Are You GAME For A Bargain? (Game)

Member Name: scream4bruce

Product:	Game
Date:	13/12/08 (68 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Deals of the week, good customer service

Disadvantages: Prices not that competitive, price checks not too tight

If GAME's slogan is "The next level", then I'm the type who prefers to play (or replay) a past level. Still, that's not to say there's not something for me at GAME, and when I'm in the Glasgow city centre I'm sure to visit the GAME stores - all 4 of them!

CUSTOMER SERVICE
Console games rarely come in their original sealed packages, with cases being for display and content packed inside drawers for convenience. Stickers come off easy.

I've always found the customer service to be good - whilst their staff might not be best-equipped for answering game-related queries (some see them as the "PC World of video-games"), they give a fast and friendly service. Recently, a member of staff was being helpful by making sure that I was aware of the online subscription fee for a game I was going to buy. (As I was confident of there being offline content I bought the game.)

REWARD CARD
With the GAME Reward Card there used to be a 10% discount off purchases amounting to at least a tenner (I think). I'm pretty sure of this because, the card costs £3 - the day I signed up for it was when I bought the PlayStation title 'Suikoden 2' for £30 (so it was as if there was no extra charge). =)

Now there is a points scheme in place which equates to a 2.5% cashback on all purchases - the £2.50 minimum cannot be discounted on downloads as well as gift items. If you're into the newest games and consoles (which I'm not) and do not shop online I don't see why you shouldn't sign up, especially if you're going to pre-order since there are rewarded double reward points. If you like, you can then create an online account just to check your points balance and enter exclusive competitions.

PRICES
Never mind competing with online stores, shopping at GAME does not guarantee cheaper prices than non-specialist games stores. The price checking is not tight enough. On the odd occasion I've seen pre-owned - and in some cases disc only - games going for a higher price than their new equivalents!

The prices given for trading in has always been poor as far as I can remember - back in the PlayStation days I could never fathom their "trade-in 2 (fairly new) games and pay £25 on top of that for new game" deal. The secondhand section matches sister brand GameStation for range but suffers when it comes down to the offers - the titles that appear in GAME's "3 for £10" tend to appear in GameStation's "4 for £10", and similarly with GAME's "2 for £15" and GameStation's "4 for £20". (The booklet of trade-in prices that can be picked up for free seems a waste - what happened to their lovely purple catalogue of old?)

Where GAME scores strongly is in it's sales items - I've picked up several new PS2 and GBA games (which I've found to be quality titles) for no greater than 3 quid each - bargain!

OWN BRAND ACCESSORIES
Because of Sony and Nintendo, I've had to seek a multitap for the slim PS2 and a headphone adaptor for the GBA. Thankfully, those by GAME's own brand, GAMEWare came cheap and did their job. As did the coloured cases for GBA games, though these were a tight fit.

CONCLUSION
Given GameStation do not stock a great deal of retro games in their stores, this has allowed GAME to close the gap between the two on the high-streets. As their prices generally are not that competitive it doesn't gain the advantage. The money saved with the Reward Card may or may not work out cheaper in the long run than when shopping online, but for £3 it helps to have an option. Still, it's well worth popping into GAME if only to see what their Deals of the Week are.

Summary: GAME