Is it really 'GAME' over for gaming retailers?

Source: game.co.uk

As you might have already heard or read, two of my favourite shops, Game and Gamestation, have been in a lot of financial trouble recently. A day before I typed this blog post, the company who runs both shops, The Game Group, have been put into administration.

This is a very sad time for me and all the gamers in the UK, and also the British games industry. I don't think anyone can imagine what it would be like without a specialist shop for games.

Here's a couple of reasons why Game and Gamestation got into the state they are in:

1. They got too big for their own good. They simply had too many stores across the UK.

2. Game (maybe) shouldn't have bought their former competitors, Gamestation, in 2007.

I think there could be another reason. It's the fact that more people are buying games online rather than going to the shops.

If Game and Gamestation both go, it only leaves HMV and the supermarkets. While HMV are focusing slightly less on games, they still have a nice selection on their shelves. On the other hand, the supermarkets don't have a great choice of games either. I don't know whether I could bare that or not.

My thoughts do go out to the employees of both Game and Gamestation, who have just been made redundant. It's a really awful thing to go through. At the time I typed this, 277 stores have been closed down, affecting 2,104 employees.

UPDATE: Since I posted this, I was very glad to hear that OpCapita, the company who bought Comet, saved Game and Gamestation for £1. Yes, I'm not joking. I know £1 might sound a bit rubbish, but at least it saved the two shops from disappearing off our high street. Well, that's one less thing for me and all the gamers in the UK to worry about. Thank goodness for that! Phew!