Game Shops Are DISAPPEARING | Physical Game Hunting in the UK

Patreon: / sjwebster
Twitter: / webstersyoutube
Discord: / discord
I see a lot of game hunting videos from US KZbinrs like MetalJesusRocks, but not so many from a UK perspective.
As I filmed myself game hutning in the nearby town of Trowbridge, I quickly realised that, between acquisitions, relocations and shops simply not stocking games any more, the UK's selection of physical games is gettingh smaller and smaller, to the point that we might not have anywhere to buy physical games before long.
00:00 - Introduction
01:12 - Shop 1
02:12 - Shop 2
04:12 - Shop 3
06:16 - Shop 4
06:41 - Shop 5
08:40 - Shop 6
10:13 - Shop 7
10:40 - Shop 8
11:21 - Our Decreasing Options
12:40 - Purchase 1
13:45 - Purchase 2
14:20 - Purchase 3
14:45 - Purchase 4
15:00 - Purchase 5
15:25 - Why Bother?

[@WebstersYouTube]

A sad and unfortunate update: Planet Games has gone into liquidation. The Trowbridge, Frome and presumably all other stores have closed. Likewise, the market stall in Castle Place has vanished without a trace. Two less options in an environment that's already slim pickings.

[@boombringer4078]

The U.K high street is absolutely on its deathbed too, I don't think people realise what a dire situation we're in! If an average American came to the U.K they would be mortified at the lack of everything we have. Its Shocking!

[@Simon-xc5oy]

Yes. I gave up years ago. I used to use my car to take my mates out to the Metro Center and big towns in the North East back when I was in my twenties. I am an original generation gamer, so for me it was Arcades, Spectrum, C64, Amiga and then Pc for years...I used to shop in Game. What bugs me now is this. Petrol prices, or bus and rail fairs are so expensive to get to the shops. Then add in car parking charges and traffic wardens. Then the shops either dont have what you want or if they do are charging silly money for it. This has driven everything online. Example, in Tesco today I wanted to buy some spray silicone oil. It was £18!!! In a supposed cheaper shop. Got home, went on Ebay, same stuff is £5 and free delivery! Talk about profiteering. This is applied to games and everything else. If you add in the fact that you are at risk of crime, mugging and knife attacks in big towns and cities now, gangs, idiots, drunks etc its just safer and easier to stay at home. We created this problem as a nation, with no discipline, no police or crime prevention, and high taxes and business rates. Its not going to change. What is weird now is seeing someone shop for games, I prefer the high seas methods now, simply to cut out all the intrusive crap, advertising, control, logins and games full of bugs and problems with delivery platforms like Steam....its all really sad.

[@bigbabatunde1218]

​@@Simon-xc5oyI was looking for a can of electrical switch cleaner a couple of years ago, a product freely available on the shop shelves of stores like Maplin and Tandy in the past but has seemingly disappeared now. The reason I'm bringing this up is because a can was eventually traced to ScrewFix but had to be picked up in person as they didn't send items like that through online deliveries. The staff member serving had no idea what the product was. What a mess. The can was presumably out of date also as it didn't do a very good job.

[@J4MESOX4D]

America is just as bad if not worse. Major cities have vacancy rates of little over 70% - just look at the absolute state of San Francisco right now. Pretty much like it all over Europe.

[@Dangerman-zg3ui]

Weirdly we have a load of newer retail parks.

[@majorskies7091]

I agree. I wish we had hot topic here.

[@bigd5090]

It hasn't been the same since we lost GameStation! That felt like a game store run by gamers for gamers! They'll be nothing like it again!

[@kibatechwolf]

Gamestation was awesome despite being owned by game it was 20x better.

[@bigd5090]

@kibatechwolf It was independent initially, then it was bought by Blockbuster during the height of the PS2 era, then Game bought it when Blickbuster began to struggl, then the brand was phased out as Game struggled!

[@Hexx_Iztenze]

​@@kibatechwolfit's tragic that Game bought them out, trying to save themselves and totally ruined Gamestation. Gamestation may still be here if it wasn't for Games interference.

[@kibatechwolf]

@nerohexx3376 they spread too thin once brought game station, game, electronic boutique. Gamestatuon was awesome sold more of a range ans at a better price.

[@ElSoloNoco]

Gamestation was always my favourite along side old CEX. I live in Birmingham & I remember going to town as a kid. We had, 2 CEX's, one was underground, like a dungeon, I loved it. The other only sold mobiles & electronics, we had a huge Gamestation with 2 floors and it was next door to Odeon cinema too, we had I think 2 Games, & even a Gamestop, also not forgetting HMV, & other shops. Most of them are gone now, really sad to look back on... The dungeon CEX moved across the road in a spot where Music Zone used to be, and it's really bright & open & soulless, HMV gone, Gamestop gone, Gamestation gone, Game, I never really liked, too expensive

[@807_Stephen]

Just a FYI for GAME, although gutting of the last copy of a game is still a thing, they have started to use a check copies instead, meaning that the last copy of a game is sealed and has not been opened. This can normally be found by looking at where the bar-code would be on the box, and seeing if a check copy sticker has been placed over it. GAME staff are no longer allowed to take games home with them and this has been the case for quite awhile. When it was still a thing, it was only pre-owned games they were allowed to borrow and take home, NEVER a brand new game. Just wanted to clarify :)

[@Galo994]

I know CEX get a lot of flack and rightly so in some places but they do a lot for retro game preservation. The amount of games that would have been in landfills if not for them being there is wild. Say what you like but they do have a good amount of stock 😆

[@samreimann4233]

I can't bring myself to stand in one as I'm yet to find one that doesn't smell of B.O

[@aslightlystablefootsoldier9838]

Bro I bought a controller and that thing was drifting harder than any car I’ve seen

[@KittenfanVR]

@@aslightlystablefootsoldier9838did you read the part that says “2nd hand”💀

[@aslightlystablefootsoldier9838]

@@KittenfanVR bruh I knew the pad was gonna be bad but I didn’t know it was gonna be borderline unusable

[@unicorntomboy9736]

The quality of a physical game from there is a damn russian roulette

[@imperiallobster6394]

Charity shops often don't have a lot of games, however sometimes great things can be found. In a small charity shop in Melbourne, I found a complete in box, excellent condition, black label copy of Metal Gear Solid for $4. And it was simply nestled in amongst a stack of music CD's. I still display that copy in my house, as if it were a hunting trophy 😄

[@Alexander_l322]

They all have eBay shop which they’ll sell anything that isn’t crap.

[@MoviesNGames007uk]

@@Alexander_l322 Yes all of the best games are on the heart foundation ebay store

[@IvanIvanov-uo8xm]

I have found Zelda all games history console book for 2£ worthy 35£ ,4 wii mario games worthy 40 £ when pay only 4£.

[@Nightopian1982]

We had this electronics pawnshop back in 2004 in my home town. I bought a Megadrive 1 (the superior version) from there to replace my broken one, together with two pads, 12 games, a Menacer, and the guy charged me £30 for the lot. There were so many options back then. The availability obviously varied, but it was great coming across lucky bargains. No chance of that now, unless you find a seller on eBay desperate to offload something, which itself is highly unlikely thanks to scalpers.

[@takerdemon]

Love this video. It’s so hard to find UK game hunting content on this platform that looks at the state of buying/stores, so I really appreciate this video! Thank you!

[@benmcmanus4154]

Yeah, it's so sad to see. In Ireland, GameStop recently closed here. You really feel the difference - there's nowhere to hang out and talk games anymore. All we have now are CeX and Smyths Toys.

[@saintlysquirrelsminecraftworld]

Also not forgotten that Argos also closed in Ireland, at the same time as GameStop. I was in Golden Discs in Dundrum this week, I did not see them selling any games in the store, they used to sell some games. In Dublin there is also a bookshop on Talbot Street that also sell retro games. I think GameStop in Ireland had too many stores too close to each other, at least in Dublin, I don't know about other Irish cities.

[@bradwhite5884]

Yeah, I used to go to GameStop near me down the road in Clare Hall a few minutes bus drive down, also there was one was one where I was born and raised in Donaghamede, but both are gone and now we only have Cex that is a 15 minutes walk from me in Northside shopping centre but I don't go there for new games but for retro ones, Tescos don't do games anymore but there's Smyths, but only downside to Smyths that it's a good journey away if you can drive or rely on transport to get there, the nearest one for me is either the one in Swords or town, but their a good while to get to and the one in Blanchestown is a lot further then both, so I'm pretty much stuck really tbh, so yeah

[@Dynastone]

Someone in CeX Trowbridge said a reseller went in the back of a charity shop and took all the games there for £20 (Mainly PS2) then took them to CeX and got £500 cash.

[@TheObserver83]

I think the days of physical games are numbered. Due to the greed of big business in the gaming industry I think that in the next console generation or two they'll make all games digital only. This kills the used game market and forces everyone to pay full price for all games, indefinitely. Maximum profit for the gaming industry at the cost of the consumer.

[@JesterEric]

When i first remember the larger Boots the Chemists were the best shop for computer games. Followed closely by wh smith and John Menzies. They all had literally hundreds of tape/disk games for many systems. In the 90s for PC games Virgin Megastore, hmv and Game. The last physical game i bought at a shop would be when Game sold new old stock Atari Jaguar games found in a warehouse in maybe 1998

[@Simon-xc5oy]

Yes I remember those days. Boots sold hundreds of Spectrum and C64 games, they were THE place to go for them in the 80s, which is incredible when you look back at it. WH Smiths as well....GAME used to seem unstoppable , but its going to go the way of the Dodo. Whats not mentioned here is the issue of game size. The lates game I am playing is Starfield, with a 95gig download size on the pc! How do you fit all that on a disk? Remember back in the day when Secret of Monkey Island 2 came out on the Amiga? It was on 12 floppy disks! We are back to that again, but now its with Blurays! You would need 4 of the 25gig disks to fit this game on at the least. Its just easier to download. And you have no problems trying to get through traffic, pay for parking and petrol and having to go when the shop is open. Just get what you want, when you want it. The Future is here. And its left shops behind. The only shops what will survive going forward is the service sector selling stuff you cant download. So Food, Booze, and things like a haircut. Everything else will be gone. Its 90% there already...

[@Lucid_Reality]

The paradox of CEX when you buy something A grade that is pretty much always broken. But anytime I sell something they find an excuse to downgrade it to B or even C. I sold a 1 year old phone to them once, with the box, all stuff that came with it, barely used and was never out of a case and screen protector. When they checked the guy said it would be grade A from looking at it, came back about 2 hours later after they did all their checks and the same guy downgraded it because the manager decided that A grade means new and sealed. They could have easily told me that before I had to wait around for 2 hours. I miss when you could price match trade-ins at game/gamestation. I used to price match CEX trade in, then pricematch what i wanted to buy. Because you got points for both trading in and buying I basically payed nothing for games as a teenager.

[@kaneda010]

The UK high street in general in is on its knees, it's tragic to witness what online shopping has done to us, all for the worse. And with Game and Tesco both exiting the market this year alone, 2023 has been a dreadful year in particular. My local Game was the very same store I'd been buying from since the late 90s, from N64, Dreamcast, GameCube all the way up to the Switch. To see it close this year was heartbreaking.

[@stevendarn2011]

The high Street was struggling be lockdown, but so many more people started using online shopping during it,it has not recovered lockdown just spead it death along

[@kirishima638]

What's even the point of going to the shops when I can get literally the same items, much cheaper, with free delivery, the very same day? Every time I buy something in the high street I feel like I'm being ripped off.

[@kaneda010]

@@kirishima638 You're right, of course, in that high street business strategy (if it had the balls) should be to offer competitive prices or bargains than can't be found online. But it's also understandable how just risky and impractical that is in reality, when shops have way, way more overheads than online retailers do (employees to pay, rent and rates, electricity costs etc.). Your rationale ("why go into a shop when I can get it cheaper AND without needing to get off the couch?") is the same attitude that most of on the surface feel, and the likes of Amazon and others know people are lazy and are exploiting that to make colossal and exploitative profits. But this happens with a high cost, and deep down all of us know we are losing something. Why go to a restaurant when you can order food delivery? Why go to the cinema when you can watch at home? Why try on clothes or tailoring when I can have it delivered and send everything back? Why do *anything* experiential or physical at all? It's a question we are going to need to ask ourselves as a society - soon before it's too late.

[@kirishima638]

@@kaneda010 It has nothing to do with being lazy. Nice strawman. I still go into town to stretch my legs, pick up food and basic essentials. It’s a value proposition. And I never order in because it’s too expensive.

[@kaneda010]

@@kirishima638 The point wasn't aimed at you, stop taking it personal. I never claimed it was solely down to laziness, I clearly outlined it is due to costs and convenience, often both at the same time. I am saying that *people* share your view of wanting everything as cheap as possible, and there are many others who are lazy as well, so it's a perfect storm. If all you, I, or others care about is costs and convenience, then yeah, we are and will get exactly what we deserve. Which is this 'Amazon' culture, and it's doing very well as far I can see. I'm perfectly aware I'm in the minority, but I want nothing to do with it.

[@retropursuit992]

The only high street shops which are doing well at the moment are charity shops, fast fashion and restaurants. Everything else is dying out but can be found cheaper online so it makes sense.

[@Nightopian1982]

It makes sense to the big retailers and people's desperation for low prices, but in the long term, I seriously worry about how sustainable this drive towards 'online only' selling of products and services is going to be. Notwithstanding the job losses (and I'd really love someone to show me how enough remotely well paid jobs will be created by online giants taking over), they're doing this for one reason only, and that's to make big money. Fewer premises costs, fewer staff, less inclination to attempt to speak to a human to complain about a faulty/incorrect purchase (because how often do you seriously get to avoid chatbots/online assistants?). It makes for big profits. Big companies making more money then means expansion, but instead of opening more stores, they'll expand into different markets, whilst remaining online. That's before you bring in AI. Welcome to the future folks, it's going to be one big digital mess.

[@frankeebensteadd]

You people must be in the Poor Northern Section of UK. In London UK, the high street shops are going good. Same with places like Oxford Circus..

[@deltakeeper1]

A superb video! There used to be four or five game stores in my north London town in the late 90s - one of them was even featured on Peep Show! Game, Gameststion, HMV and one great independent store gave me lots of choice right through most of the PS3/360 era. But now, CEX is the only game store left. And it’s depressing to be caught between that store and eBay when it comes to game hunting. Especially for rare stuff.

[@Bon-bn5lc]

When you purchase a game online you don't really "own" the game,you just have the right to play it.Its like paying for a key card to a door that can be cancelled by the creator if they want

[@unicorntomboy9736]

Better than a damaged disc from cex that could potentially damage your console

[@Bon-bn5lc]

@@unicorntomboy9736 that's on you for buying a second hand cd.There a plenty of stores that sell unopened or tampered games that are in new condition.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@@Bon-bn5lc I was talking about video games

[@Bon-bn5lc]

@@unicorntomboy9736 that's what we've been talking about ?????

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@@Bon-bn5lc Whatever

[@Terminal_Apotos]

There used to be 2 Game shops in my local mall. One was a GameStop and it had a decent selection of various new/old consoles but nowadays it’s like 75% Toys and Merch with the rest being Last Gen/Current Gen games. The other one was a Smaller Local Games Shop and it had Tons of Games and Consoles, they even sold T-Shirts. I got one of Sonic X and used it till you couldn’t even recognize Sonic lol. Unfortunately that Shop closed down at some point and I can only find games I want Online.

[@WebstersYouTube]

Sorry to hear that. I'm worried we're all going to be forced into ordering online at some point. :(

[@richardallen7297]

I a agree with you. I notice if you buy online are you can get a remake or a original copy of games. I even seen remakes games cartridges. for example you can get over a 100 games on one Sega mega drive cartridge. The originals hardware games can cost a bit. please be careful when buying games online there are also fake copies.:)

[@pixeldubsofficial]

Physical will always win. I'm up in Telford and the game has already located into the kiosk in sports direct in the shopping centre and that sports direct is also closing, there is a CeX though and a couple other stores with tiny game sections,

[@richardallen7297]

yes your right physical media wins just have look on music original record LPs and you can see . The physical media the value going up in price because of serious collectors. I don't think game shops are going away. I have notice market is changing. I am happy to hear that Telford has some good stores around :)

[@weemadangus1834]

I have noticed that retro games shops are doing the card games trade now. I would add Cash converter type stores to add to your game hunting. I have gotten some good deals from them over a decade! PS1Twisted Metal 2 £3, N64 £15 boxed, Banjo Kazooie cart only £2.99 etc. Lots of £1 games lol.

[@V3r0nicle]

Maaan I love looking for shovelware on my game stores myself, all of this digitalising of everything depresses me At least in person I'm less likely to get damages copies Happy to see someone show some of their shopping trips in said places :)

[@Sigurd-r5]

You missed out car boots and flea markets. They're still great places for cheap/ rare finds in great condition although sadly nowhere near as great as they used to be. Probably blame CEX and EBAY for some of that.

[@WebstersYouTube]

Sadly, our local car boots get picked clean by resellers. They bang on car doors at 6am, before people have even set up, asking if people have video games. :(

[@Sigurd-r5]

@@WebstersKZbin Yeah and they practically jump into the car boots. It's disgusting behavior. It does put you off for sure.

[@ANM21985]

@@WebstersKZbin whilst it does suck that due to resellers it is harder to find a bargain (a bargain which solely benefits yourself I might add)..., the resellers are doing nothing inherently that different from yourself in that they are hunting for a bargain in order to benefit themselves (but through reselling). The world is ever becoming a increasingly more competitive place. If there's an easy way for someone to make a fast buck competition will always eventually manifest itself. If getting a bargain is that important to you and you know resellers are stepping up their game and coming down at 6am then get there at 5:50am. It comes down to who wants it more. Sitting there complaining about it isn't going to do much good. It's a dog eat dog world these days, where everyone is out for themselves. Your loss is another persons gain.

[@richardallen7297]

I was sold out in under 20 mins before I even setting up at my locale carboot. True you right mate :)

[@shodan2958]

I find Car boots still worth it if you have other things you want to pick up. (I do like my vintage camera equipment) Also depends on what you want to pick up I guess, seventh generation games can still have a good chance of being out there in my experience. Imo too in my experience I think the retro market is due to burst, the interest in a certain era of game seems to come and go, speaking as someone who's been collecting old games since 2006, I think it will collapse at some point. With prices, re-releases of old games, the fact hardware might not even work out the box with modern TVs and the mentioned falls in interest of a certain era, its heading for trouble.

[@TheFlareMind]

Love the insight into the physical stores themselves. I would love to see more on the retro HQ shop you mention in the video. Overall great job, you've earned a subscriber!

[@J4MESOX4D]

I really miss getting my hands of a new physical copy and major midnight launches! My local GAME store which has long been shut, was ran by passionate gamers back in the mid-to-late 2000's. Toys R Us, HMV, Gamestation and even Zavvi (formally Virgin) were also big where I lived. It's really sad to see this and the high street decline in general.

[@aslightlystablefootsoldier9838]

In my area, a game station store shut down all the way back in 2008 and a decade later in present day it’s the only store that is still empty with the outline of the Gamestation logo engraved on the wall. It’s a reminder of how physical games are fading away into obscurity

[@bigbabatunde1218]

It's shocking that HMV doesn't even have a games section anymore. From the 1990s to mid 2000s, HMV was excellent. HMV are now purveyors of Funko Pop tat, Rick and Morty merch and Vinyl records in the few stores they have left. The UK is too far gone now.

[@SocksFC]

I know, just typical over popular shit is what they mostly do now

[@bigbabatunde1218]

@@SocksFC Plenty of things are popular but it always puzzled me that the sheer amount of T Shirts HMV had for sale over the decades but I never actually saw anyone walking around wearing any of them in real life. They either ended up as embarrassing bed ware for the British public or HMV don't sell many T Shirts but dedicate a large part of their stores to things that don't sell. Either way, the current state of the UK is a mess. Total mess.

[@SocksFC]

@@bigbabatunde1218 the UK is honestly finished. The government would do anything to squeeze as many pennies as they can out of working citizens and everyone lets it happen

[@bigbabatunde1218]

@@SocksFC British people are the softest jelly spines on planet Earth. No backbone whatsoever.

[@bigbabatunde1218]

Next General Election, everyone engage in mass abstention from voting so as to spark a constitutional crisis for the elite to deal with. It's harmless to the average person. The UK public cannot 'vote' their way out of this.

[@danwood_uk]

Great video. The situation in Nottingham is probably worse, we have a branch of Game that recently opened inside Sports Direct, so I imagine the main store will be closing. Our local game shops have closed or changed to selling Pokemon cards. Walmart owned Asda from 1999-2021 but they sold it to the Issa Brothers in 2021 so it's back under British control now.

[@JaSon-wc4pn]

Up north its the same story, Every Sports direct has merged with Game

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@@JaSon-wc4pn I really hate that. I miss Game when they were actual standalone stores

[@davidlewis6857]

A great video. I've always lived in Wiltshire or Gloucestershire so I relate to the areas that you cover. I'd love to see other towns in that area covered. I work in Gloucester and it used to be a 'mecca' of game shops. Now it's pretty much CEX or nothing if you want to buy physical copies.

[@ExperiencersInternational]

Yeah, it's pretty much empty. GAME was moved into Sports Direct a while ago btw

[@davidlewis6857]

Where is Sports Direct these days in Gloucester? Is it near The New Inn? I'll take a look if Game is still going. They used to be in the basement of Depenhams and that little shopping centre near WH Smiths etc... @@ExperiencersInternational

[@ExperiencersInternational]

@@davidlewis6857 yeah pretty close to New Inn

[@kimgrant3879]

game shop closed in yate years ago it moved to Bristol.

[@righttoexplain]

All small businesses are disappearing from the high street. It's by design.

[@F4Insight-uq6nt]

Not just game shops, Shop in general .. & Banks and Post Offices.

[@MrSkullMerchant]

People of today are just getting lazy

[@kimgrant3879]

@@MrSkullMerchant how.

[@MrSkullMerchant]

@@kimgrant3879 rather sit at home and buy stuff digital then go out to stores and buy it

[@kimgrant3879]

@@MrSkullMerchant oh right

[@dodgydpad]

Staff CANT take games home with them. I work for game & thats not been a staff perk for over 2 years and it was only PREOWNED games we could borrow, not new. So no new game has EVER had its code already used. ALSO since the take over Game dont gut there games anymore. They use CONTROL COPY stickers for there final copy. Your information is about 2 years out of date unfortunatly. Unfortunatly the company has had to branch into other things like toys, because there isnt much money to be made in selling games anymore. Branching out into more items aint a bad thing for the company because this years been the largest grossing year for a long while.

[@soltanalosmi475]

I hate that we really heading into a digital age and big games will only release on online stores and the fact that it’s what game developers want because it’s way cheaper for them and bringing back more money

[@_Majoras]

don't forget they also put the same game on 10 platforms. 'more people get to play it!' i'm sure dev's wallet thanks them too 🤣

[@Nightopian1982]

We're effectively heading into a digital age with everything. All electronic entertainment is going digital. Buying products and services is rapidly moving online for more and more sectors. Once AI properly arrives, forget it. The only people (as ever) who will benefit from AI are the tech giants and certain figures in the government. Most people in the general population will be sold the notion of it making our lives 'much easier'. Why does everything have to be made easier? There's a lot of laziness in the West now. I remember the days of saving my meagre pocket money for months to be able to afford a physical game. How can one get the same feeling from a digital copy?

[@drgunnut]

One thing about game nowadays from a former worker: We don’t gut games anymore since January and haven’t been allowed to take any games home since before I started in November ‘21. Very sad to see lots of games I used to visit being closed and shoved into Sports Direct/House of Fraser. Game shops like Lakeside and Stratford closing spell out doom for me. Great video however. Very informative.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

I miss it when Game UK were standalone stores instead of being shoved inside a Sports Direct

[@nathanvella960]

When Cex opened in our town about 8-9 years ago i must have been about 15-16, There was a dude who brought a box full of psx games into the store, At the time they refused to take any retro games. I spoke to the guy outside, made an offer for some of the items in the box and he said "£20 for the box" I was like "Are you sure about that? It's worth quite abit more than that" He just wanted the stuff gone. I was so stoked when i dug further into this mystery box full of games and found resident evil 1,2,3 and Silent Hill with the black label There was alot of great classic like tomb raider and Crash/Spyro/Gex FFVII I already had some of the games in the box so i sold some of the dupes to gamestation and G-Force for in-shop vouchers and came out with a small profit and a bunch of games that are rather pricey to obtain in current times. It was and still is the greatest deal iv ever had.

[@ArttuTheCat]

I just recently found this video, and i can honestly say, that closing all the video game stores forever can be retrospectively brutal 😿. I still have a near retro game store in Vantaa, Finland 🇫🇮. The only place, where i sometimes usually buy the original Commodore 64 (tapes / disks / cartridges) and Amiga 500 games. Sometimes, i might find some games also from Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮. That's right: i still have the original hardwares of the Commodore 64 and Amiga 500 😺👍🕹️. Greetings from Vantaa, Finland 🇫🇮.

[@twintwotastic3743]

Sad to se a decline in stores in the UK. My story over the last 24 hours.... Watched a YT vid on an old 360 game Driver San Francisco.... Tried to buy a digital version....... Not available / discontinued....... Look on line for a physical copy..... Found one in CEX :)......... Local CEX full of uninterested staff but managed to buy a copy of the game.... Luckily I have a series X which is able to play the game..... the other "kids" series S no disc drive = stuffed. (couldnt be bothered to get an original 360 plugged in. The moral of my short story, the more we go digital, the less the second hand market / the more we are at the mercy of the.....

[@legitcannon420]

i shopped at cex once while on a trip to see family and bought a really cheap in box copy of mario party and the sticker was absolutely glued to the box, always hate when shops do that

[@blitzar2258]

I’m happy that someone made a video about this, all I have near me is a Game inside a sports direct and a cEx, and that’s it, so now I just order stuff off of Amazon

[@trebornewo3354]

Great video. Nice and detailed. My local indoor market was closed by Lancaster Council a few years ago so i lost a good independent game shop. Luckily the next town over (Morecambe) has two really good indie game shops so i can still feed my addiction for the time being. Don't forget local jumble sales (like centralised versions of US yard sales). They can be very, very hit and miss, often having no games at all. However, i've had a few successes over the last couple of years. For £2 each, i've grabbed FIFA19 on PS3, Metroid Prime Pinball on NDS (just last week), Pokepark 2 on Wii, plus loads of OG Xbox games and much much more. Happy hunting!

[@raz2986]

This is a really great video dude! I love the documentary style of it. I can't even remember why I came across this video but I was hooked. Well done 👍 👏

[@JordYaku]

I'm still surprised that my local Game store isn't shut down. For the past 5 years whenever I've been inside, it's almost completely empty, barely more than 3 people and myself in there. And yet the nice self-run game stores that had plentiful choice and several people in there daily have all been completely shut down.

[@AutieDino]

1:40 - Barely below RRP, the stock in the entertainment sections is also reducing & badly maintained - often out of stock but have boxes on shelf The reduced stuff also gets nabbed by the staff before it stays on the floor

[@caphowdy666]

I live in Greater London, just on the outskirts bordering with Kent and believe me game stores really have not been a thing for years, unless you are talking about the big chains like Game and CEX. We did used to have an independant one but that vanished about 10 years or so ago. There is a Cash Converters local, but they stopped carrying stuff like games and blu ray films etc some time ago. I know supermarkets are pretty much stopping selling games in store as well, but to be honest as someone who worked in one of the big ones a few years back, they barely sold any games anyway which is probably why supermarkets are no longer willing to devote space to them (not that they had a lot anyway). The small gaming shops have been vanishing pretty much ever since the rise of CEX, and while you can get some good bargains in CEX when games have been out a few years, their prices on newer used games are often the same price or more expensive than buying a new copy online. And of course the prices they give on trade ins is fucking horrible. I was getting rid of some PS4 games last year, looked at the trade in prices at CEX and then went straight to eBay to list them. I sold certain games on there for £20 to £30 that CEX were offering £5 for. I always list as auctions and usually start at about half what I think the game is actually worth and let the bidders decide the price. If I traded in with CEX I would be lucky to get 25% of what the game is worth. This is part of what is killing the used game market in high streets and local towns. The small shops cannot compete with CEX and trade in prices at CEX are pushing people online.

[@rubencamps6689]

The same here in Belgium. In my student hometown Leuven, 10 years ago we had at least 10 game shops from different branches. Now we only have 2 pfff love the times after school hanging around in those hops for bargains. Times change so fast.

[@Matthew-bm7xh]

Fake Red is really cool, It was originally cancelled in Japan due to bad sales, but with it's english release the Mangaka came out and said if it does well the Manga could make a return with more chapters

[@SocksFC]

I miss the Game near me that shut down a few years ago. I remember playing the Wii U for the first time when it was still one of those demo consoles that weren't out yet. Edit: Toys R Us was also really good, I remember entire aisles lined with DS, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii games, getting lost in those aisles for hours as a kid. I do use CEX now just because of how cheap it is there, such as the Batman Arkham, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty games for a couple of quid. However in my experience there is the odd game there with brown stains on them lmao

[@PeterVanDerPan]

This is exactly what I miss about shopping in person! Random finds and satisfaction

[@shadowisgonnakillya3047]

As digitalised games are increasing, slowly, game shops are becoming more obsolete by the second. Do we all remember a time where we buy or rent the game from the game store, put in the cartridge or the disk, we switch on the game console and boom, it starts the game? Nowadays, with digitalised gaming, it's buy or rent the game, switch on the console and wait a day for it to download and also with the updates as well, more downloading, downloading and downloading and taking forever to download. GigaBytes of data just downloading, depending on your internet connection, might take a few hours or a day or a week..... There were simpler times in gaming until it leapt into the 'digital' age. And let me tell you, the future of gaming is looking rather bleak with long download times, constant updates and mediocre hard drive storage in consoles.

[@skeletonjam]

The policy of GAME gutting games is outdated. They changed that policy around June-July 2022. They no longer gut new games, instead they take delivery of game inserts.

[@MoviesNGames007uk]

Probably was only available in northern parts of England but I really miss Grainger Games. it was generally better and cheaper than GAME for customer service and prices.

[@WebstersYouTube]

They were t'up noo-orth only, yeah, but I did a few orders from their online presence.

[@Simon-xc5oy]

Grainger Games....I remember them. You needed body armour to get to the shop, as they were usually in the worst, run down and dodgy areas of the poorest parts of towns. There was on in Middlesbrough for example that was really rough.....nothing wrong with the shop though, and yes I live in the North East. Everything is falling apart sadly. Since all the Industry etc, cars and mining, ship building, textiles went abroad due to costs and our lack of competitive ability (due to high wages and taxes) there was nothing left to replace it. I am now in my 50s and no longer care about such things, but I feel sorry for school leavers at 16 now, with nothing much going for them and high prices. No chance of getting a house, and if you go to Uni ending up in serious debt with a worthless degree compared to say the 60s or 70s....if I was coming up now in my 20s I would emigrate to somewhere like New Zealand, Japan or Canada.....

[@nikobellic6264]

There was one in a town called Hamilton in Scotland it was brilliant

[@christophercrowley9873]

A Gameshop here which was the last one in town went so suddenly, it honestly surprised me. Certainly makes sense how quickly they are going due to this being a factor.

[@nebulonstoker1005]

I remember being able to go to my local Tesco, and going to their game isle, which had games on one side and dvds on the other. They've now completely removed the game isle and replaced where it was with more clothing

[@riainangaeilgeoir4595]

This video makes me sad for an industry that was such a huge part of my life as a kid. When I can, I love going to retro game fairs (also stores if around) as they do provide that element of surprise and excitement you mentioned that is lacking in Argos, etc. Also, a newfound excitement that is unique to fairs since a lot of them would have imported games and boxed retro games, games we played growing up so there is that too, etc. RGFs are the last real chance to experience what the industry was like 10+ years ago. The stores at fairs are usually independent too.

[@contestleader2721]

If your'e ever in the Bristol area with car/bus access, there are a trio of game shops that I frequent between Kingswood and Fishponds. One of them is a CEX where i found a couple games i've been after for a good long while; and the other two are a local pair called GameScene

[@WebstersYouTube]

I'm usually in Bristol at least once a fortnight. The Fishponds shop I'm familiar with as a friend of mine used to live in the area. GameScene is new to me though, will have to check that out.

[@samuelgregr8451]

I live in Bristol I'm going to cex shop to buy ps5 games

[@Nightopian1982]

In my home town, we literally only have CEX left, and that's it. The retro section (my go-to for gaming) in CEX is tiny, and over half the store is taken up with DVDs, Blu-ray's, CDs and phones. The staff there used to be great when they first started stocking and buying retro games and consoles back in 2015/16 (I think). Nowadays they don't seem to have a clue about anything other than modern machines, and the lack of banter frustrates me. It used to be that we had GAME, Blockbuster (a bit crap for Sega Saturn games back in the day though), Gamestation, and an independent store. Compared to cities like Coventry and Birmingham that were closest to us, it was limited, but far better than it is now. I miss being able to stroll around a decent variety of stores, as when you couldn't find something, you had a chance of picking it up elsewhere. Now everything is flipping online. Great for ease of obtaining something, but a pain often for returning something if it's faulty or has discs missing. I'm glad you pointed out the pricing tactic of these retro stores Webster, as I've noticed that myself for a while. CEX aren't great when it comes to trade in values and prices in my opinion. I loved shopping around for bargains. eBay is about the only way forward, and that's risky on occasion. Unfortunately scalpers have wrecked the retro gaming market, which is why I had to get an ODE for my Saturn. I simply cannot afford to pay in excess of £500 for Panzer Dragoon Saga. Forget the CEX price, because they never have it in stock. Others like Street Fighter Collection and Shining Force 3 are priced at £200 or something.

[@Nobby19891989]

There’s only 2 in my town now! Cex and an independent shop. There used to be more a few years ago but they are dying out unfortunately. Miss mooching around different shops looking for deals and hidden gems.

[@Barldon]

In Street and Bridgwater, so not too far from you, we have a local chain called "Insane Games". It's worth a visit, they're very friendly, know their stuff and usually have a super good collection but good finds come and go. They've been running for a very long time.

[@WebstersYouTube]

Is Insane Games the one around the corner from Timewarp Arcade? If so, I got a huge stack of Sonic the Comic from there about a year or so ago :)

[@Barldon]

@@WebstersKZbin Nice, you know about Timewarp! Was going to mention them but I know they were closed for a while, looks like they're back up and running now luckily. Yeah, that's the one though - they moved shops from there to being just up the road on the actual high street now, they actually took over Game's shop as game moved to pretty much the next building across haha!

[@WoW12931]

At Game some things changed a while back. No games have been gutted for over a year, some games that are gutted is just old stock now and will be there till it sells. Also staff was only allowed to take home pre owned games years ago. It hasn't been a thing for a long time anymore, atleast since I started working 2yrs ago they didn't have it anymore. Sadly trade ins changed to be in store credit only. So past console trade in deals it really puts allot of people off trading in as many games as many prefer cash and will go to cex.

[@AutieDino]

7:40 my local GAME store was halved and a dividing wall put up for a phone shop years ago. It went from a spaced out store you can browse to a cramped almost 1-way system

[@Timbermannetje]

When physical stops, I stop ✋ gaming

[@samuelgregr8451]

Same I Will rather stick to a physical that I have this is so stupid idea I wonder what kind of brain-dead person though this idea

[@kimgrant3879]

agree

[@TeamCGS2005]

The only options you have are sweaty CEX shops which one can only survive in a hazmat suit, such is the stink of the place.

[@WebstersYouTube]

Yep, my wife refuses to go into any CeX because of that.

[@clouseau69]

True, I went into one in London and one of the other customers actually growled at me which was scary so I avoid CEX now!

[@bigbabatunde1218]

Really do feel like you need a wash and a change of clothing after being in Cex.

[@TimDespairBear11]

I can relate to finding random games in the wild that I never heard of, and it ends up being one of my favorites. That’s how I found out about the zero escape series, I randomly bought it because I liked the box and loved it. With a digital store it’s less likely I’ll notice a random game. I live in the US and in my area there’s a few game stores but not many, a lot of them shut down. I have to go out of my way to find one.

[@BBK113]

If you buy games from CEX that have a shitty case, ask the person who served you if you can swap the case for it because more often than not theres a shit ton of spare cases in the back

[@Messimagician83]

Surprised no one as mentioned Virgin megastore. Now that had a huge selection of games I remember my mum buying Kingpin for me on the PC because i wasn't 18 haha

[@tdiddydawg]

I did wonder when I went into planet games exchange (have always historically called it pink planet) why I didn’t recognise the counter staff. Thought they were new staff, so have the owners changed or something ? Had so much respect for the previous guys

[@WebstersYouTube]

Apparently the previous guys have opened their own tabletop gaming place nearby. Not sure of the name or location though.

[@johnnybailey114]

@@WebstersKZbin They have opened a Pokémon card shop that can be found in one of the shops between pink planet and the now closed sports direct shop. Great Vid btw 👍🏻

[@anthonybehan6031]

Ireland has already gone where you're worried the UK is going. We only have CEX and Smyths Toys selling physical games now and just a handful of independent second hand stores dotted around the country.

[@richardstringer6162]

I find most gaming stores in the UK to be unrewarding. Even the gaming markets are just filler. I only buy 60hz compatible games prior to PS3 era in the UK so I'm limiting my chances of finding something I want in a shop. The UK is filled with people who use online pricing as a guide its not like the USA where some ignorant person is selling a relic in pristine condition for $5 off their lawn. I buy on condition and shops just don't carry stuff in great condition for the most part. So I go for ebay... Strangely and nobody else has picked up on it, ebay has the best pictures for retro gaming. Most gaming websites fall very short of ebay standards and are slow, cumbersome and hard to navigate with menus that are tiny on a phone. You would think that 20 years after ebay got off the ground that a gaming website that sells used product would be able to convey a similar shopping experience.

[@mnky75]

Where i live, we have no Game, a Sports Direct but no Game kiosk and a CEX which is more DVDs than gaming stuff. If you're on a budget (as we all are ATM) you're screwed.

[@WebstersYouTube]

That sounds rough. Hopefully, something opens nearby soon so you don't have such slim pickings.

[@firehawk128]

This was neat. Canada had something like Argos, it’s where I got my Master System games, but they went out of business decades ago.

[@Yutappy99]

I remember when CeX only had 3 stores. Rathbone Place, Tottenham Court Rd, and Croydon. CeX was the only place to import games from America and Japan. At the time, they were the only business to mod your PlayStation so you could play NTSC games on your PAL system. It allowed me to play games like RE2, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy 8, Tales of Destiny, Chrono Cross, Silent Hill etc. all before anyone else. Never thought it would get so big.

[@Martinw_909]

Going to the high street is like going into a war zone nowadays

[@twinkletale5548]

Smyths is another Shop you should consider. Sometimes they do have some amazing deals and online now and again don't stock it.

[@TheSfaok]

There's no videogame shops left in Ireland anymore. GameStop was the last one the chains and they closed a couple of months back so now it's just CEX and Smyths Toy Shop. Game and Electronic's Boutique are long gone and I don't know of any independent shops outside of a couple of retro shops.

[@CommanderTartar]

CEX is a roulette wheel my local branch is senseless, they insisted i take a players choice copy of a game, sold me a gamecube controller for a bargain and on another occation sold me a NTSC gamecube game

[@Pinkiesaysuwu]

Crazy how you went to Trowbridge since I actually live there and frequently go to the shires! Oh and by the way, there is a new sports direct store outside of the shires.

[@ya.s_in-7]

moved out of Trowbridge year ago seems shires has changed a lot

[@healthbeauty7853]

Poundland in Streatham used to sell loads of dvds and blu-rays, you go in there today and you won't see a single dvd in sight.

[@keycreations7707]

Grantham used to have a Game but that closed a long time ago. That store also made a long established Grantham Computer Centre to sell off all their console games on the cheap to sell solely PC and printer supplies. The town did have a Retro Gaming Shop on Westgate, which appear for a couple of years recently, selling all things retro gaming but was a very small shop. It moved to near the bus station area I think but soon disappeared. CEX, Morrisons, Argos/Sainsbury's, Asda and a few charity shops dotted around the area sells games but it's looking bleak.

[@markgoss9150]

I miss gamestation as well

[@Craigmt12]

I’m pleasantly surprised to see how many independent game stores there are in your area. There’s hardly anything here in Lincolnshire.

[@oofmysoul140]

as an assistant manager at Game im pretty sure we cant take games home with us unless the store you got this info from is doing something dodgey or have misinformed you

[@ReinMixTape]

While it is true prices have standardized in light of CEX... condition is king/queen and it can be a thrill in of itself to find an awesome condition copy of a game ya really wanted. I keep a bookmark that auto loads in my search query and sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised by the stuff listed as in stock. I am not fond of eBay because sellers can and do try to hide condition issues. Yes charity aka thrift stores here are usually filled with worthless over priced sports games and games over priced in general to the sum of 3x the going rate or higher.

[@JohnFisherChoir]

Love CeX, it's one of my favourite shops! Great for cheap Blu Rays and video games

[@LouisBee]

Growing up, I saw the end of many local independent video game stores. Sheffield in particular used to have lots of small shops, some would spring up even as I started college during the HD generation! I think the problem is that there is no margin to be made on new releases, and we are reaching a point where publishers are wanting to get shut of retail altogether. Retro pre-owned has outpriced itself from anything but collectors markets. You might actually have more joy taking a punt on an eBay auction than trying CEX for a rare game now

[@PS3POWERFTW]

Took me by surprise when you said Trowbridge. Used to live in Westbury and hated having to shop there 😆

[@Tyranniod]

Game is terrible now. I went into my local the other day. It has 4 Isles and only 1 Isle actually had games on it. The rest is just toys and other merchandise. They're lucky if they have more than 3 customers in their store at any one time. In my town CeX is keeping the physical media alive. I love shopping there.

[@HalfDuck]

12:10 , hyper bowl, the upgraded version of the superbowl

[@kitkittykitkit]

staff are not allowed to take games home with them.. they are checked out before leaving, if caught they will get in serious trouble :) it is saddening to see the high street stores go..

[@dj858]

planet games was once called pink planet and had a store in pretty much every area in every major city in the uk, last i heard the franchise went into administration and a handful of stores and stock was bought out to be re branded just kept all the pink planet feel and pricing labels lol, its a shame really pink planet was that store was a haven for the guys that had tight ass parents lol

[@darren253]

High street rents are killing the shops. Secondly is publishers who want to make as much money as possible and printing discs costs .

[@Bond007er]

There's a lot of shops here in Idaho mostly walmart gamestop then there is pawn shops and thrift. Stores there's also smaller chains like vip games etc

[@mrterrychaos]

When you're next local to me, the places here will be worth discussing. You won't believe the new layout of Cash Converters.

[@WebstersYouTube]

Next time I'm "back home" 😉 I'll even have a camera man 😀

[@aishyv1]

Planet games has been a great store, sad to hear it's gone a bit downhill

[@legospacememe8468]

10:46 i have an old argos catalog from 2009 and the games section is filled to the brim on almost every platfrom. seeing this just hurts

[@DH-qj9ks]

Remember gamestation back in the day… damn

[@ElectroPotato]

I visited the UK in early June, i had a lot of fun in the Cheltenham CeX, but i only picked up Bully for the Wii. The one near Soho - London had some anime DVDs for me, as well as The Last Guardian on the PS4

[@richardallen7297]

Bully is hard game to find. because games like bully and manhunt got banned and taken of the shelves. :)

[@Dynastone]

@@richardallen7297 They're both v common in UK

[@nelliedownsouth2316]

I remember the Gamestation days, my old favourite.. PS Asda is back in British hands after being wholly owned by Walmart since 1999 👍

[@PatSmashYT]

In Australia, a lot of pawn shops actually don't price their games to the same value as the CEX sell price, they actually set their prices to a value between the CEX trade-in value and the CEX sell price

[@Surgicaldamage]

Looking at all the colourful box art and reading the back of the box to sell your self on that extra piece of fleeting fulfillment. I like when I find a title I intend to purchase, that beats it's eBay or Amazon in price because of shipping costs. It means I can justify buying it there and then . I'm done with physical copies now though 😢. After a PS4pro I'm done with consoles, and my PC has no disc drive. I do understand game hunting and I miss it. I might see if there are any 60fps PS3 games that interest me, perhaps a cheap f1 racing game with ffb for my old Logitech.

[@kurakidan]

I remember buying Smash Bros. on the N64 'new' from Game years ago, going home and having someone elses data on the cartridge. Crazy how they can get away with stuff like that.

[@foxywoxy0w068]

We had a GAME here in Chelmsford which I loved visiting every time me and my family (parents and brothers) went to town. Sadly it's gone now and apparently it's now being taken over by the local Gregg's (I'm still mad they stopped doing Iced-Ring Donuts) to expand it, that was at least a year or two ago and the place where the GAME store was is still completely barren without any work done on it. We got a Cex and Smyths thankfully. It's not just game shops but other kinds of shops as well, just recently our Wilkos has gone into administration and is shutting down, though lately the past year or so they been having really bad supply issues. Knowing Chelmsford, they'll probably replace those stores with another bloody food shop/cafe which gets closed in less than a year, we got too many of the bloody things.

[@sarahlloyd119]

Oh no way, that corner lot will be a larger Greggs? That sounds good, there’s always a massive queue at that Greggs at lunchtime… I usually pop there for a vegan sausage roll after poking around in CEX in my lunch break when I’m working in Chelmsford :)

[@kirishima638]

Fucking Greggs....

[@SecretOfMonkeyIsland784]

I dont miss the GAME shop in Chelmsford, it was 80% toy and 2nd hand gadget store and the rest was overpriced console games and 500x varieties of controller and 'gaming' keyboards. A larger Greggs which it now is gets far more use by the town. The days of decent game shops have sadly gone.

[@ethanhart7032]

Smyth's toys superstore sells games too.

[@EuanEchidhog]

Since owning my Switch, I've been looking round many of the stores for cheap bargains, though I feel Smyths is my main place to go at times as they usually do surprising price drops on some games you normally won't see that cheap. Here are some games I got from Smyths for £20: Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, Metroid Dread, Bayonetta 3 and Bayonetta Origins. Have picked up cheaper but was still amazed to have picked up Metroid Dread for £20. So no harm I checking them out when you can.

[@WebstersYouTube]

Smyths came and filled a Toys R Us shaped hole in my heart

[@richardallen7297]

Smyths is a good store. They got a ps5 sale for £389 is a good price.:)

[@OnlineOnlySubsciptionSonyOrDie]

My Smyths is only half a book store and the other half is a post office lol

[@WebstersYouTube]

@@OnlineOnlySubsciptionSonyOrDie that sounds less like a Smyths and more like a WH Smiths