GAME - the UK equivalent of America's "GameStop" video-game store, has
announced they're getting out of the used game business. Which,
frankly, is depressing news.

Depressing for several reasons. Mostly because - and this will
probably surprise nobody who knows anything about my love for older
titles - they were a good source of older games. No, they didn't
always have the greatest selection or the best prices... but they were
(slightly) more reliable than buying an old game off of EBay, and now
that's another alternative lost.

Used-games in stores also used to be a great way to bulk up your
library at a pittance. It's rarer now but still happens on occassion,
usually when a store needs to free up shelf-space by selling ten year
old games for pennies on the dollar. It's the sort of sale you never
see with digital versions of the game; while the long tail of sales
has meant older games are (almost) never out of stock anymore, it
comes at a cost to... well, the cost. Even GAME sometimes had some
bargains like that. Or did...

But also because GAME leaving that market is another sign of how the
industry has irrevocably moved to a model where you have no real
ownership or control over your games. Being able to sell your old
games to get money for the new was how a lot of gamers explored new
titles and genres. But now any money invested in a new game is lost,
never to be recouped. Younger gamers especially will be harder hit by
this change. It's no wonder so many of them are sticking with
'platforms' like RoBlox rather than investigating new genres. I can't
help but feel that this policy of preventing game resales is a
penny-wise/pound foolish model that will, in the long run, do a lot
more to hurt the industry than help it... especially as paychecks (or
children's allowances) shrink and even less money is available to buy
new games.

Meanwhile, American GameStop is announcing that it is closing its
crypto marketplace. Even GameStop - the sleaziest of the sleazy shops
- thinks crypto isn't worth the risk. And these are the guys who'd
knowingly sell you a stolen, broken XBox.

(Gamestop still sells used games but even there the end is in sight;
their cache of games is obviously dwindling, both as supplies -e.g.,
games-on-disk - become less available, and the number of places to
acquire the games - e.g., GameStop storefronts - become harder to
find.)

Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
> GAME - the UK equivalent of America's "GameStop" video-game store,
> has announced they're getting out of the used game business. Which,
> frankly, is depressing news.

Our national GAME franchise immediately entered into damage control mode
by reporting that they will keep buying and selling second games here
(it's their biggest moneymaker right now).

They better step up security, though. They are issues with assholes
stealing the covers for the national localised versions of games and use
them to sell cheaper UK versions as if they were european localised,
which fetch a lot more money in the second hand market. Game started
printing covers to replace the stolen ones, and that is driving away a
lot of buyers

Context: GAME (ES) does not buy UK versions because they tend to be
separate versions that remove all the other european languages. This has
been happening ever since we used to buy games from UK for a third of
what they cost in the rest of europe with free shipping. Of course, that
was before Amazon and Brexit, but damn. Keeping the PS3 well fed was so
easy. Problem was when you wanted to get rid of physical games you
regretted buying and they would not take them.

On 15/01/2024 22:54, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> GAME - the UK equivalent of America's "GameStop" video-game store, has
> announced they're getting out of the used game business. Which,
> frankly, is depressing news.

Weird, I thought they had gone out of business. Then again I did have a
look where the nearest one is and, ooppsss - there's one where I live.
That shows you how much I like our shopping centre.

On 1/18/2024 12:36 PM, JAB wrote:
> On 15/01/2024 22:54, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> GAME - the UK equivalent of America's "GameStop" video-game store, has
>> announced they're getting out of the used game business. Which,
>> frankly, is depressing news.
>
> Weird, I thought they had gone out of business. Then again I did have a
> look where the nearest one is and, ooppsss - there's one where I live.
> That shows you how much I like our shopping centre.

You got a real life adblocker running, happens to me all the time.

On 18/01/2024 13:05, kyonshi wrote:
> On 1/18/2024 12:36 PM, JAB wrote:
>> On 15/01/2024 22:54, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>> GAME - the UK equivalent of America's "GameStop" video-game store, has
>>> announced they're getting out of the used game business. Which,
>>> frankly, is depressing news.
>>
>> Weird, I thought they had gone out of business. Then again I did have
>> a look where the nearest one is and, ooppsss - there's one where I
>> live. That shows you how much I like our shopping centre.
>
> You got a real life adblocker running, happens to me all the time.

In general I do like physical stores but the only time I was really a
fan of game shops was in the 80's. In the late 90's onwards I did use
them but it was never quite the same as by then it was all chains and
not independents.

As an aside I discovered that a new model kit shop has opened open about
20 mins drive away and that is so much better than doing it online. We
do have a existing one about 30mins away bit it's really a remote
control shop which also has some models, over priced ones at that*. The
new one is great as the owner and staff have a passion for the hobby.

*I'm all for supporting independent shops but not if their prices are
taking the piss!

On 1/19/2024 12:08 PM, JAB wrote:

> As an aside I discovered that a new model kit shop has opened open about
> 20 mins drive away and that is so much better than doing it online. We
> do have a existing one about 30mins away bit it's really a remote
> control shop which also has some models, over priced ones at that*. The
> new one is great as the owner and staff have a passion for the hobby.
>
> *I'm all for supporting independent shops but not if their prices are
> taking the piss!

I am going to a specific model store at the next town over every time I
visit my parents 800 kilometers away. There are multiple stores here in
the city I live in, but it's easier to go to that store in that little
podunk town every time I visit my parents.
And by this point he remembers me as that guy who lives abroad and keeps
stuff aside specially for me. On the other hand his shop is basically a
mess of boxes which he claims as a longterm investment, so there's that.
He is a bit overpriced though.

On Fri, 19 Jan 2024 11:08:08 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

>
>In general I do like physical stores but the only time I was really a
>fan of game shops was in the 80's. In the late 90's onwards I did use
>them but it was never quite the same as by then it was all chains and
>not independents.

As a PC gamer, brick-n-mortar game shops lost almost all of their
utility ten years ago... when they stopped stocking PC games. Why go
out of your way to visit a location that probably won't have what
you're looking for?

For console games, they still had utility, especially if you wanted to
treat yourself and buy older games on the cheap (yes, you always could
find better prices online, but that required forethought. But it was
fun to amble on in on a whim and dive into the bargain bins, then walk
out with three or four games you didn't even know you wanted until you
saw them lying forgotten.

Take away those two things, and I've no reason to ever set foot in
their shops again. For what? Overpriced new games? Used hardware that
they knowingly sell in a broken state? Ugly tat like figurines and
hats? Perhaps the 'delightful' ambiance of screaming pre-teens and
bored, unhelpful (and doubtlessly underpaid) staff?

I'm not averse to shopping at a brick-n-mortar store. They just give
me no reason to do so.

On 19/01/2024 11:18, kyonshi wrote:
> On 1/19/2024 12:08 PM, JAB wrote:
>
>> As an aside I discovered that a new model kit shop has opened open
>> about 20 mins drive away and that is so much better than doing it
>> online. We do have a existing one about 30mins away bit it's really a
>> remote control shop which also has some models, over priced ones at
>> that*. The new one is great as the owner and staff have a passion for
>> the hobby.
>>
>> *I'm all for supporting independent shops but not if their prices are
>> taking the piss!
>
> I am going to a specific model store at the next town over every time I
> visit my parents 800 kilometers away. There are multiple stores here in
> the city I live in, but it's easier to go to that store in that little
> podunk town every time I visit my parents.
> And by this point he remembers me as that guy who lives abroad and keeps
> stuff aside specially for me. On the other hand his shop is basically a
> mess of boxes which he claims as a longterm investment, so there's that.
> He is a bit overpriced though.

The new one I visited seemed pretty good on prices especially if you
take P&P into account and you don't fancy waiting for ever and a day to
for a model to be shipped from China with the possibility of tax being
slapped on it.

On 19/01/2024 14:53, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> I'm not averse to shopping at a brick-n-mortar store. They just give
> me no reason to do so.

For me it's very much what does a physical store offer that an online
one can't. Trying to compete on price is pretty much a no no but what
they can offer is browsability and also knowledgable staff. Just a more
pleasant shopping experience.

An example of how not to do it was a model shop that a few people I know
have used and was notorious for the owner's interesting customer skills.
So no opening any boxes, asking whether you where going to actually be
buying anything in you had been in their longer than ten minutes and
rudely ordering you out of the shop if your mobile phone rang.

On 1/23/2024 12:43 PM, JAB wrote:
> On 19/01/2024 14:53, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> I'm not averse to shopping at a brick-n-mortar store. They just give
>> me no reason to do so.
>
> For me it's very much what does a physical store offer that an online
> one can't. Trying to compete on price is pretty much a no no but what
> they can offer is browsability and also knowledgable staff. Just a more
> pleasant shopping experience.
>
> An example of how not to do it was a model shop that a few people I know
> have used and was notorious for the owner's interesting customer skills.
> So no opening any boxes, asking whether you where going to actually be
> buying anything in you had been in their longer than ten minutes and
> rudely ordering you out of the shop if your mobile phone rang.

Some shops are not really shops at all but just places where the owner
can spend their time. Model stores and game stores are some of the big
ones for those. And to be fair, if I had the money I'd likely open up
something similar where I can just sit in and pretend to be a businessman.

On 1/23/2024 5:00 AM, kyonshi wrote:
> On 1/23/2024 12:43 PM, JAB wrote:
>> On 19/01/2024 14:53, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>> I'm not averse to shopping at a brick-n-mortar store. They just give
>>> me no reason to do so.
>>
>> For me it's very much what does a physical store offer that an online
>> one can't. Trying to compete on price is pretty much a no no but what
>> they can offer is browsability and also knowledgable staff. Just a
>> more pleasant shopping experience.
>>
>> An example of how not to do it was a model shop that a few people I
>> know have used and was notorious for the owner's interesting customer
>> skills. So no opening any boxes, asking whether you where going to
>> actually be buying anything in you had been in their longer than ten
>> minutes and rudely ordering you out of the shop if your mobile phone
>> rang.
>
> Some shops are not really shops at all but just places where the owner
> can spend their time. Model stores and game stores are some of the big
> ones for those. And to be fair, if I had the money I'd likely open up
> something similar where I can just sit in and pretend to be a businessman.

Yes, basically a shop where they can invite their friends over to play
with their toys/games, and meet new people with the same
obsession<<<<<<<< interest.

--
-Justisaur

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