EB Games heaving with crowds as gamers snatch final deals
Huge lines snaked outside EB Games stores around the country after the retailer announced it would close all NZ shops at the end of the month.
Hundreds of people have lined up outside EB Games stores around the country, eager to get some last minute bargains before the shops shut down.
The gaming outlet announced on Wednesday that it would be shutting all 38 stores around NZ by 31 January. They kicked off 50 percent off sales on Thursday, with no click and collect available until Friday, so gamers flocked on foot to stores.
A St Lukes mall security guard told RNZ by about 12.15pm up to 500 people had gathered around the store waiting to get in.
"... We were not prepared for anything like this... we had to setup barriers and organise a grumpy crowd on the fly," he told RNZ.
Klaris Phillipson and her daughter Paige waited in line at St Lukes EB Games for three hours, eager to grab some Star Wars collectibles they said were hard to find anywhere else.
Queues formed outside of EB Games in Auckland's St Lukes on 15 January, 2026 as the business prepares for closure.
RNZ / Pratik Navani
“I’ve been going there [EB Games] for 30 years, from when we lived in Sydney... there’s nothing like it in New Zealand," Klaris told RNZ.
Klaris and her daughter Paige at EB Games in St Lukes, Auckland.
RNZ / Pratik Navani
Brothers Kartik and Shivansh Sehgal waited three-and-a-half hours to get into EB Games, a shop they said defined their childhood.
They were looking to buy Pokémon cards, Lego sets and gaming accessories.
"A lot of things are online, but EB Games was the first place we would visit for reliable older secondhand games," they said.
Brothers Kartik and Shivansh Sehgal at EB Games in St Lukes, Auckland.
RNZ / Pratik Navani
EB Games is an Australian-based video game and pop culture merchandise retailer, owned by GameStop since 2005. There are currently 336 outlets in Australia, according to GameStop's latest annual report.
The queues for EB Games were going out the door at Queensgate shopping centre in Lower Hutt on 15 January, 2026.
Supplied / Lower Hutt Paradise facebook
Queues at Newmarket outside of the EB Games shop on 15 January, 2026.
Supplied
