burt lurndurn

Blockbuster have decided to send me and two other colleagues to some game reveal thing in a few weeks where the publishers give us hands on time with new games coming out for the christmas period (and hopefully January).

Ass Creed 3 will be a given as will Black Ops 2 i'm sure although none too fussed about the latter. Crossing my fingers for some Rising representation.

I think we will have to agree to disagree on this one.

I wouldn't go as far as to say there are plenty in London now.

Dante, do the shops within a shop like the game in hamleys operate any differently? Does game pay for the space to rent or does hamleys give them it because they need a gaming area and it brings them in additional customers etc?

Comets now I assume don't pay rent. Borders did and the Deepdale store pays rent to Carphone Warehouse. I can't imagine why Hamleys wouldn't.

There are currently 9 stores in London according to the store finder. Losing this one will mean 8. That seems plenty to me.

@Dante
Well it isn't!
I was a bit tongue in cheek the other day asking you to use your 'clout' and get GAME to re-open a store in Harrow but I meant it really.
There is nowhere I can buy a new game now in Harrow.
The nearest GAME is Edgware which is a mere 3.5miles away, but thems miles not 'London miles'.
By bus that will take at least 1hr each way, by car that will normally take 30+ mins (but you never know, it could take over an hour too) plus parking (and I don't drive) and I can't get a direct tube (3 different tubes and 1.5hrs journey!) - besides that costs too much.
This is a journey I am not prepared to make as Harrow has just about every retailer I need so there is no other reason to go there, which would mean a 'special' trip just for a game.
So therefore games I would normally buy on a whim like Sleeping Dogs are not being bought.
I will have to wait until the Harrow CEX gets it in 2nd hand, which is looking unlikely as there are no new game retailers in the area which ergo means they are less likely to get it traded in, or buy it online and I am reluctant to do that as I wanted to trade some stuff in against it.
If I do buy it online I wont get it from GAME, I will get it from shopto as they are faster and cheaper.
I really don't want to go through the hassle of amazon trade ins because I dont want to be sending games in, having them checked for quality and then given a price, that I will feel I will have to except (just checked and amazon are offering on their top price nearly £5 less than CEX's normal price for Dragons Dogma) because I then have to go through the hassle of having them send it back to me. But it looks like I might have to.
I usually bought big name must have releases from the Harrow GAME or online, depending on deals or what I had to trade in at the time. But they are a given when it comes to a purchase and are worth making the special trip for, it's the games like Dragons Dogma, Sleeping Dogs, Ghost Recon FS that I would not pre-order but pick up new when feeling a little flush or after finishing something else and using that as a trade in, that either aren't going to get bought or are going to be bought 2nd hand which does the new retailer and the publisher no good.

The ironic thing is the GAME in Harrow was rammed every weekend, queues out the door most of the time and during school holiday times it was mental. The rent must have been high because it was a double shop, but there are empty smaller units available (just like every high street at the moment) the owners of which are probably desperate for tenants.

Suppose.
I am just a victim of circumstance (poor me).
I don't drive.
The local centre is big enough to negate journeys to other centres with a GAME or HMV.
The local Tesco is a hole and completely useless when it comes to media, I counted 12 titles on the shelf the other day and over half of those were Wii titles, and the prices are completely unrealistic.
I'll have to cross my fingers and tough it out in the hope of something opening.

pantyfire wrote:

Suppose. I am just a victim of circumstance (poor me). I don't drive. The local centre is big enough to negate journeys to other centres with a GAME or HMV. The local Tesco is a hole and completely useless when it comes to media, I counted 12 titles on the shelf the other day and over half of those were Wii titles, and the prices are completely unrealistic. I'll have to cross my fingers and tough it out in the hope of something opening.

Why are you not buying online for cheaper and quick delivery?

pantyfire wrote:

@ googs Because I trade in a lot. To bring the cost of brand new games down, always to below online prices. Many a time I would walk into GAME and get a lesser anticipated day one release for £20-25. Previously I would usually only buy online If the game was an absolute must have or if I had nothing to trade in at the time. It just one of those mental block things. Sleeping dogs for £20-25 off a trade in of another game is a no brainier. £33-37 online is a hhhmmmm? I know there is little difference really in price but it's just one of those times when I find it easier to spend £35 on, say, my girlfriend easier to justify than spending it on myself.

That all makes sense, buddy - If you're someone that likes to constantly rotate games this is a great way to keep in touch with everything while saving a bit of cash when you're wanting a new game.

google wrote:

pantyfire wrote:

@ googs Because I trade in a lot. To bring the cost of brand new games down, always to below online prices. Many a time I would walk into GAME and get a lesser anticipated day one release for £20-25. Previously I would usually only buy online If the game was an absolute must have or if I had nothing to trade in at the time. It just one of those mental block things. Sleeping dogs for £20-25 off a trade in of another game is a no brainier. £33-37 online is a hhhmmmm? I know there is little difference really in price but it's just one of those times when I find it easier to spend £35 on, say, my girlfriend easier to justify than spending it on myself.

That all makes sense, buddy - If you're someone that likes to constantly rotate games this is a great way to keep in touch with everything while saving a bit of cash when you're wanting a new game.

I have also been using the technique to broaden my gaming horizons a little.
There have been many games I wouldn't have normally bought but I have given them a go and been pleasantly surprised, there have also been some I took a punt on and thought were pish but hey I only spent £25 on it so no big deal plus trading it in got me £10-20 off the next game to come out so nothing to whinge about.

The problem that Reg alludes to arises though when you start getting a collection of games that you don't want to part with.
This gen has been particularly good IMO and my game draw in my coffee table is bulging a little.

pantyfire wrote:

This gen has been particularly good IMO and my game draw in my coffee table is bulging a little.

Having moved a few dozen times in the past 10 years my collection has been purged countless times. I do not have this problem un/forutunately.

Yay reach arounds

HMV replay app has 2 listings for Final Fantasy XIII-2, but doesn't state what the difference is, it's like £14 for one and £5 for the other. Any idea what the £14 one is?
Want to trade it in against Darksiders 2.

Sasukekun wrote:

HMV replay app has 2 listings for Final Fantasy XIII-2, but doesn't state what the difference is, it's like £14 for one and £5 for the other. Any idea what the £14 one is? Want to trade it in against Darksiders 2.

Presumably the CE?

The one in the cardboard case that had some art cards.

Cheers Dante, on a similar note, I gather Game don't allow you to check trade in prices before you go to a store like HMV do?
Will they price match the trade in against HMV?