Rumours suggest that GAME and Gamestation may have just two weeks to turn themselves around, as the company acknowledges that its share value may soon fall to nothing.

The future is looking increasingly grim for GAME Group, as rumours suggest the company is currently up for sale and that it may only have two weeks left as a going concern.

Over the weekend multiple sources suggested that a two week deadline to pay the rent on GAME and Gamestation's shops could prove the end of the company, if it hasn't sorted out its finances by then.

According to The Sunday Times financial group Rothschild has been hired to find a buyer, with American chain GameStop reportedly already interested in GAME's Spanish subsidiary. Acquiring the main British business though wouldn't be as easy, and would involve a pernickety pre-pack administration procedure that may put off some buyers.

All these problems arose straight after Christmas when GAME's lenders change their terms and the only way GAME could carry on was wangling a cheaper deal from publishers for their stock. Increasingly though they've decided not to help out, with EA, Nintendo, and Capcom in particular refusing to supply big name games such as Mass Effect 3, Mario Party 9, and Street Fighter X Tekken.

As a result GAME's share price has plummeted so far that the company is now worth little more than £15 million. This has forced GAME to issue the following statement, where it admits the share price could potentially fall to zero:

'Further to GAME's announcement of 29th February 2012 and recent press speculation, the Group confirms that it remains in discussions with its suppliers and lenders in relation to terms of trade that allow the business to operate within the facility provided by its banking syndicate, as announced on 3 February 2012, and to meet its revised strategic plan. While these discussions are ongoing, it has not been possible to source new products from a number of suppliers.

The Board of GAME is working actively to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. This includes ongoing discussions with suppliers, seeking access to the original facility or alternative sources of funding, and reviewing the position of all of its assets in the UK and international territories.

It is uncertain whether any of the solutions currently being explored by the Board will be successful or will result in any value being attributed to the shares of the Company.'

Even EA's boss John Riccitiello has weighed in, describing the two week deadline as 'all but a certainty', and according to trade paper MCV he's 'praying for the lenders to get rational and keep them in business'.

Although he was careful not to name GAME by name (the reporter speaking to him used the phrase 'a UK retailer in distress') he added that serious trouble, 'now looks like all but a certainty. It was a risk a month ago. Now it looks like a fact.'

There are no demo stations in stores any more, the staff are not gamers themselves and they don't try to get customers interested in anything new.

I don't see the value of the service these high street stores provide, if they're only carrying the most mainstream titles at full price, aimed only at customers who already took the time to research them online.

This is a real shame.

Both stores were on my daily circuit of the town centre every lunchtime when i used to work back in luton. To think of GAME going is a horrible thought but the whole parent company struggling and going bust which will take both gamestation and GAME off the high streets is truly terrible.

Without competition from these two stores most consumers will be stuck to ordering online and limited to stores like HMV, Blockbuster or CEX (Which due to demand will probably mean they can keep their prices higher for longer)

Just look at Waterstones and Borders, both stores are gone and what do we have left to get books from? The over the priced WH Smiths who do not even bother with 3 for 2 or half price sales ¬___¬ That was enough to kill off my Manga collection in one go, now to think that could happen with gaming aswell...

I've noticed that the staff in GAME and Gamestation suddenly started constantly pouncing on me every time I went in too to ask if I was ok. Unfortunately as soon as I actually ask for help with a preorder or specific title, they have always proved to be wholly useless. Customer service is only meaningful if they can follow through with it. Stores which still retain some staff who like games are probably better off. I've noticed it in all industries these days; people rarely seem to take pride in their work and understand what they are trying to sell any more.

And Waterstone's is still fine, I believe, though I'd be surprised if HMV lasts much longer. They've closed almost every single branch within a huge radius of where I live in the last year. Definitely having major problems.

R

When did Waterstones go? I'll have you know there is still one in my nearest city centre (they have moved the manga/sci-fi section from ground floor to 2nd floor which means many steps to climb ). The online site is still trading as well (I think I preordered Persona 4: Official Design Works from there).

^ Indeed. People can point their finger at online retailers and supermarkets, but it's GAME's fault for not adapting to the market. If they couldn't lower their prices, they should have tried to bag more in-store exclusives, for example.