GAME Confirms They Will No Longer Sell Pre-owned Consoles
In a recent announcement, UK videogames store ‘GAME’ have confirmed that they will no longer be selling or buying any pre-owned games or consoles. This will take effect from February 16th 2024, meaning neither credit or cash would be offered if you take your pre-owned goods into a store. This also means that the trade-in service online will cease and the only games that can be purchased from the retailer will be brand new and full price.
Image by GAME
This news comes after the Fraser Group purchased GAME back in 2019- a move that caused a lot of high street stores to close down. These were instead integrated into existing House of Fraser and Sports Direct stores where they have their own corner that seems oddly out of place from the other products being sold. This move came as a result of falling profits and increasing high street rent that made it increasingly difficult to justify keeping these stores open. In turn, this caused the brand to become far more online-focused, with some expecting the majority of physical stores to close over the coming years.
Image by GAME
This decision also likely influenced the choice to shut down the pre-owned offerings in both physical stores and online/ After the February 16th cut off date, you will no longer be able to trade any gaming consoles, games or accessories to the brand in any way, and remaining pre-owned stock will continue to be sold until they run out. This distancing follows similar decisions from retailers such as Walmart in the US, who made the decision to stop selling physical games altogether in 2024.
Image by GAME
With the move to an all digital future, physical games are becoming less and less of a priority for retailers- even those especially focused around them. GAME- despite still being mostly a videogames retailer- have clearly noticed this in their diversification into toys and board games in response to customers seemingly preferring an all-digital library. With over 60% of games now being bought from digital storefronts, it makes sense why GAME would no longer want to deal in pre-owned physical products. And, unfortunately, this is a trend that’s likely to continue in the future for other retailers.
