Eight months after its release, it’s still extremely difficult to get your hands on a PS5. New stocks sell out almost as quickly as they are advertised, and the scarcity has led to some strange hijinks how companies are trying to capitalize on the hype. The newest? Let paying subscribers line up to order first.
Today GameStop emailed a new promotion to PowerUp Rewards paying members announcing that they would receive initial benefits when purchasing PS5s and high-end PC graphics cards from the latest limited inventory. “To show our appreciation, we’re opening Early Online Access for Pro members only to purchase a PlayStation 5 or PC graphics card at 10:00 AM CST today gamestop.com, “it read.” This doesn’t guarantee you will get any of these products – quantities are extremely limited – but we wanted to give our best guests a better opportunity to get one of these coveted items. “
GameStop did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The action was first discovered by Gaming tips Maestro Wario64So I checked my inbox and it actually was there because, full disclosure, I’m a Rewards Pro subscriber and therefore I think one of GameStop’s “best guests”. Pro membership costs $ 20 per year when you earn points for purchases and monthly discount coupons. This new early access perk is known as a nice touch, but in reality it appears to be a paid perk designed to increase the perceived value of the subscription.
Despite this lead, everything seemed to be sold out by 11:10 a.m. The cheapest PS5 bundle was $ 600 and required the purchase of a $ 20 GameStop gift card, among other things. More expensive bundles of packaged games like Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart. The GeForce RTX 3080 bundles forced you to buy other expensive items, like entire gaming monitors. However, it is not new to force people with thick bundles on them. GameStop stores are done that for scarce Nintendo Switches
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GameStop is currently going through after its unprecedented meme stock rally earlier this year a business transformation led by ex-Amazon executives how it tries to overtake the physical game media market that is crumbling around it. How Bloomberg Tech columnist Tae Kim pointed out, this new promotion certainly seems like an Amazon Prime-y thing.
But it also kind of sucks for all of the folks who have been desperately trying to get their hands on a PS5 and haven’t yet got tangled up in GameStop’s paid membership program. Buy one of the new consoles was a cluster fuck
Lockdown boredom and international supply chain shortages undoubtedly contributed to the next generation shitshow, but it also feels like much of it could have been avoided if console makers and stores had better systems. “I think it will make us think about new models,” said Xbox boss Phil Spencer Still. told The edge last year. “It could be reserve your seat. It could be doing things more directly with the customer. The retailer could still have the order fulfilled, but just so that people have more clarity about when to get a console. We are working on that. “
In the meantime, it looks like people will continue to do pesky internet scavenger hunts to get hold of a PS5 or Xbox Series X.
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