CEO Paul Raines says specialty retailer has talked with startups about secondhand downloadable goods, describes market as "not a meaningful business yet."
GameStop already has a solid footing in the boxed used games business, but as the industry trends toward digital, the chain is considering ways it could resell downloadable games. Speaking to GameSpot from the retailer's refurbishment center in Grapevine, Texas, this week, GameStop CEO Paul Raines said the firm is looking into digital secondhand sales.
"Its very interesting," he said. "There are some technologies out there in Europe, and weve looked at a couple that are involved. Were interested; its not a meaningful business yet. Right now were not seeing that as a huge market, but I think were on the leading edge. There are a few companies, a few startups, out there that weve talked to that are doing this."
Raines declined to identify those outfits, saying, "No, we wouldnt want to disclose that and have our competitors rushing in."
Earlier this month, a European court ruled that the secondhand sale of software was protected, making it so producers can no longer prevent users from reselling licenses.
GameStop's boxed secondhand game business is a major unit for the company. For fiscal 2011, GameStop recorded $2.62 billion in revenue from this sector, 27.4 percent of its total revenues.
Check back later for GameSpot's full interview with Raines.
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