This ever-turbulent world we live in has continued to change and accelerate at a rate which is unfathomable to some yet the norm for others. As with every other aspect of society, the video games industry has – in just a few years – evolved, devolved and changed in ways which cannot be undone. The victims of such change are many and ongoing. Today, I wish to look at one company which for many evokes an extreme sense of nostalgia, bittersweetness and formative memories – but for others, is a relic of a dying age. This is an ode to the UK’s most prominent – yet soon to be deceased – retailer of our collective favourite past-time: GAME.
In not wanting to put a spotlight on the negative aspects of GAME’s impending death, I will but briefly touch on the MANY recent events which have transpired to all-but-cement GAME as a soon-to-be relic of a bygone era. While GAME as a business has had an eb and flow of success over its existence, it was the COVID era which seemed to put the company on a path which they could not come back from.
As with most retailers during the pandemic, stores had to be shuttered, digital media shot up in popularity and the video games industry performed better than ever. Unfortunately for GAME, this fundamental shift in collective thinking in the wake of the pandemic and its multiple lockdowns meant that even after society was allowed to once again window shop as before, the new norm had been established, and it was in e-commerce. Of course, the trends were previously heading in this direction regardless, but the 2nd and 3rd-party effects of COVID as a whole accelerated the process tenfold.
Since then, GAME has struggled to maintain relevance, forcing it to take seemingly drastic measures and shifts in its approach to stay afloat. By far the most impactful was its acquisition by the Fraser Group, which subsequently saw dozens if not hundreds of stores closed in order to be moved to small sections within the likes of Fraser and Sports Direct.
In contrast to the ballooning popularity and ever increasing mainstreaming of video games across the board, the most visible representative of the medium in the UK was shoved away into the back corners of entirely unrelated retailers – so of course things were only going to get worse from here.
Then comes 2024, by far the most destructive year for GAME so far, at least in terms of the number of announced changes and closures. While perhaps not as damning as the initial closure of its many retail locations, in just the past 6 months, GAME has stripped so many of its foundational parts that all that is currently left is a generic brand name shaped into a skeletal husk of its former self.
The company began the year by announcing that GAME would be shutting even more of its locations down while also no longer accepting any trade-ins – and would phase out the selling of pre-owned games (an aspect which historically has been core to their physical retail locations since its inception). The stripping of GAME continued to unfold as the company then announced that they would also be ceasing their long-running Reward and Elite programs – a curious move by a company should they wish to continue gaining repeat customers and long-term returns.
The most recent step into its grave came just last week where in the space of a couple days, it was first revealed that GAME would no longer be accepting pre-orders for titles in-store, which seemingly all but confirms that GAME is preparing to devolve into an online-only retailer. Then, mere days ago further reports claimed that the company is also planning to stop selling physical POSA (Point of Sale Activated) cards within the next few weeks – aka PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo and Steam Store credit. That said, you’ll still be able to purchase digital versions of the same cards which can be printed on receipts at the store (or more likely emailed to you upon the completion of an online order).
All this is to say that it is transparently clear that within the not-too-distant future, we will likely be hearing news on the complete closure of GAME as it shifts to an online-only platform – and when that day comes it will be the end of an era.
With all the negative context now out of the way, I wish to switch gears, going into my own history with the company and why GAME represents the last bastion in an era of gaming which – while we will likely never return to – is foundational to my own relationship with the industry, why I love it so much and how it timestamped a particular period of video gaming.
If you’ve lived in the UK at any point over the past 30 years, you will have no doubt come across a GAME or two – or ten. The shops’ clear-yet-prominent signs casting purple hues and free of any logos or complex branding says but one simple word: GAME. Even upon its initial creation back in the 1990’s, going with the simple word ‘GAME’ for your video games retailer was a bold move – one which ultimately paid off.
By the time I was old enough to be interested in video games, the shop GAME had become synonymous with the hobby it is based off of. It was THE game shop, and thanks to tactical business decisions *cough cough acquisitions cough cough* it would remain that way for many generations.
Regardless of whether it was a de facto monopoly or not, GAME was the arcades of my time, a place dedicated to all things gaming, a hub which I loved to return to time and time again – be it to excitedly pre-order an upcoming title, try out a new game at one of the present console stations or just to stare at all the titles that child me could not afford. If I was taking a trip to the town centre, you could bet that I would make a stop at my local GAME no matter what.
Of course, online shopping is increasingly and evermore convenient and so with the rise of e-commerce over the past couple decades, the writing on the wall was clear. Still, unlike most other forms of shopping, there was always something special about walking into a GAME shop, browsing the shelves and just embracing the atmosphere. In many ways, it is the closest thing we have to going to the cinema to watch a film. Sure, you could open Netflix or whatever, but there is always a little something extra which fires off inside me whenever I am walking up to a cinema to excitedly watch a film amongst other fellow fans.
While not a 1:1 comparison, it is tough otherwise to fully encapsulate how it felt as a child to walk into GAME knowing you were going to buy a title which you have been wanting for so long. Sitting in the back of the car on the way home, staring at the screenshots on the back of the box and flicking through its manual is a level of excitement which future generations may never be able to experience equally.
Perhaps my most fond memory attached to GAME came with the pre-release for Fallout 4. I remember walking into the shop to pre-order my copy of Fallout 4, wanting to be able to experience one of my most anticipated games at the time as soon as physically possible. I was then informed of a midnight launch event, in which all those who pre-ordered could attend to grab their copy of Fallout 4 as soon as the clock struck midnight. While waiting, the store would be giving away various prizes and memorabilia for the event, while also hosting a costume competition where the best-dressed could win a bag of Fallout goodies.
If I really wanted to play Fallout 4 as soon as possible, I could have of course pre-ordered the game on the PlayStation store, pre-downloaded it and then hit the play button the second it reached 12 o’clock. But, what I would have missed out on was the atmosphere as me and dozens of others stood excitedly in line outside our local GAME waiting for it to open and welcome us in. The collective hype surrounding this soon-to-be-available Bethesda RPG could be felt emanating from everyone present – employees included.
I don’t believe I even wound up playing the game that night as by the time I got home it was getting quite late. That said, I wouldn’t have changed it for the world as despite not even playing the game, the launch of Fallout 4 is one of my best gaming memories.
This is but one of many positive and formative memories which are directly associated with GAME – without whom it would not exist. It’s impossible to dwell on what-ifs and whataboutisms, but I strongly believe that had I not had GAME as a place in which I could express my love and interest for this medium over the past two-decades plus, then I might not be in the position that I am now.
So, what does the future of GAME look like? Well, it doesn’t look good I can tell you that much. As mentioned at the start, every aspect of society, living and existence as a whole has been changing and evolving at a rate which most people are unable to keep up with, and so regardless of GAME’s actions, things likely would have ended up at the same place eventually.
Still, despite being a relatively new form of media, video games and its industry is one of the most forward-facing, and so has seen significant and rapid change over the course of its existence.
GAME UK was a core part of my era as a young video game enthusiast, and while this may not be the case for current or future generations, I wished to show some love to the shop which helped in part to make me who I am today. This is an ode to GAME.
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KitGuru says: What are your best memories associated with GAME? What about your earliest memory? Are you sad to see the end of this era? Let us know down below.
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