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Nintendo launches special 'Pokémon' and 'Fire Emblem' bundles
You may want to check if you can cancel your Fire Emblem Warriors or Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon pre-orders. Nintendo has just announced a special FE Warriors edition for the Switch and a Veteran Trainer's dual pack that includes both new Pokémon games. The special edition FE Warriors comes with a copy of the game for Nintendo's hybrid console, three CDs' worth of music from the game, character art cards and a dual-sided poster. It'll set you back $80, or $20 more than just the game itself, but if you get weak in the knees for special edition collectibles, then that doesn't sound so bad. Nintendo has also revealed that the game will be available in North America on October 20th, at least for the Switch.
GameStop's next-gen digital strategy doesn't exist, because it doesn't need to... yet
"You're asking me to... predict the future. I'm supposed to plan for the future." That's the non-answer GameStop president Tony Bartel spit out when I prodded him about the company's digital strategy here at its annual consumer-facing EXPO in Las Vegas. And it's clearly a touchy subject. It's not that Bartel refuses to acknowledge and embrace a download-only world -- indeed, he believes "things are going to go [fully] digital" -- but in his own estimation, that shift isn't tied to the next-gen of consoles. For a retailer built upon the buy/sell/trade business model for videogames and hardware, GameStop doesn't appear to have a well-laid digital strategy in the works, nor does it necessarily need to at the moment. With both Sony and Microsoft committing to a friendly used disc-based games policy for their respective black boxes, GameStop's been given a temporary buffer from the inevitable, allowing it additional time to feel out the digital way forward with a serendipitous mobile crutch.
GameStop Expo puts the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in your hands this August
Whether or not you pay for GameStop's annual membership plan, the planet's largest video game retailer is opening the doors of the Las Vegas Sands Expo and Convention Center to the public for its annual GameStop Expo this August, which this year features hands-on opportunities with both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. For a $35 general admission ticket, you'll get access to both consoles on August 28th -- long before their respective holiday launches -- as well as a chance to play a variety of upcoming games. Should you shell out a stone cold $90, you'll snag a copy of Madden NFL 25 for Xbox 360, gain early entry to the show (one hour) and "access to panel discussions with some of the biggest names in the industry." Per usual, attendees must be older than 17, and the event's a one-day affair. But then you'll be in Vegas, so... maybe stay for a few days.
Gamestop pondering a move into vintage games
GameStop CEO Paul Raines is planning on adding a vintage games store to the company's online offerings. The outlet has been amassing warehouses full of classic titles that were traded in over the years, and the chief sees a "sales opportunity" in going toe-to-toe with sites like eBay. There are still several problems to overcome, including conditioning, sourcing and refurbishing the hardware abused by our younger selves -- but at least we might be able to replace our busted SNES controllers without worrying about getting outbid at the last minute.
