Game no more?

Something which has been headline news in several British publications is the fact that the Game Group is on the verge of bankruptcy.    And while there's nothing new in game retailers going under, this one is worthy of note as Game is the only national UK retailer dedicated to video games - they own both the Game and Gamestation brands.

As such, if they did vanish tomorrow, the short-term impact on the UK games industry could be massive.   For instance, the non-specialist national retailers (e.g. supermarkets, HMV) carry a relatively limited range and quantity of games and may well reduce or abandon the policy of using steep game discounting to attract gamers.   The impact on first-week sales could therefore be significant.

Also, gamers will have fewer options when it comes to trading in their used games (which, if nothing else, may help to answer the question as to whether used games are the bane of the industry or a golden egg).

Admittedly, if Game does go bankrupt, the most likely scenario is that someone will buy their assets and reopen the stores.  And however things play out, this could benefit the few remaining independent stores, as well as the regional chains (e.g. Graingers).

Still, what do other people think?  Is this an early portent of the inevitable collapse of physical game retailing, or just a company which has failed to move with the times?