Gaming Amazon restricting certain game purchases just for Prime members

Not sure this is that good.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2016/04/23/amazonprimegames/1

 

Sounds like possibly the start of a very slippery slope... Not keen at all about this.

 

I have Amazon Prime (and use Amazon Prime Now for any console purchases) but I can't understand this. Absolutely disgraceful.

 

Wow, what the actual F.

I have Prime but don't condone this at all. TBH? Prime away from the free shipping kinda sucks any way. The other night I watched Rise of the foot soldier and then it spammed me with recommendations for other films like it. All of them were £4 or above.

I usually use my Prime stick for watching Netflix which is kinda ironic but man, this sucks golf balls through garden hoses.

 

My Prime membeship ran out recently and I don't intend renewing. A lot of my parcels never arrived next day as promised. I also had a driver lie and say I was out when I was in all friggin day.

As for restricting their customers unless they pay the Prime subscription ... no.

 

I'm a Prime user and I really like it, however I don't like this idea at all.

 

Why are people antagonised by this? Can't customers just go elsewhere to buy the game? Especially as pc gamers can buy a key from various sources and download it. Putting games behind a paywall just for the privilege of actually buying the game seems like a stupid move when you aren't the only people that actually sell the game. Have I missed something here?

 

I think the reason most people have been using Amazon is that they have one of the best wishlist features out there. Content creators can have a link to a wishlist and fans can send them games/items without needing an address or paying for a PO Box. There's also Amazon Associates which almost everyone I know is signed up to. Especially since Amazon bought Twitch. Hopefully if people just stop buying games from Amazon due to this they'll rethink, because it's not a good move.

Sidenote: downloading games using keys isn't a PC gamer exclusive, consoles have digital downloads too

 

Sounds like a window of opportunity for competing businesses to me.

 

Exactly. Why would they push customers away from Amazon, towards a different supplier? That's what they'll do/have done.

 

I saw this yesterday and while having a look at GTA noticed that the PS4 version was prime exclusive. Then I saw someone else was selling it cheaper and it was fulfilled by Amazon. Was kinda left scratching my head in all honesty.

 

I wonder how game devs will like this ploy once/if it impacts on sales...

 

Devs might not care, but if I was a publisher I would be calling up and saying that if a product I sell is going to be made a Prime exclusive, you owe me a chunk of that Prime subscription income.

That would kill it pretty fast.

 

This just seems weird to me. The only time I'll buy a physical copy of a game from somewhere rather than just Steam etc is when Amazon has it £5+ cheaper. This just means no more giving them money for games... which I'm fine with. Strange decision.

 

So this is just Amazon further encouraging people to sign up for the free trial of Prime, in the hopes that people will then forget to cancel and be stung for £80, isn't it? If so, it's pretty cynical stuff.

Because no-one is going to actually pay up front for Prime just so they can buy a PS4 game directly from Amazon, are they?

 

IIRC prime subscribers used to get discounts at checkout on some games anyway, seems they've taken the idea a step further but how long before they're paying publishers for timed exclusives that are only available to Prime subs?

I have Prime and don't really get many delivery issues but the only games I've bought have been leap pad/ 3DS games for the kids.

 

That's basically how every subscription service with a free trial operates.

This may not be about attracting new customers to prime, rather retaining existing prime members by making popular goods exclusive to them. Even though its not real exclusivity, our ape brains are still susceptible to these kinds of manipulations.

 

Makes me glad I'm a cynical old ******* who, so far, has not fallen prey to such marketing ploys.

 

prime is £7.99 a month and you can use all benefits - as can a friend under the family scheme (just add another email address).

so you go halves - that's £3.99 each for next day delivery and streaming video (and music and books)

 

I went to Glastonbury on Monday and arrived home on Thursday night. Yesterday I was out all day and only today did I remember that I have guests coming to my mother's on Monday and I'm supposed to be going fishing every day until Friday. What does this have to do with Prime? well I have it and the last time I went fishing my reel snapped in half on the last cast of the day. I need a new one or there won't be any fishing. So I ordered one about oo, ten minutes ago? it will come tomorrow.

Please don't tar actual Prime users with a brush of dumbness. There are far more uses for it than just getting games early and the TV. I've already used their premium next day on a Sunday delivery five times so far this year. I see myself doing it a lot more too.