Working for Game Retail?

sortedatlast

Hi all,

Just a query - have seen Game starting to advertise in my area again for some positions. Know that they were bought over earlier in the year although also had closed a lot of stores and made many redundancies. Just wondering if any of you have worked for them/ know someone who does and what your thoughts are? I'm not working right now - avidly looking but fearful that the long term security there isn't great. Also, games retail on the high street itself probably would be pretty tough especially with online competition etc. Any thoughts / advice welcome!

starrybee

I don't have any experience with Game but my inital thoughts are - a job is a job so you may as well apply for it. If you do get it, you can carry on looking for something else more secure at the same time anyway.

DCFC79

Id like to say that what starrybee is exactly what i was going to say, i guess the new company closed some stores so they could be more competitive but also have less stores with increasing overheads but less money going into the till.

bluenoseam

I worked for Game in it's previous incarnation (albeit 10 years ago), while it used to be the case that you could get away working there as any old person without an interest in the area I believe they're trying to change it. Games retail is a very fickle place to work, it's a landscape which changes on a weekly basis, there's ALWAYS something new to know about & something else waiting to come up. There's also the fact that you will often be dealing with people who don't know what you sell much beyond a name or random description of the product - so if you don't know what's what, you can get found out & quickly!

Games retail is not in the midst of a boom, it's a difficult landscape at this point in time and is struggling to keep going in the face of extreme competition & what we know as the "end of the console cycle" as PS3 & Xbox 360 start to really decline at the end of their natural life. The recession has been unkind to Game in particular who through poor leadership, overly ambitious expansion & poor reputation basically didn't have much going for them. If you have the wrong people working in your stores the marketplace will know it quickly & won't frequent your business - gamers all avoided Game because their staff were basically people who weren't gamers themselves. (combine that with high prices and bang, where's your draw?) The "new" company seems to have a much more ruthless attitude & is looking to entice people back so it could point to hiring "specialists" as opposed to "retail workers".

I would work for them today if offered a job there, but it's a field I've worked in for a long time, they will survive, but it's not to say the job will be one of the more secure on the high st!

SueC_2

If you're not currently working, what do you have to lose by giving it a go?

sortedatlast

Thanks all - agree completely that I have nothing to lose y going for it. Just was a bit dubious because so much bad press regarding the games industry in general and with how they had treated some of their employees earlier in the year over redundancy etc.
Think I will go for it anyway and see how it goes!

DCFC79

sortedatlast wrote: »

Thanks all - agree completely that I have nothing to lose y going for it. Just was a bit dubious because so much bad press regarding the games industry in general and with how they had treated some of their employees earlier in the year over redundancy etc.
Think I will go for it anyway and see how it goes!

I can't see the new incarnation going the way as its predecessor.

cainkapow

As far as i am aware, Game are out of their problems, the company were actually purchased by Gamestation. The closed down many of the gamestation outlets and moved all stock etc into Game.

So in effect, Gamestation is now Game and hence is pretty safe in my eyes.

I know the industry is'nt exactly the strongest, but with upcoming games before christmas, and next year the PS4 and XBOX3 being shown at V3 and relased later in the year, i see good things for games and consoles.

I say apply, get the job and enjoy the benefits.

Good Luck

scottishgirl87

cainkapow wrote: »

As far as i am aware, Game are out of their problems, the company were actually purchased by Gamestation. The closed down many of the gamestation outlets and moved all stock etc into Game.

So in effect, Gamestation is now Game and hence is pretty safe in my eyes.

I know the industry is'nt exactly the strongest, but with upcoming games before christmas, and next year the PS4 and XBOX3 being shown at V3 and relased later in the year, i see good things for games and consoles.

I say apply, get the job and enjoy the benefits.

Good Luck

Sorry, but this is wrong. GAME owned Gamestation before being bought out by OpCapita earlier this year. OpCapita are the same people who won Comet.

I worked for GAME for over 4 years but the less said about that the better. OP you have nothing to lose by going for a job with them. My guess would be that it's just about as safe as any job in retail could be right now.