It looks like Amazon really, really, really want you all to get an Amazon Prime subscription, with their latest initiative being to stop selling a number of major games to those of you without Prime.
Games including Grand Theft Auto V, Far Cry Primal, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Rainbow Six Siege, Battlefield: Hardline and plenty others are now marked as “exclusively for Prime members” when looking at Amazon’s own listing. It extends a scheme of exclusivity that is gradually creeping across Amazon as a whole.
The thing that makes this so unusual is that you can still buy from a number of third party sellers. Take GTA V as an example, and you can buy from Fox Electric, Sunset Games, Gadget Games and plenty other third party sellers which can be used with or without Prime for delivery.
This has been picked up this morning after former TSA writer @joshlhood noted it on Twitter, but comments on Eurogamer suggest that this has been going on for a while, with Eoin saying, “This isn’t an overnight change. Games have gradually been going Prime-only for a while now. I had Far Cry Primal in my basket for a while and noticed that it was Prime-only on April 8th.”
It’s all a bit bloody stupid (and slightly worrying), if you ask me.
Source: @joshlhood, Eurogamer
Starman
Kinda odd move when you consider the huge amount of online game stores who often have lower prices than amazon now, and free delivery too. Though given how big amazon are they can afford the odd gaffe that backfires. They’ll probably just knock it off their tiny tax bill.
beeje13
What about the independent sellers and fulfillment sellers? Can they not sell to non-prime members either?
beeje13
Excuse my blindness, you confirm this in the 3rd paragraph, sorry.
Eldave0
Plenty of other, cheaper, alternatives out there. Nothing to worry about.
bunimomike
Been thinking about Prime but not for this reason. Sod that. I’ll go elsewhere as well. I usually buy most of my games from them too. Shame. :-\
The Lone Steven
What? What? Are you flucking kidding me? What? Just what!?
Are you serious, Amazon? What!? Why? I was going to use you a lot when i get me next jurb. I was willing to spend, quite a lot of cash in the future. But to be a effing prime member just to get certain games? You can do one!
This isn’t a bloody perk or should be a perk. Being ABLE TO ORDER ANYTHING WE PLEASE, should be something we can do with or without prime. This is just stupid, Amazon. This is……
Google Youtube levels of stupid. I don’t want to pay £80 a effing year just so i can have the perk of ordering any games. Damn, should have known this would happen. First, Play.com went to crap and well, Amazon has little to no rivals so they can pull this BS. For feck’s sake.
And to think, that when i do get me own place with me own broadband, i may have actually used you to order a PS4 and a shit ton of games. Well, screw you, Amazon! I’m taking my ball and i’m going home.
And by that, i mean i’m not going to be inclined to use you that often. Just sod you, Amazon.
Goddamnit! Why does stuff that i like or perfer tend to turn to crap?
hazelam
so, now not only do they charge for free delivery, they charge to even buy certain games?
i wouldn’t be out of order if i said that was a total dick move, would i?
MrYd
How exactly are they charging for free delivery? Yes, you can pay for Prime and get things quicker with free delivery, but the option for free delivery without Prime is still there.
Ok, so they changed the minimum amount to £20 a while back. But it’s still free delivery.
And a number of things that were just over £20 (so qualifying for free delivery) mysteriously dropped in price to just under £20. So you wouldn’t get the free delivery, and the delivery costs would bring it back up to the price it was previously. That was a particularly cunning move.
So no, they don’t charge for free delivery. You can get it for free, pay to get an individual order quicker, or pay yearly and get everything delivered as part of that package.
And I wouldn’t even say they’re charging for the right to buy certain things either. You can still buy them from other companies that sell on Amazon, some of which will be delivered by Amazon anyway, and some of which may cost more or less than Amazon. It just looks like they’re trying to manage the supply on more popular items so people who are paying the £80 a year can get them. Which is fairly reasonable.
duff_em_up_dave
Are you a Prime member, by any chance, MrYd?
Starman
They’re a huge corporation. They’d don’t care who buys off them, as long as someone does. If it’s the low stock clearance theory they’d happily get it sold asap instead of waiting for a prime member to buy it.
hazelam
well, the free delivery you pay for thing, was in a joke thing i saw somewhere, can’t remember where right now, so that’s where that comes from.
that part of the prime sub i don’t actually have an issue with, like you said, you can get free delivery on items over £20.
what i see as a problem is needing to be a prime subscriber to buy certain games?
and this isn’t about rewarding subs, this is about getting more £80 subs.
i mean, is a prime subscriber going to buy a game just because it suddenly needs a prime sub to be purchasable?
if they were going to buy it they’d buy it, it not they wouldn’t.
i suspect their thinking is, you go to buy something off amazon and you discover you need a prime sub to buy it so you’ll subscibe.
but i think this is actually going to drive people away.
most people don’t actually seem to like this idea.
MrYd
Yeah, my long post might have made it sound like I’m paying Amazon £80 a year.
I’m not.
I can wait a few days extra for most things to be delivered. The other benefits aren’t much interest to me either. The music selection is kind of crap compared to Spotify, and their video offerings aren’t hugely interesting either. Netflix seems to be offering a lot more original stuff than Amazon.
Ok, so when Amazon do manage to have something worth watching (Mr Robot is back soon, for instance), I may “borrow” someone’s login.
But personally, it’s not worth the £80 for me. I can see why Amazon are so keen on selling it though. And this latest scheme might help them there, but I doubt it’ll sell them many more subscriptions. It’s fine if you’re paying them, although other sellers may be cheaper, but if not, it’s going to make absolutely zero difference in 99% of cases.
It’s a stock thing which Amazon are spinning as a benefit to Prime subscribers. Because that sounds better than “We’re running out of stuff to sell”.
JR.
Im not paying for Prime at the moment because I managed to wangle (is that a word?) a year sub out of them for absolutely nothing. However, I will definitely be renewing my Prime sub in Septemeber when my current sub expires. I rely on their next day delivery so often, I couldnt imagine not having it now. 2hr delivery is even better. Cant wait for their drone service to go live :D
marvzilla
I thought it was because when they reach a certain amount of stock they can only guarantee 24 hour delivery for x amount of people, so they restrict it to prime members and point everyone else to the many marketplace sellers willing to fill the gap. Seems sensible but as mentioned earlier there’s nothing like a good Internet witch-hunt
ABlokeCalledDaz
I think the Amazon Prime Now service might have something to do with this as well. 1-2 hour delivery in certain areas, they’re advertising certain games on the app like GTA5 as being part of the service.
Just another take on it.
JR.
This service is pretty amazing to be honest. I needed a memory stick at work the other day and couldn’t find any stores locally that had them. Placed an order using Prime Now at 12:30 for two memory sticks and a bag of mint aero bubbles (to get it over £20) and they were delivered to the main reception desk at 2:00. You can track the little dot on a map using the app, which shows the driver moving to your location. You can order food and everything. It’s really very good.
MrYd
Why did my brain instantly start wondering if that would be so much more entertaining if you appeared as a little dot to the Amazon driver and he’d hunt you down to deliver your stuff?
And you’d try and get away (maybe so you could complain to Amazon that it arrived late and get some compensation?) but he’d keep on coming. Like some terrifying, unstoppable robot from the future sent back in time to deliver some dubious minty chocolate. Which I would happily accept as the plot to any of the Terminator films after the first two.
The Lone Steven
Or an army of T-800s that ruthlessly hunt you down to give you your package using a selection of voices. You have da Arhnold, you have dah erm…… er………
*flees*
JR.
It did have a very Alienesque feel about it. Amazon Prime App/Motion tracker. It’s in the vents! Get out of there! It’s right on top of you! Oh darn you found me, thanks so much :)
The Lone Steven
THEY’RE COMING OUT THE GODDAMN WALLS!
And now, i need to sue Amazon for destroying my walls! :P
Old School
Everyone, use shopto.net to get your games, they’re usually a little cheaper and in some cases they send the games out early, I’ve had a few games a couple of days before release.
I won’t use Amazon for games on principle now.