GAME won't be stocking Mass Effect 3
Memo leak - UK retailer GAME won't be stocking any of EA's March titles , including Mass Effect 3.
Times are hard, and nowhere has this become more apparent than in recent weeks for UK retailer GAME.
Last week we saw The Last Story being pulled from their shelves and full refunds being given to those who preordered the title. It's also been confirmed that the likes of Tekken 3D won't be stocked in GAME. Now in a leaked memo it has been revealed that GAME won't be stocking any of EA's March releases after SSX.
The rest of the memo explains that this is due to "the challenges [they] are facing in the short term" - i.e. financial crisis.
All customer's who preordered the game will receive a full refund with an extra £5 reward card / elite points as "a token of good will", in an attempt to apoligise and keep customers loyal. Kudos to them for doing the right thing in the prediciment they've found themselves in, but that still won't get any collector edition copies of the game into fans hands.
Initially GAME were also docking the Ubisoft launch titles for the Vita (including Rayman Origins, Dungeon Hunter Experience, Michael Jackson's Experience...), but a week later they changed their tune. This may or may not be the case for Mass Effect 3 - it certainly appears to be leaning more towards the 'not' side right now. One thing is for certain however - the pre-orders for the collectors edition of Mass Effect 3 have been cut and won't be coming back; those fans have been advised to order from pretty much anywhere else, and that can't be good for business.
EDIT - GAME have delivered an official statemet regarding the Mass Effect 3 situation via their facebook page. Everything is exactly as the memo said, with refunds and reward cards and recommendations of where to purchase a copy of the game from.
As a UK resident and gamer, I have to wonder how long GAME will be able to hold out if they are being forced not to stock huge tripple A titles like Mass Effect 3. They are pretty much the biggest UK retailer, and they also own GameStation over here in the UK. My local GameStation is closing down in about a month's time. This is a terrible state of affairs for the companies, and I for one am dreading the day browsing in Video Game stores becomes nothing more than a nostalgic memory.
» Source: http://uk.games.ign.com/articles/121/1219655p1.html
» Tagged In: #EA, #game, #Mass Effect 3, #UK Retailer
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g1 DISCUSSIONS
Omega Riddler
I've already got my preorder in elsewhere for the N7 Collector's Edition. I knew it was a mistake to preorder in GAME back in November, I never do that. I was just buying a cheap game and before I knew it I had spent £5 on a deposit for Mass Effect 3. Now if they ask me to preorder anything I'll reply, is it guaranteed that I will get the game here.
The boat is sinking and they know it
The Gaming News Guy
This sucks for me.
WaterShocker
Pardon my ignorance, but isn't there a Gamestop/EBgames in the UK as well? I'm asking that because Gamestop is a global corporation seems to be doing much better these days and would probably not pull any moves like these any time soon.
SuperSmashDan
As far as I know, Gamestop was rebranded as GAME in Europe. This is just from memory so I may well be wrong, but I think that's the deal. Edit - just done a search. I've found a separate website for gamestop uk, but no stores :S
WaterShocker
That raises even more suspicions... If they're backed by Gamestop, how can they have any kind of financial difficulties?
SuperSmashDan
It's a big if which we'll need to clarify, but yeah o.O maybe the market in Europe is just that different to the States and it isn't profitable for them to hold out more chains abroad?
TheEnglishman
I really like Game and it would suck if they shut down. I've always found their service to be good and there are some fairly reasonable prices. That being said, I've probably been more about online shopping over the last few years. Can generally get better deals online.
SuperSmashDan
This is exactly the same deal for me too. I really like going to the store and generally come out with something - there will be one or two gem deals in there which make it worth scouring every corner of the shop, and it's far more appealing to come home and play a new purchase than waiting for it to come through the mail. That said, I too have succumbed to cheaper deals on the net. I didn't mention this in the article, but I found out about gamestation closing down because I was looking for a job there - I found the idea of working part time in a games retail store quite appealing, but this crisis has indirectly affected me in stopping that from even being an opportunity.
TheEnglishman
To be fair, Game did once give me two cards with £20 on them when my sister only got me one for my birthday. Maybe that's why they're going out of business.
TheEnglishman
There was a Gamestop store open in Birmingham for awhile but I think it closed down as well.