It appears as though the game's up, so to speak, as UK retailer GAME files for administration after admitting that the business had "no equity value", placing at risk 6,000 jobs in the UK and 10,000 jobs world-wide.
The firm needs to raise £180 million to hold off annihilation long enough to attempt to rebuild itself. GAME owes £21 million in rent fees for payment this Sunday and must pay out £12 million in wages at the end of the month. Other debts include £10 million of VAT, £40 million to suppliers and £100 million to the various banks and lenders that have kept the company afloat this long.
As such, GAME has launched a "spring clean" fire sale on its website in an attempt to raise cash, with some games being offered from as little as £1.98, though, with the firm unable to obtain titles such as Mass Effect 3, Mario Party 9 and Street Fight X Tekken, the line-up is missing some key new AAA games.
GAME's situation is somewhat humoured by a recent report from the Electronic Retailers Association (ERA) that stated sales in the gaming industry had passed £1.93 billion in 2011, making gaming the UK's largest entertainment sector, surpassing DVDs and other video formats, along with music, which each pulled in £1.8 billion and £1.07 billion respectively.
The report does help to highlight GAME's inability to adapt to a market that whilst changing, is in fact flourishing, with the firm operating with high in-store overheads whilst remaining uncompetitive on the web. Let's hope that, should the firm survive, lessons will be learnt and the retailer will be back with a solid business plan.
