Trading name EB Games Australia Industry Electronics Stores Founded 27 February 1997 | Type Public company Headquarters Brisbane, Australia Number of employees 5,000 | |
 | ||
Key people Steve Wilson
(Managing Director) Products Video Games, Consoles and Accessories Divisions Zing Pop Culture Australia Parent organization EB International Holdings Inc Profiles | ||
EB Games Australia (originally Electronics Boutique) is an Australian video game and entertainment software retailer. Headquartered in Eagle Farm, Queensland (a suburb of Brisbane), the company operates over 380 stores across Australia's six states and two territories and 40 more stores in New Zealand. EB Games Australia is part of GameStop. EB Games sells video games, consoles, and accessories for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Xbox 360, Xbox, Xbox One, Wii, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo 64, Wii U, PC, Nintendo DS and the Nintendo 3DS. Customers can also purchase games online from the EB games website.
Contents
History
The first Australian store was opened on 5 July 1997 in Westfield Shoppingtown Miranda, New South Wales, with stores opening near-concurrently at Westfield Group Tuggerah, New South Wales and in the Old Charlestown Square complex.
In 2003, Electronics Boutique officially started trading as EB Games to stop confusion with the idea they were an electronics store.
EB World
EB World is a loyalty program founded in 2011 and operated by EB Games Australia. Members can earn points called "carrots" by shopping at EB Games, gaining increased and additional benefits through their continued purchases. By August 2014, EB World had gained 3 million members in Australia. On the EB world card, there is their EB world logo, the rabbit, Buck. That is where their royalty "carrots" comes from
Pre-owned products
EB Games' pre-owned section covers consoles and games as well as accessories. The trade-in does not include peripheral accessories (aesthetic accessories that are not required for gameplay, including Sports Kits, Charging Stands and AV / Composite / HDMI cables). Whilst current generation consoles and games are still carried in every store, only a few stores referred to as "Vision Stores" still carry the older generation consoles and games (PlayStation Portable). EB Games also trades in certain Apple iPod (Classic, Touch and Nano), iPhone and iPad models as well as select Android Devices.
In all Australian states and territories, the value of traded games, consoles and accepted accessories can be used as in-store credit towards all items in stock as well as towards paying off a Lay-by or Pre-order on an upcoming release title. Only in some states can the traded value be exchanged for cash. In these instances, items traded for cash are retained by the store (the tradee) for a grace period to verify that the traded items were not obtained by the customer (the trader) through illegal means. Traded games are able to be resold in-store upon being traded in, provided they are physically in re-sellable condition. If the traded items are deemed "defective" by the tradee, a Disc Repair cost can be incurred to the trader, being deducted from the trade value. These items are then processed at the corporate warehouse. All consoles are returned to the warehouse before being approved for re-sale (to re-format any HDD devices and ensure power cables / transformers are safe for use in Australia) regardless of physical condition upon being traded.
As of 1 September 2008, EB Games no longer takes trades on Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube or PlayStation games, however, the trade of a Nintendo Gamecube controller is still accepted due to its compatibility with popular Nintendo Wii titles (Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and Rugby League Live). As of 1 December 2010, EB games no longer takes trades on Xbox original consoles, games or accessories. As of 1 December 2012, EB Games no longer takes trades on PlayStation 2 Games, however, they still take trades on PlayStation 2 Consoles.
EB Games Expo
In 2011, EB Games launched the EB Games Expo held on the Gold Coast. The Expo allows attendees to play and experience upcoming games. It also hosts a variety of local and international developer and publisher teams, who deliver presentations to attendees showcasing their upcoming releases.
Starlight Children's Foundation
Since 2007, EB Games Australia has maintained a charity partnership with the Starlight Children's Foundation. Every year, EB Games sponsors a "Starlight Week" in May with fund-raising endeavours across the chain and at a corporate level. In 2015, Starlight Week raised over $665,000 for the Foundation.
Allegations of workplace bullying
In May 2015, four former EB Games employees accused an EB Games district manager of workplace bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination, racial hatred, intimidation, and unpaid worked hours. The alleged incidents were believed to have occurred in the Figtree and Dapto stores. The former employees filed complaints with WorkCover NSW and the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Zing Pop Culture stores
Zing Pop Culture Australia (Owned by EB Games Australia) launched in May 2014. In 2016 Zing now has over 35 stores.