GAME weathers the storm

And yes, on paper the Group has seen a year-on-year decline in sales. But unfavourable comparisons to the record-breaking numbers of 2008 perhaps mask the fact that GAME is still one of the gems of the UK High Street.

And let’s not forget it is the industry’s champion on the consumer frontline.

Last year the retailer was one of the few UK chains to report strong performance as the credit crunch bit down hard.

Sure, in 2009, its sales sunk in line with the market it operates in – but it’s still on track to deliver its second-best yearly profit in company history.

That’s bloody good going, and not something we should forget.

GAME’s two chains are, to a large number of gamers, the store front for the entire industry.

So when its management says that ‘the next growth phase of the video games market’ is still to come, and that this year’s upcoming motion-sensing controllers will drive people back into stores, the rest of us should listen.