It was inevitable that GameStop would eventually sell digital PC games from its retail stores after it took over Impulse earlier this year. The retailer today announced it will begin doing just that, starting with Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
It might not seem like a big deal on the surface. But doing this in-store opens the door for customers to easily trade in console and handheld games (or hardware) and use that credit to buy PC games on Impulse. That’s a decidedly unique feature that Steam, Direct2Drive, GamersGate, and so on can’t provide.
“This is a great illustration of how the digital distribution model and in-store experience really complement one another,” said GameStop’s digital distribution GM, Steve Nix. “We have seen great success selling DLC for console titles in our stores, so expanding on that model and helping customers discover digitally distributed PC games in stores is a natural fit.”
