GAME won't be stocking Ubisoft's PS Vita launch games
No reason given by the retailer.
Video games retailer GAME will not be stocking Ubisoft's PS Vita launch titles, the firm has confirmed.
"At this time we will not be selling the following Ubisoft titles; Lumines Electronic Symphony, Michael Jackson: The Experience, Rayman Origins, Asphalt Injection and Dungeon Hunter Alliance," explained the retailer in a statement given to VG247.
"All customers affected by this decision have been made aware of the situation and we will continue to communicate any updates to customers through our Twitter and Facebook feeds."
Titles from other publishers will be stocked.
No reason for not stocking the titles has been given, but it seems likely to be related to GAME's troubles with credit insurance enabling it to acquire stock.
PS Vita launches in the UK on February 22 and can be yours for as little as £210 with a free 8GB memory card from Amazon.co.uk. Add a game for only £15.
User Comments
pblive
I don't believe trade ins will be going any time soon, much as some in the industry would like and I give it another 2 generations before digital download only happens, that's how long it will take before Broadband infrastructure is fast enough. By then it will be streaming as much as downloading anyway.
dudester
2 Trades in could be null and void in the generation and almost certainly will when the move to digital downloads only kicks in.
3. Agreed but maybe that will force marketing to be smarter and work harder at gaining attention for a product.
pblive
Several reasons why the industry doesn't want to lose GAME:
1) Casual customers who will always buy physical goods from a bricks and mortar store will only have Supermarkets. If you think GAME don't care about their customers then these lot are even worse. They will also stock only certain titles and although GAME are finding it difficult to stock some titles at the moment due to their credit agreements (which is being sorted) they're usually better for a wider choice than the alternatives.
2) Trade in. Whether you use it or not or whether the few developers who shout the loudest hate it, Trade In is the only way some people will get to experience new games and it avoids a huge pile of games ending up in a room somewhere gathering dust, or in the bin.
3) Publishers have a much more 'in-your-face' advertising source with a shop window and floor. Standees, posters and deals all remind customers of new games. Not everyone frequents gaming websites each and every day.
draytone
dudester@ draytone
draytone
I haven't bought much from GAME in a few years, at one point however it was my only source of games. Not a massive fan of purple either.
CheekyLee@ pblive
Quote:
Wido
Anybody else's local GAME had the same problem?
pblive@ CheekyLee
Yes, their prices are higher and could be lowered, but overheads mean that they need to charge more, as do HMV. Supermarkets have far more power to buy in bulk and offer 'loss leading' prices on games because they don't specialise. It's just the same with GAME vs Independents.
They haven't managed to get Ubisoft stock because the current system relies on a chain of credit and insurance that GAME have only just renegotiated and it's still filtering through to suppliers. Ubisoft Vita games are due in at the end of the week, but I'm sure GAME would have liked to get them for launch.
Staff in the stores I've been to actually seem friendly and knowledgeable and willing to help non-gamers as well as chat to us gamers. Obviously, a less well staffed shop will suffer and give a bad impression, but this just means the managers of that shop really need to change their recrutment process.
draytone
Wido@ CheekyLee
I may dislike GAME when it comes to their pricing, trade-ins (At times), but if GAME happen to disappear from the high street. The videogame industry in the UK is losing part of it's heritage.
A lot of people use GAME and pay their prices. I have said to many people looking at games when I am currently browsing, saying that you can get it cheaper elsewhere, mainly internet or supermarket. Regardless of the competitive market it has now become. GAME have done well to last this long to finally hit home, that their infrastructure is in tatters.
I still believe the high street is more important than compared to the internet for games. I'm not grumbling either if I can get the game/hardware/accessories cheaper on the net than high-street, however. Though saying that... I prefer to purchase my consoles in-store than online. I have always been like that, as it's just that nostalgia feeling when I have purchased consoles in the past, same with some games to release via midnight launches. Gears 3 being the ever so recent one I went too, and no doubt I will go to the Halo 4 midnight launch 'IF' GAME are still around by then.
dudester
CheekyLee@ pblive
Put it this way; How much did you spend in GAME in the last 12 months? Out of the £1300 or so I spent on videogames, only about £50 of it was in GAME. I spent more in SAINSBURY'S than I did in the "market leading" specialist chain! Does this on its own not speak volumes? Sainsbury's sells things cheaper than GAME does, and they got MORE MONEY from me. And my local Sainsbury's isn't even one of the big ones, having a bizarre selection on shelf at any given time.
dudester
pblive
At a shop level they can't do anything and most of the GAME staff I know are fed up with head office decisions. I guess, despite the companies being owned by the same overall company, there must be wholly seperate divisions that look after money, orders etc because gamestation don't seem to have these issues.
My thoughts go out to GAME staff in these uncertain times.
Whether you like them or not, losing GAME would be detrimental to the industry.