Tesco's also no longer stocking PC games

[noTHINGface]

I nipped into town today to pick up Operation Flashpoint for PC today. I'd tried the ASDA near where I live and they dont stock PC software so figured I'd try the Tesco's near work. Turns out that Tesco are also halting PC software as well. Is this happening everywhere?

[Grey M@a]

I nipped into town today to pick up Operation Flashpoint for PC today. I'd tried the ASDA near where I live and they dont stock PC software so figured I'd try the Tesco's near work. Turns out that Tesco are also halting PC software as well. Is this happening everywhere?

It's getting like that everywhere though. Morrisons, ASDA and Tesco they are nowhere to be seen, the loal game stores have a little pile in the corner and Game they have a single spinning turnstyle rack for the games. Probably about 8 titles on there and its always the same ones.

Seems most places are letting the online retailers deal with the PC games at present.

[kopite]

last time i was in tesco they had pc games albeit a small selection.

They seem to have been rolling back on their stocking for a while though.

[kalniel]

Since woolies went the distribution obviously dried up a bit.

[danroyle]

my game has a single section for pc games my gamestation has a small section as well both places probably have 7 times as much space for ps3 xbox wii and ds compared to pc.

it is pretty poor now although i think the last pc game i got in a store was half life 2 on release day.

[Grey M@a]

my game has a single section for pc games my gamestation has a small section as well both places probably have 7 times as much space for ps3 xbox wii and ds compared to pc.

it is pretty poor now although i think the last pc game i got in a store was half life 2 on release day.

Yeah, I don't think it has anything to do with distribution, I would say its more and more got a lot to do with online sales or downloads these days for the PC. The PC games from the last 3 years for me have been pretty much Steam/Impulse purchases, also counting Dawn of War 2 in this as you buy the game off the shelf and then it goes and grabs the rest of the install from Steam. Other than that, I just get the 360 releases as most my friends dumped PC's years ago and all play online on the 360 so I go on there for a decent game.

[funke_munke]

Does anyone actually worry about this? I haven't bought a game from a shop in years. I know it's a pain if you want to play right away but it's soooo much cheaper online. To be honest I put the death of shelf space for pc games down to the fact that pc gamers where using the net a lot more and a lot earlier than our console brethren, I mean we all buy graphics cards from Scan so why not games from Gameplay? And with games like WoW, and Empire: TW outselling many huge console games, you simply can't put it down to lack of sales.

[Haiku32]

In my HMV, Game and Gamestation they all have the same amount of space dedicated to PC games as they do to the rest.

[roorooroo]

PC games take some tracking down in some shops..independent and game related shops.
They're usually in the dark recesses somewhere.

[Ferral]

Game round the corner from where I work has quite a big PC games section, same at the Metrocenter. Gamestation on the other hand have just the 1 or 2 panels depending on store size and usually a shelf end with the pre owned stuff.

Last time I seen any PC games in Tesco was when I bought Guild Wars Factions, shortly afterwards they started phasing out to gone. Local ASDA doesn't stock them but the big one at Arnison center (ASDA Home Living) still has a small shelf with latest releases on. Morrisons at Consett (About 25 min drive from where I live, same as bigger ASDA) have the FOCUS stuff and one or two older games.

For me now with PC games I get them online, consoles are the in things on most highstreet stores as of late

[slinger]

I nipped into town on Sunday to buy NFS Shift for the PC, an impulse purchase. Game had only received 3 copies and they had been sold, I looked at the PC section and it consisted of only 1 rack!

I then went to Gamestation who had an even smaller PC display but I asked at the counter and they had it hidden in the back. Certainly looks like retailers are ditching PC sales but as I usually always buy online, and at a drastically cheaper price, then I'm not too concerned. I prefer to buy digital downloads anyway as I cant be doing with keep changing discs.

[Syllopsium]

I nipped into town today to pick up Operation Flashpoint for PC today. I'd tried the ASDA near where I live and they dont stock PC software so figured I'd try the Tesco's near work. Turns out that Tesco are also halting PC software as well. Is this happening everywhere?

Not here in Bolton. Last time I looked there was a rack of PC games in Tesco, and there's definitely a small one in Wigan ASDA.

PK

[GheeTsar]

My local Gamestation has a pitiful selection of PC games, but the two HMVs and Games both have quite large displays.

[shackahn]

and there's definitely a small one in Wigan ASDA

It is very small and the same at Wigan Tesco, neither of them tend to stock the latest games unless its going to be massive, and I suspect both will withdraw them very soon

[abaxas]

I dont know if this is still true, but...

PC games have a smaller shelf life than console games. IE a console game tends to remain at full price for about 6 months, when a PC game doesn't.

Hence retailers dont want stock they cant sell at markup.

[GheeTsar]

Perhaps, but then PC games don't have to pay a royalty to the console manufacturer with every purchase.