NEWS CATEGORIES:



NEWS ARCHIVE >>
SOFTPEDIA REVIEWS >>
MEET THE EDITORS >>
Home > News > Games

Games


GameStop Moves into Digital Distribution

From mortar to Internet

By Andrei Dumitrescu, Games Editor

28th of August 2009, 16:51 GMT

Adjust text size:


Digitally ready
Enlarge picture
GameStop has attracted many gamers’ antipathy. Some don't like it because it makes so much money on used games and because of the way it pushes blockbuster games to customers.

Most big videogame publishers do not like it because it makes huge profits from used games sales, even though the industry benefits from the business as money received by players is then quickly spent on new titles. And now the company might gain even more negative attention as it plans to use its brick and mortar domination to expand into the business of digital distribution.

Colin Sebastian, who is an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets, has stated as part of a conference that “GameStop historically has used acquisitions to expand into new markets, and digital is likely no exception. We believe a natural fit for a specialty game retailer would be a partnership with or acquisition of an aggregator of online games, which could be marketed toward the company’s core gamer customer base.”

The analyst is also saying that the digital distribution sales on the company's website doubled between 2007 and 2008, with a similar growth percentage expected for this year.

At the moment, GameStop is selling Xbox Live cards with points that can be used on the service, which is just a step away from creating a similar internal system. The chain is said to have plans to install kiosks in some of its stores, allowing a player to order and pay for downloadable content that will then be delivered to their gaming console at home before they get there.

Sebastian has also addressed the recent announcement of the PlayStation 3 Slim and the price cut, saying that Microsoft is likely to follow the trend and price the Xbox 360 in the same range, meaning that players will have a choice when it comes to picking up a cheaper home gaming console this Christmas.

TAGS:

GameStop | digital distribution | Xbox Live | PlayStation 3 Slim | Xbox 360
Read by 1,080 user(s) | Add comment | Link to this article TWEET THIS


Article rating:
Excellent (5.0/5) 1 vote(s)    

Subscribe to news | Print article | Send to friend

© Copyright 2001-2010 Softpedia
Contact:

 

 

SEARCH THE NEWS ARCHIVE :




Today's News
| Yesterday's News | News Archive


MORE RELATED ARTICLES:


Best Buy Selling New Games for Used Prices

GameStop Breaks Street Day for Demigod

GameStop Boss Doubts Sony Price Cuts, Reveals Big Nintendo Title

BioShock 2 Gets Exclusive Multiplayer Characters

Blur Coming in November, Pre-Orders Detailed

Assassin's Creed 2 Gets Limited Edition

GameStop Enters Digital Distribution Market

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Arrives on September 29

User opinions:

No user comments yet.
Be the first to express your opinion using the form below!

Share your opinion:

Your Name:
Your Email Address:
(will not be used for commercial purposes)
Solve this to prove you're not a bot: =
Your review/opinion:

 




Windows tabGames tabDrivers tabMac tabLinux tabScripts tabMobile tabHandheld tabGadgets tabNews tab

SUBMIT PROGRAM   |   ADVERTISE   |   GET HELP   |   SEND US FEEDBACK   |   RSS FEEDS   |   ENTER NEWS SITE   |   ENGLISH BOARD   |   ROMANIAN FORUM