GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo has made his stance clear on his company’s used game sales. They will not be affected even by publishers rewarding purchasers of new games with free DLC. During a conference call with industry analysts, DeMatteo voiced his opinion on this recent trend:
DeMatteo goes on to say that when DLC sales are implemented within GameStop stores, they will be a part of the up-sell process during customer check-out. I know you’re all groaning at the sound of that. Believe me, I don’t like being hassled about buying a strategy guide or anything else when I buy a game, either. However, DLC purchases that would occur in-store might not be counterproductive. Yeah, you may end up saving $10, but that’s an extra $10 that can be used toward the creation of the next game you want to purchase from that particular developer.
Through our years in the used business, we have learned that the second-hand user is a value-oriented consumer…we don’t believe that a $10 add-on piece of DLC is compelling to a used game buyer.
Publishers can participate in our used business by offering add-on content for the most popular used titles, creating a win-win situation for publishers, retailers and consumers.
We can market and execute DLC sales right in-store. There’s a tremendous opportunity for us to encourage software developers and publishers to create DLC because we’ll be able to market it. It’s very difficult to discover, find… add-on content with the tools available [currently].
There are some people out there who love to buy used games, and I’m sure that this move by GameStop is aimed at those customers. For those who don’t have a preference? It’s just one more thing you will have to hear before you walk out the door.
Source: GameSutra
