Rivals step up to fill market gap left by Game
Supermarkets and entertainment retailers are ramping up their marketing activity to grab a larger share of the multibillion-pound video game market as troubled Game Group is bought out of administration.
HMV is launching a gaming-themed in-store marketing campaign to demonstrate its proposition later this month.
HMV marketing and ecommerce director Mark Hodgkinson says: “There is an opportunity from a price and promotional perspective but also a long-term opportunity to attract and keep hold of former Game customers.”
Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s has launched its biggest gaming sale to date, slashing prices by as much as 40% on several new titles and console hardware.
Sainsbury’s games manager Gurdeep Hunjan says gaming is a key part of its entertainment offering. It plans to increase the number of new titles it stocks to make sure “customers can get the best and latest games at low prices”.
Elsewhere, Tesco has launched a print campaign promoting it as the ‘home of gaming’. The retailer claims it has the largest number of gaming stores in the UK, with over 10,000 games available online and almost 400 stores open at midnight for new games releases.
An Asda spokesman says the company is developing its video game offering in an effort to become a top destination for gamers.
Annual UK video games sales was £1.42bn in 2011, a 7% drop year on year according to trade body UKIE.
Administrators have sold Game Group’s remaining 333 Game and Game Station outlets to Comet owner OpCapita.
