Owning A Game Store

[Mr Spew]

It really depends on the person, if it's a few guys, leave them to it, if it's a mother or a child, asking "Are you looking for anything in particular?" works wonders.

Note taken Wahwah*.

[El Pibe]

They had a meet-the-Fragdolls day in the Brum Gamestation.  Bit nerdy really.

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Oh dear!

I bet there were a few little boys running home for a tommy after that!

[connect]

Sue me for what?  I'll send them to Forbidden Planet, Grainger Games, and whoever else sells import GBA and DS games first.

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It doesn't work like that. If Nintendo decide to take action against you, you can't say look they're doing it too. They'll tell you to fuck off and down you go.

[Badger]

I love the idea of an upmarket games store, and the idea of a vending machine type store...Yo Sushi for gamers.... Bonus over the net is that you wouldn't have to wait for delivery.

But although i love the ideas, I'm not sure either would be commercially viable. My own dream would be to have a computer museum/arcade/shop, but that's a susbstantial lottery win away.

And more museums etc are either small and crappy, or make their money from conference rooms etc, away from the museum itself.

[Qazimod]

I still think it's Dooooooooomed but I think that a stock search facility available to customers would be  great.  Rather than looking through a whole section looking for a particular title it'd be nice to just put in a keyword and see if it's in stock and perhaps if it's also available preowned

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You mean like in Argos - you find what you want in the catalogue, note the number, go into town, enter it in the stock searching thing and see how many (if any) are in stock?

[moosegrinder]

HMV used to do that but the equipment was fucked up very quickly. The Argos one is great when it works.

[Mr Spew]

It doesn't work like that. If Nintendo decide to take action against you, you can't say look they're doing it too. They'll tell you to fuck off and down you go.

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Who have gone down though? I fail to see how if there are chains doing imports and haven't gone down, that one shop would be bummed that easy.

And as long as we pay the import tax or whatever, what are they going to sue for? Why not stop imports on eBay?

[JPickford (retired mod)]

Who have gone down though?  I fail to see how if there are chains doing imports and haven't gone down, that one shop would be bummed that easy.

And as long as we pay the import tax or whatever, what are they going to sue for?  Why not stop imports on eBay?

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They don't need to sue you. Although I believe you can done for breach of copyright if you sell imports (Eurpoean rights might be owned by a different publisher).

All they need to do is cut off your supply of official Nintendo products.

[Mr Spew]

They don't need to sue you.  Although I believe you can done for breach of copyright if you sell imports (Eurpoean rights might be owned by a different publisher).

All they need to do is cut off your supply of official Nintendo products.

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Which I wouldn't care about, as I wouldn't be buying in £1000 worth of Nintendo stuff every month, nor £4000 outright like their guidelines would want me to.

Second hand and import all the way. Breach of copyright how? Really interested, but selling games that aren't out or won't be coming out here surely can't be punishable? Same as importing DVDs and CDs isn't it, which is legal?

[JPickford (retired mod)]

Which I wouldn't care about, as I wouldn't be buying in £1000 worth of Nintendo stuff every month, nor £4000 outright like their guidelines would want me to.

Second hand and import all the way.  Breach of copyright how?  Really interested, but selling games that aren't out or won't be coming out here surely can't be punishable?  Same as importing DVDs and CDs isn't it, which is legal?

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So you are saying you would be happy to never stock ANY European Nintendo products? I know a lot of stores have dropped the GC but I haven't seen any stores that don't stock Nintendo stuff at all.

The copyright thing: If you are a UK publisher and you pick up UK rights to a game already published in US by someone else then you have the UK copyright. Anyone else selling copies of the game sourced elsewhere is breaching your copyright and you can sue them for lost profits\damages.

[Mr Spew]

So you are saying you would be happy to never stock ANY European Nintendo products?  I know a lot of stores have dropped the GC but I haven't seen any stores that don't stock Nintendo stuff at all.

The copyright thing:  If you are a UK publisher and you pick up UK rights to a game already published in US by someone else then you have the UK copyright.  Anyone else selling copies of the game sourced elsewhere is breaching your copyright and you can sue them for lost profits\damages.

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Only second hand products, since the buy in is low, and the fact that to buy in UK Nintendo stuff (new) Nintendo require you to spend a minimum of £4000 up front and £1000 every month, which just wouldn't happen for one store.

Alrighty, I can't see Band Brothers and Ouendan being picked up for the UK, so there shouldn't be any problems, right?

[JPickford (retired mod)]

Alrighty, I can't see Band Brothers and Ouendan being picked up for the UK, so there shouldn't be any problems, right?

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No idea. It's unlikely you'd hit any problem if you aren't expecting to deal with Nintendo ever.

[Mr Spew]

No idea.  It's unlikely you'd hit any problem if you aren't expecting to deal with Nintendo ever.

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[Cecil Kay]

Good luck Mr Spew, i hope you make a mint. I would love to do something like this, however my plan falls somewhere between online and retail.

[Transient Curse]

good luck mr spehw

[connect]

They have you on copyright and the fact that all products that have computer chips in (DS, GBA) have to have the EEC mark which the imports don't. I have been on the other end of Nintendo and I know that if they find out you are selling imports and they want you to stop. You will stop. There's no 2 ways about it. The thing with UK stock didn't bother me anyway. Just the lawsuit they filed against me. Luckily I did a runner and have never been found since

[Mr Spew]

They have you on copyright and the fact that all products that have computer chips in (DS, GBA) have to have the EEC mark which the imports don't. I have been on the other end of Nintendo and I know that if they find out you are selling imports and they want you to stop. You will stop. There's no 2 ways about it. The thing with UK stock didn't bother me anyway. Just the lawsuit they filed against me. Luckily I did a runner and have never been found since 

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So why haven't Grainger Games and all the rest been taken down?

What is it they do? Say they'll sue if we don't stop selling import games? Yes-asia.com sell them too, and they post from the UK.

[connect]

So why haven't Grainger Games and all the rest been taken down?

What is it they do?  Say they'll sue if we don't stop selling import games?  Yes-asia.com sell them too, and they post from the UK.

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1. Because it's done on a company by company basis. Just because store X is getting done, it doesn't mean that store Y will too. Remember it's Nintendo, they have no consistancy.

2. Yes that's part of what they do. If you don't stop selling imports they sue. But they also sue for loss of European Earnings or some other crap. I've forgotton exactly what it is. So you have to give them a % of your profit from selling non EU games. I think companies like Play-Asia get around it by the transaction being processed in the correct country. It's all a load of shit anyway. And believe me there's nothing worse than having a huge company like Nintendo on your ass with lawyers. It's not fun and it's not clever.

3. Report Grainger Games to Nintendo Europe and see how long it takes for them to stop selling it. Bet it's within the month.

4. Don't report Grainger Games cos that's not very nice.

[Vimster]

I must admit that I'm kind of in agreement here; imagine the chavs getting their greasy chip-fat fingers all over the plastic covers of the display boxes and whatnot. I'd only allow food if it was either wrapped or in the owner's mouth at the time. (I used to visit the retro stores in Westgate St., Gloucester with my friend and he'd usually buy a pasty from the nearby shop, but he wouldn't go in the store until he'd finished eating. It's all about respect.)

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Did you ever used to go into Format in Westgate St, with the friendly old fella? Easily had the best selection of PC games anywhere in the area. It's right near KFC and The Pasty Shop, but then chavs were never ones to purchase SSI tank commander strategy games .

[Mr Spew]

1. Because it's done on a company by company basis. Just because store X is getting done, it doesn't mean that store Y will too. Remember it's Nintendo, they have no consistancy.

2. Yes that's part of what they do. If you don't stop selling imports they sue. But they also sue for loss of European Earnings or some other crap. I've forgotton exactly what it is. So you have to give them a % of your profit from selling non EU games. I think companies like Play-Asia get around it by the transaction being processed in the correct country. It's all a load of shit anyway. And believe me there's nothing worse than having a huge company like Nintendo on your ass with lawyers. It's not fun and it's not clever.

3. Report Grainger Games to Nintendo Europe and see how long it takes for them to stop selling it. Bet it's within the month.

4. Don't report Grainger Games cos that's not very nice.

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From what people have said, they're pretty shady (Grainger). Someone will have already come up with the idea of shopping them in consider the enemies they have (and the petty shop 'politics').