What has become a brand nightmare for the tech giant has transformed into a valuable marketing moment for prominent sellers such as GameStop, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and Target. These firms are vowing to sell monthly subscriptions for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at the price of $19.99, despite Microsoft having declared a rate increase to $29.99 per month.
GameStop, in particular, is taking advantage of the furor to encourage people to purchase tangible copies. After the October 1 announcement, GameStop has issued repeated taunts at Microsoft and Xbox on social media.
One post reminded people that their choices included paying around 30 bucks a month to have no permanent access, or spending the same to have lasting ownership at GameStop. The company likewise cited news of the rate hike with the quip, "Welcome to GameStop." Maybe its most daring action is launching a campaign where it assures it will maintain selling Ultimate at the more affordable rate.
"Xbox Game Pass is still $19.99 with us," the message declares. "You're welcome. Available in-store and online."
Frustratingly, securing annual access would mean acquiring multiple of these cards, or several quarterly passes, which are similarly offered for the discounted rate right now. But taking this approach would remain more affordable than paying $360 annually, so it might represent good value for any Xbox fans who don't want to pull the plug just yet or fans who aren't ready to deal with more ads.
It's a brilliant marketing strategy for GameStop, as a wise corporate action gets framed as kindness. Based on reasonable assumptions, but if every large store are following similar practices, it's possibly due to they have to dispose of the current supply that comes printed with the "$19.99" number. This comes across as a while supplies last type of situation, and it's unknown for what duration the discounted supply might be available.
Meanwhile, Xbox is engaged in crisis control. “We understand price increases are always difficult for anybody, but we're trying to reinforce by adding more value to these plans as well,” a Microsoft representative stated. “It's something we don't take lightly, and we're listening to the feedback of players and the community to try to provide them with additional requested features.”
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