GameStop 2K Games Irrational

During a conference call with investors today, GameStop confirmed that season passes are a huge success for its retail business.

More than a third of the customers who purchased Gears of War: Judgment or BioShock Infinite at GameStop also bought the downloadable-content season pass for those titles. The publishers of both games are planning multiple expansions. Season passes provide a way to lock gamers into those additions while also providing a discount to the customer.

“We have a very dominating market share on the DLC,” GameStop president Tony Bartel said.

While more and more games move to digital sales. The concern is that brick-and-mortar retailer GameStop won’t keep up with that transition. But if the company is already responsible for a major portion of DLC sales, it’s clear that it is still an important outlet for publishers.

The season pass for either BioShock Infinite or Gears of War: Judgment goes for $20.