Anybody who keeps up with even the vaguest amount of gaming news will have heard that the Game Group haven’t been doing so hot lately. Shares are plummeting, stock is being sold off at the same price as Tesco own brand curry sauce, and administration has now been confirmed to begin any day now. They need a saviour, a buyer, for the business and they need it fast. I believe that I, Duncan Aird, have the solution. The ultimate takeover bid which would the company breathing and get shoppers back into GAME without a fire-sale to entice them.
It’s fair to say that a majority of gamers in the know somewhat left GAME for dead a little while back. Their ‘New’ game selection was often outshone by the local ASDA, their pre-owned prices actually made using old games as coasters seem more cost effective, and trying to sell Brink for £42.99 any time in 2012 were arguably some of the factors which lead to this abandonment. However, my takeover solution, with the proper marketing and with GAME doing some basic restructuring, I believe would bring in new and old customers alike and give the entire retail outlet a second life…
BOOM! GAME and the retail high street for gamers is saved. Forbidden Planet place a takeover bid for GAME, make 25% (or so) of the shop floor dedicated to their current merchandise, and we are sailing pretty, my friends! I realise that this is a Pipe Dream and that it’s unlikely to happen but I genuinely believe this would be the ultimate way to not only keep GAME alive but to increase its revenue stream right off the bat.
Games and comics are known to go quite hand-in-hand, more and more by the day, and wouldn’t you love to be able to walk into your local game’s retail and buy a copy of The Darkness II AND grab the graphic novel/comic book series to go along with it? Hell! Promotional idea: Buy the game, get 20% off the graphic novel. SOLD! Forbidden Planet already has a video games section in most of its shops anyway so they’re already somewhat aware that their business works well alongside video games.
If this takeover bid happened, out of nowhere, over 500 retail stores would overnight become the local comic book shop of its prime customer demographic. Just… just think about that for a second. Your local GAME could become your one-stop-shop for all your geeky, gamey needs and the shelves would be packed to the rafters with dreams which we could not even fathom 10 years ago. Sure, GAME would have to step their game up (pun intended) and make sure they improve on their current business model by aiming more at new game sales and keeping pricing competitive, but this could work.
This would save GAME, bring in more money to the company, make consumers happier, get more people into reading as a whole, and help bring convenience back to the retail market. Do it, Forbidden Planet. DO IT BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE AND WE GET STUCK WITH GAMESTOP!
That’s it for this episode of Pipe Dreams, my name’s Duncan Aird and I approve these dreams.
===
Do you have a suggestion for future Pipe Dream posts? I want to hear it! I think it would be awesome, and make my job a lot easier, so please do leave it as a comment down below. However, if you would prefer to use that social networking addiction we all have constructively then you can also Tweet your thoughts to @ReadyUp with the hashtag #RUPipeDreams, or just put a post over on our Facebook Page. The options are endless! Except those three are pretty much all of the options… I look forward to each and every one of your opinions! Especially if you were born in the 80’s.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.