It looks like GAME has hit the “game over” screen on selling physical games… or has it? The company has steadfastly denied a report that they will stop selling physical games in-store, except for fulfilling pre-orders.
According to said report from Gfinity, if you want to snag a new release, you’ll need to preorder it like a responsible adult. No more waltzing into the store and grabbing the latest blockbuster off the shelf.
This bold move is just the latest plot twist in GAME’s tumultuous year. They’ve already pulled the plug on their long-running trade-in scheme, so kiss goodbye to buying or swapping pre-owned games. They’ve also sent their GAME Elite reward program to the big arcade in the sky.
Earlier this year, Eurogamer reported that the embattled retailer had shifted many staff to zero-hour contracts, while others were shown the door. Now it seems the company’s grand strategy involves transforming their stores into mini-concessions inside other Frasers Group outlets, like Sports Direct. So, you might find yourself shopping for a new console next to racks of sportswear and cricket bats.
Anonymous sources at GAME who spoke with Gfinity are feeling more than a little grumpy about the shift away from video game sales. With toy stock now taking over the shelves, it’s like they’re having an identity crisis worthy of a soap opera. Imagine waking up one day and deciding you’re a toy store instead of a game store—talk about a midlife crisis!
AI may be grabbing all the headlines for disrupting the ecosystem of gaming, but it’s the slow creep of digital-only adoption that is doing for the high street.
GAME is the last dedicated UK high-street retailer
The company that would eventually be known as GAME started out in 1992 when Bev Ripley and Terry Norris launched the Rhino Group, with their stores charmingly named Future Zone. Meanwhile, in 1990, another company called Game was founded by Peter Wickins and Neil Taylor, making it a case of “Who came first: the Game or the Rhino?”
In a blockbuster move, Rhino Group gobbled up Virgin Games Stores from WH Smith in November 1993, boosting their store count to a whopping 77. By October 1995, Electronics Boutique decided to join the party, snapping up 25% of the Rhino Group and renaming it Electronics Boutique Limited, all while sending over John Steinbrecher from the U.S. to run the show.
Fast forward to November 1999, when Electronics Boutique Limited decided it liked the name “Game” better and bought the Game chain for a cool £99 million, complete with its 86 stores. Not one to rest on their laurels, by October 2001, they had also acquired the online gaming service BarrysWorld, as well as French retailer ScoreGames and Spanish retailer Centro Mail. It’s like they were on a shopping spree, but instead of clothes, they were collecting game stores.
Jumping forward to 2024, it’s still a game store, but now it’s playing a different game altogether. It’s like walking into a pizzeria and finding out they only serve sushi—surprising, confusing, and a bit of a letdown for everyone craving some pepperoni.
And it’s not just games. The same goes for consoles. So if you were hoping to casually stroll into a shop and walk out with a shiny new Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X/S, think again. Outside of launch events, those babies are preorder-only too.
Most of the store’s space now goes to toys and collectables, with Funko Pops reigning supreme. But a store where you can’t even buy physical games? That’s the kind of plot twist even M. Night Shyamalan wouldn’t have seen coming.
A lesson from the music industry should be a forewarning to GAME
A 2017 report from GamesRadar on GAME’s troubles shows how long the sector has been in decline.
To paraphrase their findings, they draw a parallel with high-street music shops, who were the first to take a hit from the digital download and internet shopping frenzy.
It’s like they got caught in a surprise mosh pit of change, with the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reporting a whopping 40% revenue loss from 2001 to 2016. Physical sales have been on a downward spiral since 2003, making CDs and vinyl about as popular as dial-up internet.
Video games managed to dodge the digital bullet a bit longer, thanks to their hefty file sizes. It’s like they were the sumo wrestlers of the digital world, too big to be easily moved. But even sumo wrestlers get tired, and now digital downloads are body-slamming physical sales into oblivion.
It’s clear that physical game sales in the UK have been on a steady decline. It’s like watching your favourite classic arcade game slowly lose its last life, one pixelated heart at a time.
GAME might survive the digital age, but physically boxed video games could become novelty items rather than the main product. Game over.
