UK indie chain Games Centre enters liquidation
Another games retailer disappears from the High Street
Award winning and highly regarded UK independent retailer Games Centre has entered liquidation.
The chain is based in Scotland and operated eight stores and an online outlet. It had been running for over 25 years. The team, led by Robert Lindsay, was a regular face at UK retail events and has collected seven MCV Awards for Best Independent Retailer (including this year).
It's the latest casualty of the UK games retail scene, which has also seen the closure of Grainger Games in March - another independent chain which operated 67 stores across the UK. Independent online retailer GameSeek then closed earlier this month.
Both chains had faced significant operating difficulties in the face of digital downloads and a troubled UK retail scene. Indeed, UK stores such as Maplins, Toys R Us, M&S and Mothercare have had to either close entirely or reduce their store count this year due to a fall in sales.
Games Centre boss Robert Lindsay told GamesIndustry.biz that the news probably doesn't come as a surprise because "the whole physical games market has been in decline for a while now and our business costs have risen significantly over the last 18 months. But it is heartbreaking nonetheless."