Best Buy IdeaX

[#1]

Pay to secure exclusive game titles like Gamestop did with Xenoblade Chronicles. The upfront investment will pay off HUGELY if you could score 2-3 premier quality titles, in fact these alone could single handedly drive $120 GCU subs to a level of success that even BB isn`t prepared for. Try not to have niche titles if possible b/c you won`t generate enough sales from them to make it worth the investment w/o ripping off the customers.

GO ALL OUT adding supreme value with PRE-ORDER ONLY LE/CE`s complete with steelbook, statue, artbook, characters/levels/weapon DLC regular & LE game guides.

$200 CE includes steelbook, statue, artbook, LE guide, early access to a beta of a popular game, hologram/lithogram, all DLC including CE exclusive DLC & a GCU coupon pack. Also, the customers choice of $20 pre-order credit or a free 1 yr GCU sub.

$100 LE includes steelbook, LE guide, early access to a beta of a popular game all DLC excluding the CE exclusive DLC, a GCU coupon pack & $10 pre-order credit.

$60 reg. version w/basic DLC item(s) & early access to a beta of a popular game.

All CE/LE`s need numbered certificates of authenticity.

Now there`s true value in the increased cost which will allow you to sell thru the majority of your stock instead of having to greatly discount/clearance them.

[#2]

We should already be trying to carry as many of the premier game titles as possible. Does anyone else have any feedback on this? Remember to vote for an idea if you like it.

[#3]

Allan, my opinion...BestBuy doesn't offer enough games overall. You need to broaden the selection. Like seriously go t a gamestop with an ipad or something and  browse BestBuy at the same time. Gamestop will have more titles hands down. 

[#4]

@AWBrown, I'll take your word on this. I can't imagine any customer not wanting us to expand our assortment in all product categories. In the end I would guess it would depend on whether the appropriate team believes this expansion makes business sense (as well as many other factors). Unlike this competitor we sell much more than gaming related products.

[#5]

@allan

Keep in mind BestBuy is going to have to pay upfront for this as the exclusive retailer customers would only be able to buy a the physical copy at BB solely. Think of it like this, BestBuy would pay Sony 200 million for the rights to be the only place to purchase a physical copy of Uncharted 4. Digital copies would be available thru PSN but that`s it. The 200 million would on top of what you normally pay thus the pay structure listed in the OP.

If you can score 10+ exclusives even better you`ll be able to overtake GS even faster. But that`s alot of capital to put out upfront for alot of titles at once so in this case less in more to start.

Think of it no Amazon/Walmart/Gamestop/Target/Newegg/Fry`s as competition. So if you were to pay 500 million for the next COD title & it sells 17 million physical copies BB would get all 17 million sales. However, once you`re successful Amazon/Walmart/Gamestop/Target will then start bidding wars. You have the advantage since GCU cost $120 vs $15 or nothing elsewhere so use this to your advantage. Offer one of the games for free or at a greatly discounted cost w/a 2 yr GCU & at that point you can truly overcome the cost of GCU.

I`m not sure how many free/paid GCU members there are & the fact that BB hasn`t announced it isn`t a good sign IMO. Gamestop reports how many paid members they have & BB has stated how many RZ members there are(although I don`t think there was a breakdown btwn reg/elite/elite plus). Usually, no news is bad news a.k.a. underperformance & the speculation isn`t working in your favor. More transparency could do wonders.

[#6]

But see, that's the major hurdle Best Buy needs to overcome, is convincing consumers that the $120 for two years is worth it to subscribe to the Gamer's Club Unlocked. Even with me being a long time GCU member, I barely stomached paying the $30 to lock in for two years, since I was so used to paying $15 once a year. I still feel as if for the current price they have lessened the value of it by nuking the magazine and it's coupons as of May and in it's place putting in only the 20% discount and the bi weekly coupons that everybody whose a Gamer's Club member(whether free or paid) gets. Paying developers for exclusitivity though seems a bit much, especially for a company that was(is) not faring so well as it is.

[#7]

@cheapest I don`t think BB understands just how strong exclusivity can be really. Just imagine them paying for a true premier title like COD or GTA that exceeds 15 million sales in a 2-3 month period. That means 13ish million GCU members at $120 or a $60 sub promotion rate & the extra capital from the LE/CE`s too. Pre-orders would be epic which then gives them ammo to approach other companies to join forces with them. 2-3 major titles in 1 yr would be too much for even GS to handle with just their DLC offers.

They gotta pay to play but paying for the sure thing title gives them a major edge & put other rivals back on their heels to respond vs BB being the followers.