Sunday, April 1, 2012
Game Saved
After GAME Group finally went in to administration last week the name has been shopped around and this weekend a buyer has emerged. Private investment firm OpCapita has bought the UK game retailer. Other businesses under their control include Comet so it's not too much of a stretch. However the big question is, was it worth it? Obviously something needs to change to cover the £5m wage bill and stop it happening again. If thanks to the transfer and the recent issues with EA they have lost their UK exclusive rights to collector's editions then I will have run out of reasons to shop there. My money is more likely to head to Amazon or Play as the relationship with GAME has been soured. With more and more publishers taking measures to reduce 2nd hand sales they're going to have to come up with come good ideas over the coming month otherwise it will just sink again. A revamp of their online systems is needed, the stores need larger PC sections, the reward scheme needs to be fully reinstated and the staff need to go back to being the experts not the salesmen. Events, LANs, prizes? Certainly more reason to physically go to the store would be needed in the increasingly digital market. I don't know what the answer is, I'd be richer if I did, but it's a situation I will be keeping an eye on.
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I saw they had gone into admininstration, that was sad. Good that a buyer has been found though, at least it gives them a breathing space. It is interesting that your analysis of the problems chimes in completely with what Mary Portas is saying about high street shops in general - especially when items can easily be bought online, there have to be good reasons for going into a physical shops, and great imagination and transformation are needed or we will lose shops as we know them. Games Workshop don't seem to be having problems, because you can still go there and talk to experts and try things out and learn to paint and how to play - and good for them.
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