In a move surprising to some, GameStop is set to announce a new way to rent games from them; Play Pass. Play Pass costs $60 for a 6 month period, and during that period you can have access to any of their used titles, from new blockbusters to more classic titles. At the end of said 6 month period, you get to keep the last game that you rented, which means a guaranteed game on top of however many were rented in that time frame.
Here is how the program will work. First, the fine print states that you must be a PowerUp Rewards member. Then, the signup period starts on November 18, and goes until January 31, 2018 if you want to participate in the program. Then, you will be able to go to any GameStop to get any used game to take home and play on your systems. After you beat the game, or want to try something else, you head on over to your nearest GameStop again, to swap it for another game. You can do this as many times as you want during the 6 month period. When the 6 month period is up then whichever game you had last, you get to keep. This seems like a pretty good deal for those that have GameStops near them and like to play a variety of games.
As more and more brick and mortar stores seem to be struggling to stay relevant and stay in business, it’s interesting that GameStop is resorting to a rental program to retain customers. Stores probably have a good amount of stock in regards to used titles however, so if there is a way to make some extra money off of these titles then why not? It’s worth noting that GameFly and other rental services have been around for a while, but charge about $20 a month. While you have to physically go to a store for your rental, if you have one close to you it easily could be worth paying $10 a month over GameFly. Also, so far it seems that this is a US only deal, and it will be interesting to see if they roll it out to their other stores elsewhere, like EB Games in Canada. Is this a service you would use? What do you think about GameStop moving into game rental territory? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: ResetEra
[…] has put a “temporary pause” on their PowerPass rental program. The program has been delayed due to unknown issues. Although it had a soft launch this week, […]