GAME Off

The Game Group are facing some tough months in the industry after a largely underwhelming Christmas period in terms of sales. As a result they have made the decision to close forty-three of its outlets, including twelve GAME stores, six Gamestation stores, and twenty-five further stores that are located within Debenhams.

If that wasn’t concern enough they are also closing down Gameplay.co.uk – a subsidiary division of the company that handled many of their online sales. This means that 247 people now face redundancy as part of these widespread cuts. A recent statement promised to, “redeploy roles if possible,” and, “start consulting with all the affected employees,” in what can only be construed as a damage limitation exercise.

 

 

As consumers we’ve been told that these changes won’t be all that noticeable, with the stores selected for closure those that are within the close vicinity of another, which seems fine on the surface, but with the drop in the company’s credit status some game publishers rare refusing to send stock to stores in fear of not being paid in return.

At first there was some hesitation from Konami over their Metal Gear Solid HD Collection then Tekken 3D Prime Edition failed to be delivered, and now Ubisoft have pulled the plug on five of their Vita titles - including Rayman Origins and Michael Jackson: The Experience HD. The latest casualty is the Japanese-based action role-playing game The Last Story that was released in the UK on Friday and forced many to look to high street competitors HMV for their copies.

The company claims the situation isn’t as bad as it seems and much of what people are seeing is part of a restructuring process that will keep things running profitably for many years to come. However, that will do little to console those parties that have lost their jobs and those consumers that expect the latest and greatest gaming titles to be stocked when they walk through the door.


Craig Bryan, NoobFeed
Twitter | Facebook | Email