//COMMENT: DESIGN Can we save high street retailers? by David Braben, Frontier Developments
THE WRITING APPEARS to be on the wall for retail, with the sad demise of retailer GAME. The typical presumption is that they will
survive for one month, six months or maybe even a year or two, with the gradual move to digital as the rest of our industry tries to avoid the all-but-piracy of second hand games passed-off as new. In the wake of chains like GAME is already the debris of the independent retailers they helped oust in their turn. But is it really that bleak? No.
POSITIVE THINKING I think that high street retail could be healthy in the long-term if it worked together with the rest of the industry. One of the thingsthe games sector lacks is a venue. Somewhere people can go to be part of a wider experience. As a comparison, look at the Games Workshop retail chain for table-top role-playing games, or indeed the Apple Centre retail stores. These provide venues where people can see the games, the accessories, what's coming, and just chat about what they care about, and 'hang out'. My guess is many of the clientele of the
Apple retail stores don't make a purchase on a typical visit. Many are kids – old and young – wanting to just play with the machines. But this is important. It builds brand loyalty, anticipation and community. They hanker after what they see, and will use 'pester- power' to make sure they eventually get it. GAME or its spiritual successors could do this too; in fact it is very well placed to do so. As long as the business model is structured in a way that such a retailer can benefit from a resulting sale of a game first discovered in their store – perhaps through discount codes – which with industry help could ensure a commission to that retailer. Ten years ago, it was typical for retailers (and mostly indie retailers) to have playable demos of games on show for you to play, and so they were venues of sorts already. This went away as the big faceless chains including GAME muscled them into oblivion, and GAME remained steadfastly stuck in a particular version of what was the past even then. There the assumption is that selling games is no different to selling soap powder or cereal; arrays of brightly coloured boxes stacked on shelves, charging suppliers for that shelf space, and charging again for any subsequent sales, usually heavily discounted but with little additional service; little 'added value' when compared to the expert advice that those great indies used to give.
CAN TOUCH THIS The rest of our industry, the publishing and development sectors, have not stood still for the last 30 years, and there is no reason to
think they will do so in the near future. Over the last year or so we have seen a return towards physical elements contributing to games like Kinectimals with the material plush animals, Skylanders with its active plastic toys, and location-sensitive games on mobiles.
The fact that much of the software
deployment in the future may be digital rather than via physical disc does not stop retailers getting involved.
All those very much lend themselves to a
physical retail experience. The fact that much of the software deployment in the future may be digital rather than via physical disc does not stop retailers getting involved; there is no reason a digital portal cannot be part of their offering. Just look at the Apple Centres. As we move towards what is often termed 'ubiquitous computing', where everything
from your fridge to your cooker to your car is internet-enabled, we will see ever bigger changes and most likely this move towards physical experiences will continue. Again, all this is very well suited to physical retail.
SMELL THE COFFEE So perhaps there is a place for retailers as such a venue. One concern may be whether there is sufficient revenue to support such shops, so it may need to be supplemented by other income sources, but nevertheless it should be possible with time to build a valuable customer base. Perhaps they might sell decent coffee, cementing themselves as a 'venue' for other family members who might not want to come just for the games. Then they would be great places to have on any high street. Maybe they would give the huge numbers of shoe shops, mobile phone shops, and – yes – coffee shops a run for their money.
David Braben is the founder of Frontier Developments. Best known as the co-creator of Elite, Braben has contributed to a number of other projects including Frontier: Elite II, Thrillville, LostWinds and Kinectimals. www.frontier.co.uk
MAY 2012 | 11
Stores like Apple’s prove there is still ample potential in bricks and morter – and chic glass – high street shops