Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have boosted sales at the company

Jul 16, 2014 08:56 GMT  ·  By

GameStop has recently revealed that it performed better than initially expected after the launch of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, and that the company was ready to invest more in the development of exclusive content for upcoming titles that would only be offered through its stores.

And now, Tony Bartel, the president of the specialist video game retail chain, has revealed the way these moves are designed to allow the company to drive the future of digital distribution rather than defend it from its increasing role in the industry.

The executive tells Venturebeat that many gamers do not know exactly what kind of extra content they can pick up for a title they own, and GameStop can change that for the better.

He states, “What happens is, when you’re standing in line at a midnight release, or when you come in and buy that product, or when you preorder the product, we’ll inform you about the downloadable content that’s available. We’ll give you the opportunity to buy it. You can preorder it. Do whatever you want. But we’ll aid in discovery because that’s what GameStop does.”

It seems that 30 percent of those who picked up the recently launched Watch Dogs at GameStop also got a season pass for the game, which is above the median rate for the game as reported by Ubisoft.

Bartel adds, “The reason we’re so adamant about that is because we believe this downloadable content is incredible content. It’s just that not a lot of people know about it. It’s not the most customer-friendly experience to find it on either PlayStation Network or Xbox Live.”

Ubisoft recently revealed that digital distribution was dominant for Watch Dogs on the PC, but GameStop is no longer selling video games associated with the platform, so statistics have no effect on its long-term outlook.

On the Xbox One and on the PlayStation 4, most gamers still want to pick up physical copies of their favorite titles, and that means the retail chain has an occasion to promote other content, like DLC and Season Passes.

GameStop tends to mainly make profit from the sale of used video game copies and hardware, but the company is looking to limit its dependence on the secondary market in the coming years.

Bartel also says that 60 percent of the payments made for digital content in stores do not involve a credit card but rather trade credit, gift cards and cash.