https://twitter.com/GAMEbromley/status/789746618455232512

So if GAME in the UK didn't annoy you enough already they are now charging customers to try the Playstation VR in store.

Just wanted to see what the GB community thought of that.

Game gonna Game. It's a fucking Funco Pop store these days anyway. I've been going once every few months for free Pokemon, getting the code and leaving because it is DIRE in there.

Those prices are ridiculous but it's pretty consistant with the rest of GAME's offerings.

I know it isnt the same thing but I remember when CEX used to import games and let you try them for as long as you'd like instore. I must have played Pikmin for about an hour, it was great. Granted arcades basically do what GAME are doing and they've been around forever but for some reason I hold retailers to a higher standard. I probably shouldnt.

Huh. I've pre-ordered some things of GAME online when they have excuses but rarely bother with their high street stores so I don't really hold anything against them. What do they do that's annoying?

Charging for an in store tech demo seems pretty weird though. I wonder if that's to dry and stop a stampede of people trying it, or if they are just trying to cash in on the novelty.

It certainly doesn't do much to reassure me that VR games are more than short time 'experiences' because that is how this is being offered.

I can't stand GAME stores. I try to stay clear of them, will occasionally pop in to see what they have in their "2 for X" range.

@paulmako: Game charge over the RRP for everything, they were trying to get £54.99 for GTA V. It's like they don't even want to try and compete with online.

That is hilarious. Looks like a won't get to try PSVR then.

Is this not a thing anymore? When I was a kid, most local stores let you rent and play games in store, and it was pretty awesome. Why is this a bad thing?

Whilst I understand why they did this.... there has to be something somewhere in the software user terms agreement which doesn't allow this

. Otherwise pupper duck has an arcade to open

@hunkulese: in the states and when i was a kid they used to let us try stuff for free. This seems super shitty and bad business if you plan to actually sell these things to people with no vr experience.

@wynnduffy: Actually £54.99 *is* the RRP for most full price games these days - it's just that no one but Game actually charges it.

@planetfunksquad: i could listen to jeff say "funko pops" all day.

Hah, the linked twitter account is actually for my local store, I work in the same shopping centre. The guys that work there are all solid people, but I'd hate to be working for Game at this point because they're clearly not doing great...

I miss Gamestation.

There's a reason they went bust the first time.

While it is pretty sleazy to ask for people to pay to try the thing you are trying to sell them (especially at those prices), ultimately GAME is a store that's trying to make money off the goods they have purchased. My guess is a significant number of people are going to stores to try VR with no intention to purchase it at that time. For many, these are the only only places to try the thing before purchase, so people would go see it and then leave to potentially buy it online on Amazon or something for the best deal if they do decide they want it. GAME are trying to at least get some money out of those people.

This also makes me think that Playstation VR isn't selling that well. Obviously this is only one chain of stores, but I believe that were they to be selling well to anyone that tried them (say 10% or higher of people who tried it would buy it) then GAME would do their best to reduce barriers to exposure to them. Given that they are charging implies they only want the dedicated person very close to purchase already, or the layman willing to give it a go as a novelty experience.

I can kinda see why they're doing it (I think it's fucking gross mind) cause at EGX the queues for PSVR were like 2-3 hours long. And yes, Game used to have shit instore you could play for free, and I remember a friend and I once spent an hour playing Halo coop like 14 years ago.

They still have displays for games in my local Gamestops in the US you can play for free. Usually a PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U all set up. 3DS too. I wonder if they'll have a PSVR set up.

Game are a disgrace. I don't know why anyone gives them any business. If Sony are complicit in this, and I doubt they are, I'll be cancelling my PS4 Pro order.

My local Game (Aberdeen, UK) have an Xbox and a PS4 on display, but most times I've looked in they're either off, or sitting at the dashboard. Can't remember last time I actually saw a game running on either.

I don't like the place at all - over prices games and second hand phones - eugh!

Gross. Fucking gross. Sony should step in and stop that shit. VR is supposed to be accesible now, no longer the weird gimmick you paid 25 dollars for a fifteen minute, 10 frames a second fps that barely worked. This is terrible brand management.

I've seen people online claiming to be GAME employees claiming that this is part of an official marketing thing with Sony. Take that with a pinch of salt, because people on the internet lie. But at the same time, I can't see Sony being completely against this. GAME's entire business hinges on support from console manufacturers. If Sony says "don't do that" GAME have no choice other than to not do that. If they lose support from console manufacturers, they go out of business.

The current state of GAME is a real shame. I have great memories of popping into my local store and playing Double Dash on GCN right before it was released - probably the reason I asked for one for Christmas!

I was in GAME this weekend (gf was trying to find a physical copy of Rhythm Paradise) and there was a queue of about 8-10 people waiting at the PSVR display so I guess there must be SOME demand for it.

I see some people are surprised by the pricing and can only assume they arent familiar with GAME. This is a store that basically makes most of its sales on relatively clueless friends/family members wandering in to buy a particular game for their kid etc. The amount of times I've overheard them trying to sell older CoDs/sports games (naturally at their overinflated prices) to someone that has obviously been sent in to pick up the latest one by their kid is depressingly high.

I left England to live in Canada four years ago and I convinced they'd be gone before I went back to visit (which I've done a few times) I cannot believe they still exist but then I feel the same about EB over here.

I'm surprised GAME still exists. Didn't they go bankrupt a few years back? Or did they only shut down the ones in Australia?

@probablytuna said:

That's also my thought! It seems like Game UK got purchased out of administration, while Game Australia completely closed down.

I'm going to look at this at a different angle, don't hate me (or do, that's fine).

Without this booking system you couldn't test the thing for 30 mins at a time at a retail store... it's usually a rushed 3-5 mins with people waiting. That's no fun. Because Game thinks they can charge for it, they can open this service up.... which is actually pretty cool if you want to mess around with it and give it a good try without pressure. Also, it likely affords time for employees to wipe the filth of the headset and clean the lenses.

As for the legality, the terms and conditions probably stipulate that the price is for rental of store space or for booking employee supervision - likely printed as a simple "booking fee". I doubt it's considered renting the device or software... Not by Game anyway, but a court could see things differently.

Game should have gone out of business.

@playerprime: Are there still two game stores in Bromley? I get the one in the Glades being there but the one outside near KFC never made any sense to me.

This is a great way to convert people into buying vr devices. Make them pay for trying it.

@flstyle said:

It sounds shitty in a limited demo form, but I actually think there is possibly a market for short term VR use and rental. Buying a headset is so unappealing right now but maybe renting a bit of time to fuck around with stuff for an hour? Could work.

@mister_v: no that Game shutdown a long time ago.

I'd pay $2 if they cleaned the unit after each use.

At least for my local store they didnt actually do it as an 'in-store', they hosted an event night at a local restaurant where you could pay £5 to play in WWE 2K17 tournament (a different game each week) and/or £5-£10 to play 10-30 minutes of PSVR on any of the games they had with them. Though, at least for my local store they dont have the space to host an in-store demo without losing the space to sell Xbox One games/systems.

Though, as someone who paid the £10 to try out the PSVR after work I didnt really mind it, its a business and they had to rent an out-of-shop space to show off something I'd otherwise not have a chance to see.

@mister_v: Nah, it's just the one in the glades left now. If I remember correctly the one outside was originally a Gamestation (and an Electronics Boutique long before that) that got converted when Game bought them out.

I believe they're trying to market it as a pre-order thing. Like offering refunds if they don't decide to bite. Might be the loophole they need, really. Sony doing their own viewing parties might be in cahoots with them to get more demos to more people. As for GAME the retail entity, if they went, we'd not have that much on the high street. Grainger Games are always pretty small branches with presumably a limited stock, meanwhile CeX is exclusively about pre-owned everything.

@wwfundertaker: Funny thing is it did. What remained was bought out of administration back in 2012, so there must be something there, not that I know why, it is literally always the most expense place to buy a game. I remember queuing up for MW2 in Leeds years ago and an employee at Sainsbury's across the road wandered over and was like btw if you spend X the game is reduced to £30. Everyone walked across the road, bought crates of beer that they were going to buy anyway and then got the game reduced!

I remember that ridiculous pricing war between Tesco, Sainbury's and Asda. I ended up getting it at Sainsbury's for £25 as they kept on slashing the price through out the day.