GAME Australia Now Also In Administration

Fluffeh writes "Yesterday the Australian Division of GAME saw an email from their Marketing Manager confirming that the 95-store chain has gone into voluntary administration. PriceWaterhouseCoopers partner Kate Warwick said, 'Initially we will continue to trade all stores, operating these on as close to a "business as usual" mode as possible whilst we get a clearer understanding of the current state of the business and actively pursue options to secure its future.' It also seems that GAME is having a bit of a fire sale, with many titles, including quite a few new releases, now in a $5-$74 bargain bin. Ms. Warwick also noted that the company's customers hold various claims against the company under loyalty cards, gift cards and vouchers. She said, 'We are working on schemes aimed at giving customers some return on these claims if they are used to make additional purchases.'" This follows similar news from the UK in March.

Re:Bargin Bin?

[fostware]

http://www.steamprices.com/au/app/10180/call-of-duty [steamprices.com]

Call of Duty
Release: 11th November 2009 - Genre: Action
AUD $ 89.99
USD $ 19.99 $ 19.99 (-77.79%)
GBP £ 19.99 $ 32.14 (-64.28%)
EUR € 24.99 $ 32.14 (-64.28%)

Yeah, no distributor rip-off there...

Re:

[nedlohs]

Not in Australia.

On Steam now Skyrim is $49.99 [steampowered.com] in the US and $89.99 [steampowered.com] in AU. So $74 is 18% off, not what I'd call a bargain but for the crazies who don't keep a US billing presence...

Re:

[Moheeheeko]

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/McDonald-s-Crew-Australia-Hourly-Pay-EJI_IE432.0,10_KO11,15_IL.16,25_IN16.htm [glassdoor.com]

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/McDonald-s-Crew-Member-Hourly-Pay-E432_D_KO11,22.htm [glassdoor.com]

So working 9-10 hours to be able to afford the game in the US as opposed to 3-4 in AUS

Those poor gamers.

Re:

[kiddygrinder]

hey, it's not our fault your minimum wage sucks balls

Re:

[Moheeheeko]

Not saying it is, just tired of hearing the same old "boo hoo, our games are expensive, boo hoo" when in reality, they aren't.

Re:

[kiddygrinder]

how does the minimum wage being different make the game worth less money? it's still almost double.

Re:

[Moheeheeko]

And you still work less than half to afford buying it.

It costs 34.99 Euro in the uk (about $45 us) and (to keep consistency) UK Mcdonalds workers make about 5 Euro an hour making that about 7-8 hours of work to buy Skrim. http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/McDonald-s-UK-Crew-Member-Hourly-Pay-E36806_D_KO14,25.htm [glassdoor.com]

So essentially, its worth less work in AUS than anywhere else, Making it the least expensive in AUS. If anything, you should be talking about how much better you have it, not the constant "woe

Re:

[rtb61]

Sorry but under WTO rules, go screw yourself, global equal pricing is the rule so screw steam and go here http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=skyrim [amazon.com] parrallel imports are legal for individuals re-sellers just have difficulty. That the US calculates minimum wage on nothing but bullshit is nothing to do with Australia. Considering Australia's minimum wage also includes universal health care and not US bullshit $5,000 deductibles with 20% coinsurance (you pay th

Re:

[Merls the Sneaky]

Also there is no tipping in Australia. Work as a waiter get wage + no tips. When Americans come here and give tips we pocket it and laugh our ass off.

Re:

[BackwardPawn]

Why do you laugh your ass off? Its good to know I'm not expected to tip when I visit Austrailia, but the idea of a tip is that I'm rewarding you for good service and I expect you to pocket the money. Whether or not a tip is customary shouldn't the basic principal. There is some tip sharing among waiters/bartenders, etc, but it doesn't go to the restaurant.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

What a ridiculous statement. The US minimum wage sucks balls, but to use that as a justification for inflated costs is just batshit idiocy. If you want to try some comparisons then how about Sydney is a more expensive place to live than ANY city in the US that includes LA or NY. Australian food prices are also significantly higher to account for the higher wages of service staff.

Re:

[nedlohs]

And what on earth does that have to do with whether a given price could be classified as a "special" or "bargain"?

Surely all that matters is what the normal price is, you know the stuff I listed.

Re:

[Moheeheeko]

Actually what matters is the hours of work required to purchase the product, which in this case is less than half the rest of the world. That big flashy number means nothing when while you have bought and played that game for 5 hours, the rest of the world is still working off the other half of the game.

Re:

[bloodhawk]

Actually you more than likely end up working LONGER to afford the game in Australia. Australia has more expensive EVERYTHING not just games. paying for things like rent and food and transportation in Australia cost significantly more than the rest of the world. Do you actually think when food outlets are paying staff $20 an hour they still charge the same prices as the US????

Re:

[nedlohs]

Sure if what was being talked about was the cost of living (well of gaming) in various places, but the topic was whether $74 was a bargain.

And all that matters for determining that is whether the usual price is more than $74. It makes no difference whether it takes one hour or 27 years to earn enough money to buy the thing. It makes no difference if the usual price is cheaper in some other country.

In this case I wouldn't call it a bargain, 18% off is a discount but I'd be holding on for the usual steam summ

Re:

[auLucifer]

I'll take your links, with a single person sharing their salary and post from PayScale which has 12! Salary for McDonald's Corporation Employees - Australia [payscale.com]

The link you posted was likely a manager of a store, not one of the kids on front which would earn roughly the same as you do in the US so no, we don't earn twice as much as you guys so our games should not be twice the price.

business as usual? not if you pre-ordered Diablo 3

[crafty.munchkin]

So for people who put down the $30 to pre-order or $50 to pre-order the collectors edition have lost that cash [news.com.au]. So I'd hardly say it's business as usual... My wife plans to pick up a few games from there but I'm still of the opinion that we should just get them from ebay or ozgameshop.com where it's cheaper anyway.

Re:

[crafty.munchkin]

Some idiots like the special pre-order DLC that becomes available to them for doing so...

Re:

[bane2571]

Except that Collector editions of Diablo 3 sold out about a month ago. At least here is AU.

Kind of hard to not pre-order it and still get one since it was released today. Now, you could argue that collector additions are pointless anyway.

Re:

[c1t1z3nk41n3]

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5007290816 [battle.net] Blizzard announced in their forums they will be allowing people to get a refund of the preorder amount when ordering digitally. Doesn't really help if you really wanted the collector's edition but seems like a decent move on their part when they weren't even the ones who took your money.

mail order

[vlm]

Its interesting watching the journalist / news release re publishers solely focus on competition from download services and totally ignore mail order.

Download took away all the "I want it on release day" and "I want it now".
Mail order took away all the "I want it cheap" and "I've got metered/slow internet access" and "I want something unusual"
That leaves retail stores with... gift sales? Apparently the book industry has given up on retail except for gift sales, and that works for them, but video games are too fast moving of a target.

Re:

[bloodhawk]

Game is one of the larger video game stores and online retailers in Australia. Realistically though I am not suprised they are going broke, it is far easier and many times cheaper to buy on the web from overseas for far less than any of the aussie retailers. places like play asia make stores like Game irrelevant. www.game.com.au

Re:Could you write this in Non-Australian?

[bloodhawk]

PS: Voluntary administration is basically the step before liquidation/bankruptcy. An external entity is appointed to basically look over the books of the company on behalf of the creditors and then decide what is the best way forward to salvage the creditors money. options could include selling the company, breaking it up or simply liquidation

BANKRUPT - STAY AWAY!

[Frank T. Lofaro Jr.]

It sounds almost EXACTLY like it is the equivalent of Chapter 11 BANKRUPTCY in the US. (anyone with knowledge of the specific lawys tell me if I am right or wrong).

With liquidation being Chapter 7.

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1009395 [accc.gov.au]

Don't deal with bankrupt companies. In any country. If they can't pay their bills, they can't pay their suppliers, their inventory can get sold off, gift cards could be non-redeemable, your order could be paid for by you and the money gone and you get nothin

Re:

[GumphMaster]

I am Australian and I've never heard of "GAME" or a chain of 95-stores with that name. Voluntary administration [wikipedia.org] is the step before formal bankruptcy, where an independent administrator is appointed by the company board to assess rescue options or (usually) wind-up the company and deal with creditors.

Re:

[GumphMaster]

No, I live on the opposite side of Brisbane ;) I do have wild animals living next door, although their parents would probably not like me calling their darlings that.

Re:

[Smiddi]

I live in Australia too and ive never heard of "GAME" either?

Re:

[Billlagr]

I'd heard of them, but I don't recall seeing an actual store - whereas right now, I'm in short walking distance of 3 EB stores. (And 2 JB-HiFi's). Hardly a 'major' chain.

Re:

[ozduo]

Translating from OZ to Yank speak is easy. take out the U's so colour becomes color and switch S's with Z's so organisation becomes organization. Just imagine you are writing with a mock East German accent. Oh and you will have to dumb it down so they can comprehend it!

Re:

[Dutch Gun]

Well, sheezh, yo don't have to be an azz abot it.

Hggs and kizzes,
a Yank.

Re:

[snookums]

Voluntary administration is like Chapter 11 bankruptcy [wikipedia.org] in the USA.

And the customers will lose money in the end...

[Torinir]

Seems GAME AU couldn't get Diablo 3 because of financial problems, so customers who pre-ordered the game won't get the game and won't get a refund.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-14-game-australia-falls-into-administration [eurogamer.net]

Re:

[Manos_Of_Fate]

Actually, Blizzard is stepping in and issuing refunds to players who buy the game online tonight and submit their preorder receipt.

http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/14/blizzard-fixing-game-australias-mess-giving-diablo-3-to-those/ [joystiq.com]

Small retailer with shit business model folds

[Swampash]

Thanks for keeping me abreast of this News for Nerds, this Stuff that Matters, Slashdot!

Claims against the company

[phorm]

the company's customers hold various claims against the company under loyalty cards, gift cards and vouchers.

Nice to hear that they have some respect for the customers in that regard. When Blockbuster went under, they stopped accepting gift cards locally (gift cards that were paid for in cash) for the final sales. Seems Australia treats the customer better than Canada in such instances.