I’m not great with finance so bear with me…
EUK went into administration yesterday which means they owe more than they can get their hands on and will now be dismantled and sold off for parts to pay back some of their debts.
EUK used to supply ASDA (and some other people) with DVDs, CDs and games. They will obviously no longer be doing this so the companies they supplied will now have to find another source for their stock.
ASDA have announced that they will be duying direct from suppliers in order to minimise the effect this whole shitstorm will have on their customers.
Independents are saying that the bulk-buying power and ability to use video games as loss-leaders of big supermarkets means that they will now be able to sell games cheaper than the indies can buy from their own supplier.
The upshot of this is (I think) ASDA might be super cheap for games this Xmas. Indies will all go out of business and the supermarkets will have a monopoly by next Xmas, games will be whatever they want to charge you for them because you can’t get them anywhere else. Oh, and they’ll only sell top ten titles.
Remember the way the supermarkets put all the independent bookshops out of business a few years ago? Well, like that but with games.
So, this story was a little short on the funny wasn’t it? I’ll try to counter-balance that with a joke:
What type of biscuits can fly?
Plain ones.
They should do that on the News at Ten.
November 27th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I’m just going to comment the last few lines;
It’s so stupid it’s funny! And so true on the news thing xD
November 27th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Bad times for the indies. BUT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AMAZING JOKE LOLZ FTW!!!1
November 27th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Too true. Supermarkets may be cheap for chart games but what happens when your trying to track down that random copy of a three year old game you couldnt afford at the time. Also the top ten is useless if you want something new thats slightly obscure like mirrors edge.
colossalblue Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
It also means that supermarkets will control what games sell well and so which games make profits and therefore which games are actually made in a couple of years.
Bad times.
Diver68 Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Naaaah - just order direct! (Amazon or whatnot)
November 27th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Only if we buy the games. PSN will be the saviour.
November 27th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
ROF - LMAO….. Sod the ASDA stuff - we don’t have’m over here….
But the plain - Fan-dabby-dozzy!
What a wonderful end to my working day! Think I’ll go home and have a mug of tea and a….
November 27th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Surely places like Play.com, HMV, Amazon, Zavvi will still do all of their games, and I doubt any of those will go out of business soon.
colossalblue Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
That’s what they said about Woolworths…
djhsecondnature Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
True true, but all I bought at Wollies was pic’n'mix
colossalblue Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
NO FUDGE! You can have marshmallows and flying saucers.
djhsecondnature Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
ohhh but please!!! I love fudge mmmmmmmmmm lol. Marshmallows and flying saucers are pretty sweet though (get it :P). I always tried to get the big snakes when I was a kid. Now I can buy what I want!
masoke Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Buying the pick ‘n’ mix you want - five stars to that, brother!
ADPolicenaut Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I used to remember kids popping in and nabbing the occassional nugget of confectionery. A white chocolate frisbee here, a couple of white mice there. “Buy before you try!”, they said. I imagine that’s what drove Woolsworths under, you know? All these kids over the decades, stealing penny chews from the pic ‘n mix section, it’s mounted up over the years. I bet they were losing almost ten million a year from penny chew theft.
Mike Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Woolworths has been on the rocks for years though. A few years back they sold all of their shops and rented them back, they’ve been running artificially ever since
November 27th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
“ASDA have announced that they will be duying direct”
First Woolworths, now ASDA?
November 27th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
November 27th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Am I the only one who stopped after the first paragraph in plain boredom? Did I miss something?
colossalblue Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I hope you’re joking or I’ll be offended. I like to think the rubbish I write here makes a difference, it’s not just the ramblings of a semi-illiterate sociopath.
You all hang on my every word.
Don’t burst my bubble.
fredrikpedersen Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I read the internet to be entertained as well as informed. If I don’t like the article, I stop reading it. On the other hand, you have written 50+ (I don’t know for sure) truly excellent posts here, so don’t be offended.
..aaand keep the bursting bubbles within LittleBigPlanet, angry TSA’er = bad
colossalblue Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Really? Read to the bottom, it gets entertaining.
Jesus, you make this hard work FP!
fredrikpedersen Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Oh relax, will you?
djhsecondnature Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
You missed a peace of a joke.
And it makes you think, I spent 5 mins browsing the web to try and find another biscuit that can fly. Sadly, I failed.
Eldave0 Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
actually you can make those thin what-ya-ma-call-its fly by turning a fan over, placing the biccies ontop and then switching it on. yeah ok i’ve tried it before, sometimes i get lonely…
fredrikpedersen Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
We’ve all been there, when you really can’t find something to take up you time. Of course that ends when I’ve got something to play, trophies to catch, noobs to pwn and novels to write. (haven’t been working on that last one for quite some time now)
Eldave0 Says:
November 27th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
you write novels do ya?
i started to go down that route then ended up working in IT at the last minute. such is life… heh
November 27th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I quite like Monopoly at Christmas…
TheRook21
November 27th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
EUK used to supply Tesco. They dropped them then set up there own company dealing direct with suppliers. Seems strange that Tesco got rid 6 months ago now they go bump. Tesco are notorious late payers within the supply trade.
November 27th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Cb, I’ve just got back from my local Asda and they are only selling the top 20 games now and a few platinum titles all at what seems retail price,ie £35 -£40.
Gamoc Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 2:13 am
CoDWaW is £27 in Asda.
November 29th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
there’s a spelling mistake in the third paragraph - duying - buying. God I’m on the ball this morning
anyway this is a shame for indie’s but to be honest I only buy my games from asda, tesco, game or some other online retailer
oh yeah, penguins can also fly - but only if you use a yete with a club to hit them