The inevitable transition to digital distribution is upon is, and GameStop is wasting no time in their push toward the new business model. Almost immediately after their purchase of Kongregate, GameStop has launched their first digital store in Germany under the name Direct Play. After all, Flash games can only take a retailer of their size so far.
By partnering with French download platform Metaboli – which currently offers service in several countries – Direct Play is able to feature over 700 PC titles for semi-download. “Semi” because Metaboli actually functions more like a streaming service with the first few minutes of a game being playable a couple of minutes after purchase while the rest of it is downloaded in the background. While useful for negating a lengthy wait to begin play, be prepared for frequent load times if you’re running on 1 Mbps.
Though GameStop’s move into digital distribution is hardly a surprise, I am a little shocked that it begins in Germany, as they almost monopolizes the game market in the US and Metaboli already has a strong presence in the UK. Perhaps it’s phase one of a far-reaching plan or their just testing the market. Either way, don’t expect to wait too long until more stores start opening in other countries.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
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