GAME: "We can't stock absolutely everything"

Specialist retailer GAME has said that it's unable to stock all new releases, in part due to shelf space in stores.

Yesterday it was revealed that the retailer would not be stocking any of Ubisoft's PlayStation Vita games at launch, and it also cancelled pre-orders for the Special Edition of Wii game The Last Story days before release.

The company is negotiation releases on a case-by-case basis with games publishers, following a troubled year in which it expects to make an £18 million loss.

But GAME's marketing director Anna-Marie Mason told our sister site Eurogamer.net that "there's no one specific catch-all reason" why the retailer isn't able to offer new releases to customers.

"With regards to the Ubisoft titles, that is one moment in time. It doesn't mean to say we won't have that title or that part of our proposition on an on-going basis.

"We can't stock absolutely everything. That's just not possible."

"The same applies in a rational way to our online business," she added. "There isn't a definitive reason why we haven't been able to stock those two things most recently. But that may well change."

Last week the store did not have copies of Namco's Tekken 3D Prime Edition, meaning it was not available on sale at over 350 UK stores. The game did not chart in the official UK sales charts as a result.

Mason also said that consumers who place pre-orders shouldn't lose faith in the retailer, as recent situations are exceptions and not an indication of forthcoming problems with other titles.

"We know our customers really well. Most of them have a really long history with us, and they know as a business we are absolutely committed to giving the best possible range as much of the time as we possibly can.

"The instances we've had in the last couple of weeks are absolutely the exception, not the rule."