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50% off Storewide (Excludes Hardware, Digital Content, Currencies, Gift Cards) @ EB Games (In-Store)

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50% off Storewide (Excludes Hardware, Digital Content, Currencies, Gift Cards) @ EB Games (In-Store)
Go to Deal
Luser3907 on 14/01/2026 - 19:17 ebgames.co.nz (4269 clicks)
Last edited 16/01/2026 - 16:56 by 2 other users

After careful consideration and consultation, we have made the difficult decision to close all EB Games New Zealand stores by Saturday 31 January 2026.

Our stores and website will be open tomorrow from Thursday 15 January 1PM NZDT with a 50% Off Closing Down Sale.

Click and Collect is currently unavailable, and will be available from Friday 16 January 9AM NZDT.

NO PREORDERS. NO LAYBYS. NO RAINCHECKS. NO HOLDS.
ALL SALES FINAL. NO CHANGE OF MIND.
LIMITED TIME ONLY. DISCOUNT OFF MARKED PRICE, INCLUDES ALE ITEMS. WHILE STOCKS LAST. NOT TO BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER - ALL RETRO SOFTWARE NOW $3.

End of an era bois

F 🥀

Update 16-Jan-2026

It is no longer possible to order anything online.

Gaming Video Game

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Comments

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  • Ionas on 15/01/2026 - 12:48
    +1

    Do not bother with Newmarket Auckland, think there are like 2000 people

  • ace310 on 15/01/2026 - 12:55
    +1

    Doesn't look like anything worth it as most of you all mentioned.

    Saw this update for St.Lukes store on Reddit

  • mcaekey on 15/01/2026 - 13:01
    +1

    And the website is dead 😂

    • kiwical on 15/01/2026 - 13:03
      +1

      Managed to cart a few items by getting on 5 minutes before 1pm, but yeah. No surprise there really TBH.

      • Matrixx on 15/01/2026 - 13:11

        payment option is only Paypal?

      • dankd on 15/01/2026 - 13:55
        +1

        Same here. Snapped up some switch 2 games at 12:55.

    • mpc on 15/01/2026 - 13:24
      +1

      It sure is:

      Your estimated wait time is 32 minutes

      • quote on 15/01/2026 - 13:36

        Mine got down to 2 minutes from 10, then jumped to 1 hour 37

        Now 2 hours 52

  • kiwical on 15/01/2026 - 13:01
    +1

    Website hasn't completely crashed but it's so slow it's almost unusable.

    EDIT: And there it goes…..

    "The service is unavailable."

  • quote on 15/01/2026 - 13:03

    Bl4 is good price but only ps5 not xbsx

    • kiwical on 15/01/2026 - 13:05
      +1

      Yeah it's OK if you must have it new. But it is a $45 / $50 game on Trade Me second hand anyway. So not really worth absolutely stressing over if you miss out.

      • quote on 15/01/2026 - 13:07

        Ddnt realise was that price 2nd hand, ill just use tm then

  • MrCheapie on 15/01/2026 - 13:04
    +1

    Websites crashed. Can’t even purchase anything haha. I saw though there is next to nothing left already for the retro games. Very poor selection. Likely there will only be the merch and socks etc.

  • Everettpsycho on 15/01/2026 - 13:07
    +1

    Website has taken off anything that was coming from stores, so anything I was considering that was in stock in Timaru is gone all together. Guess if Timaru don't sell through them they'll be back up tomorrow

  • nowimback on 15/01/2026 - 13:09
    +5

    Browsed the website for a few minutes while it worked and almost everything I looked at was 'must purchase in store' lol

    • spam on 15/01/2026 - 13:12

      Same. The one I'm interested to get is must purchase in store. Don't think I'd be bothered coming into the store with all the crowds.

      I'd probably gamble and see what's available for C&C tomorrow.

  • mcaekey on 15/01/2026 - 13:13
    +2

    Now in a queue so rip

    • Matrixx on 15/01/2026 - 13:17
      +2

      and the time just keeps on increasing!

      • mcaekey on 15/01/2026 - 13:18

        Yeah it said 2 minutes five minutes ago hah.

        • coxbussy on 15/01/2026 - 13:20
          +2

          saying 21 mins for me lmao

  • Fox419 on 15/01/2026 - 13:16
    +3

    I visited local store.
    100s queued outside, cops for crowds.
    Bare shelves.
    Not worth waiting

    • The Hound on 15/01/2026 - 13:19
      +2

      Do people lining up at Newmarket store not know that the shelves are empty? LOL this doesn't make sense. For photos or videos, check the socials

  • ulcerrator on 15/01/2026 - 13:16
    +1

    Anyone go to the Manukau one? Any boardgames left?

    • Vish on 15/01/2026 - 13:17

      Huge line to even get in brother

      • The Hound on 15/01/2026 - 13:20

        Look at the large queues. Must be good. Let's join in…

  • mcaekey on 15/01/2026 - 13:19
    +1

    Hah my colleague went to the online shop, 47 minute queue.

  • Rhys on 15/01/2026 - 13:21
    +2

    I'm surprised they lasted this long, even when closing down they can't offer a decent sale. Cheaper games on Amazon with free shipping.

  • KiwiHunts4CheapDeals on 15/01/2026 - 13:22

    I bookmarked at least 5 PS5 games I wanted last week and they all show up like this :
    https://files.cheapies.nz/upload/17693/5905/screenshot_20260…

    Meh. Overhyped…

  • Gatkins on 15/01/2026 - 13:23
    +1

    About 120-150 were in line in hastings plus people in store. Store half empty. Really weird people are still in line.

    • The Hound on 15/01/2026 - 13:31
      +4

      Looks like EB staff already raided half the store before the public lol

      • quote on 15/01/2026 - 13:39
        +5

        In a normal sale id be annoyed, but if they getting fired then thats not as bad

      • Frisky Grandma on 15/01/2026 - 14:29
        +2

        Good on them.

        There’s probably a few managers who are letting a lot of… things slip

    • Gatkins on 15/01/2026 - 13:49
      +1

      Still well over 100 in line when I just drove past again!

      • The Hound on 15/01/2026 - 14:09
        +1

        The school holidays have amplified the queues quite abit I reckon.

  • nevergofullretail on 15/01/2026 - 13:32
    +1

    i blame that funko pop landfill for their downfall, some good memories of buying 1c items a few years back

    • kiwical on 15/01/2026 - 13:36

      Always the same with a trend product. Was always gonna end in disaster when the hype wore off. EB may have overinvested themselves in it. I guess they made $$ at the end of the day though from them.

      • justaddwater on 15/01/2026 - 16:27

        They tried the Lego model?

  • MrCheapie on 15/01/2026 - 13:44

    In queue to access the website and it goes from 8 minutes estimated wait time after about 5 minutes has passed to now 15 minutes.

    • Matrixx on 15/01/2026 - 13:45

      freaking crazy, ive been waiting for past 30 mins, never made it

    • rkl on 15/01/2026 - 13:46

      Mine said 9 min, 25 minutes ago.
      Now says 46…

      • Matrixx on 15/01/2026 - 13:47
        +1

        yeah its making us bounce around, the website cant even keep us in the line.

    • Pointtracer on 15/01/2026 - 13:48
      +1

      If you get past the queue, the site is much more responsive than before.

      • Matrixx on 15/01/2026 - 13:50
        +1

        but how easy it is to get through the queue, ive been waiting ever since 1.05

        • Pointtracer on 15/01/2026 - 13:50
          +1

          I have no idea, I've been here since 12:55, but I just got lucky and was let in about 10 minutes ago

          • Pointtracer on 15/01/2026 - 13:52
            +2

            @Pointtracer: As an aside, any compelling games are gone.
            Before the queue, you could put them in the cart, but after the queue, my cart was empty and the games were marked as in store only

          • The Hound on 15/01/2026 - 14:07
            +1

            @Pointtracer: Hey imagine u finally got into website after all the wait, placed an order, only to have order cancelled a few days later.

            • Pointtracer on 15/01/2026 - 14:10
              +1

              @The Hound: Will have to see, eb is generally quite good at this though, when you get to checkout and if it isn't available, they don't let you complete the transaction.

        • dankd on 15/01/2026 - 13:57
          +1

          What are you looking for? Most of the good stuff has sold out online by now.

  • Gatkins on 15/01/2026 - 13:51
    +3

    Just tried going to the website for laughs

    "Your estimated wait time is 3 hours and 12 minutes"

  • MrCheapie on 15/01/2026 - 13:53
    +3

    I’m in and am struggling to find anything good worth buying. All says purchase only instore or out of stock.

    • Pointtracer on 15/01/2026 - 13:57

      The only thing worth anything is probably Rosalina's storybook.

      • Matrixx on 15/01/2026 - 14:02

        what if it says "Available" what are the chances it is instore?

  • wowbigdeal on 15/01/2026 - 14:10

    Please see the complaints line below.
    Thank you for your patience.
    Your estimated wait time to make a complaint is 5 hours and 27 minutes.

    Please line up in an orderly fashion.

  • Bixel on 15/01/2026 - 14:14
    +1

    Just if anyone's wondering re: online (not sure how accurate this is) but the website is showing there's only around 116 items left that are marked as available online.

  • moxpearl on 15/01/2026 - 14:23
    +2

    I was looking at grabbing some board games.

    90% of them have ben removed from the website overnight, so yeah… hah.

    Guessing all valuable stock sent back to suppliers and co.

  • Frisky Grandma on 15/01/2026 - 14:28
    +1

    Seeing the posts on Reddit and Facebook.

    Nope. Not going near those stores

  • fatboyj on 15/01/2026 - 14:37

    EB Palms had the queue snaking to Farmers and many onlookers. They opened the doors at 1pm and let in only 10 people. One guy had a box in his hand and was shoving some round ball stuff like there was no tomorrow so guess TM will be flooded with them soon.

  • vultur3 on 15/01/2026 - 14:50

    is there anything like EBgames now in nz????

    • MrCheapie on 15/01/2026 - 15:08

      Lots of small businesses maybe some some traders… Appleby Games, Memorylane Games (pretty expensive for retro / pre owned games) and HighlySuspect on Trade Me as well as Snowy River NZ has some decent deals on pre owned and new games.

  • Brodeany on 15/01/2026 - 14:53
    +1

    Has anyone even gotten something good from there yet? 😂

    • The Hound on 15/01/2026 - 14:57
      +1

      ask any EB staff member

  • saltycreamy on 15/01/2026 - 14:53
    +2

    Went there and they just excluded all the good stuffs. All is left is something ur not gonna buy anyway LOL

  • Foodie on 15/01/2026 - 15:09

    Queensgate was/is? mental, letting a few people into store at a time. Queue out into parking lot.
    People didnt look to be having a good time in queue.

    • The Hound on 15/01/2026 - 15:43

      Is EB selling their exclusive NFT that I'm not aware of?

  • Pinoy Punisher on 15/01/2026 - 15:36
    +1

    Any idea if purchase instore only will change to delivery at some point? Few games I am keen to get but a bit further out to me.

  • KiwiHunts4CheapDeals on 15/01/2026 - 16:09
    +1

    I'm so glad I didn't go:

    https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DWm59xd9E/

  • jamesdeal on 15/01/2026 - 17:04
    +1

    i went to there site at 1:51 50% saile had started early but site was slow was able to get a fortnite xbox/pc controller

    • jamesdeal on 16/01/2026 - 11:28

      i ment 12:51

  • F armer on 15/01/2026 - 17:16
    +1

    EB games dragonite pokemon card prices going up it seems

  • Signit63 on 15/01/2026 - 20:13
    +3

    Went to the Henderson store at 6pm to see if it had died down. Still had a 20 min wait to see there was bugger all left inside. Mostly second hand xbox stuff or cruddy merch.

  • Huntakillaz on 15/01/2026 - 21:58

    Markets open for a new company now that Gamesman and EB Games dead.

    • Everettpsycho on 15/01/2026 - 23:24

      It's called steam 🤣

      I still think there is a market for gaming but digital did a number on it. I still wish they had pivoted in to a gaming centre that you could hire out a booth with some mates and borrow one of their games on their console, if you have a blast on it you'd be a bit more likely to grab a copy while you're there riding the high. Or host more events in store to get people in and eyes on the products. You know when something like Mario kart or a new halo comes out have a session on the Saturday while people are still fresh with no practice under the belts to have a tournament or something. Hell a time trial booth on forza or GT with best time of the month getting a prize and their name on the wall, make it like top gear. Gaming had so many ways they could have done stuff to get traffic in store and try and convert that traffic to sales.

    • Flippant on 16/01/2026 - 12:42

      You'd have to be pretty brave if you just watched a giant international company like Gamestop with their immense buying power fail in NZ and thought that you could do better. I think brick and mortar gaming stores from now on will be sections in larger stores like JB, Noel Leeming, Warehouse etc because they're the only types of stores that can sustain having a dedicated gaming section. I don't think people realize just how little profit there is in gaming hardware and software, I'll tell you this from personal experience, it's not enough to keep the lights on.

      • Everettpsycho on 16/01/2026 - 13:04

        I wouldn't be putting my money where my mouth is that's for sure. It's a dying industry selling physical things in a digital world. I just think with all foot print and capital investment they could have tried more methods to diversify income to higher margin areas. Selling pop culture merch clearly isn't the solution. Their staff were really nice and knowledgeable and in an age where gaming is as high profile as it's become just selling games and merch doesn't feel like it really capitalized on what gamers want or would pay for.

        • Flippant on 16/01/2026 - 14:00

          While I don't agree with you I upvoted your comment because some spineless idiot downvoted your opinion without offering one of their own, and I hate that on the internet. Downvotes on comments should at the very least have their usernames visible so there's some kind of accountability.

          As for the diversifying you say the gaming stores need to do to be successful, that's exactly why JB, Warehouse etc can sustain a gaming section, because they offer a wide range of other products, they've found the formula, it's the one that works and it's the one that helped kill off Gamestop in NZ. It's pretty straightforward. Larger more populated countries can sustain specialist stores a lot better than the NZ market can, and even gaming stores in those countries are struggling, not just Gamestop, but all gaming stores, Game in the UK closed 40 of its stores last year.

        • Huntakillaz on 16/01/2026 - 14:33

          There will be a point where it'll come back as Ai and Ai slop infiltrate more and more digital spaces as well as blatant in your face advertising, as well as Corporations start removing content more and more.

          Physicial media will have a resurgence, may not be this year or the next few but it's happening as streaming prices are going up and up.

          Steam is the only thing holding it all down for gaming. But only while other corpos play nice.

          But yes they do need to pivot from just selling merch to also including experiences.
          Think like integrating time out arcades, or just arcades that let you go with friends and play games together like ddr or vr spaces.
          And then also selling ddr mats and vr headsets etc

          They can even do retro booths with ps1-ps4 games and other old consoles.

          Sure there won't be 30+ stores, but have 5-10 across the main cities is possible. As most retailers no longer have those demo play consoles like they did in the 90s so thier sales are based on ppl already going into but, not so much ppl thinking about it or not having experienced it and being able to experience it.

          Remember also that as gen x, millennials get older they'll still be quite into gaming unlike generations before so amount of ppl atm is still expanding.

          .

          • Flippant on 16/01/2026 - 17:00
            -1

            @Huntakillaz: Oh, so you think gaming stores AND physical media will both make a comeback.

            Good luck with that. I'll finish now because you obviously know more about this than I ever will.

  • liz181 on 16/01/2026 - 04:16
    +1

    Cant filter website by store & everything is instore only annoying

    • kiwical on 16/01/2026 - 07:15
      +3

      I really doubt there would be anything left at this stage. All those crowds. People would have bought "anything" just to justify to themselves waiting in the queue.

  • mcaekey on 16/01/2026 - 07:46
    +1

    Kirby Air Ride for Switch 2 is available online for delivery but the fee is ridiculous ($16).

    • MrCheapie on 16/01/2026 - 09:44
      +1

      I got Kirby Air Riders and Pokémon Z-A for the switch 2 for 50% off

      • pinch on 16/01/2026 - 10:17

        Bugger. I missed this what time did you order?

        • Everettpsycho on 16/01/2026 - 10:54

          Switch 2 does seem to be the most stocked stuff left in store so maybe try your luck. Guessing the small install base limited people purchasing.

          I was tempted to get another power adapter for it but at $16 shipping it's almost full price and not worth the effort.

          • pinch on 16/01/2026 - 11:30

            @Everettpsycho: I was at the manukau mall yesterday and it seemed like they had removed anything of value from the shelves including switch 2 games, but this doesn't seem to be the case at a couple malls.

        • MrCheapie on 16/01/2026 - 17:46

          I was up at 7:00am browsing the website. Noticed around 8:00am they had gone.

      • mcaekey on 16/01/2026 - 12:09
        +1

        I got pokemon in the end as it works on the OG Switch.

      • mcaekey on 19/01/2026 - 20:28

        Did your order actually ship?

        • MrCheapie on 21/01/2026 - 21:01

          Still sitting as received…. No emails about delays or cancellations as of yet. I’ll give it until the 27th and then will try to reach their customer service or cancel the order through the website.

          • mcaekey on 21/01/2026 - 22:21

            @MrCheapie: Mine got cancelled tonight.

            • MrCheapie on 22/01/2026 - 17:51
              +1

              @mcaekey: Good news my order is now finally processing. Although we aren’t out of gate yet until it gets shipped. Fingers crossed the full order gets shipped and doesn’t get amended or cancelled.

              • mcaekey on 22/01/2026 - 18:42
                +1

                @MrCheapie: Mine sat at processing for a few days then, bam! Cancelled so good luck!

  • Matrixx on 16/01/2026 - 09:08
    +1

    i thought click and collect becomes available today, any idea when?

    • Everettpsycho on 16/01/2026 - 09:12

      According to their facebook they have decided to not reenable it this morning, so it's all in store only now seeing as almost nothing is available for delivery:

      https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17NWmgLnSx/

      I'm not sure I trust their stock levels on the website considering the queues outside yesterday.

      • spam on 16/01/2026 - 10:46
        +1

        It looks like at least as of now they updated the stock level. The one item I got yesterday listed as out of stock now (wasn't this morning). But I imagined it's not real time so it's first in to get whatever you want from that store today

      • Nuzzer on 16/01/2026 - 12:27

        This morning my local store was showing a board game in stock. I went up and got it. Now shows out of stock at my store. I think it's updating ok.

        • Everettpsycho on 16/01/2026 - 14:21
          +3

          Just went in to hornby, not a single switch 2 game left but website says they have loads in stock. I wouldn't trust the website stock levels that much. People are still queing to get in and there's very little left, what is left is still flying off shelves though.

  • Flippant on 16/01/2026 - 14:15
    +1

    The BOGOF deal they were running before Xmas had better deals, I got Star Wars Outlaws and FF16 for $14.40ea and they're currently $18ea. Starfield was $7.20 during their 30% off sale and now it's 50% off and it costs $12. Go figure.

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