GameCentral readers discuss where they buy their video games from and whether high street stores and independent shops really have a future…
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Grimbiniho (gamertag), who was inspired by the recent reader’s feature about shopping on the high street. As such he wanted to know whether you frequent an independent games shop or do you always buy from a chain or online?
In these recession hit times it wasn’t surprising to find most people simply went where the cheapest deals are, which generally means online. In fact there was little sign of any customer loyalty at all, with most readers apparently unimpressed with their high street shopping experience – no matter where it was.Gamestation doesn’t sparklePlaying somewhat to gender stereotypes here, but I’m a man. I hate shopping. I like to just get what I want then go. I do browse, but I’d browse games inside a rancid cave if it had the stock. I don’t really care about the ‘retail environment’.That said, I’ve always found GAME and Gamestation to be less than inviting places. GAME is too tacky and Gamestation too shoddy. But more than that, they don’t do enough in my opinion to entice gamers in. They never do competitions, tournaments or other special events that would surely drum up a lot of business. Nor do they seem overly proud of what they sell. Considering that they’re specialists that has always seemed odd. They should be plastering the walls with game-related posters and art.I remember the Forbidden Planet in Wolverhampton used to sell games upstairs and had drawings of video game characters on the walls as you went up and a life-size statue of Link near the counter! Then the hateful, stupid Twilight series came along and suddenly they felt the need to pollute the place with images of very effeminate men that sparkle. Vampires shouldn’t sparkle. It’s just wrong.DMREpic exceptions90-95% of all games I now buy are on the second-hand market, simply because there are far too many games to play but not enough time to play them. I rarely pay more than 20 quid for a game. Only when an epic title is released, that I simply cannot do without, that I know full well will grant value for money, do I rush out and buy it on release. This occurs perhaps two to three times per year.In the last two years I bought Skyrim new, Mass Effect 3 new and I’ll most likely buy Dishonored new. Apart from that I’ve spent gaming hours playing top titles that I picked up for 10 to 20 quid after they had become a few months old. I am ashamed to say it but I’ve picked up most bargains on eBay. My last purchase was a bundle consisting of Crysis 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Portal 2, Forza Motorsport 4, Resident Evil 5 and SSX for £32, and all in spectacular condition.RazzledazzleOnline gamingI must admit to buying almost all my games from the Internet. I use the GamesTracker website to inform me when some retailer sells a game below a threshold I deem acceptable. I rarely pre-order games unless they include some bonus content (like Borderlands 2) but usually wait a month or two for the price to drop. I have found Zavvi to be an excellent source for this, I recently bought Spec Ops: The Line for less than half the RRP.Richard_M (PSN ID)/Richard800XL (gamertag)
Sealing the dealI know this topic has been used before in a varied type of way, but since then all I’ve used is online stores like Amazon, as I still find it difficult to get over why the cellophane wrapper and the disc have to be taken out and greased up by uncaring hands. The prices I find go down a lot quicker and you don’t have to wait long until its near half price online either.I have a lot of fond memories and yes even now I chat to the staff at my nearest GAME, and occasionally even pre-order to buy on release date before they tear the wrapping off. But the simplicity for a brand new sealed game bought online is where the majority of my purchases are bought.Too be honest, apart from food and clothes shopping, most of my stuff is done online. It is a changing world and as much as I want the high street shops to remain, I fear I won’t be the one to keep loyal to these places. With iTunes, Kindle and online buying in general, I don’t have to go out of my way at all, like now, sitting down, in front of the TV after work using the iPhone. The future is looking lazier as each technological advancement is made.AlucardScouting for gamesWhen it comes to pre-ordering or buying a game I trawl the Internet for the best deal. I will place an order, then cancel it if I find a better deal. I don’t think I have ever paid over £30 for a first day release and I have bought other games a while after their release date very cheaply.A bit of time spent searching the ‘Net can save you some serious money over the course of a year’s game releases.captainbloodsnot (PSN ID)High price streetI haven’t bought a game in a high street store for years. £42.99 for new releases? No thanks. I’ve picked up sale games in supermarkets but most of my games I buy online. I mainly use ShopTo and SimplyGames. They have good prices and post first class. Although recently I have started renting games to save money, after I realised I sell most games after I complete them.half_empty80 (PSN ID) Local disputeThere is an independent games retailer in my local town, but I’ve stopped going there (boycotting seems a strong term, but I suppose it’s apposite) after they messed me around on a trade-in. I didn’t have much money when Transformers: War For Cybertron was due to come out, so the week before release I started going around all the games shops in my town with a list of Xbox 360 titles I was wanting to trade in, to see what they’d offer me.Went to the local indie retailer first and the owner was in. He looked at the list, said he’d do a straight swap for all the games (Red Dead Redemption and a few older titles) for a copy of War For Cybertron. It seemed a pretty good deal, so I agreed and arranged to go back in on release day, all pleased with myself for supporting local business.When I returned the next week, the manager/deputy manager was in. I mentioned why I was there only for her to declare that the owner was abroad on holiday and unreachable and so refused to honour the trade-in agreement, offering me about three quarters of the agreed amount. Rather annoyed, I left with my games and haven’t been back in since. Walked off to the local Gamestation where I traded them all in for a copy of War For Cyberon and an extra £5 store credit, no fuss.It’s a shame really, as Gamestation’s since shut down and the independent retailer is the only shop in town that sells retro games. Still, there’s always the Internet.Martin SmithYou don’t mess with a man’s manualI wouldn’t buy anything in a GAME store, even at gunpoint. I’ll skip familiar moans about pre-order badgering and rip off trade-in prices. And individual sales staff sniggering at game choices, (as a grown man am I not allowed to enjoy Lego Star Wars then?) can’t really be blamed on the chain, people are people I can accept that. What I can’t accept is buying a new game full price and opening it at home only to discover… a heavily fingered manual.I bought a lovely Hitman: Blood Money steelbook edition shortly after release, from GAME. It’s a beautiful item I even enclosed a picture of it. Displayed across the steelbook is a word which sums up the act of opening a new unsold game, reading the manual, passing the manual to your numerous workmates, attempting some origami with said manual then reinserting it into the steelbook and selling the game as pristine stock.I considered taking the game back, but I’d broken one of the chain’s hateful purple stickers opening the box, and the actual game disc was faultless. Besides what was I going to say? Hello young man, I wish to complain about some heavy fingering? Am I being petty holding a grudge against the whole chain of stores to this day? With people starving in the world, probably. And reading this back I do sound a bit like Victor Meldrew but… they fingered my manual, those fiends. I chucked the soiled instruction booklet away in the end and vowed never to shop in GAME again.MSV
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