Game enters social networking arena

The site, Gamesnation.com, is in private beta testing, whereby users have to be invited to get access to it. It will then move to public beta testing before a full launch later this year.

Game said there is “no time frame” for an official launch, and that it is still “in conversations with customers”. A spokesman added that the site will be “more than just social networking” but declined to give further details. “We’re still working on it,” he said.

Game rival HMV scrapped its social networking site Getcloser.com in September, a year after its launch.

The threat posed by the digitisation of the sector has caused some analysts to question the longevity of retailers like Game, which issued a profit warning earlier this month.

Online streaming channels like the US’s Onlive are yet to launch fully in the UK but are considered a threat to bricks-and-mortar retailers.

Last year Game chief executive Lisa Morgan did not rule out joining the streaming games arena, and at the most recent results update on January 12 chairman Peter Lewis said Game would “continue to invest” in its multichannel offer.

He said: “We believe that in the future, a leading brand proposition must encompass stores, ecommerce and digital distribution. Our aim is to be at the forefront of this evolutionary process.”