Is it any wonder retail sales are declining?

Or so I hear...

I went down to my local GameStation and had a hunt around the second hand PC area, I'm reminded why I don't buy from the shops anymore. Most of these games cost as much second hand in the shops as they were brand new online.

Take Avatar for example, they were selling a second hand copy of Avatar for £24; with the new copy being £32. Is this some sort of a joke? Take your pick.

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LINK - these guys actually own GameStation!

All selling cheaper brand new than this 'second hand copy'.

Honestly unless you are desperate to get a game 'right now' why would you bother with shop level retail these days? They're a rip off.

wait for the "PC gaming isnt dying" post...

Here in Canada, the PC section at every retail store has steadily shrunk to what now is an unorganized rack. At the same time the xbox 360 gets 2 full walls.albi321

That too, there is far better selection online because they don't have to allocate shelf space for the console majority.

I still bought a decent amount of games at retail. I managed to get Spore for $5 at a Staples bargain bin, so it was a much better retail deal. Also got Dragon Age for $30 at Futureshop among others. But digital is growing and the deals are amazing sometimes.

Selling software at retail is getting very outdated. It is one of the top 20 trends that will disappear in a decade or so, or so studies say. k0r3aN_pR1d3

[QUOTE="k0r3aN_pR1d3"]Selling software at retail is getting very outdated. It is one of the top 20 trends that will disappear in a decade or so, or so studies say. millerlight89

[QUOTE="millerlight89"][QUOTE="k0r3aN_pR1d3"]Selling software at retail is getting very outdated. It is one of the top 20 trends that will disappear in a decade or so, or so studies say. k0r3aN_pR1d3

Two words: digital distribution. Get used to both of them. :-)attirex

welll... it'a doing much better than the film industry. gaming industry made more money than the film industry for the first time in history

[QUOTE="k0r3aN_pR1d3"]Selling software at retail is getting very outdated. It is one of the top 20 trends that will disappear in a decade or so, or so studies say. millerlight89

Well the past few games I have got which are always Collector edition I go through Amazon cheap and easy and a real copy, if I am going to pay for a download I can get it for free elsewhere I pay for that box and disc not something I have to burn myself can do that for free.

Sad that Best Buy, Target and other stores have been better at buying PC Games for along time than Gamestop or other video game stores.

Fin

[QUOTE="millerlight89"][QUOTE="k0r3aN_pR1d3"]Selling software at retail is getting very outdated. It is one of the top 20 trends that will disappear in a decade or so, or so studies say. thusaha

Same here. I order my games online, but I still like the hard copies.

Selling software at retail is getting very outdated. It is one of the top 20 trends that will disappear in a decade or so, or so studies say. k0r3aN_pR1d3

Here in Finland a lot of retail stores have a healthy PC game section. Most stores have a PC section that is larger than any single console. Even Gamestop has some good PC games (rarely though.) The only things that are annoying are that 1. It sometimes takes a really long time for games to get released here - like Cryostasis, which was released over 4 months after the Euro release, 2. The games are expensive as hell, with 50€ being the default for PC games and 70€ for console games. Luckily I can always order from UK, that's what pretty much everyone does.

Here in Finland a lot of retail stores have a healthy PC game section. Most stores have a PC section that is larger than any single console. Even Gamestop has some good PC games (rarely though.) The only things that are annoying are that 1. It sometimes takes a really long time for games to get released here - like Cryostasis, which was released over 4 months after the Euro release, 2. The games are expensive as hell, with 50€ being the default for PC games and 70€ for console games. Luckily I can always order from UK, that's what pretty much everyone does.

HenriH-42

[QUOTE="attirex"]Two words: digital distribution. Get used to both of them. :-)millerlight89

I'm sure to get hate for saying this but PC gaming isn't dead but it has shrunk.capthavic

I'd say the relevance of all platforms has shrunk as the market moves to a more unified approach.

People like to focus on PC, but consoles also have their obvious changes, look at the dramatic shift in exclusivity this generation.

As long as Gamestop keeps shipping..I'll keep buying..( I prefer the box...so at a later date I can sell it or give it away if I don't like it)

I use Steam and D2D, Impulse etc for bargain shopping only....

I have not bought a game in a store in years....not even worth going there to see a few PC games and a billion console games...

I'd rather pay the 9.99 overnight shipping...( cost me that much in gas to got to game store..not to mention my time..)

My copy of STALKER CoP will be here momentarly and Bioshock 2 will be in my hands next Tuesday.

For those that don't know Gamestop offers street release gaurantee...that means that the day it hits the store it's on the way to you door. ( On select major titles and with overnight shipping)

Someday it might be all digital...but as long as Gamestop keeps selling boxed retail versions..I'm getting it throught them.

I hate retail. I'll never by a hard copy of a game again if I can help it. Steam FTW!

My local Game had a recent restructure and changed 1 small wall around 3 shelves to 1 shelf for just PC Games. To make matters worse they only sell the most recent games which is a disappointment. For the last 2 years the only games I bought from the store were games in the 2 for £25 or 2 for £15 sale, but they have done away with that section now.

I prefer my hard copies of games despite buying from online retailers like play and amzaon.

Its much cheaper in the UK to buy physical copies of pc games online than it is to go to a shop or to buy digitally. Digital copies usually sell for about £35 when they're just released yet i can get a hard copy off an e-tailer for £25 or less for the same game. A few examples would be Mass Effect 2 got for £25 Alpha Protocol which while not even having a solid release date i've pre-ordered for £16.

Unless digital copies can compete with that i'll be sticking with my physical copies