Game News 2.0

Sorry I can't edit the above post on Android. The comment box goes nuts (any plan to fix this? Domestic violence does go beyond a simple personality problem though. It has honestly changed my perception of the game. Naked ladies.and vulgarness just doesn't seem that funny in the context of things.

sniper_samurai

Another GameStop store closing at the end of the month on the 28th, Henry Street in Dublin. There is 25% off second hand games and 20% off trading cards until then.

This one is a bit worrying for their continued existance here considering the location.

Markitron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120124846#Comment_120124846

Went to the PS4 midnight launch there, a miserable experience to say the least.

EoinMcLovin

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1615749864955969539?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1615749864955969539%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=

Microsoft to lay off 10,000 employees between now and March 31st. Xbox and Bethesda also said to be impacted.

Microsoft is cutting 10,000 workers, almost 5% of its workforce, joining other tech companies that have scaled back their pandemic-era expansions.

The company said it will also be making changes to its hardware portfolio and consolidating its leased office locations.

"While we are eliminating roles in some areas, we will continue to hire in key strategic areas," Nadella said. He emphasized the importance of building a "new computer platform" using advances in artificial intelligence.

"Quite frankly, we in the tech industry will also have to get efficient, right?" Nadella said. "It's not about everyone else doing more with less. We will have to do more with less. So we will have to show our own productivity gains with our own sort of technology."

CatInABox

These cuts also include cuts to some of their gaming divisions, including Bethesda and 343. Not terribly surprised, companies always use a downturn as an excuse to jettison some staff, and this go around has been no different, sadly. Hope everyone lands on their feet.

There'll also be a lot of contractors in addition to these numbers who aren't considered employees.

sniper_samurai

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120125067#Comment_120125067

Tbf being around Henry Street at midnight is a miserable experience even without a console launch.

Potential-Monke

The launches in GameStop Waterford were grand. In out of the elements as they are in a shopping centre. Used to do pizza and stuff. Always liked the midnight launches. But doesn't surprise me more stores are closing. I feel like they're on their last legs and this attempt at a cashgrab for the Pro Club isn't good.

Grumpypants

It's going to go the way of vinyl and you will have one small bespoke shop selling to a small but eager band of old school customers.

The Raging Bile Duct

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120127130#Comment_120127130

Bit of a weird analogy considering the major resurgence vinyl is after having in the last couple of years. Vinyl is everywhere these days.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120127130#Comment_120127130

We are kind of getting that with the likes of limited run games and their ilk

Markitron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120126192#Comment_120126192

Yep, freezing cold outside, queue full of arseholes, awful payment/queuing process, drama at the till about me not having a pre-order, they even hired a funk band that were playing full-volume right next to the queue. Thought I was gonna go deaf.

johnny_ultimate

The problem with Gamestop is that they're cold, corporate places with a poor selection, limited stock and high prices compared to its direct competitors - not to mention the obnoxious upselling the poor staff are always forced to do. They can't be boutique or independent offerings when every inch of the stores has been product-managed to death - especially when product managing means walls of tat and Funko Pops. Granted, I'm not sure a small, independent video game shop in Dublin would have the resources or market either - even The RAGE exists as a combo vinyl and retro game store.

I know a lot of places outside Dublin only have a Gamestop, and I'm sure there are lots of individual staff with genuine knowledge & passion and who have a good rapport with customers. But the current corporate model is a dead end, and I can only see more and more of the stores closing as time goes on, especially as digital stores grow ever more dominant.

Retr0gamer

PS4 launch day I went into Gamestop and used the deposit I had on the PS4 for a WiiU. Gave my position to a pretty upset mother that didn't understand you had to pre-order consoles to get a chance of getting one.

Was a big win for me. Firstly I did a good deed for that woman. Secondly I got a WiiU and so great games with it and really enjoyed that console. And finally I didn't have to play Killzone: Shadow Fall and convince myself it was good (or Knack). (Although was a bit jealous of Resogun but not enough to want a PS4 until Bloodborne).

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120127197#Comment_120127197

It really is. Was in Tesco yesterday and they had vinyls in their media section, alongside the DVDs etc.

I had presumed it was simply a niche "boom" but if retail chains are stocking vinyl?? That's mad.

Grumpypants

You can't compare Tesco selling 20 poorly made Vinyl reprints and a record store where you can go in a talk to someone that knows about records and browse an amazing array of music. I loved going into Game in Limerick, the lads there were really sound and you could chat for ages, I found so many great games I missed on their recommendations. Going to the super market and buying one of the five games Tesco does sell is not the same.

Jordan 199

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128022#Comment_120128022

Goes in for a loaf of bread, comes out with a LP 😄

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128062#Comment_120128062

Not comparing anything; more just saying the analogy doesn't really track 'cos while vinyl did only exist as a niche market of those kind of "lovers only" kind of stores for a long while, the medium has experienced an uptick in interest to the extent it has obviously become mainstream again.

Whether games experiences that kind of restoration of brick & mortar interest remains to be seen.

johnny_ultimate

And down goes another Irish games retailer, albeit not somewhere that only sold games. But Argos was very much one of the few remaining retail spots to actually buy a physical copy of a game in many places across the country.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/companies/arid-41051948.html

https://twitter.com/BarryWhyte85/status/1616022352751362049?s=20&t=y38eDUGx2Fh9NiA71CE_aQ

quokula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128062#Comment_120128062

I haven't bought a game in a bricks and mortar shop for years now, but back when I did I don't remember the staff of the likes of Gamestop ever being overly knowledgeable or helpful in Dublin at least. Not particularly different to Tesco tbh aside from the selection.

I don't think games will ever see a vinyl style resurgence because they are inherently digital products and always have been. Cassettes, cartridges or discs stacked in shops just happened to be the most efficient way of delivering those 1s and 0s for a long time. Vinyl is an analog medium that produces a different sound to a digital recording which justifies its existence (though I know there's more of a culture around it now than just that)

I think a resurgence of Arcades would be a closer analogy as they largely died out when consoles got good enough to replicate the games, but there were other aspects to arcades that consoles can never replicate.

Penn

That's a shame, though Argos went to hell in the last year or so. Most of the stuff you'd check for were never in stock in any stores and only available for collection at stores a few days later. At that point the convenience of using Argos was lost. Their Irish website was a shambles too. I guess the writing was on the wall for a while now.

But they were always very decently priced for games, console accessories etc. They'll be a big loss in that regard.

sniper_samurai

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128066#Comment_120128066

Not going to lie but i got Rumours in vinyl in Dunnes using one of their €5 off €25 vouchers. They have a poor selection but their prices aren't bad.

Stone Deaf 4evr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120126136#Comment_120126136

The cynic in me also wonders if this is also a post pandemic correction on the work from home trend.

Being real, the last few years have been absolutley torrid in terms of AAA games, with a slew of busted disappointments being released. While I can accept that certain roles can function fine on an 'at home' basis, creative collaborative efforts seem to be missing the mark.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128321#Comment_120128321

Yeah I was looking to buy a boring household item in the Illac Centre store just before Christmas and they had absolutely nothing in stock, despite a dozen or so versions being listed. Set off some alarm bells for sure.

Weird though as it has been one of those retailers that has always just been there for as long as I remember. I very much remember buying specific games and toys there when I was very young. But as online came along their model seemed more cumbersome than convenient most of the time, and as you say they have perhaps the single worst website of any supposed online retailer.

RocketRaccoon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128062#Comment_120128062

The main guy I remember from Game in limerick is working in gamestop in the crescent, always seemed very knowledgeable.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128321#Comment_120128321

Coupled with that, the stores I was in always seemed to have way more staff in them than what I'd expect for that kind of operation. Especially now that you can just use the payment booths, and not even worry about the bored-looking teenager behind the till. Can't say the news then is that surprising really.

Their furniture was always total tat, but it was nice being able to order from somewhere "local" for those kind of misc. items you need - and not immediately shop from bloody Amazon.

Jordan 199

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128325#Comment_120128325

Whatever you do, don't stop thinking about tomorrow 😉

quokula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128337#Comment_120128337

It's a post pandemic correction, but very little to do with the quality of games being produced.

Lots of major tech companies like Microsoft went on a huge hiring spree during the pandemic when money was cheaper than ever and more people than ever were spending most of their time at home using tech products, but now they are coming back down to earth. The number of staff they're cutting is still a fraction of the number of staff they hired in the last couple of years, and it's all about showing their shareholders they can cut costs.

johnny_ultimate

No doubt a post-pandemic correction is afoot, but I do think it's telling that 343 seems to have been somewhat heavily hit here going by Schreirer's reporting and indeed public comments from developers. I'm sure Halo Infinite is seen as something of a miss given it has by no means delivered the blockbuster live service 'platform' MS hoped it would, let alone an obviously disastrous development process.

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1615896391699599362?s=20&t=Y7QWs3NP2rRHPdG6Yb7zsQ

SuperBowserWorld

Shame about Argos. Their prices were often cheaper than elsewhere for games. And it's 400 people looking for other employment. More bad news.

Re: Halo Infinite. That game was the biggest meh I'd ever try to play. I'd heard so much about Halo ... but I guess I'm not an FPS fan.

But ...I can't believe the ridiculous amount of money that was wasted to create that. They had a million other FPS games on Xbox they could've reskinned for buttons and produced the same result. How many lives could that wasted money have saved ? We live in ridiculous times.