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Blockbuster Inc. announced on 2 May 2007 that it had sold
Gamestation Ltd. to British based Game Group Plc for about £75 million ($ 150 million). 217 Gamestation stores were sold in the deal. Gamestation's smaller "concession" stores, that operated inside of some Blockbuster stores, were not involved
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2010, Gamestation temporarily added a clause to its online sales contract claiming that "By placing an order via this Web site on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant Us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul."
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Mainly used in store and in newspapers. The original four staff members were Fat Steve (Liverpool Lord Street), Robyn (Merry Hill), Amber (Bracknell) and Kevin (Reading). The response from this was quite popular so the idea was used again throughout 2011 with a different cast of staff. The campaign
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In 2010, Gamestation relaunched its
Christmas campaign with a similar theme, "Talk to the Gamers". A campaign used to again encourage customers to come and talk to the staff in an attempt to be more personal. This promotion starred the "Faces of Gamestation." Four staff members from the Gamestation
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On 8 March 2012, it was reported that both Game and
Gamestation were heavily discounting stock in an attempt to minimise any debts ahead of administration, and it was duly confirmed on 26 March 2012, that Game Group had entered administration with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ian Shepard stepped down
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Online operations were operated through
Gamestation.co.uk, originally managed by Game Group's acquisition Gameplay GB ltd in 2004. Pricing structures were similar to the groups other websites, but maintains the Gamestation identity. As of May 2012, the websites for both Game and Gamestation are run
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Gamestation advertised their
Christmas promotions with the 'Fat Chris' character, which is a parody of Father Christmas (advertised as "What's half of Father Christmas?" – "Fat Chris!"). He was used for Christmas 2006 and 2007, and also reappeared in the 2008 Christmas advertising campaign. "Fat
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2006 saw their
American parent company file massive debts in the region of $ 560 million, leading to widespread speculation that the company was either rife to a take over or teetering on the edge of administration, however Gamestation was in fact still making healthy profits, Blockbuster went
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who invested heavily in an aggressive store roll out program. This, coupled with competitive pricing subsidised by the buoyant video rental market of the time, elevated the chain to second highest market share in the games industry; behind Game.
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were considered to be
Gamestation's primary competitor. Gamestation's main method of attracting customers was to put on more special offers than its competitor as well as focusing on pre-owned games and large discounts on older titles.
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in May 2007, a group which owns many different gaming stores throughout the United
Kingdom and Europe. In March 2012, the Game Group went into administration and a number of Gamestation stores, including the company's flagship store in
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for
Christmas in 2011 was themed "Welcome Home Gamers" with television adverts focused on people portraying family members, friends or the "Gamer" themselves coming in from the cold and finding what they needed in store.
306:. On 14 September 2012, it was announced that the Gamestation brand will disappear with all stores being rebranded as Game. On 18 November 2012, the Gamestation website closed and redirected to that of Game.
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508:. In 2009, however, it was dropped with the shop promotions "starring" the branch manager of the particular store, to encourage the customers to talk to the staff and give the stores a more personal feel.
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as CEO. As of
November 2011, Gamestation had operated 232 stores throughout the United Kingdom, and 277 stores operating under both brands were instantly closed. All the Irish Game stores were closed.
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These stores were re-branded as 'Blockbuster Games' stores and no longer operated under the Gamestation identity. The Gamestation brand was run in parallel with the parent company's Game brand.
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was a chain of retail shops in the United Kingdom selling used and new video games, and was the second largest specialist video game retailer in the United Kingdom until it was acquired by
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Gamestation was founded in 1993 in York, and by 2002, it had 64 stores across the United Kingdom. In October 2002, Gamestation was sold during the peak sales period of
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through a process of consolidation and sold any outlets not branded 'Blockbuster' in an effort to concentrate on its core business.
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officially made a deal to purchase the Group, taking on the 334 remaining stores and securing over 3,000 jobs.
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On 29 February 2012, it was announced that both Game and Gamestation would no longer stock new titles from
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license agreements that allow companies to hide unfavourable conditions from their consumers.
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brand were chosen and used in both standard advertising and Christmas themed displays.
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in the Game takeover and were instead owned by Blockbuster exclusively.
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740:"GAME Shifting Stock Before Administrators Come In? | Media Blasphemy"
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638:"Game Digital agrees to £52m takeover by Mike Ashley's Sports Direct"
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This article is about company. For the fictional space station, see
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Game and Gamestation were purchased from the administrators by
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Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Blockbuster Entertainment Corp.
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788:"Gamestation collects customers' souls in April Fools gag"
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533:, the prank was meant to illustrate the problems with
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56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
586:"New GAME will feature 'the best of Gamestation'"
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559:"Game acquires Gamestation in £74 million deal"
313:, following its purchase of Game in June 2019.
1073:Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom
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447:and previous generations of consoles (such as
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667:"130 jobs under threat at York software firm"
1093:Video game retailers in the United Kingdom
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504:Chris" was portrayed by stand-up comedian
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116:Learn how and when to remove this message
367:Gamestation was based at Unity House in
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309:The defunct brand is currently owned by
1088:Retail companies disestablished in 2012
584:Christopher Dring (14 September 2012).
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618:from the original on 9 September 2012
592:from the original on 27 November 2012
1083:Retail companies established in 1993
529:Besides the humorous reference to a
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54:adding citations to reliable sources
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16:Defunct UK-based video game retailer
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565:from the original on 7 October 2010
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691:Wallop, Harry (29 February 2012).
322:Foundation and sale to Blockbuster
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762:"Gamestation store numbers, 2011"
338:, to American video rental giant
917:Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
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786:Shane Richmond (17 April 2010).
415:The chain mainly focused on the
330:A high-street Gamestation store.
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721:from the original on 2012-03-05
673:from the original on 2013-10-14
648:from the original on 2021-11-27
407:Until they bought Gamestation,
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41:needs additional citations for
949:Former brands and acquisitions
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820:Gamestation official website
371:from 2009 until its demise.
245:Julian Gladwin (co founders)
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1020:Harris v. Blockbuster, Inc.
186:; 12 years ago
168:; 31 years ago
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1078:Former Viacom subsidiaries
872:Blockbuster (Bend, Oregon)
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794:. London. Archived from
699:. London. Archived from
693:"Game falls out with EA"
557:Neil Long (2 May 2007).
423:generation of consoles:
299:New Street were closed.
21:Gamestation (Doctor Who)
715:"GAME - Mass Effect 3"
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1038:The Last Blockbuster
499:Christmas promotions
441:PlayStation Portable
375:by Game Retail Ltd.
50:improve this article
697:The Daily Telegraph
531:deal with the devil
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744:mediablasphemy.com
612:"We are now GAME!"
395:On 31 March 2012,
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976:KPS Video Express
520:April Fools' 2010
445:Microsoft Windows
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461:Game Boy Advance
403:Deals and appeal
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67: –
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65:"Gamestation"
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61:Find sources:
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39:This article
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893:John Antioco
800:. Retrieved
796:the original
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770:. Retrieved
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748:the original
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723:. Retrieved
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701:the original
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675:. Retrieved
661:
650:. Retrieved
642:the Guardian
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620:. Retrieved
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567:. Retrieved
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351:Sale to GAME
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275:.gamestation
243:Stephen Hall
220:Headquarters
202:Merged into
143:Company type
112:
106:January 2007
103:
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86:
79:
72:
60:
48:Please help
43:verification
40:
1047:(TV series)
1045:Blockbuster
996:Xtra-vision
971:Gamestation
802:20 November
622:21 November
596:21 November
569:21 November
493:PlayStation
489:Nintendo 64
473:Sega Saturn
437:Nintendo DS
369:Basingstoke
340:Blockbuster
288:Gamestation
262:Accessories
224:Basingstoke
157:Video games
129:Gamestation
1067:Categories
986:Record Bar
772:2011-12-05
725:2012-02-29
677:2010-03-16
652:2021-11-27
545:References
535:fine print
469:Mega Drive
363:Operations
297:Birmingham
239:Key people
76:newspapers
981:Movielink
539:clickwrap
485:Super NES
477:Dreamcast
228:Hampshire
210:Successor
1005:Lawsuits
867:EchoStar
719:Archived
671:Archived
646:Archived
616:Archived
590:Archived
563:Archived
457:GameCube
429:Xbox 360
397:OpCapita
304:OpCapita
250:Products
153:Industry
588:. MCV.
561:. MCV.
421:seventh
317:History
268:Website
189: (
181:Defunct
171: (
163:Founded
147:Private
90:scholar
966:Erol's
491:, and
459:, and
92:
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78:
71:
63:
417:sixth
97:JSTOR
83:books
804:2012
624:2012
598:2012
571:2012
453:Xbox
439:and
419:and
409:Game
292:Game
214:Game
204:Game
199:Fate
191:2012
184:2012
173:1993
166:1993
69:news
940:7th
935:6th
930:4th
925:1st
537:in
524:On
481:NES
433:Wii
279:.uk
277:.co
273:www
52:by
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