Fansided

Power Pass could turn GameStop into a modern Blockbuster

By Derek Helling

A GameStop in the Fordham Road shopping district in the Bronx in New York on Thursday, January 7, 2016. (�� Richard B. Levine) (Photo by Richard Levine/Corbis via Getty Images)
A GameStop in the Fordham Road shopping district in the Bronx in New York on Thursday, January 7, 2016. (�� Richard B. Levine) (Photo by Richard Levine/Corbis via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

A new program at GameStop stores could bring value to the brick and mortar side of its business.

“Power Pass” is GameStop’s newest program for video game players, and if it takes off, it could help curtail the trend of the video game retailer scaling back its physical store count.

According to Owen S. Good of Polygon, GameStop has confirmed that it is rolling out a service that allows Power Up Rewards members to borrow games from its stores. The service, called “Power Pass,” was first spotted in a leaked image of a Game Informer magazine advertisement. In short, GameStop is trying to revive a concept that hasn’t existed on a massive scale since Blockbuster became a relic of the past.

How Power Pass works

After paying the $60 subscription fee, members of GameStop’s Power Up Rewards program can go to any store and select any single title from the store’s used inventory once the program goes live. Subscribers can then play that game for as long as they want.

When finished with that title, they can return it to the store to exchange it for another used game as many times during the semi-annual period as they like. At the end of the six-month period, members can then select any game that they borrowed during the term to keep.

The sign-up period begins on Sunday, Nov. 19. and the membership must be activated by Jan. 31, 2018. Only physical games will be eligible for the program, not digital downloads.

Outside of the value that this may represent for its customers, this is clearly an attempt by GameStop to get customers into its stores. Earlier this year, GameStop announced plans to shutter over 150 stores, and if sales don’t improve, more could be headed that direction.

Next: 50 Star Wars: The Last Jedi fan theories (and their possible validity)

Whether or not this will make enough of a difference to save some of GameStop’s branches remains to be seen, but what’s certain is that soon, the concept of physically going to an actual store to rent a video game will be revived.