What was once many people's go-to video game store—be it for preordering a new release or trading in some perfunctory movie-adapted game gifted by a well-meaning family member for the paltriest of sums—looks to soon be a nostalgic relic of bygone era of gaming. GameStop has been publicly struggling for a while now, as indicated by number of reports over the course of the past year or so. The one-time retail behemoth isn't going down without a fight, though. Among its current efforts to appeal to a new generation 0f Fortnite-obsessed gamers is a plan to give subscribers to its reward program a free $65. Sort of. There are a lot of caveats.

First of these is the subscription fee. GameStop's Rewards Pro program has never been free, costing $15 per year. While for a yearly sum it doesn't amount to much, any subsequent savings necessitate that fee subtracted from individual discounts to calculate the total amount saved.

More importantly, that $65 isn't gifted in a lump sump, but rather in distributions of $5 per month. Essentially, subscribers to the rewards program will now receive 13 individual gift certificates, the first one upon signing up, and then a new one for each month. That certificate, however, is limited to the month it's issued (specifically, they have a 30 day shelf life) meaning that the theoretical $65 can never be accumulated in full.

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On top of that, the terms of the Rewards Pro program have been changed in light of this new incentive—subscribers will no longer receive 10% off of used games and accessories.

The revamped rewards program was first introduced all the way back in May of 2019 on a trial basis at a select number of stores, much closer to when the company's decline was first coming to light. GameStop must have determined the trial to be a success, as nearly a year later, it's rolling these changes out to all of its stores nationwide.

Of course, anyone interested in joining must first understand that the $65 is only really money saved for those who would otherwise buy a minimum of four games per year. At that point, the subscription fee has been comped and one game slightly discounted. While it may not be for everyone, it's nonetheless a new incentive to buy physical copies over digital downloads, which theoretically will give the declining retail outlet a boost in sales. As to whether or not it's enough of a boost, only time will tell.

Source: Destructoid

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