GameStop has announced details on its in-store digital download service, which will launch in 2010 and will allow customers to buy Xbox Live and PSN DLC in-store alongside the retail game copy.
According to COO Paul Raines, who spoke at the BMO Capital Markets conference in New York today as
cited by a Reuters report, "A large market for full game downloads is not imminent, [but] the add-on downloadable market will grow." Nonetheless, GameStop's commitment to digital downloads will grow by adding easy in-store ways to buy DLC for larger retail games, thanks to a special interface built in conjunction with Microsoft and Sony.
Notably, the DLC can be paid via GameStop's tills with any kind of credit or cash, including trade credits. The hardware providers will then give access to the DLC for the GameStop consumer immediately, to be downloaded on his or her console when they get home.
An
IGN article adds a specific example from Raines: "If you love
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, imagine being able to take home the physical copy at launch, plus have a few costumes and villains sent to your PS3 waiting for you when you get home."
The GameStop executive added that the company is "optimistic about the possibilities of add-on, digital content and episodic content," even as it tried to downplay the potential long-term effect to its business of digital distribution.
The retailer also pointed out that, since it is the market share leader of in sales of physical point cards for Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and Nintendo, it's possible that there could be a marginal upside for the company -- even with a digital shift.
The announcement comes as GameStop continues to expand into the digital space, with
recent executive announcements revealing a Digital Media group that is charged with expanding the retailer's non-physical footprint significantly.
