UK Retailer GAME Unable to Stock Mass Effect 3

 

GAME, the largest dedicated videogame retailer in the UK, has been hit with a few difficulties recently. The past year saw the chain shutter several stores and lay off 50 employees from its corporate offices. Now, GAME finds itself unable to put games on its shelves due to a double whammy of financial troubles, and a switch to paying for game stock up front.

First, GAME didn't have Ubisoft's launch lineup for Vita. Customers who want to pick up Mario Party 9 are also out of luck.

A company memo revealed that GAME is also unable to stock EA games for the foreseeable future. That includes next week's Mass Effect 3, one of the largest multiplatform launches of the year.

GAME is currently offering refunds for all pre-orders on Mass Effect 3, but the real kicker is that fans who ordered the collector's edition will now have to settle for the regular edition somewhere else due to a corporate-level disagreement.

It's just sad to go to GAME's website, see that "Mass Effect 3" is the top search, then have the search return zero results.

A memo to GAME staff states they are actively working with EA to resolve issues, but their games will not be stocked until then.

While digital distribution is slowly taking over, it's important for gamers (and the people shopping for them at Christmas time) to have someplace to go that is dedicated to games and the culture surrounding them. If GAME goes under, most shoppers will have to resort to buying games at the grocery store, which just sounds depressing.

There is a great article on Eurogamer about what will happen if GAME closes up and disappears. As someone who has never set foot in a GAME store, I think you should read it.