As an outreach coordinator for GameStop, I was very interested to see a news story regarding the videogames retailer pop up on my news feed a couple of weeks ago. 
The piece, entitled; ‘GameStop preps for the inevitable Brick-and-Mortar apocalypse’ (from the MTV website, of all places) took the position that in less than a decade’s time, there will be no physical GameStop stores left on the high streets of America in the wake of the (supposed) eventual preference and/or need for non-physical gaming software.
The article also briefly touched upon GameStop’s plan of attack in light of this shift, namely the brand pushing their visibility in the digital games delivery market by securing a deal with Stardock subsidiary Impulse (a service akin to Valve’s Steam) and by securing themselves a foothold in the streaming realm via the purchase of peer-to-peer gaming service Spawn Labs (details of which have been previously discussed by Gamer News Daily here).
But do these additional digital services – and the speculation that all future video games will be digitally accessed - mean that GameStop’s presence on the high street is approaching its end?
I would argue that this is a ridiculous notion.
Whilst consoles of the future may not run on physical software, there is still likely to be several different gaming systems to choose from. Whilst you probably could purchase a new console in a standard electrical goods shop, you are unlikely to receive the same specialist advice that you are used to from gaming specific retailers. That Best Buy clerk is unlikely to know which set up is best for lovers of first person shooters, or which is most suitable for your teenage daughter.
