GameStop has decided to make it easier for PC gamers to get their hands on new releases (or so it claims). GameStop customers can now use any accepted form of payment, including trade credit and GameStop gift cards, to purchase digital PC games at their local store immediately at launch.
The first such title is Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which launches August 23, 2011, but GameStop says many titles will support this new purchase method soon. The game is available for pre-order now in stores nationwide and online at gamestop.com. In addition to immediate access to the game at launch, GameStop customers who pre-purchase the digital PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution will also receive:
- A digital version of Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition and Deus Ex: Invisible War
- The Explosive Mission DLC Pack for in-game use in Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Double points for GameStop PowerUp Rewards members
It's not exactly clear why you would want to buy a voucher for a digital product in store and then go back home just so that you can then download it. Still, GameStop apparently believes the purchase model will work.
The extras listed above are nice, but they won't be offered for every game. The only real advantage we can see is being able to use trade-in credits for your purchases. We think that GameStop should have simply focused its resources on making trade-in credits useable via its online store, but somehow the retailer found this to be the better solution.
"This is a great illustration of how the digital distribution model and in-store experience really complement one another," Steve Nix, GameStop's general manager of digital distribution, said in a statement. "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."