If...

I like going into a gameshop having a look around and as I work in retail, I understand they're just doing their job asking me if I want disc care etc.

The problem I've got is the prices, and I know rent etc for the store but in-store is normally more then their prices online and those are normally more then elsewhere online.

That would be one fix having all prices set as the same online or in-store but that won't change how I buy games or how I use GAME at the moment I only ever buy GAME Only Editions like Mario + Rabbids or possibly a console as they do have good deals on them.

Muss wrote:

Sadly the bigwigs answer this quandary by forcing their staff to spew a load of bollocks at you.

I can empathise with a lot of the GAME staff with that, but then there's many others who are so insincere and disingenuous when they go about it. That really puts me off GAME, I really can't be bothered with it. Fair enough if you're trying to sell me something, but don't be a wee 40-year-old fanny while you're half-arsing it.

Like Jay, I'd make it a much more personable experience to be in there, and I'd sort that by looking at their recruitment policies. I'd make more like Games Centre, who only seem to recruit folk who really know their stuff, who really enjoy working with the public and who enjoy sharing their information, knowledge and experience. It doesn't seem that many of GAME's staff would meet the person specification for any other customer-facing job - why is that?

I'd also sort out their Marketing and promotions. GAME never lead the way with their deals - they're always reactive to what other places are doing, rather than proactive in enticing folk into their shops. All the good deals are at Amazon, Argos and in the supermarkets, you'd only go to GAME last.

I must be one of the few people who hasn't had much of a problem with GAME's staff.  Maybe I've just been lucky, or maybe I've gone in knowing exactly what I want, so any attempts at selling me other stuff get shot down out the gate.

Like Muss says, I don't think just making sure the staff are personable and non-aggressive will save GAME, although it's an obligatory starting point.  There's only one possible thing that might work: cutting back on the number of GAMEs (some people losing jobs > everybody who works there losing jobs because the chain goes under), and making sure those that remain are the best places ever for gamers.  I'm talking tables where you can sit and chat for up to an hour, in-house coffee shops, shelves filled with tat as well as games, and probably some price slashing as well.  

Big launch events too: I still go to GAME at machine launches because it's somewhere I can go pick the machine up in person, rather than getting it delivered (and possibly late).  There's something special about that.  They need to make the most of it.

I think they're on their arse, quite frankly, but these are the only things that might work in my arrogant, subtle, and always right opinion.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

I can empathise with a lot of the GAME staff with that, but then there's many others who are so insincere and disingenuous when they go about it. That really puts me off GAME, I really can't be bothered with it. Fair enough if you're trying to sell me something, but don't be a wee 40-year-old fanny while you're half-arsing it.

Can't say I've ever personally experienced that myself, but maybe that's symptomatic of how little time I spend in these stores. When I am in Game I tend to go in knowing exactly what I want and I don't want anybody checking up on me. The local independent store, on the other hand, I'll happily spend more time browsing, sometimes I'll buy a fanta just because I spent time in there but nothing took my fancy. I'm also happy to just have a chat about whatever in there.

I'd like to believe in Balla's idea, but most of the Game stores I've ever been to are pokey little places. Also those sorts of, for lack of a better term, "nerd" venues already exist in abundance within Nottingham at least. There's a couple of board game places, the video game museum, and Warhammer was born here. It'd obviously be different in other cities but I'd assume people wouldn't be interested in doing that  shopping/browsing/relaxing in a company as soulless as Game - unless it did some sort of large scale re-brand (although people lap up Starbucks so who knows). I could see it working in Bath but not Bristol. It seems like a very, case by case basis, sort of deal to me.  

But yeah, agree with Cappa. Game is reactionary, and I'd add that it seems to expect success based off of its name alone. It trades on the idea that you haven't got anywhere else to go, or that you don't know anything about games and therefore can't tell a good deal from bad. Which does hark back to the personable idea. It's just an impossible situation for staff, trying to claim anything Game does is good value, when anyone whose done a wiff of research knows that at best they're selling something at its national RRP. Sometimes there's reasonable pickups to be had in the preowned section, but the bargain bucket ain't what it used to be, especially considering that PSN/Steam/XBLA have cracking sales on old titles from time to time. For as reasonable as I've found the staff, that doesn't stop what they're forced to do making the place feel very insincere.

I'm sure Bristol has a GAME Zone or something like that which is sort of Balla's idea and I think Plymouth is getting one.

Muss wrote:

I'd like to believe in Balla's idea, but most of the Game stores I've ever been to are pokey little places.

Yep - my town would be crying out for a geeky hangout place like Balla has described, but the shelf space in our local GAME is at a premium as it stands already without sacrificing more of it for some seating. They've already drastically removed some of the shelf space for games by replacing it with shelf space for gaming tat.

masofdas wrote:

I'm sure Bristol has a GAME Zone or something like that which is sort of Balla's idea and I think Plymouth is getting one.

I didn't think it would work in Bristol precisely because Bristol has quite a lot of "nerd" venues already. I think it has some big bowling/arcade venue? Bath hasn't had anything like that since Quasar slowly morphed into some sort of flat complex.

I think it'd have to be the smaller ones that got sold off, sadly, for my idea to have a chance at success. Possibly to buy bigger venues. The smaller ones could just have a table and a plug socket and lose some of the soullessness, and that'd be a start.

I would settle for some Nintendo expertise, to be honest. Most GAME employees in my local store seem to not know anything about things when I preorder and there follows a couple of examples. A while ago I wanted to get DQVII ordered. At the time it was the day after a Direct but the game was only a month away; I was determined not to lose out, though. The guy behind the counter said they often didn't get things 'on the system' the day after a Direct - I didn't feel like correcting him. The other day I was in trying to preorder Layton's Mystery Journey; the guy shouted to his boss about "the Layton game on the DS". Maybe they could have folk on hand who specialise, so you can be passed over to 'the Nintendo person'.

Having said that, I often find the Christmas staff they take on to be much better: they at least seem to recognise Nintendo as a thing and not some weird embarrassing stain on the T-shirt of gaming.

Mr Jones asked a while ago what we would want from a Switch revision and now even more then 4K etc, I'm thinking bigger hard drive as where 7 months in and we have game like NBA 2K18 which needs something like 27GB of space if downloaded.

I don't see Nintendo making an external HD but they might update the Switch itself to allow you plug a third party one in at some point.

Didn't think of that, I was just thinking they'd do like MS & Sony and just release a SKU with a bigger hard drive.

I don't see that happening considering the portability of the Switch.

I don't know how that would effect it as iPads go up to 500gb for instance.

Ahh you mean a version with more on board storage/memory? It threw me off when you're talking about a hard drive but I get you now.

Yeah the internal hard drive.

Something minor like memory sounds a good shout. For bigger changes, though, I don't want a new Switch version at all for another three years at least. I don't like splitting the userbase, or the risk of games working poorly on one version or another, like with the 3DS and new 3DS. Not unless there's a really good reason for it: colour was (back in the GB days), 4K and VR ain't.

4k though wouldn't really split the userbase though where something like VR could, well unless Switch can already sort of to both from what hackers have found and we just need to buy a headset.

I would go for the D-pad Joy-Con version I mentioned. Greater storage would also be awesome too. Another hardware thing I'd like to see is some fashion to make it more secure when docked - feels flimsy as anything.

The only thing I'd like to see change on the joycon is a more rounded grip shape on the back, they are just too flat for me so I can never find a comfortable position when playing in handheld mode.

Zero wrote:

Another hardware thing I'd like to see is some fashion to make it more secure when docked - feels flimsy as anything.

That's a good shout as there's so many things they could do to improve the overall design of the dock, one thing I'd like to see them do is remove the bit of plastic on the front then angle it so it looks something like this tablet dock.

Spoiler:

IF you were in charge of development for the next Star Fox game, what would you do?

The series feels like it's been floundering for a good few years, with Nintendo struggling or reluctant to follow up Star Fox 64. Star Fox Zero was much more like it, with the possible exception of the divisive controls. How would you revitalise things for Fox and the team... IF you were in charge, of course!

I'd set the game on Earth, flying around the English midlands in an Arwing or tearing them up on a Landmaster, slaughtering rich old toffs who want to bring back the hunt. Final boss is Andrea Leadsom, who dies screaming as McCloud brings Westminster toppling on her head.

Star Fox Command 2 - but increase the strategy.

I can't argue with Drunka's idea, but in the interests of suggesting an alternative: I'd very much start by porting SF0 to Switch.  I think there's a great game in there, hamstrung by divisive controls and being released onto a dying console.  If they could speed up/scrap the Gyrowing bits too that'd be much obliged.

For Star Fox Switch proper, probably more of the same.  I would however minimise the all-round levels, as I simply don't think they work terribly well unless there's a proper dogfight going on.  Chasing Andross' brain around with copious barrel rolls is not one of my all-time greatest moments.  Linear set-pieces, plenty of spectacle, top chatter between the pilots.  Job done.

Failing that, Star Fox Adventures done by the BotW team.

Drunkalilly wrote:

I'd set the game on Earth, flying around the English midlands in an Arwing or tearing them up on a Landmaster, slaughtering rich old toffs who want to bring back the hunt.

But not the North Midlands, right?