260°

Amazon takes on PS5 and Xbox scalpers with a new invite system

The goal is to help legitimate shoppers get their hands on in-demand products..

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engadget.com
Orchard718d ago

The easiest way to get these consoles is via Walmart+, they stay in stock there for long periods of time.

mandf718d ago

No way they stay in stock for hours or minutes as soon as they drop they sell out.

darthv72718d ago

I know WM+ offers a 30 day free trial but not sure if that qualifies to get a PS5. I've read that if you get the free trial, you have to wait a little bit in order to get something that in demand. As people would just join for free, get the system and then cancel. WM sort of thought that through so you cant be a free member and right away get a 5.

So maybe in Orchards example he is right. At least... 5 would tend to remain active for slightly longer than if there was no paid membership required as not every scalper would want to pay to be a member just to get a 5 (some maybe, but not all)

Orchard718d ago (Edited 718d ago )

@mandf They stay in stock for a while - barely anyone subscribes to W+ compared to services like Amazon Prime. They have regular restocks too. I've managed to nab next gen consoles every time they open on W+ without any real effort.

@darthv72 Yeah, Walmart's new system is actually pretty good. They queue folk like Sony does, but the queue maxes out at about 20m, and then limit you to one of each console variant per drop (e.g. you can combine digital + physical PS5), and you can go back and buy them again in future drops.

Not sure if you can nab them via a W+ trial but you did remind me - for folk reading this in the US, it's worth checking out your credit cards, I managed to nab a 1 year W+ subscription for free via my credit cards perks program.

Also, Walmart MX permanently has PS5 in stock... so you could pick one up if you live near the border or visit/have family there - they should move that stock to the US (I realize thats probably easier said than done, and it may be localized in Spanish).

_SilverHawk_718d ago (Edited 718d ago )

Two years late. All retail shops should have been doing this two years ago

Ashunderfire86718d ago

No the easiest way is from Target 🎯 and that’s where I got my PS5 at launch. First setup your personal info on the Target website and to make sure you have access to paying on PayPal. Then you pick up the PS5 for local pickup. That is the easiest way to secure one ☝️ Scalpers can’t get multiple PS5s from local pickups .

Knightofelemia718d ago (Edited 718d ago )

@Orchard

Whether online or physically going into the store the moment a PS5 or a Series X are in stock they disappear fast. You might want to refresh your Walmart page from time to time.

Orchard718d ago

The ones that are online only and locked behind the Walmart+ subscriptions are easy to get with no crazy rushing or effort.

I’ve consistently gotten the maximum per drop with ease.

Duke19718d ago

Until demand dies down, im all for companies coming down hard with anti-scalping techniques. Was lucky enough to get one in a Walmart+ drop a while back, but feel for the number of people that paid for some of the ridiculous markups that were out there

Mr_cheese718d ago

More companies need to up their anti scalping game and I'm not talking just retailers. Tickets for events are just as bad, if not worse due to their limited nature.

darthv72718d ago

With the way mfg is going... there isnt really much a company can do to stop it. Flooding the market with product is usually what it takes to get scalpers to drop out as they cant corner the market so no $$ in it for them. As a consumer, dont buy from a scalper and soon they have to lower their prices or leave the market.

To the companies, a sell is a sell. And they have no control over what happens after. I could have sold my 5 but I wanted it for myself. So i kept it. I just happened to be lucky enough to get one from gamestop as a bundle. Making forced bundles or memberships is one way to slow down the scalpers. Many dont want to have to pay more themselves to get one to flip, but it happens. I liked the invitation approach from Sony direct, it still doesnt stop scalping, but tends to give a more fighting chance.

718d ago
FlameWater718d ago

Scalpers and retailers both know the fomo buyers have already died off. This is simply posturing.

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100°

2K Games’ big Summer Game Fest announcement needs to be Mafia 4

2K Games will take the stage at Summer Game Fest, and it is about time we got some good news about the state of Mafia 4's development.

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theloadout.com
purple1011d 18h ago

Didn’t a leak about a max Payne remake surface a while ago?

banger881d 17h ago

I hope it's Mafia 4. And I really hope it's set during the 70s or 80s, and not a prequel of the first game as was rumoured.

TheColbertinator1d ago

Mafia 4 would be cool if set in a 70s to 80s era

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60°

Call Of Duty On Game Pass Is A Big Risk Big Reward Gamble

Discover the impact of Microsoft's decision to include Call Of Duty in Game Pass. Explore the pros and cons and speculate about future changes.

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gamersocialclub.ca
Elda1d 20h ago

Most folks that have a Gamepass subscription will not spend the $70, they will use Gamepass instead to play COD. MS will most likely make their money from some solely PC players & some solely PS5 owners. Even some PC players may opt to use Gamepass instead of spending $70. I would think MS would want to make every dime they could from retail sales. As long as they put new releases of COD day one on Gamepass, MS will lose out on some sales of COD.

porkChop1d 17h ago

COD makes truck loads of money on microtransactions. That's likely the play. Get more people in the door through Game Pass and sell more microtransactions. Have a steady stream of events to keep people interested so they keep their sub, and then just the sub alone would double the revenue from that player each year.

Elda1d 14h ago (Edited 1d 14h ago )

Buying the game at $70 a pop including the deluxe versions is much better than people subs for a dollar to $15 a month. Die hard fans that usually buy the game also buy into the transactions. Again putting any new COD day one on Gamepass is definitely a sure loss of making some retail money for every copy of COD. With the last iteration of COD being bad most likely people are going to sub to Gamepass to play COD basically saving themselves $70, that is a loss of retail sales.

Kakashi Hatake1d 17h ago (Edited 1d 17h ago )

Most that don't have Gamepass will just buy the game and he done with it. People that do will just result in a retail sale being lost. Some will buy the subscription for the month then be done. This is lose lose. Casuals aren't going to pay almost 300 dollars a year for COD.

ApocalypseShadow1d 14h ago

The reality is that Microsoft already knows the answer as stated by them in their documents. PlayStation gamers have built up an ecosystem of games and they aren't migrating over and dropping what they have to buy an Xbox to play one game in a service you have to pay monthly for. Cheaper to just buy the game. And, I'd bet many casual COD players don't know or care about the acquisition.

Which is why Jim Ryan pushed to make sure that that one game continues to be sold as usual on Sony's platform to keep the status quo. Every other IP owned by Activision are worthless. And Activision has shown they don't care about other IP like Tony Hawk by cancelling them.

Sales WILL be lost on Xbox. That's for certain. Microsoft can only hope that Xbox gamers continue to buy up those micro transactions to make up for those lost sales. Only positive for Microsoft is that they get to dip into PlayStation game sales that we all know from history and NPD, that Sony's console sells more games. But increase subs from Sony fans for game pass? Not happening in any way that matters.

Sony, on the other hand, can have their cake and eat it too. They get COD and they can continue dropping more content for their fastest selling GaaS game which is Hell Divers 2. As the game passes 12 million sales and doesn't beat you over the head with micro transactions, Sony has a win win situation and can support the game getting more content to keep players engaged.

As a side note, COD is probably going to turn into some version of Sea of Fortnite Duty. Games as a service sitting in game pass being milked dry with micro transactions and constant updates making you feel you're playing an unfinished game that keeps going and going with no soul.

Tedakin1d 14h ago

I'm not sure why everyone is acting like COD is a surprise. That was always the plan. They said in court during the FTC case they were doing this. They have said repeatedly and recently all first party games are going to Gamepass.

badboyz091d 6h ago

gamepass like PS Plus are rental services. Games like COD you buy not rent. So in my case unless I plan on keeping gamepass for 2yrs minimum than the benefit of adding cod is pointless.

220°

Ghost of Tsushima PC has 84% positive reviews and a peak online audience of 72 thousand people

On 16 May, the long-awaited release of the PC version of Ghost of Tsushima took place. And the game proved to be a great success on the first day.

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gagadget.com
PrinceOfAnger3d ago

69,477
all-time peak 3 minutes ago.

thorstein3d ago

Nice. It's really cool that PC players get to play this masterpiece.

PrinceOfAnger3d ago

It has surpassed spider man now
it's 71k+
game did this with way shorter time than spider man.

itsmebryan2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

@prince
I'm confused. Does that number mean total players at one time playing like a snapshot
or total sales? If it's the former that's not very accurate because I know I'm not the only person that buys games and plays them later and that number is not included.

RNTody2d ago

Great, I loved this game. Definitely think it's Sucker Punch's best work to date!

rippermcrip2d ago

Is this going to be the new thing thing? Articles about Steam reviews? Which of course was in response to the false article about the review bombings in the first place.

Christopher2d ago

Hey, just a heads up that the new owners did open news to Steam updates, but we try our best to not allow them to go on daily updates unless relevant to some other news. I understand this isn't everyone's cup and tea and sympathize, but the door has been open. If you feel it's 'too much' please do PM me or submit a ticket to the mod team. Thank you.

2d ago
shinoff21832d ago

I came here to post this link in that specific article. 84 perce t is pretty good. How many bad reviews were there like 5

GamerzElite2d ago

This is good game and Ghost eliminate all fake outrage.

CrimsonWing692d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I always get confused by this, but is 72k good sales numbers for a game? I keep seeing games fail at selling 2.5 million and that they need to be on multiple platforms but is an additional 72k adding much?

Fishy Fingers2d ago

Im not sure how its confusing :\

72k actively playing. Not 72k sold.

A good example is Helldivers 2, 6m sold, 450k (at its peak) active players.

But how many swords swung is what we're all really waiting for.

shinoff21832d ago

Lmao. How many swords swung. I was hoping for how many steps

wesnytsfs2d ago

And its how many years old from initial release.

Crows902d ago

72k is concurrent
...that is not the sold figure.

Michiel19892d ago

for one they already had a huge launch on the playstation, they don't need to sell 5m to make the porting to pc profitable and as pointed out below that number you see is just the people playing it at this moment.

Plague-Doctor272d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Also from the insomniac leak we know these PC ports are a quick turnaround and budgeted around $2-4 million. At 100k sales they break even including Steams cut. They may not sell millions but they are a great ROI

elazz2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

72k concurrent. That is a global number. People who bought the game are not playing at the same time because of timezones, working schedules, holidays, events... There is no good rule of thumb but you can extrapolate based on other games that also released sales data. Then it is clear that the PC release alone accounts for at least 500K copies sold on steam, maybe closer to 700-800K. Probably will sell over a million this extended weekend.

According to steamspy and other data gathering sites games like Days Gone, Spider Man, God Of War, Horizon Zero Dawn have sold 2 to 5 million copies on Steam. So I expect Ghost to reach similar numbers. Probably even surpass it.

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