GameStop Corp. (GME) Shares Surge After Microsoft’s Announcement

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GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME)’s stock climbed as much as 5 percent after Microsoft announced that it wouldn’t place restrictions on playing used games on the Xbox One. The company said previously it might charge a fee for purchasing and playing used games, which are GameStop’s bread and butter.

GameStop Corp. (GME) Shares Surge After Microsoft's Announcement

Microsoft’s Big Announcement

But in today’s announcement, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) said it not only wouldn’t charge a fee for used games, but it would also get rid of the requirement for players to check in on the device online every 24 hours in order to be able to play their games offline.

Xbox One Selling Well At GameStop?

Even though there have been concerns that the previously expected restrictions would hurt sales of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Xbox One, at first glance it looks like GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) has been selling a lot of pre-orders for the device.

Polygon’s Colin Campbell reports that the retail chain stopped taking preorders for the Xbox One because the chain has already hit the number of systems it is allowed to sell on pre-order. GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) did say that it’s accepting pre-orders through its website, however.

PlayStation 4 Vs. Xbox One

At this point though, it’s difficult to tell exactly how high demand for Microsoft’s Xbox One is. Campbell called various GameStop locations and found that the number of PlayStation 4 consoles that the chain had been allotted was significantly higher than the number of Xbox One consoles it was allotted, at least in some locations.

One location in particular was allotted 16 Xbox One consoles and 60 PlayStation 4 consoles. Microsoft and Sony each set their own limits on how many preorders chains like GameStop are allowed to accept. The fact that Microsoft has its limits set lower could mean that supply won’t be enough to meet demand. But then again, Campbell found that many GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) locations are still taking preorders for the PlayStation 4, so they haven’t yet used up their preorder allotment.

This means that we might not get an accurate picture on which console will come out ahead until well into the sales cycle when the companies release their numbers. It’s worth noting though, that the PlayStation 4 is priced $100 lower than the Xbox One. We’ll have to wait and see if that price difference has any effect on the companies’ outcomes.

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