GameStop is preparing to terminate its Elite Pro Memberships on August 1st, according to a rumor appearing on Reddit Monday afternoon and picked up by Twitter’s leading discount personality Wario 64.
The Elite Pro Membership program offered a number of perks for joining, including a 20% discount on all pre-owned games, as well as a 20% bonus on all games traded in by the customer.
For those that were interested in GameStop Elite Pro memberships, the program will retire on August 1st. You can renew/purchase but only before that date. https://t.co/VChlsDvnXe pic.twitter.com/GSPlhVLD7u
— Wario64 (@Wario64) July 30, 2018
While GameStop has not yet officially confirmed that the Elite Pro Membership is going away, such a move would be consistent with similar moves made by competitors in recent months.
Last week, NerdBacon reported that Amazon U.K. would be discontinuing gaming discounts offered to members of its Prime service, while Best Buy is no longer accepting new members into their Gamer’s Club discount memberships.
While GameStop may not feel the need to offer discounts now that their competition is no longer doing so, the fact that multiple major retailers are discontinuing these programs points to something else entirely: next-generation consoles will focus on digital distribution.
Microsoft’s plans to provide full HD streaming as part of their next-generation plans has been well documented by NerdBacon, both pre-E3 2018 and post. While the company will be unlikely to ditch physical media entirely in the upcoming generation, it’s only a matter of time before they do.
Microsoft is not alone in their plans to exponentially increase their digital distribution.
Both Apple and Google are hard at work on new devices that will make a major push into the gaming market within the next few years. It’s unfathomable to believe that either of the two titans would factor a physical media presence at retail as part of their equation. And with three major competitors enjoying the higher profit margin that digital distribution would allow, current industry leader Sony would be forced to follow suit.
While GameStop has not confirmed the end of the Elite Pro Membership as of press time, we expect a formal announcement will be made later in the week as part of the company’s quarterly earnings call with investors.
Are you a devote of GameStop? Did you enjoy the benefits of the Elite Pro Membership program? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Written by The Watchman
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