"2011 has been a very tough year for the video games industry" CEO Ian Shepherd says as Game Group H1 2011 sales drop by -10.5% Y-o-Y to £558.8M, with pre-tax losses totalling -£51.5M (from -£21.5M in 2010).
Shepherd insists "trading conditions will remain tough for the remainder of the year"-- an outlook not unlike that of other retails throughout Europe and the UK.
UK and Ireland Game store sales losses total -12%, while international store losses total 10.2%. The only growing Game sector is online, with a Y-o-Y increase of 2.3%.
The retailer hopes 18 special videogame editions will help boost sales in the Christmas period-- or at least show some growth over the last 6 months. According to Shepherd, L.A. Noire was the only game standing out as a strong title in H1 2011, while Nintendo 3DS sales were below expectations.
