The Joy of CEX (and other brick 'n' mortar establishments)
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davyK wrote:I think it's important for gaming to have a high street presence.
I don't think it is, especially not for pre-owned stuff that doesn't put any money back into the industry. Downloads and streaming are the way the industry is looking to go. -
Yeah, I can’t help but feel that, if it was important for something to be on the high street, then it wouldn’t be struggling to survive there.
It’s only so long until the high street, as we know it, will be consigned to history. I see no arguments for its continuation beyond consumer nostalgia. -
I saw something about the high street being turned over to more social spaces like arcades and Games Workshop type places, where you can grab a coffee or beer, play games and whatever. Can't remember where now, but I liked the idea.
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It's a great idea, especially if the state bought up a lot of the spaces and opened them up to the public to propose various cultural activities.Paul the sparky wrote:I saw something about the high street being turned over to more social spaces like arcades and Games Workshop type places, where you can grab a coffee or beer, play games and whatever. Can't remember where now, but I liked the idea. -
Andy wrote:Yeah, I can’t help but feel that, if it was important for something to be on the high street, then it wouldn’t be struggling to survive there.
It’s only so long until the high street, as we know it, will be consigned to history. I see no arguments for its continuation beyond consumer nostalgia.
I think it’s 8/10 of the biggest retailers in the UK have a high-street presence. The future of retail is expected to be an amalgam of online and physical retail, not one killing the other. The real threat to the high street is not online, but the rates being charged to retailers. -
Not to mention shit parking/transport options. We’re spoiled up here in Newcastle, loads of buses, decent metro system, free city centre parking after 5pm. When I go visit Hudds it’s a right arse to go into the town centre, if you want to park in the big slightly out of town car park you can choose either 2 hours or 5 hours. You don’t need 5 hours to visit cash converters, Poundland and 3 branches of Ladbrokes.iosGameCentre:T3hDaddy;
XBL: MistaTeaTime -
JonB wrote:It's a great idea, especially if the state bought up a lot of the spaces and opened them up to the public to propose various cultural activities.
Yeah, this doesn’t tend to work in the long term. Or, at least, it’s been poorly done many times over.
Glasgow City Council own a ridiculous amount of the commercial properties in Glasgow and when they can’t secure the necessary tenants (usually due to rate hikes on their own part) they do put a percentage of them up for cheap or free short-term lease to arts organisations and charities.
Sadly, this isn’t curated with the public good in mind, but instead with a view to making a street or area look busier and thus more appealing to potential commercial tenants. It usually ends up with a few charities and arts orgs moving in to a street, without any funding to actually run themselves properly, maintain their spaces, or attract any customers. And it’s the niche organisations who can’t get a property any other way – so they never have high appeal to passing trade, the street stays empty and downtrodden, and they get chucked out after the cheap/free rent period because they can’t afford to pay full whack for the spaces. It usually just leads to churn on the street – empty units turning into businesses nobody uses, then turning back into empty spaces. Six months later, the cycle begins again.
The only way I can see to fix the problem longer term would be to actually curate the retail area. Pick and choose who gets a unit, and base it on a proper long-term strategy with affordance for what types of business are actually wanted/needed in the area. By all means include some social, arts and startup units, but mix them up with greengrocers, newsagents, and coffeeshops. Build footfall by providing things people actually need, closer to their homes than the big supermarket. Instead of hiking the rates for maximum short-term profit, link the rates to profit or turnover and treat it as a long-term investment in raising the overall community value. -
Yeah, I think the first thing would need to be a change in thinking about what a town centre is for. In most places, it's so synonymous with shopping still, that it's hard to imagine going there for other purposes. But I would hope in the long term it can be reinvented as a general community space and attact people on that basis.
The collapse of retail is one of those things, a bit like automation, that's harmful according to the way things currently work, but could be advantageous if we're able to change with it. -
JonB wrote:Yeah, I think the first thing would need to be a change in thinking about what a town centre is for.
There are a lot of people thinking about this stuff, but precious few implementing anything progressive. At least so far. Most local councils are deeply conservative (with a small C) when it comes to actually changing the status quo. They want evidence-based research before making any decisions, which shuts out innovation. I think real change in our city centres is going to be down to commercial enterprise – which essentially means they need to properly fail before anyone sees the profit potential in revitalising from the ground up in a truly new way. -
Skateparks. Make 'em all into giant Skateparks.It wasn't until I hit my thirties that I realised you could unlock rewards by exploring the map
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This made me smile:
poprock wrote:The only way I can see to fix the problem longer term would be to actually curate the retail area.
Designer thinks we need more design!
It does make sense, TBF, but it still amused me. -
Paul the sparky wrote:
I don't think it is, especially not for pre-owned stuff that doesn't put any money back into the industry. Downloads and streaming are the way the industry is looking to go.davyK wrote:I think it's important for gaming to have a high street presence.
Yeah - that's a point. Was just thinking that a high street presence could only be good for everyone. I suppose there are more gamers than ever now with smartphones.
Maybe it is just me being a retro head. Digital is a convenient but soulless way to consume.Holding the wrong end of the stick since 2009. -
I’ll use the time and effort I saved to do something more soulful than going to the shops to make up for it.
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I like a wee browse.
If I know what I want then digital is great. It's even great for buying physical media that you know you want. But digital steers you down a track of similar stuff which is great too but it narrows things down wrt browsing.
Have always liked a poke around the likes of TK Maxx or Cash Converters.Holding the wrong end of the stick since 2009. -
Serious question, does anyone know how tarrifs will affect digital sales of music, film and games?SFV - reddave360
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I doubt anyone has a bloody clue.Holding the wrong end of the stick since 2009.
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RedDave2 wrote:Serious question, does anyone know how tarrifs will affect digital sales of music, film and games?
I'm sure Boris Johnson has a comprehensive answer to this. -
davyK wrote:I doubt anyone has a bloody clue.
Just wondering would it fall under services and if so does it depend where the seller is registered. There was a thing on an Irish radio station today about how brexit could somewhat help the highstreet shops inadvertently as people move away from digital due to increased costs and confusion with tarrifs (it's not that the price in the high street wouldn't be affected, just you wouldn't see a big lump of tarrif stuck onto your bill just before checkout)SFV - reddave360 -
I suppose re streaming services I'm guessing they are US based with a UK reg so Brexit may not affect any US tarrif as we are already paying those.Holding the wrong end of the stick since 2009.
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I’m 90% sure that digital goods and services are two separate things. A game would be a good, Xbox Live or whatever a service.
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More predictable is the fact that the value of the Pound will drop, making everything more expensive for us – digital sales of music, games and films included.
Most of ’em are coming to us via American companies, so the exchange rate vs the Dollar will fuck us up. -
poprock wrote:More predictable is the fact that the value of the Pound will drop, making everything more expensive for us – digital sales of music, games and films included.
Several of us Irish folk are curious what the potential savings on amazon might be as its in sterling for us. Although import costs could reduce any saving to nothing
SFV - reddave360 -
Things are gonna get interesting, that’s for sure.
Brexit will bring back the bad old days of ‘booze cruises’ to the French supermarkets at Calais and trying to sweat your way through the border checks with massive amounts of wine, beer and fags hidden under a couple of suitcases in the boot of the car. -
Picked up Red Dead Redemption 2 and Dead Rising 4 on ps4 in the two for £30 at GAME. Pretty good deal.
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For those two games that’s absolutely amazing. -
afgavinstan wrote:Damn that's not bad at all. I presume pre-owned?
Yes pre owned. I could have also got the latest metro game and latest far cry for an additional £30 but that would be greedy and theres no way I'd through all of them in a year. -
In CEX earlier and they had a copy of PS2 game
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army £82.
Flipping heck thats expensive -
Dinostar77 wrote:Picked up Red Dead Redemption 2 and Dead Rising 4 on ps4 in the two for £30 at GAME. Pretty good deal.
RDR2 has dropped like a stone?The Forum Herald™
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