Gamestop Offering New "Rental" Service

Gamestop.png
Gamestop, the king preowned reseller of video games and video game related content, has just announced a new rental service called Power Pass. Power Pass, available to PowerUp Rewards subscribers only, is a $60 service that allows users to essentially "rent" any preowned game they have in stock for a 6 month period. You can only rent 1 title at a time, but there's no limit on how many games you can rent total, and after the 6 months ends you're allowed to keep the last game you rent out. The only rule is that the game has to be preowned, and it has to be rented in-store. PowerPass will begin it's service on November 19th. There's no word on whether this will be a continued program after the 6 month period ends, but I imagine Gamestop is checking general interest with this 6 month period and will decide based on how popular it is.

This is an interesting move on Gamestop's part, and appears to try and undercut services like Gamefly with it's relatively low price. Gamefly's cheapest package is $15.95 a month with the same 1 game at a time limit, meaning Gamestop's Power Pass would end up being ~$35 cheaper for the same time frame with similar restrictions, with the added bonus of being able to keep a game you rent.


:arrow: Source
 

FAST6191

Techromancer
Editorial Team
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
36,798
Trophies
3
XP
28,284
Country
United Kingdom
It's extremely easy to sell things on Ebay. What.

What is difficult? Mailing?

Sold all of my 3DS games and then some on Ebay. People will buy anything. I sold the box to my Pokemon Y game. Not the game, literally the box and someone bought it.

At one point 360s were right down in the prices everywhere. It is actually higher now than it was at one point when the 360 was current, presumably as people realise it aged well, has a great library and much of said library you can pick up for next to nothing.
Between RRoD, live bans, new models, offers for new ones (even ignoring bottom price arcades/hdd less models they came with phone contracts, insurance, credit cards, I think I saw one as a sweetener for a car loan once, loads of the predatory student botherers...*), a fairly high level of market saturation (give or take the wii it was the market leader with the PS3 taking years and years to come close to catching up, lead platform for most things of that era, kind of had some exclusives worth speaking of and first through the gate in most respects, to that end lots of people had them), a lack of video features (sure, I will have that PS3 just to stick in my room as a BD player but you mean I can do DVDs and netflix's new crappy video streaming service on my crappy internet? peh), shops like gamestop and whatever being massively overstocked on second hand ones and more besides the price for the second hand market cratered. To that end you would stick it up, wait a week or so, deal with time wasters and low level con artists and end up maybe selling it, and if you did then for probably under $50 (maybe not 1TB with games and that might have been a bit of a comic exaggeration but not just fat arcades without a hard drive and power supply). If EB offered a token sum it might have been worth it rather than dealing with the hassle, especially if you were only going to buy more games with it.

*the 360 was an easy enough device to sell (it was great after all) but some marketing groups did a stunning job in getting them in those sorts of offers. I might have to look into that one day.
 

petethepug

PUG
Member
Joined
May 2, 2016
Messages
1,504
Trophies
0
Age
22
Location
COMPUTER
XP
1,251
Country
United States
It's extremely easy to sell things on Ebay. What.

What is difficult? Mailing?

Sold all of my 3DS games and then some on Ebay. People will buy anything. I sold the box to my Pokemon Y game. Not the game, literally the box and someone bought it.
The reason why it's a good deal (the way I am looking at everything so far.) Is basically;

- You can pretty much have on demand used games. (How that turns out and works idk yet in terms of meeting supply and demand but assuming they already have countered that problem and know solutions then that's good so there will virtually never be a shortage.)

- For six months you pay around $60. For newer games coming out one game is worth that much usually depending on the title, and you get to keep said game at the end of the service meaning from that point forward you can basically sell the game and pay little to continue the service or keep it (vice versa.)

Plus you can keep changing what your renting with no problems.



But realizing the deals faults though; couldn't you just go into a local GameStop, sell your game, pick up a new or used game, or anywhere else basically?
Still I would at least try the rental service once, because it seems like a good way to keep switching games without losing value in between or keeping that rented game.
 
Last edited by petethepug,

aykay55

Professional Idiot
Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2017
Messages
910
Trophies
0
Location
Where the buffalo roam.
XP
1,083
Country
United States
they might i legit think they are the same store diffrent names
They had a merger years ago.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

GameStop comes under both names. However, they are in many more places than you think. They own many other services. Their website says they own GameStop/EB-Games, Micro Mania, Game Informer, and Kongregate. GameStop is in more places than you think!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

You know how they could gain a lot of money and really fast? Shutdown the multiple stores they keep in most towns.
There's a town right next to mine that literally has 3 stores in a 1 mile radius of each other.
Isn't GameStop a franchise? Most/All of the costs belong to the franchisee, plus franchisees have to pay whatever fee, though they also get most of the profit. The only place GameStop loses money would be stocking the store, but if they saw a problem they wouldn't send as much stock to said store. Pretty sure they break even
 

Xzi

Time to fly, 621
Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2013
Messages
17,714
Trophies
3
Location
The Lands Between
Website
gbatemp.net
XP
8,456
Country
United States
Yes...a rental store...the wave of the future!

They could've at least tried to compete with something relevant, like Redbox which rents very few games, but these are the people in charge of Gamestop we're talking about. That would definitely be expecting too much of them to figure that out.
 
Last edited by Xzi,

godreborn

Welcome to the Machine
Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2009
Messages
38,471
Trophies
3
XP
29,105
Country
United States
gamestop's rental policy: rent game to person A,game is returned with several scratches. tries to sell said game to person B as new.

I once had gamestop try to sell me a game with a cracked case as new.
 
Last edited by godreborn,

RedBlueGreen

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
2,026
Trophies
1
XP
2,538
Country
Canada
Had that happen to me last week. "Oh, you bought this brand new for $60 and you're returning it in less than 7 days? $20."
That actually sounds like a decent price for it. I mean they really should give you $25 since they'd probably sell it for $50-$55 at that point but yeah, 50-60% of what they sell it for is a pretty common amount to get at used game stores.
Anyway, as for the main topic, I don't think this service is worth it. Not unless you can get more than one game at a time, or include new games as well.
With GameStop's alleged shady practice of opening a new game to sell used ata $5-10 discount I'm sure newer titles will find they're way onto the rental list.
 
Last edited by RedBlueGreen,

FAST6191

Techromancer
Editorial Team
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
36,798
Trophies
3
XP
28,284
Country
United Kingdom
With GameStop's alleged shady practice of opening a new game to sell used ata $5-10 discount I'm sure newer titles will find they're way onto the rental list.
What?
We saw that reissue of that wii rpg get dubbed as second hand and increased in price. Barring some kind of contract that would surely be within their remit.
We have seen damaged cases and whatnot get called second hand. I fail to see this as a bad thing.
We have seen them open cases to remove a download ticket for a competing online service. That was shady and they appear to have apologised for that one.
Some seemed to take exception with them destroying stock they dubbed worthless. The clickbait titles tended to be them shredding retro games, probably with a picture of some rare SNES game or something as opposed to PS2 sports games that nobody ever buys unless there is an exploit written for one (see also every game shelf of every charity shop anywhere in the world).

That is the list of shady and not so shady things I have seen them do to customers, give or take the usual high pressure sales tactics and crappy staff manglement that I have to wonder if every retail location has to do by law these days. Everything else I see is people not understanding how the pawn shop business works, or them buying into the drivel the game industry likes to spew about second hand stuff literally taking food from their mouths or something similarly heinous.

I am not sure how them opening cases and then disposing of it at a lower value is going to help anybody with a stake in such things. The only way I can see it playing out is if there is some cinema style contract where the dev/pub/distributor gets a sliding scale of returns or something, and "destroyed stock" counts for less which is likely some kind of fraud.
If they want to pay their distributor the full ask for the game and stick it up for rental then like the wii rpg above that is surely their prerogative.
 

osaka35

Instructional Designer
Global Moderator
Joined
Nov 20, 2009
Messages
3,735
Trophies
2
Location
Silent Hill
XP
5,919
Country
United States
So this means their stock of really good used games are going to be small. Because as soon as it comes in, someone will rent it, yes? And they'll get progressively worse and worse condition, reducing value but retaining the same price. I rarely bought used there anyway, but now it seems a lot more daft to buy used.
 

Smug Wendy

Member
Member
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
20
Trophies
0
Age
29
Location
Wendy's
Website
www.wendys.com
XP
170
Country
United States
This could maybe workout. Hardcore gamers could play and beat atleast 6 games if not more in that time frame.
I'm just going to say it. TF kind of gamer are you? Even if you're old enough to work you can at least get triple times that. Even if you just play on your days off or not.
 
Last edited by Smug Wendy,
D

Deleted-401606

Guest
I'm just going to say it. TF kind of gamer are you? Even if you're old enough to work you can at least get triple times that. Even if you just play on your days of not.

I can beat alot of games in a month because of how much time I have,but I was gearing my comment towards older gamers that work long hours and have a family.
 

Jayro

MediCat USB Dev
Developer
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
12,878
Trophies
4
Location
WA State
Website
ko-fi.com
XP
16,773
Country
United States
Watch CAMELOT331's videos, GameStop is in their final phases of closing ALL their stores due to lack of black friday sale profits. They'll all be closed by the end of the year or sooner. This is literally a last-ditch effort to stay afloat.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gameboy

godreborn

Welcome to the Machine
Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2009
Messages
38,471
Trophies
3
XP
29,105
Country
United States
personally, gamefly is a rip off. you have to play or beat enough games per month for it to be worth it. I still haven't made it to the end of bloodstained, and that's some six months later.
 

gameboy

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2015
Messages
2,035
Trophies
1
Age
44
XP
2,166
Country
United States
Watch CAMELOT331's videos, GameStop is in their final phases of closing ALL their stores due to lack of black friday sale profits. They'll all be closed by the end of the year or sooner. This is literally a last-ditch effort to stay afloat.

F*CK GAMESTOP. I just went in and bought 4 $25 games for $60. And this week its "buy 2 get 2 free" a better deal. They set up their best deals AFTER the Ho liday, makes ZERO sense. And i felt like they were hiding all t he big ticket games or rare games somewhere because the online inventory would have it in stock but i would get there and it would not be there... Even with call in they would go against the online stock. Then i wanted to get Spiderman $20 new and they "didnt have" any sealed copies and made a big fuss when i d idnt want to buy it. Like I could just go ac ross the street to Walmart and get a new copy for $20 sealed there and nobody would make a fuss. Some asshole sold me Kingdom Hearts 2.8 because I didnt know what the fuck it was but the gamestop guy was confident he knew what it was then started cracking kingdom hearts jokes i didnt understand then i got home and the game w asnt what he said it was... he said it was all the kingdom hearts before 3, i get home and its literally just Kingdom Hearts 3ds, which i already own...

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

F*CK GAMESTOP. I just went in and bought 4 $25 games for $60. And this week its "buy 2 get 2 free" a better deal. They set up their best deals AFTER the Ho liday, makes ZERO sense. And i felt like they were hiding all t he big ticket games or rare games somewhere because the online inventory would have it in stock but i would get there and it would not be there... Even with call in they would go against the online stock. Then i wanted to get Spiderman $20 new and they "didnt have" any sealed copies and made a big fuss when i d idnt want to buy it. Like I could just go ac ross the street to Walmart and get a new copy for $20 sealed there and nobody would make a fuss. Some asshole sold me Kingdom Hearts 2.8 because I didnt know what the fuck it was but the gamestop guy was confident he knew what it was then started cracking kingdom hearts jokes i didnt understand then i got home and the game w asnt what he said it was... he said it was all the kingdom hearts before 3, i get home and its literally just Kingdom Hearts 3ds, which i already own...

and FUCK Kingdom Hearts series also, its become the "Twilight Series" of video games, maybe even worse, its a hot mess
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • Veho @ Veho:
    I only wish it was actually playable.
  • Veho @ Veho:
    There's a guy on the Tube of You that makes playable mechanical arcade games out of Lego. This could work on the same principle.
  • Veho @ Veho:
    Just a couple of guys taking their manatee out for some fresh air, why you have to molest them?
  • Veho @ Veho:
    Stupid Chinese shop switched their shipping company and this one is slooooooow.
  • LeoTCK @ LeoTCK:
    STOP BUYING CHINESE CRAP THEN
  • LeoTCK @ LeoTCK:
    SUPPORT LOCAL PRODUCTS, MAKE REVOLUTION
  • LeoTCK @ LeoTCK:
    THEY KEEP REMOVING LOCAL SHIt AND REPLACING WItH INFERIOR CHINESE CRAP
  • LeoTCK @ LeoTCK:
    THATS WHY MY PARTNER CANT GET A GOOTWEAR HIS SIZE ANYMORE
  • LeoTCK @ LeoTCK:
    HE HAS BIG FOOT AND BIG DUCK
  • LeoTCK @ LeoTCK:
    d*ck i mean*
  • LeoTCK @ LeoTCK:
    lol
  • Veho @ Veho:
    Mkay.
  • Veho @ Veho:
    I just ordered another package from China just to spite you.
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    Communism lol
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    OUR products
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    @LeoTCK actually good quality products are dying out because they can't compete with dropshipped chinese crap
    +2
  • BakerMan @ BakerMan:
    @LeoTCK is your partner the sascrotch or smth?
  • Xdqwerty @ Xdqwerty:
    Good morning
  • Xdqwerty @ Xdqwerty:
    Out of nowhere I got several scars on my forearm and part of my arm and it really itches.
  • AdRoz78 @ AdRoz78:
    Hey, I bought a modchip today and it says "New 2040plus" in the top left corner. Is this a legit chip or was I scammed?
  • Veho @ Veho:
    @AdRoz78 start a thread and post a photo of the chip.
    +1
    Veho @ Veho: @AdRoz78 start a thread and post a photo of the chip. +1