GameStop to start selling digital downloads in stores

By Mike Flacy July 29, 2011

GameStop_store — Image used with permission by copyright holder

With the upcoming launch of Deus Ex: Human Revolution for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC platforms, GameStop is starting up a program to sell digital versions of PC games within the physical locations of the company. While visitors to the GameStop can accomplish the exact same task on the website, customers interested in the game can apply store credit from trade-ins to the purchase of the digital title. This service is being powered by technology from a recent acquisition, Impulse Inc. The Impulse digital distribution platform is a response to the popularity of Steam as well as the move by Electronic Arts to sell games within a proprietary distribution system called Origin.

As an incentive for those that preorder Deus Ex: Human Revolution, consumers will also receive a DLC pack called Explosive Mission, digital versions of the first two games in the series Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition and Deus Ex: Invisible War, double points for GameStop PowerUp Rewards members as well as an entry in the Augment Your Living Room Sweepstakes (GameStop PowerUp Rewards members only). The sweepstakes includes a 3D HDTV, surround sound system, home theater seating, all three consoles and a $500 GameStop gift card.

In order to download Deus Ex: Human Revolution on the release date of August 23, users have to download the Impulse client similar to clients from Steam and EA. Publishers that use Impulse can include digital rights management options to protect its software, but PC gaming consumers are often disparaging against any form of DRM. Similar to Steam, the Impulse software allows publishers to include achievements, chat, friends lists, cloud storage and multiplayer lobbies within games. Publishers also have the ability to add more downloadable content to the game through Impulse as well as have access to analytics around consumers and purchase behavior.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributing Editor

By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…

Computing

The HP Victus gaming PC with RTX 3060 has a $550 discount

The HP Victus 15L gaming PC in white.

Gamers don't need to spend more than $1,000 if they want to buy a new gaming PC because there are affordable options like the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop. From its original price of $1,400, you can get it for just $850 as HP has applied a $550 discount on this machine. However, you shouldn't delay your purchase because there's no assurance that the gaming PC will still be 39% off tomorrow. If you want to make sure that you get it for less than $1,000, you're going to have to complete the transaction for it within the day.

Why you should buy the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop
You shouldn't expect the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop to match the performance of the top-of-the-line models of the best gaming PCs, but it's surprisingly powerful for its cost. Inside it are the 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, with 16GB of RAM that our guide on how much RAM do you need says is the best place to start for gaming. It's enough to play today's best PC games without any issues, and it may even be capable of running the upcoming PC games of the next few years if you're willing to dial down the settings for the more demanding titles.

Gaming

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: release date window, trailers, gameplay, and more

Indiana Jones standing in the jungle.

Grab your fedora, whip, and pistol because Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is plotting a course to consoles soon. After being announced via a small teaser in 2021, we're now finally starting to put the pieces together on the mystery that is this new title from MachineGames. While many very popular and successful games have been inspired by the Indiana Jones film franchise, including Uncharted and Tomb Raider, Indy himself has yet to star in a true action-adventure game worthy of his legacy. Will this game be the one to remind audiences who the true pioneer of set-piece action and globe-trotting puzzle-solving is? Only time will tell, but we can at least guess based on all the clues we've unearthed.
Release date window
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be released is scheduled for release sometime in 2024. Considering the slate of titles currently announced from first-party publishers, and how little we've seen of this game in comparison, we'd expect it to arrive in the last few months of the year. Of course, it could always slip into next year as well.
Platforms

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, coming from Xbox-owned MachineGames, will be an Xbox console exclusive, but also be available on PC.
Trailers
Official Gameplay Reveal Trailer: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Gaming

How to get to Monkey Island in Sea of Thieves

An election poster for guybrush in Sea of Thieves.

Over the course of its many years of updates and expansions, Sea of Thieves has had a few notable crossovers with other pirate franchises. The Pirates of the Caribbean crossover let you team up with the legendary Jack Sparrow, but the Monkey Island content felt like it came out of nowhere. For those unaware, Monkey Island is a series of pirate point-and-click games that were as funny as the puzzles were obscure. Thankfully, you don't have to intuit that you need to combine a cat whisker with a mason jar to bypass a skeleton guard to get to this new content, but it is more challenging than you might think.