Walmart opens Gamecenter online store

Walmart has opened a new online store for video games: "Gamecenter" (not to be confused with the GameFly mobile app of the same name). From the looks of it, Walmart is out to compete with Amazon, specifically in the online pre-order business. Gamecenter is offering lots of pre-order incentives, including e-credit and bonus game content, for several of the big releases this year. There don't appear to be many, if any price reductions on standard retail games if pre-ordered (compared to Amazon typically knocking several dollars off of the competition's price), and Walmart's shipping for a single game is set at just under a dollar.

The best pre-order deal on Gamecenter currently offers a $50 eGift card when you pre-order three games together from a predefined list; and your choices must be for the same platform, Xbox 360 or PS3. Still, there are some noteworthy games on the list, including Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Crackdown 2, Dead Rising 2, Medal of Honor, Fallout: New Vegas and Final Fantasy XIV.

There are also several offers on single pre-orders, with Call of Duty: Black Ops including a $20 eGift card. The Legendary and Limited Editions of Halo: Reach also come with $20 credits, and several other pre-orders include $10–20 cards.

Reader Comments (28)

walmart lulz

say what you want, but Walmart is the shiz. If it wasn't for them I don't know how I would be surviving in college

Best prices around! Of course at a cost to their employees =\

laugh at walmart all you want.....but they could easily buy GameStop, the reason they don't is because it doesn't fit into their grand scheme of things.....like when they bought Vudu a while back, there was a reason for that, digital media is going to keep growing, and they know that

Hey at least no one's gonna take your picture anymore.

http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/

$1 for shipping? I have an Amazon Prime membership....they are going to have to do better than that because Amazon usually does the same incentives and often times cheaper considering as of now I don't pay taxes on Amazon purchases.... though that could change later this year

so you are saying just because they just setup a "gamecenter" they shouldnt have to be competitive? Walmart has DEEP pockets, and while they can't get games made specifically for their stores(like they do a lot of things that they sell) they can still afford to sell it cheaper than what they are...AND give me free shipping

Pffft Wal-Mart having money? The Wal-Mart I work at is just a big f**king mess. When something important or expensive breaks, you are expected to fix it. Something gets lost? Too bad, it's gone for good. They have no "plan" at all, they just lumber towards the "newest" or "hippest" trend of the time, stepping on the smaller stores just to make a profit...

as a former walmart & Sams Club Employee I agree......store manager REFUSED to buy new forklifts even tho the older ones were from the 90's and were falling apart.....just throw paint on them and tape up the leaky brake and lift pipes...why? well we got bonus for having profit....full time people got close to $1000 before taxes......the STORE Managers bonus was well over $400k....THATS why you see shit falling apart.....they want to pad their pockets.....

They should roll out a "GameCenter" in each of their stores as well. Employees that are dedicated (and educated) to video games are all that I ask for. I never buy games from Target or Walmart because I hate chasing people down to open the glass cases.

Not at Walmarts I have seen. Gotta search the entire toy and electronics section to find an employee.

Why do you need employees to be knowledgeable about video games?

The less knowledgeable the better, I say. I don't want recommendations, I want to come into a store and buy the game I came here for, walk out the door, and go home and start playing it.

yea I don't need a "knowledgeable" employee to persuade me to get a certain console or a certain game....I go in a store to buy a game I already know what I want....and if I just so happen to see something else and its on sale then yea....I might get that too....but I don't need anyone to tell me that

@Conker avatar dude,

Not so important, you're right. I would just like to say something like "Could I please get a copy of Halo Reach" without them leading me to the Wii section.

To be perfectly honest, I do work in the electronics department of a Walmart. For me it depends on the customer, I will honestly only recommend a game if someone wants recommendations, and only then I usually recommend good decent games, not that shovelware crap. Most gamers though already know what they want.

I hate being a pushy salesmen, I give the facts and if the customer wants something I'll help. I don't want to force someone to buy something they don't want.

Also, for those of you complaining about $1 shipping, that really isn't that much considering at other places you will pay more for shipping, or even driving to a store which would then be a waste of gas. $1 shipping is pretty good, IMO.

Amazon.com offers FREE shipping on orders $25 or over.

Any alternative to Gamestop is an improvement.

But it is not an improvement.

What I found amusing when I went to the site and clicked on a game (Red Dead Redemption) they have a little "intro" where a cute "geek girl" (you know she's a geek girl because she's wearing a 3/4 length sleeve t-shirt) expounding on how cool the game's title is. Oh and there's the "Axe Body Wash" product placement before, and at the end (with the girl thanking Axe for bringing you the segment) which is just precious. The topper was the dead dead look in the girls eyes, like that of a person who has come to the realization their career in acting is dead (that or any other Walmart employee.)

I'm not against them doing this I just find it amusing that they went with this angle, it feels like they are trying to cater to an "ExTREEEM GmR" audience who think wearing Axe will get girls and drinking the Dew is as good as physical activity and it just comes off as ringing false. I try and avoid Walmart but I have to conceed they do have good prices.

I'm saving enough money with Best Buy's Reward Zone Gamers Club thing

...also every wal-mart I've been in smells bad and last time I went to one I had 2 different strangers ask me if I could give them a ride home, not joking.

When they asked me I actually told them I drove a car that only has one seat, haha

LMAO! they stole the name for a UK wide chain of stores AND the logo from a UK TV show called "the Gadget show"!

Does this have anything to do with their new trade in business? I checked the link real quick and deidnt see anything.. im asuuming not. Im tryin to find a place to sell my PS2 and a ton of games with it, the best i can get from best buy is $46 on something that i paid $250 for way back when :(

eff that....amazon has yet to fail me.

@spartanvi
You beat me to it.

@KohakuBZP
If only there were more people like you in this world...

downvote please

Dear Apple,

Um. Can we see a list of Trademarks you may have filed in the last... ah, month or two?

Cheers,
Walmart

I refuse to give Wally World my money. Saving a little so they can underpay their employees is not a trade-off I am willing to make. Do they employ a lot of people? Yes. Do they make ridiculous profits on the corporate level on the backs of those people? Yes. I have no problem with profit. But help out those who get you there.

Walmart opens Gamecenter online store

Reader Comments (28)

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:41PM Hawaii Jeff said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:43PM Grey said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:44PM Spike Spiegel Humble Bounty Hun said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:52PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: May 20th 2010 4:18PM robotoid said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:42PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:57PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: May 20th 2010 8:16PM King Johngie the Fourth said

Posted: May 21st 2010 6:29AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:47PM SPARTAN VI said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:52PM Spike Spiegel Humble Bounty Hun said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:56PM Granger said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:58PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:58PM SPARTAN VI said

Posted: May 20th 2010 2:13PM KohakuBZP said

Posted: May 20th 2010 6:33PM Mouthsmasher said

Posted: May 20th 2010 1:55PM Benner said

Posted: May 21st 2010 2:49PM Quest said

Posted: May 20th 2010 2:12PM commonperson said

Posted: May 20th 2010 2:16PM letherclad said

Posted: May 20th 2010 2:58PM letherclad said

Posted: May 20th 2010 2:37PM Aizei said

Posted: May 20th 2010 5:09PM Italian Stallion said

Posted: May 20th 2010 6:10PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 20th 2010 8:19PM King Johngie the Fourth said

Posted: May 20th 2010 8:20PM King Johngie the Fourth said

Posted: May 20th 2010 8:37PM Wesscoast said

Posted: May 21st 2010 2:47PM Quest said

Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

WB conjures up Harry Potter for Kinect this fall

Featured Stories

Silver Lining: I Am Alive's unfeeling world

Game Of Thrones and the paradoxes of adaptation

Super Joystiq Podcast 004: 38 Studios meltdown, Gravity Rush, Civilization 5: Gods & Kings, Dragon's Dogma

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW