The Game video game store chain has been on everyone's lips for several days. The controversy began on April 1 when the company that owns the stores, Game Stores Iberia S.L., decided to modify the loyalty system and thousands of customers lost tens and hundreds of euros in discount points. This sparked complaints on the networks, but why has Game decided to take this step? Does it have something to do with the crisis of the physical format?
On April 1, thousands of Game customers lost tens and hundreds of euros in discount points. This happened because the company changed the policies of its loyalty system and established that, from now on, unspent points will expire on December 31 of each year. Game is the main chain of video game stores in Spain with more than 250 stores and a presence in all the provinces of the country.
There were many users who had been accumulating points for years with the aim of using them on a large purchase and this change in the points policy resulted in the loss of large discounts. But the controversy was not due to this change, but rather the majority of users complained that GAME had not warned them.
The points disappeared overnight without warning and without the possibility of doing anything about it. Furthermore, this is a change that mainly affects Game's most loyal customers and those who have spent the most money in those stores. Another controversial element is the change in the value of the points. Until now, each euro spent translated into 10 points, now for each euro customers will earn six points.
Given the controversy and commotion on social networks, this week, the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has spoken out on the matter with a rather ambiguous statement. “The truth is that, if things are as the user complaints reflect, we would be facing an unfair commercial practice and contrary to good faith,” they say. Although in the same statement they also say that the company can establish the conditions it wants for its points and loyalty program.
For this reason the focus is on the how rather than the what. Game may have the right to change its policies and users have the right to complain if they feel that it has not been done in good faith and that they have not been given sufficient notice.
The specialized media Hobby Consolas has contacted Game and has received the following response: "At Game we would like to clarify that legally the clause has always been in the contract, so there has not been a change in it, but rather a execution, and then it is not a legal requirement to notify in advance (for example, if we had changed "ok, now instead of your points expiring after 12 months, they expire after 6", well, that does have to be communicated in advance, but if only has executed that expiration, even retroactively, we are not legally obliged to notify it in advance)".
Video game stores have been suffering from the physical format crisis for years. According to the AEVI (Spanish Video Game Association) yearbook for 2022, online turnover represents more than 58% of the total in Spain, about 1,180 million euros. With a year-on-year growth of almost 30%. In the absence of having data for 2023.
If we look at the White Paper on Spanish video game development from DEV, the data indicates that 67% of the turnover of Spanish studios comes from digital distribution. The physical format is languishing and many analysts assure that it will end up disappearing.
The current generation of consoles, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, came to market with versions without a disc reader, something that has already become a standard. Added to all this is the growing popularity of on-demand gaming services such as Xbox Game Pass.
Store chains like Game must adapt, since their business model is in danger. For this reason, Game has been expanding its business paths for years towards the sale and repair of hardware, peripherals and merchandising.
Currently, Game is owned by the conglomerate Frasers Group, although it maintains its headquarters in Pozuelo de Alarcón, in Madrid. In a report by the specialized media Vandal, the general director of the chain of stores, Pablo Crespo, explains that Game's management "has always been Spanish and with a lot of independence", although the property falls to third parties.
The stores that we know today as Game were born in 1985 under the name OneWay Software. From there they were called Mailsoft and Centro Mail, until, in the early 2000s, they were absorbed by the British conglomerate Electronic Boutique. At that time, the chain was renamed Game, the same name given to the different Electronic Boutique subsidiaries in countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway. In 2012 the parent company went bankrupt, but, in Spain, Game remained and did not close any stores.
Now, in the middle of 2024, bad news related to Game in the United Kingdom arrives again. In January, the company confirmed that it was ending the sale and purchase of second-hand games and, this week, it became known that the company plans multiple layoffs. The specialized media Eurogamer assures that, in the United Kingdom, Game has reduced the contracts of most of its workers to zero hours.
At the moment, none of this seems to affect the Game stores in Spain, which continue to sell second-hand games and have not announced layoffs. Although many users wonder if all the controversy over points is born precisely from this crisis that video games are suffering in physical format and all the consequences that arise.
La Vanguardia has contacted Game, but has not yet received a response from the company.
