Fears for Game as supplier stalls over credit

Fresh concerns were raised over Game Group's future yesterday, after a leading games company refused to supply it with its latest products over concerns about its creditworthiness.

Shares in the retailer crashed by 16 per cent to 4.92p after an internal memo yesterday said EA Technologies had rejected its plea for relief on its credit terms to sell the Mass Effect 3 game due for release next week.

The retailer, which is trying to sell its 663-store overseas business, "apologised sincerely" and guided customers to EA's website and rivals Amazon, Play, Zavvi and shopto.net. Game is battling not only internet specialists and digital downloads but also a brutal consumer slowdown.