Update [Mon 24th Jun, 2024 12:45 BST]:
GAME has provided a comment to Eurogamer to state that the report from Gfinity eSports is not true, stating that it will continue to support the physical gaming market.
"This reporting is categorically not true. GAME continues to support the physical gaming market, offering a wide-range of physical games, hardware, software, accessories and digital gift cards, in stores and online."
Original Article [Mon 24th Jun, 2024 11:30 BST]:
A new report from Gfinity eSports has suggested that retailer GAME will soon be ending in-store sales of physical games and hardware.
According to sources close to GAME, the firm will instead operate a 'pre-order only' policy regarding its in-store stock. This means that if you want to head into your local GAME store to pick up the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom or Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, you'll need to ensure you've either pre-ordered a copy first or purchased online for delivery to the store.
This move follows the removal of trade-ins and pre-owned stock from retail stores, along with confirmation that the GAME Reward scheme will soon be ending. Customers will have until the end of July to spend their remaining reward points via the mobile app, as it also seems as though physical cards no longer work at the time of writing. The removal of physical games and hardware also comes at a rather crucial time for Nintendo, with the company confirming that the successor to the Switch will be revealed in full during the current fiscal year.
It's no secret that the retail stores - many of which are now located within Sports Direct locations - are moving further and further away from physical games media. If you were to walk into a store today, you'd be greeted with shelves of Funko Pop figures, Squishmallows, and even preschool toys based on the TV show Bluey.
A report from earlier this year also confirmed that the majority of GAME's staff, excluding store managers, would also be moved to zero-hour contracts, effectively meaning that consistent, stable work hours are not a guarantee. To coincide with this, redundancies at the retailer were also reported.
We've reached out to GAME for comment on the latest report and will update this article with its response.
What do you make of this latest move from GAME? Is this the beginning of the end for its retail business? Leave a comment with your thoughts down below.
[source gfinityesports.com]
Comments 55
It’s over.
GAME, set and match.
[Update]
It’s apparently… err, not over. Not yet, anyway.
…GAME on… I guess?
Wouldn't it be smarter to just move to online only at this point?
And even then I'm not sure if that would be enough if people have no good reason to preorder games from them compared to other online stores just like they had no reason to do that in-store...
its kind of the end then. there is only so much a company who's whole rationale was the sale of physical games and hardware can 'adapt'. May as well become on online store only because thats how like 95% of people buy physical games anyway
I'll miss my physical games, I don't particularly care for pre ordering stuff these days outside of a few series.
So they want me to give my money months in advance to a company that looks like it's going down the pan. Yeah, right!!!
It's such a bizarre move, why not just close up shop altogether instead of pulling this weird online pre-order online thing?
The way it's phrased sounds like you can still walk in and buy random junk like Funko Pops and gaming accessories, do they really turn that much of a profit on that sort of merch instead?
What's the point? Even their "good old days" weren't very good - there just wasn't an alternative.
I still go and buy physical games. A lot of the time, their discounted and new titles were fairly consistent with online prices. If there was a saving of more than a fiver to be had, I'd go online.
Smyths is the best physical game retailer now in my opinion, now that Game seems to be dead. Decent selection of titles and good prices.
Wish they hadn't taken Gamestation with them on their way down.
Bye, GAME. Thanks for all the cheap preowned games over the years!
Retailer Game not going to retail games?
So. . .why do people still hate GameStop again?
@batmanbud2
Bad customer service that pushes reward schemes, selling pre-owned games as "new", selling used games at barely a discount from new games yet buying used games at a very low price, being known to destroy stock they no longer want to sell, trying to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown under the excuse that computer mice are essentials, etc.
Is the end of all gaming physical media? It could very well be.
@RupeeClock McDonald’s wasn’t exactly essential. Every business came up with BS excuses to try and stay open. At least you need a mouse to operate your zoom conference. You don’t need a Big Mac.
@RupeeClock yet they still do physical IN STORE like they're modern Blockbuster.
Sadly something I often see in the Dutch 'game stores' (Gamemania) as well. Currently 80% of the store is "merchandise" and only 20% is games and hardware. And this is clearly getting worse each year. This is going to be the final nail in the coffin of physical media for digital games: retailers not stocking or selling them.
Shelves of pop vinyls. Sounds like every game store where i live.
What's the point? Just rebrand to Toys 'n Tat or something.
This is a trend more retailers should head in, generally speaking.
Digital sales already make up more than 50% of sales and games are becoming more accessible with subscription services.
Having large retail footprints won’t be sustainable and these large retailers are finally catching up.
This will give more opportunities to smaller businesses to remain competitive. I can easily see in the next 10 years, as physical becomes niche, you'll see more small shops carve out that niche selling retro and other games, with access to new via pre-order.
The model of starting at a wall of empty game cases will die off. It has too. It just doesn’t make sense. And I know others arent happy with the experience today anyway. EBGames / Gamestop here in Canada is just that plus a bunch of useless merch. Which is probably keeping these stores alive (high margins, low cost items).
So what are they going to sell in-store? Plastic and merch?
I feel like there’s been so many GAME articles and it is usually something not good!
FYI: You might want to update this article to include the official response from GAME
"This reporting is categorically not true. GAME continues to support the physical gaming market, offering a wide-range of physical games, hardware, software, accessories and digital gift cards, in stores and online."
I have to say, we all saw it coming.
Unsold stock for a store is valuable shelf space and lost money on markdowns. It may be that less and less people are even using them for physical sales at all. It’s still sad to see the last high street videogames retailer go.
People still buy physical games. The shelves in your local Cex will show you this. Maybe there is still a gap for one that sells new ones somewhere?
Not embracing physical and rely solemnly on digital means if you missed out on the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection and once that collection is being delisted (and we all know it will in the near future) online, you won't be able to buy that collection digitally ever again for the rest of your life unless you seek out the physical versions (which are Switch and PS4 exclusives only, two consoles that are nearing their end) provided the masses didn't already jack up the prices on those by that time.
@RupeeClock while it isn't an exact fit, it's exactly what's happening in Ireland with Sports Direct; there's a gaming section in most SDs and an online component through their website for ordering games (although it's still in very early stages). I imagine in the event they convert to this model, the "GAME" brand will just refer to the department that handles the gaming section of whatever Frasers Group website it's in.
Never believe anything until it's officially denied. GAME officially denied it, therefore this story is true.
"and digital gift cards, in stores and online." - Come to our store to buy digital gift cards so you can buy games online. Or buy them online so you can buy games online!
Lol. I get that is more for parents etc. But most supermarket's sell them in plain view too. Honestly, I could see a parent buying a Nintendo E-Shop card there while doing a food shop. Far easier for them.
I went to Brighton a few months ago and there was an actual proper GAME shop, not just 'in Sports Direct'. Best thing I've bought there in recent years was the Game Gear / Master System module for the Retron 5, they weirdly had it in stock cheap for collection and it's a pain to find online for a decent price.
@sixrings the whole thing was a total scam anyway lol. i give credit to any business that tried to stay open and keep things running instead of succumbing to 'tank the economy and die'.
@batmanbud2 GameStop is like Microsoft but in the retail category. They bought out every one of their competitors (Game Pix, Electronic Boutique, Funcoland, Game Cave, etc.) and replace it with their brand only to destroy them once they don't see profits. This is why most of us hated them. A majority of those other competitors had a unique aspect to them that once GameStop took over kinda ruin that aspect for example Game Pix not only carry new and use releases but also import games and consoles from other regions as well, when GameStop bought them and change them into another GameStop a majority of those imports were gone.
Game Pix is where I found my Super Famicom game console and copy of Gundam Wings: Endless Duel, something I would had never gotten if GameStop took over at that time. Also back then those competitors had gaming magazines like Nintendo Power, EGM, GamePro, and Tips & Tricks available to check out or buy but then GameStop took over and slowly dropped those from their shelves replacing any and all with their awful Game Informer magazine which sucks cause that magazine mostly ripped more on games than embrace them. Now those magazines doesn't exist anymore other than Game Informer.
If the future of gaming is digital, then gaming has no future.
@Kiyata movies I guess have no future either. It’s not as if UHD 4K blu rays have taken off but streaming is everywhere.
@sixrings you’re right. The movie industry is on the brink of a total collapse. In fact, a record breaking strike happened due to the consequences of digital streaming and the epic profit losses incurred as a result.
To all the people who complain about companies like LRG, we need them. Waiting 6 months for delivery of a game I can own is not that big a deal for me. Options are shrinking.
@Kiyata in Canada the 4k UHd blu rays are $30-50 new but people can’t even sell them for $10 on marketplace. There are no buyers.
Categorically they say they continue to support physicals, but that's not what the report said. The report is saying in the future they wont, but in the future the Sun will explode so to be fair you can say anything.
Also supporting doesnt mean sell
The "successor to the Switch will be revealed in full during the current fiscal year"? According to the post on X by Furukawa, President of Nintendo, we will only get an "announcement about the successor". That announcement could be anything. I suspect it won't be until the end of the fiscal year (March 2025) and probably just basic information. A full reveal might not be until June 2025. If Nintendo really want to flog as much sales out of the Switch, perhaps September 2025 and then a release in March 2026!
@RupeeClock not all gamestops have the same bad rep the one i go too treats me well and helps me alot if i need it.
Game has been dying for 15 years now. They've shifted strategy, closed nearly all their stores, and now they apparently aren't even going to sell games.
Will someone just take this company behind the barn and put it out of its misery?
I don’t even know where my nearest game store is these days so many have closed.
They also missed a bit off their comment which I have amended for them…
"This reporting is categorically not true. GAME continues to support the physical gaming market, offering a wide-range of physical games, hardware, software, accessories and digital gift cards, in stores and online at very uncompetitive prices.”
Weird turn of events. I'm glad Game are going to continue, they maybe over priced but they are the only place you can buy new games pretty much.
@datamonkey If you are curios, you could just type "video game stores" or just "video game" in google maps in your area, and some may pop up on it if any are near.
" 'This reporting is categorically not true. GAME continues to support the physical gaming market, offering a wide-range of physical games, hardware, software, accessories and digital gift cards, in stores and online.' "
This really isn't a denial!
The first part is...
But the second only talks about currently, not anything past "today"
I used to work for them and they are bad for making bad decision after bad decision, this one is possibly a necessary decision but it came from a long list of bad ones.
@Spider-Kev Yeah, of course they'd refute this story. It'd be bad for business not to, regardless of the actual situation.
I mean...what would they be selling if it was true???
Patently untrue - until it isn’t.
Not often a Mackem like yours truly sides with the Mags, but F-bomb Mike Ashley. He hasn’t had a penny out of me for years, and that will continue as long as his BS does.
GAME might not actually be dead - yet - but it’s starting to look real rough. That SOB has killed so much of the UK high street, and is poisoning the rest with a malignant festering tumour in the shape of Sports Direct.
Won’t be long before all we have left are tiny sections in supermarket chains (Tesco isn’t bothering already, dunno about the rest), independent shops and, of all the possible last men standing I honestly did not think it would be them, CEX.
if they decide to get rid of physicals i get it BUT i at least want the game boxes (b ' ' )b i hope physical never dies though for sure.
@datamonkey check inside your local Sports Direct.
Honestly I won’t miss GAME when they finally fizzle out. I do already miss hit.co.uk who seem to have vanished last week at some point… or maybe they’ve rebranded again…
@RupeeClock that sounds just like cex...
@Deljo
CEX trade exclusively in used goods though.
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