Bought-out by GAME back in 2007, Gamestation has continued to operate with its own branding and prices, for the past five years.
Not so long ago, however, the GAME Group ran into serious financial turmoil, ultimately to be bailed-out of administration by OpCapita, however, not before having to let go of staff and stores across the country. Likewise, at the time, web-subsidiary, Gameplay, was integrated into the Gamestation brand.
Despite cutting-down on its number of stores, closing redundant branches in towns where more than one store was present, GAME continued to suffer from a diluted customer base, with its own shops, separately branded GAME and Gamestation, effectively competing with each other.
The argument was, of course, that each brand appealed to a different type of gamer. This train of thought wasn't wrong, however, with falling retail sales and profit margins in gaming all-round, the overheads of running multiple stores and brands aren't something to ignore, likewise, with GAME being the only dedicated gaming retail chain left in the country, chances are that much of Gamestation's consumer base would switch-over to GAME, should the brand disappear.
And so, disappear it shall. GAME has confirmed that it will be re-branding all of its Gamestation stores as GAME, in the near-future; placing an end to the retail confusion and hopefully streamlining operations which, with any luck, will be a big step in returning the group to profit.
Of course, one of Gamestation's points of appeal was its pricing and second-hand trading, we wonder if GAME will take any steps to cover this lost ground.
