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GAME Australia to shut all stores

Randolph Ramsay
By Randolph Ramsay, Site Manager, GameSpot APAC

Retailer to immediately shut 16 stores; remaining outlets to close in coming weeks.

After a protracted struggle to stay afloat, GAME Australia has finally succumbed to its financial troubles. The company's administrators--PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)--have confirmed today that all GAME stores in Australia will close down in the coming weeks.

GAME Australia has entered administration.

GAME Australia has entered administration.

PwC said 16 stores will shut immediately, with the remaining 15 to be shuttered in the coming weeks.

"In the interests of creditors, the 31 remaining Game stores are to be closed over the coming weeks and a final closing down sale has commenced with discounts of up to 60 percent available in-store and online," administrator Kate Warwick said in a statement.

"This is a difficult time for employees, and closing the stores was not a decision we made easily. Despite exploring available opportunities for continued trading, the ongoing trading performance and absence of viable offers for the purchase of the business has resulted in these closures."

GAME Australia went into administration in May this year, following on from similar financial troubles with its UK parent company. PwC was exploring avenues to keep the business afloat, including finding a buyer for the stores, but rumours that it was unsuccessful began circulating earlier this month.

PwC has been in touch with the Federal Government Department that deals with General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) and will assist the employees with their applications.

According to PwC, another meeting of creditors is scheduled to take place on 19 June in Sydney to decide the future of GAME Australia.

Randolph Ramsay
By Randolph Ramsay, Site Manager, GameSpot APAC

Randolph Ramsay loves games in the same way monkeys love bananas. Sure, they can live without it, but what's the point? He also loves fighting games, but never plays online in case people notice just how bad he is at them.

22 comments
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badiie05
badiie05

what!? i gotta get my hands on some sweet deals

jordanpolly
jordanpolly

EB will never fall of its pedistal!! eb owns the largest majority of the market over any retailer. if you think EB will go down then you need your head examined.

 

smooth40
smooth40

I recall when I went into my local store speaking to one of the staff about the future of GAME Australia andi if she  worried about her job back when the UK issue surfaced.

She laughed it off saying that was the UK and not Australia and obviously believed managements bluff.

I just looked at her thinking you poor young teenager girl who has lot to learn how things work.

Anyway I have $11 credit with the company, still cant find one single game to buy even at the advertised 40% off. It's still more expensive than online importing. Glad I spent all my points in advance. I have to spend more to get my $11 worth, not really worth it.

q-w-e-r-t-y
q-w-e-r-t-y

Even with the 60% discount I'm gonna bet the games are still more expensive than in the US......

Hippoboy
Hippoboy

Its a shame GAME is closing, it wasn't a bad store. My brother really liked shopping there. On the upside, if everything is 60% off then I'm gonna prod him into raiding it like a vulture. Get some really good buys.

Undietaker
Undietaker

The amusing thing is this "closing down 60% off sale" has simply brought their prices inline with online competitors.

Sale my ass, one more ripoff company removed, you're next EB.

This comment has been deleted

lovesykpuppy
lovesykpuppy like.author.displayName 1 Like

I've never heard of a game retailer that won't let you transfer a deposit to buy another game, especially since they won't see the release of the game...

 

...but then again I don't live in Australia so I don't know how it goes

allanon10101
allanon10101

 @dildodildo you have to file as an unsecured creditor. You probably won't get much if anything back, as the secured creditors go first into whatever resources are liquidated, but at least this way you have a chance to get it back

Nintendo_Man
Nintendo_Man

This is just another nail in the coffin of retail video games. The future is online shopping and many retail sectors are being killed by it. While prices do play a big factor in this, people are now just too lazy to go into shops and look for products (constantly rushing around).

greasemonkey42
greasemonkey42

EB is going to be next...it's only a matter of time.

jordanpolly
jordanpolly

 @greasemonkey42

 not likely. lol eb it the number one retailer for video games with over 400 stores across australia and NZ and are pulling in obsurd profits. eb will go down when hell freezes over

davedrastic
davedrastic

Is there a  list of which stores are immediately closing? And immediate means today?

 

Also, do we know if the online store will be continuing? For me it's a shame if the online store goes, afterall that appears perfectly feasible even if the retail stores don't.

 

I'll also say that they're handling their online sale entirely wrong. I bought a new game for $7.60 including free courier delivery. The delivery cost would have been higher than $7.60. They would have done better for their creditors if they'd left all thir games in a box and let people pick them up.

joju_australia
joju_australia

horrible out come! all the poor people out of jobs, i feel for them. Good luck guys and hope you get another job soon too!

Wrathesoul
Wrathesoul like.author.displayName 1 Like

Thats the curse of over pricing games people can buy in the USA and UK and China for far far far less. EB will be next to go under more then likely. I feel for the workers losing their jobs but greed in all of history has destroyed humanity and their lives.

criegz
criegz like.author.displayName 1 Like

 @Wrathesoul Agreed. Where I live, they still expect people to pay $50 - $60 for CoD4: MW. It's ridiculous! Then they wonder why they're going out of business. Online shopping FTW!

sunvs
sunvs

 @criegz maybe if people have jobs they could aford it rather than complaining about prices. why dont you think of all the people out of jobs rather then compaining about prices

sunvs
sunvs

honestly i rather go to a speciality store and pay that little bit extra just to help out the industry. They did Try better business towards their customers with offering the highest trades around eg i traded in two games call of duty 2 (not modern warfare ) and battlefield 2 and got $45 credit to spend in store. So they always had incentives to get better prices not to mention most of the floor staff had really great knowledge on their items try and get that from jbhifi or kmart there knowledge its next to nill. now that GAME is closing up i will be taking my money to Game Traders an EB Games but thats my choice everyone is different but ill support the small local industry they need it to survive

criegz
criegz

 @sunvs It's not a factor of money - I've paid for full price games BEFORE I discovered you can get them cheaper overseas. Would you honestly pay $60 for Modern Warfare 1 now when you can get it for about $40 - $45 at the same condition?

 

Yeah it sucks they lost their jobs - I never said that was a good thing. Maybe if GAME practiced better business toward its customers they'd still be in business.

ToPnEkOmS
ToPnEkOmS

 @sunvs

 It's not about having a job and affording it. They clearly rip ppl off with their prices. The company was always going to fold they hadnt made a profit since 06.

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