GameStop to start selling downloadable content. Buys Jolt Online

GameStop downloadable content ad. Will start selling DLC in 2010
GameStop has announced that they are going to have a new offer to push onto consumers as they are making their purchases . . . downloadable content.

How does GameStop, a physical store, sell you DLC you ask?

Speaking at the BMO Capital Markets 17th Annual Digital Entertainment Conference, GameStop chief operating officer Paul Raines laid out their new strategy which will include selling add-on content for games to consumers while they are checking out. After the sales associates have informed the customer about the DLC, they can choose to buy it from GameStop using any form of payment, including store credit. That DLC will then be automatically added to that person’s Xbox Live or PlayStation Network account so that they will have it when they get home.

“It’s clear to us from our research that full game digital downloads will move slowly, but we are optimistic about the possibilities of downloadable add-on content and episodic content,” he said. “We do believe…that the add-on downloadable market with smaller file sizes will grow.”

GameStop expects to begin testing this concept in-store during the first three months of 2010.

As part of the BMO Capital Markets conference, GameStop also said that it has acquired a majority interest in Jolt Online. The online gaming platform gained prominence earlier this year by reviving the classic text-based adventure game Zork. Founded last year, Jolt already operates a number of free-to-play online gaming properties, including the truck-driving-themed Trukz and the geopolitical sim NationStates 2.

Via GameSpot