The 50/60% off is on the tat that Woolies stocked that made them go bust. And even at these low prices you can still buy cheaper on fleabay etc
The high street is in big trouble, there are going to be boarded up shops everywhere. And game retail is having its last boom. Online will kill it.

I went into woolies today and I stuggled to find one thing that was reduced by the 50% that was claimed in the window. Pretty much everything is 10% off.

The 50 mill units being moved to stores are mostly ent media from euk to be sold at cost, just what the industry didnt want, watch others fall!!!!!

Bruce, I respect your views on many subjects, your one of the few games industry figures (old skool at that) who place comments of worth as opposed to the normal "fan boy" elements that sneak in from time to time.

Saying that, I'm not convinced the high street has had its day just yet, sure internet companies share of the retail marketplace is growing although I believe the high street retail stores still have much to offer.

The issues that led to the collapse of Woolworths are not the credit crunch or the pending recession, these only dealt the hammer blow to what was a weak business already.

Its evident that the UK retail high street does have some well run engaging stores that are in tune with their consumers needs and requirements, these retail chains will survive the current downturn and live to tell the tale.

Back in the late 80's I pondered about buying £200 worth of shares in Next at 2p a share, it was almost on its knees as a business, the share price at close of business today is 1098p, they survived from a base of 2p because it was and still is a good business.

Virgin Games - Future Zone - Electronics Boutique - Game Stores Group, all evolutionary steps for a company that has had its ups and downs over the years, the business today is well run with good staff and I'm sure will still be around for many a day even under a different name (GameStop UK ?)

Keep posting, your comments is appreciated (if only by me), try not to get dragged down by those that want to see our retail business fail as it makes great front pages headlines, I'm sure they will stop printing these stories when they discover that all the business they so happily bad mouthed also sell there papers and they no longer have a way of reaching their traditional marketplace...

I think it's hardly surprising that the high street is struggling. You only have to compare online prices to in-shop prices to see why. On numerous occasions I have asked Game why a title is £10 cheaper online, only to be told, they don't have the overheads of a shop.

Not once did it seem to occur to them, that unless shop prices matched online, that they would end up with no customers and as a consequence, no jobs. £10 cheaper + free delivery, I mean, who is going to buy from a shop with that kind of saving? And if people do buy from a shop, it'll probably be Asda or Tesco where they can get the game cheaper than Game anyway.

They'll have some success at this time of year possibly because people won't trust the postal service... but it's not really a recipe for success to bank on the 10 day run up to christmas to subsidise all-year round losses.

You can't help but feel that online shopping is going to be the death of high-street shops... and that's a terrible shame if it is.

It makes me laugh that they've got desperate enough to actually sell the shelves and retail units off, but still won't give any more than 10% on Games, DVDs and CDs.

I was in there the first morning they announced the "closing down" sale and even with the 10% off Games, they were still only £36. There was a confused woman asked me which Tomb Raider was the new one to get for her son, so I told her to go next door to GAME and buy it for £25.

In short, if you're looking for anything other than naff Xmas presents, I wouldn't bother.

I someone so aptly put it on the news: "It was like riffling through the pockets of a corpse".

Its a fact that putting a store in a high street location in most towns in the UK is a very expensive business, these costs can't be ignored and as a consequence bricks and mortar stores can't afford to reach the low prices of some Internet operators that trade off shore.

Some of the Internet retailers are making pennies of gross margin in a vein attempt to gain market share as the price comparison visibility of the Internet lowers the price to such a point retailers are tempted to make a loss just to make a sale...totally nuts.

Retail landlords in the UK seem to have little incentive to actually get tenants for stores and keep the high street alive as the current law on lease responsibility allows them to chase previous historic tenants.

We have an example of a very large unit near where I live in which the last tenant went into administration around two years ago and the previous tenant (WH Smith Do It All - ages it slightly!) is now paying the rent whilst the unit sits empty for nearly three years...utter madness.

The current worldwide financial mess was caused by BS bank policy that didn't deserve to survive and it didn't.

The same could happen to our entertainment retail business if we are not careful, stores losing trade because they are unable to match some Internet trader who is selling at a loss, store closes down, greedy landlord chase previous tenant for rent.

Meanwhile market share chasing - loss making Internet retailer runs out of working capital and closes (and some will)

We lose our high street store and we have less choice on the Internet (which leads normally to higher prices)

Looks like nobody wins in the end.

Me, I try and shop in my high street, supporting the likes of Game, Gamestation, GameStop, hmv, and Zavvi, sure its not as cheap as some net retailers but then again I know I may in some small way I'm working to keep the UK retail business alive.

I am saddened to hear about the closure of woolies i was only 6yrsold when i was dared to pinch a sweet, that was 50 years ago and it only seems like yesterday. Surely someone could take it on and maybe downsize and go back to the old values. God bless you woolies and all who shop with you !!!!

Shoplifting from woolies is clearly some sort of growing up ritual, it's sad that future generations will not be able to enjoy this...

Seriously, in years gone by and Mrjolly was a retailer what killed the high street (and annoyed Mr jolly off when trying to expand his empire) in so many places was landlords asserting that they didn't want traditional retail , prefering to get a 15-20% premium in rents by changing the PP to food use - the take away of course would only be of use in the evening so the high street would die as a high street becoming a set of pubs, take aways and charity shops...

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