During a recent company earnings call (via Giant Bomb), GameStop executives detailed a new plan to only sell console bundles that include physical games rather than digital codes. They outlined deals they had made with Sony and Microsoft to ensure that the console bundles they sell will only include physical copies of games.
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When asked to clarify what he meant by his Madden example, Bartel said that GameStop, since it is a retailer of physical games and has a trade-in program, wants to push bundles with discs instead of codes.
GameStop, as a brick-and-mortar retailer and reseller of physical games, faces increasing cultural and industry irrelevance as consumers continue to move towards consuming more digital copies of games than disc-based retail copies.
This strategy has already come into effect. It seem this is something GameStop intends t do from now on and the COO Tony Bartel has said that if Sony and Microsoft insist on releasing digital bundles, then GameStop will turn to third parties such as EA and Ubisoft in order to sell physical bundles.
The retail store that is found among many places across the United States makes quite a bit of profit due to their trade-in games and used game sales, which are suffering due to the habit of consoles makers such as Sony or Microsoft to offer deals attached with digital codes.
It’s worth pointing out here that digital games can’t be traded in and resold. And we worked with both Sony, Microsoft, and EA, with all three of them, and we offered a free physical disc when you bought either a PS4 or an Xbox One.
But why is GameStop so eager for people to still buy physical games?
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On one hand, GameStop does claim that not everyone has a strong and fast internet connection, and since today’s games often average around 30 GB, it takes quite a lot of time for them to download. However, it is also in GameStops best interest to keep physical disc around for as long as the company can manage. “Or, as Bartel states in corporate-speak, “…we sell things at full price and provide great value through our trade program…”
