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GameStop Is Launching An Unlimited Used Game Rental Subscription, Says Report (polygon.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the all-you-can-eat dept.

According to a leaked advertisement, GameStop is rolling out a used game rental subscription service. Subscribers will be able to pick any used game, play it, return it and get another as often as they like. The service will reportedly cost $60 for six months, and players get to keep the last game they borrow. Polygon reports: The advertisement was first seen at ResetEra, the new gaming forum. It appears to be from the newest issue of Game Informer (which is published by GameStop). The "Power Pass" subscription lasts six months and costs $60, according to the advertisement. Sign ups will begin on Nov. 19. The fine print says the Power Pass must be activated by Jan. 31, 2018, possibly hinting at when this service will go live. The subscription requires that the user be a PowerUp Rewards member, and the offer will be available only to the used game catalog in a store (i.e. physical discs), not from GameStop's online library. The PowerUp Rewards requirement apparently is there to help GameStop track the game currently in a user's possession.

3 of 38 comments (clear)

  1. ResetEra by jimmifett · · Score: 2

    Don't forget, ResetEra is the new echo chamber that was NeoGAF, famous for banning any dissenting opinions or wrong-think. Created by it's users when NeoGAF's owner was outed for sexual harassment, the ban-happy mods quit or ate their own, and the forum shut down.

  2. In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    GOG will sell you games outright, DRM free, no spyware, no post-sale disabling possible, which are yours forever with no phoning home or other shinanigans, and if you buy on sale they have unbelievably good prices.

    As a bonus, if you make stores like that "THE place to get games", as in that's where the buyers all went, then companies will have to follow and deliver DRM free product.

    Or, you can just bend over and take it from the likes of Steaming Origin etc etc and teach companies that you are OK with the ability of post-sale clawback.

  3. Re:Did they OK this with publishers? by sanf780 · · Score: 2
    Of course they did not ask publishers. But it is not only Gamestop being greedy these days, it is the publishers deal too. They did not give enough slack to gamestop (revenue per new unit on the shelf is low), so Gamestop ended up reinventing itself as a large second hand retail store chain. A new game at $60 ends up being rebought at $25 and resold at $55 ("sold" probably meaning licensed and "resold" meaning probably unlawfully licensed). And in order to make sure you do not leave the food chain, you get a bonus in store-only credit. The publishers came back with the idea of one-off DLCs, like EA's Online Pass. That is folks, even if you paid Sony or Microsoft for online play, if you bought a second hand disc, you had to spend another $10 for online play for a single game.

    The publisher way of doing things nowadays is microtransactions (includes loot boxes) and season passes that cannot be transferred. Heck, loot boxes sometimes contain consumable items so that you require constant use of your credit card in order to be competitive. Even games like FIFA 2018 contain consumable items when you pay for the premium delivery. Publishers might not care of lost sales due to Gamestop second hand market (that is in no way piracy and can be accounted for as lost sale as people are willing to pay 90% of retail price for a second hand game where a pirate probably will not pay anything even if able), publishers just care of continued revenue going their way. 2017 is becoming the year of microtransactions and loot boxes. Let's celebrate!

    By the way, it is 40 to 60$/yr for online play for Sony and Microsoft.