Over the last 3/4 years, every time I have gone into an HMV, I have felt more and more despair looking at their PC section. Whether it's because they sell free trials for money, charge far more than online retailers (even their own web site) or devote half of their shelf space to expansions for The Sims, it is not a place that I would ever choose to buy PC games, apart from their occasional good clearance sale (see the last few posts for that kind of thing).
Today though, they sunk to a new low. HMV always have one game on each format as their "Game of the week", often chosen either because it is a title that might have slipped some gamers by, and is worth a second look, or because it is on a special price promotion. Neither of these is the case for this week's PC "Game of the Week":
Never mind that it is not a particularity good price, my biggest concern is the stretching of the term "Game".
Are there any high street shops left which are half decent for PC games? Or are they all trying to drive PC gamers as a whole to digital distribution?
HMV do not get PC gamers
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I went into HMV yesterday, I don't usually go in there but since Zavvi closed down I thought I'd have a look round. The PC section was a set of shelves 4 games across by 4 shelves down...hardly an abundance of games.
Most of which were old games on sale for under a tenner. It was a sad affair.
50 Gamerpoints to anyone who can uninstall it from their box-fresh Dell insode a week. Better than Spore!
I will confess to still using GAME a lot, though more out of a lingering sense of loyalty than anything else. I thought Zavvi might bring online prices to the high street but that hope was dashed pretty quickly.
So in essence, no.
My local HMV doesn't even have a PC section anymore, since around when the newest generation of consoles emerged.
My local has a PC section, about half to two thirds the size of any other console's section, no pre-owned games at all (though, that's predictable) and nothing but reasonably old games being sold for several times the price they are on hmv.com.
Went into HMV Cribbs (nee Zavvi) today - As disappointing as usual.
Whether it's the 'Sale' (read - £15) games from 5 years ago or new releases carrying pricetags in excess of their 360/PS3 equivalents, it all reeks of a strategy that makes no sense.
I hate that Zavvi is gone - whilst they were pretty useless as a whole, their stock control & pricing incompetence often meant you could get new releases for low prices - managed to pick up both Mass Effect & Jade Empire PC for £5 mere weeks after release.
Maybe its just me then but i went into HMV and was impressed today. I actually bought PC GAMES from them! They have this sale thing on. Not a lot of selection to be honest but i picked up burnout paradise and prince of persia for £15 each.
...and just in case you think this is an isolated incident, the exact same notice is in HMV on Grafton St here in Dublin!
P.
GameStation has some okay selections, and one GAME in Nottingham does have a lot of space dedicated to PC games. Not great prices though.
A lot of people buy online I guess :)
It's a very long time since I purchased any PC Games from HMV. I'd say at least five years - I remember them having classic games for a reasonable £5 each. I think I got Hidden and Dangerous, both Freespace games and some Lemmings game for £10 in total. This was about 2001 mind.
As for other high street retailers, things are a bit mixed. My local GAME (Basingstoke) actually has a fairly decent selection of PC games - they have a few chart titles and really rather a lot of games of middling age, all of which are covered by either a 3-for-£15 or 2-for-£15 deal (or something like that). My friends and I ocassionally go in for a snoop around, and often turn up some quite reasonable deals (Prey and Thief: Deadly Shadows for less than £5 each spring to mind).
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