The UK’s high street chain Game will be phasing out its pre-owned and trade-in services over the coming months, reports Eurogamer. The British retailer has long been known for its pre-owned selection but new owners Frasers Group are moving in a different direction.
Speaking to the BBC, a Frasers Group spokesperson said, “As part of the integration of Game, we will be phasing out the trade-in, pre-owned, and Game Elite offerings in the UK over the coming months. Pre-owned will still be available in our stand-alone stores across the UK while stock lasts, and Game Elite will still be available until the end of summer.”
According to Eurogamer, who spoke to members of staff at the brick-and-mortar game store across several branches, customers will no longer be able to trade in games after February 16. Game will still accept trade-ins before this date so if you have some ready to go, act now. Pre-owned games will be available for purchase until stock runs out.
Frasers Group is also phasing out Game Elite, the premium version of Game’s rewards scheme. The scheme has been running since 2017 and costs £36 per year to gain extra reward points and special deals available only to Elite members. To encourage membership to what proved to be an unpopular scheme, Game offered points back to customers who did not earn enough to offset the cost of membership. The scheme was described as “unattractive” when it launched.
Where can you get pre-owned video games in the UK now?
There’s no denying the appeal of being able to save money on new games when launch prices for AAA games have reached £70 in some cases.
Speaking to the BBC, Sophie Smart, production director at UK game studio No More Robots said the decision was “a real shame”.
“I think so many of us can remember not being able to afford the cost of a full-price game when it launched, and waiting a couple of months and saving up pocket money to go and get the game pre-owned”.
She went on, “However, with new AAA titles costing as much as £70 when new, and presumably, physical versions dropping in price fairly quickly after launch, I would have expected a greater demand for pre-owned titles and Game making a large mark-up on these in particular”
Luckily, UK customers can still get second-hand games at high street staple CEX, who offer money in exchange for products, whereas Game simply offers store credit in the form of gift cards. CEX has 385 stores in the UK and focuses exclusively on pre-owned media and electronics. With media ownership a question in people’s minds already, it seems possible we will see a resurgence of physical media purchasing.
Featured image credit: Game
