There is a rumor that Gamestop has been biased towards Microsoft in merchandising their online product range and some other presentational aspects of the stores. Never has Gamestop been asked a direct question regarding such delicate matter although employees of Gamestop/EB freely accept they’re getting preferential treatment from Microsoft but not from Sony. These preferential treatments according to the sources come in the way of free goodies. How nice…
Gamestop the giant game store
With hundreds of outlets across the country, it must be impossible to informally favor a particular manufacturer over another, in this case to favor Microsoft over Sony. Even if such standardization is possible, how effectively can a single outlet of Gamestop can promote Microsoft over Sony, besides the front-line staff of Gamestop are not been offered anything extra for promoting any particular brand.
Merge of Gamestop with EB
Not long ago Gamestop merged with Electronics Boutiques, another giant in the games industry, whose staff were also thought to be getting free goodies from Microsoft. However giving gifts as means of a business strategy is not by any means illegal or inappropriate. Just that the visible effectiveness of such strategies look so lame.
What Microsoft does different
If, however one accepts that Microsoft has succeeded in getting preference from Gamestop / Electronics Boutiques, the only thing done differently by Microsoft is the strategy of giving free goods out to employees of such company staff. Is it really that Microsoft using free-giveaways as a marketing strategy? It simply does not matter why Microsoft gives stuff free. The point is that nobody else does.
Sony doesn’t care
Does Sony care about the preferential treatment that Microsoft is getting, apparently not. Because if they did, Sony would try to outperform Microsoft in giving free goodies. Obviously, Sony has other plans, only that its not clear as to how exactly Sony plans to tackle this situation. Surely, winning the hearts of the employees of front-line-sales-firms is not a tactic for Sony.
Is it really happening after all?
Could all this be a hypothetical theory magnified by some controversial behavior from certain companies? Or could this be a reality where an authentic goodwill gesture from Microsoft turning into an ally of increasing sales via Gamestop? Perhaps bit of both, may well be the perfect answer for Gamestop slanting towards Microsoft products over Sony.
Its all in the game, when it comes to business nothing combined with goodwill is really unethical. Free giveaways are just freebies, how the receiving party reacts to the situation is totally beyond Microsoft. On the other hand Gamestop or EB favoring Microsoft, Sony or any other brand, does not imply a misconduct of business. It may be the staff of Gamestop having more on-hand experience with Microsoft products than with Sony products. After all, there were no official news at least with hints of Gamestop and Electronics Boutiques promoting Microsoft over Sony.
