Xbox and Activision pull GAME support, says leaked memo

A leaked memo from GAME, seen by MCV, says that Activision and Microsoft are the latest publishing giants to not supply the troubled specialist giant.

Activision titles Cabela Big Game Hunter 2012 and Zhu Zhu Babies, plus Microsoft’s Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure, will not be sold by the retailer, the memo to store managers reads.

The note also confirms that Nintendo’s Inazuma 12 and Sega’s Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai will not be stocked, along with PokePark 2, Kid Icarus and Yakuza: Dead Souls, which has already been announced.

If true, it means Activision and Microsoft joins a list of top publishers that are not supporting the retail giant. Other firms who have pulled stock from GAME includes EA, Nintendo, Sega, Capcom and Tecmo Koei.

Platform holder Sony has bucked the trend and is supplying GAME with Vita units and the release of Twisted Metal for PlayStation 3.

GAME has told its store managers that this situation is "temporary" and that it is "doing everything we can to resolve these issues as soon as possible."

GAME held a meeting at BAFTA at the end of last month in a bid to win supplier support. That now appears to have been a huge failure.

The firm is fighting for its life. If it fails to secure more funding it may have to sell its business or face administration. Interested parties in GAME includes OpCapita, GameStop and Wal-Mart.

GAME’s memo also warns staff to forward any press enquiry to its PR team and adds: "we ask that you do not get involved in dialogue or comment publicly via social media, or gaming forums."

So far the games not available at GAME include: Mass Effect 3, Mario Party 9, Metal Gear Solid 3DS, Asura’s Wrath, Street Fighter X Tekken, Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City, Inazuma 12, Yakuza Dead Souls, Ninja Gaiden 3, Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Pokepark 2 and Shogun 2 Fall of the Samurai.

GAME customers who pre-ordered these titles have been offered an additional 5 voucher as a form of apology for failing to supply stock.