Bit of a slow news day today, which promotes the below average stories into those worthy of the front page of your local newspaper.

Have you been in a shop buying some jeans or a T-shirt and then whilst you were queuing wished you could pick up a copy of the latest game.

Well worry no longer because Next (yes, the clothing retailer) has announced an attempt to grab some more of your hard earned money by making a move into the gaming market. For some time Next has been selling games in their online store and the reports are that it has been quite successful for them, particularly with Nintendo products, and 2009 may see games making an appearance in their real life physical stores.

“Gaming is a very important part of Next’s product offering,” said the chain’s buyer Jon Biddle. “It has become the biggest area in our Electricals & Leisure division and has lots of potential to grow.”

“We are always looking at new ways to drive our categories forward and are always looking for promotional offers and deals to benefit our customers and put Next on the gaming map,” added Biddle.

“Going forward we will be looking to build relationships with our suppliers and publishers in order to take the category to the next level.”

Via MCVUK

My personal opinion is that they will be unlikely to find the retail space to be able to carry more than a few titles for each platform, maybe just chart games. Unless they’re the cheapest in the market there wouldn’t be much point in buying from them as they possibly won’t be offering the assistance and advice of specialist gaming retailers and may not have the eye for a bargain that the supermarkets can offer.