my local CeX is getting brand new switch games. I saw them unwrap Metroid prime before selling it to me.

@LadyCharlie
If so, then Switch Successor will need some SUPER SERIOUS storage upgrades!
Both onboard and removable!
Dual or Triple SD card slots!

@Serpenterror
Or more like NoGame!
But if they did that then people would think it's a PlayStation only store!
Hahahaha

The times they are a'changing. - Eiichiro Oda

@HeadPirate Well, I'll have to go by what you say. I'm far from an expert. Just the timing lined up is all

@Stocksy say no more, mon amor!

@shgamer technically eBay is a middle man but I agree with you. Sorry for being a smart aleck.

@Spider-Kev in my weird mind, I'm hopeful they let you use both microSD cards and HDDs/SDDs

@HammerGalladeBro
Won't really be portable then.
Hard drive to dock, yes, but not to system.

I still shop at places that do not offer trade-ins. I hate when you try to return a faulty game and they try to offer you a trade in value instead of a full refund, or suggest it was "tested" so I must have caused the damage or some other scam that you get with 2nd hand games. I also hate it when a 2nd hand game is similar price to a new one or presented as new. I prefer a straightforward purchase.

My daughter closed her retro store due to many factors. One of the factors is dead inventory. Retro games rarely sell. 90% of what people kept calling for or asking in shop was GoldenEye “64” (yes, everybody called it this). Rarely was anything else asked for.

I’m guessing, but maybe this Game chain had a similar problem. Or liquid capital dried out.

There is no reason to use this store even if they offer trade-ins. Take your business elsewhere. Stopped dealing with them over 20 years ago and nowadays there are much better stores to order from that aren't overpriced and don't charge you £5 on every order.

Like a lot of people, I'm surprised Game is even still a thing in this country. Really can't see them lasting the year, and perhaps this is a sign of them prepping the ground to pull out of the highstreet completely. Surely the only future for these guys is online or bankruptcy at this point.

...and changing it's name to TAT, to accurately reflect what occupies most of it's shelf space.

I'm not from England, but this is a very clear signal that physical games are coming to an end. GAME seem to be ending this program earlier than I'd expect, but physical releases year on year are shrinking for sure. That is why toys and collectables take up so much space in their stores, after reading comments here.

As much as everyone loves to hate on physical retail and high prices, the power we games lose when we can't resell our games to others, or have retail competition to keep pricing reasonable, is the bigger evil...

Pick your poison.

Maaan that sucks :/ Tbh I don't really go into Game anymore it just kinda feels more like a toy/pop culture shop more than a game shop

My nearest game closed and was moved into a sports direct, it's more toys and geek merchandise than games now.

I usually use CEX to trade but the trouble is CEX dont sell newly released games and you usually have to wait a couple of weeks. Game was always the viable alternative in this situation for trading-in.

If they do this then it'll be the end of them for sure, I for one will no longer go to the store, I'd literally have no reason to.

This is just another nail in the coffin, this time they are after physical games, next is the console.

In some ways you have to look at the digital world as a way of saving world resource, however governments are not regulating the industry and this is allowing business to take the p*** out of consumers. The biggest example is that they charge the same or more for digital against physical, how on earth do they work that out!

I used to love going into Game even just to look around. I remember the day the GBA released, me and a mate went down to the Game in Enfield town to buy one and a couple of games each.

Now, as people have said above, it's just merch, toys and other junk with very few physical games all at full RRP. Last time I was at Lakeside, I went in for old time's sake and it was just sad. It's a pretty big shop that used to be filled with physical games and other gaming products, now what little stuff they have is very spaced out.

I'm old enough to remember the era that Game didn't do trade-ins or sell preowned games in the first place! Used to be the big difference between Game and Electronics Boutique back in the day.

I sell my games on eBay anyway where you get better prices..,

The big GAME store in the maul closest to me closed down surprisingly about a year ago. Gutted as I remember picking up my consoles from there on their respective launch days and using it for trade ins extensively, especially in the DS Wii era. Exciting times.

A small GAME section opened up within the JD Sports near me but it has one till section and a sparse series of shelves of games.

Trade ins were my main reason for going to GAME and I even have their rewards card. No reason to go there at all except nostalgia. Admittedly, I had beenn visiting far, far less since the Wii U era onwards. (I did pick up my OG Switch on launch day from there though)

Ah well. I'm getting old. Whatever has a beginning, has an end n' all tha'

@Spider-Kev i was thinking about the hard drive more as a backup when docked, but the microSD card as the main source of data storage.

@Olliemar28 it wouldn’t be 100% profit on preowned sales though, would it? You would have to take off whatever they paid for the game in the first place, wouldn’t you? Unless they only ever buy pre-owned games using store credit? I’ve never actually sold a game to GAME

Really game shops are one of the worst things to have during the internet age. Even if you want a physical game they're one of the few things you can buy online that barring special editions, will almost always fit through a mailbox and can get delivered even if you're not home.

@Vexx234 Your absolutely correct. However, Gamestop isn't going to give you $20 for a 4 year old game that they will only be able to sell for $25. For me personally, I was grateful that I was getting anything for games I no longer played and doing no work in the process.

Their trade in prices have been shocking for years since they killed off Game station.

Well that sucks

My comment is: no comment. Seriously this is a waste of time and money. Some lawyer is making 33 percent though. Both of these letters are clearly an "e"

Trade-ins always felt like a scam to me.
"Give us a couple of $50 games and we'll cut $10 off the price of a new game." like what's the point? I'd much rather keep my old games thank you.
The only reason I ever go into any "video game" store these days is to check out their other merch.

@FatBeverly but you cared enough to comment.

This basically where GameStop is headed. I know in some countries, they already stopped and others they are carrying fewer pre-owned copies.

@Olliemar28 Mike Ashley owns them. This is the man who forced out Keegan from Newcastle and brought in Joe Kinnear. He makes many weird decisions.

@dkxcalibur Gamestop will give you 25$ for a 70$ game that you just purchased a week ago. Gamestop is a gloried pawn shop.

Guess GAME will be shutting down for good in a year or two.

Have to go back a REALLY long time to when I went into shops and bought new. Basically the days of the SNES and Electronic Boutique being a UK thing. I still prefer physical but as soon as the Internet began buying online became totally the way to go.

@jimbob298 They're copying HMV whose basic policy is fill the store with unrelated crap.

Maybe they should change their name to MERCH.

@Stocksy it's the £5 delivery to your home or into store that gets me.

@Bratwurst35 ha ha, I KNOW. But, they provide a service. If you don't like it, do what others do and take the time to sell the games yourself. Gamestop and other businesses like this do have overhead that must be paid for; and if the business isn't making profit, then what's the point? The last time I checked, they're not a "not for profit".

I have a close friend who owns a card store. People get so amped up when they try to sell him cards. "what, you're only giving me $5 for this? But people are getting $10 on ebay!"

It will basically become a toy store, terrible decision regarding physical media especially as consumers are waking up to the reality that you don't really own your own digital purchases.