EB Games will soon lock pre-orders for more games behind its Plus membership

EB Games cops a lot of flack, but it’s still the one place where, when you pre-order something, you actually get it. No “sorry, we didn’t have enough stock to fulfil orders”—you put the money down, and you’re safe. For the most part.*

However, EB Games staff, from multiple stores, in different states, have recently advised our readers, when picking up their copies of Xenoblade Chronicles X last week, that more games will soon require a paid Plus membership to pre-order.

Lately, EB Games has been paywalling pre-orders behind its paid EB Games Plus membership, mostly for high-demand items like new Pokémon TCG sets, which have been in such high demand that people have been breaking into local game stores to get their thieving hands on them.

High-ticket gaming items, like the 30th Anniversary PlayStation Gear, have also been locked behind a Plus paywall or required a Level 4 or 5 membership (which demands significant spending but isn’t a paid subscription). EB isn’t alone in tightening how preorders are taken, JB Hi-Fi, also required an account to purchase the PlayStation 30th Anniversary goods, but that signup is free and not a subscription.

We contacted EB Games’ head office for an official statement. We didn’t ask about the Switch 2—because even if they knew, they wouldn’t tell us. But we did ask whether some or all pre-orders going forward would require a Plus membership. Here’s what they said:

Unfortunately, we aren’t able to currently confirm which pre-orders will provide our EB World Plus members with early access.

We recommend keeping an eye on our social media pages and website for any updates.

Hardly an affirming statement.

The days of simply walking into a store and putting down some cash—or adding something to a cart and hoping it arrives on launch day—are gone. Scalpers, bots, and resellers have changed the way pre-orders work for major product launches. Locking preorders behind a paid membership though, that sucks. In some regional centres EB Games is the only place to lock down a preorder, unless you trust Harvey Norman with your cash? Luckily, there is more than one store to buy games and consoles from in Australia. However, EB Games sometimes gets exclusive items or stocks things that other stores don’t.

*We were all set to say nice things about EB here, but then two of our team members didn’t receive their copies of Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition last week due to stock delays. Multiple readers also reported that their copies of Hello Kitty Island Adventure didn’t arrive. So, they’re not perfect—but still probably safer than most.