Supermarkets and PC games

no pc games in my local longton supermarket
although they did have crysis warhead for £16
bioshock for £14 and cod4 for £25
they are having a massive refurb - so all the games sections seems to have gone from being a full isle to half of one side of an isle
the cd album isle has shrunk too - indicating that its not just pc games that have lost appeal in physical form since digital distro took off

i only look for ones for my ps3 in the supermarket now

if i cant get it on steam or off the web i dont usually bother
 
Tried picking up Crysis Warhead in my local hyper-market type place... nothing! I used tio buy PC games there frequently. Not a single PC game on the shelves, but at least 2 rows for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP and DS stuff!

Who said the PC gamer market isn't dying? The fact that the big 4 supermarkets no longer have a single shelf for PC games speaks volumes for me.
 
Pablo72 said:
Who said the PC gamer market isn't dying? The fact that the big 4 supermarkets no longer have a single shelf for PC games speaks volumes for me.
Click to expand...

Haven't you been paying attention? The PC retail market is dying, the online market and digital downloads market are taking over it. Sales figures for PC games practically doubled in NPD reports when they started including online/digital sales, and Valve have said their Steam sales will outstrip their box sales soon (probably already have by now, as this was a few months back).

PC gamers are just migrating away from buying games at brick and morter shops, it's more convenient and often cheaper to buy from an e-tailer instead. And, in my case, I won't get my pre-orders in the post two days before launch day like I do from the e-tailer I generally use.

No offense, but it's people like you who are painting a bad picture of the PC market with such comments. You see it said on a forum somewhere and parrot it, then someone else reads it and parrots it again, and before you know it we get "OMG PC gaeman is dying!!11one" threads every week.
 
Last edited:
Ulfhedjinn said:
Haven't you been paying attention? The PC retail market is dying, the online market and digital downloads market are taking over it.QUOTE]

Let's calm down a little eh! I don't think you have been paying attention. If we're going to get a bit narky then might I suggest you look at the title of this post, and then get back to me. Supermarkets were the topic.

If online buying is a reason, then why is it only PC games that no longer have shelf space? Like I stated in my previous post, PS3, Xbox360, etc are all still there... only the PC stuff has receeded.

Anyway, nice to have a friendly chat.
Click to expand...
 
Pablo72 said:
Let's calm down a little eh! I don't think you have been paying attention. If we're going to get a bit narky then might I suggest you look at the title of this post, and then get back to me. Supermarkets were the topic.
Click to expand...

Ergh, if we're going to talk about why supermarkets don't sell PC games anymore you're going to have to expect that topic to spread out toward proper games shops and then digital sales. You're basically dismissing the reason why supermarkets don't stock PC games anymore.

Pablo72 said:
If online buying is a reason, then why is it only PC games that no longer have shelf space? Like I stated in my previous post, PS3, Xbox360, etc are all still there... only the PC stuff has receeded.
Click to expand...

Protip: Because console gamers still buy from brick and morter shops, you'll find console game sales are also in decline in supermarkets as is demonstrated in posts #21 and #20.

I'm sorry if I'm coming across as harsh but I'm honestly not sure how your train of thought is working at all, my mind is honestly boggled. You're just confusing yourself about something very simple.
 
Pablo72 said:
Apology accepted.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I didn't mean to have an outburst. Just having a rotten day and not even had lunch yet. :)

Pablo72 said:
However I don't think you're coming across harsh... just a little naive.

Point well made though.
Click to expand...

I don't think I'm being that naive TBH.

Valve's recent statements and the later NPD reports that include digital/online sales can attest to how people underestimate the momentum of the PC industry, if you include MMOs (not good practice I know) then the PC games industry generates almost as much as the entire consoles industry put together.

$11.3bn for PC vs. $14bn for consoles in North America IIRC.
 
One near me stopped selling them and put them all for sale for 2.50. I bought supreme commander at the time and a few other games i thought i could sell on..

what i foolishly didnt buy at the time was Flight Simulator X, i dont follow them and i assumed it was an old one (didnt look at box).. i coulda made 25 quid on that! :)
 
My Local Tesco do sell PC Games, but they are all mixed in with all the console games, which are all mixed up as well. Probably their slack jawed staff rather than intentional.
 
Valve's recent statements and the later NPD reports that include digital/online sales can attest to how people underestimate the momentum of the PC industry, if you include MMOs (not good practice I know) then the PC games industry generates almost as much as the entire consoles industry put together.

$11.3bn for PC vs. $14bn for consoles in North America IIRC

Interesting numbers, numbers can tell you lots of things (just ask Al Gore!).

As a personal response though I feel PC gaming just isn't what it used to be. I know there are many, many factors - and that it isn't all doom and gloom, however when you pop into an 'every little helps' supermarket (that you have bought countless PC games from in the past), only to find a big fat zero now, yet miles of console games available, it does make you question not only general popularity, but also the future of PC gaming. Shall we all be forced to by online or download. Some of us like a little browse.

... Still, it's a shame I can't pop down there to pick up a game. I remember I got Company of Heroes for £19.99 on release day! Every little does help.
 
Pablo72 said:
As a personal response though I feel PC gaming just isn't what it used to be.
Click to expand...

Sorry to snip your post, I honestly did read it all.

I just wanted to quote this bit to ask you if you might feel this way because you keep hearing it on the internet? I've known people who have said things like "oh x thing is a flop" or "oh x thing is dying", and when I ask them why they simply respond with "well, everyone is saying it".

I try to avoid that trap, and a trap it is.
 
The Tesco store near me has stopped selling pc games altogether.
The Morrisons store has about 4 new games,i notice now that a lot of older games are now on the £4.99 stand such as Stalker and Dirt.
 
Dup said:
Retail PC gaming is dead.
I think this is the reason why PC games are becoming much cheaper online. £17.99 for most new releases is great..
Click to expand...

Let me know where I can pick up a Far Cry 2 for £17.99 :)

Our local Asda stopped sellng PC games recently, although there prices were no better than the normal games stores I use.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom