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Gamestop acquiring Flash game portal Kongregate

GameStop just took a huge step into the casual online gaming market, by agreeing to purchase the Flash game portal Kongregate. According to the announcement, the site will remain under the management of founders Jim and Emily Greer following the purchase, which should finalize on August 1.

CEO J. Paul Raines explained the move, saying, "Dolphin Olympics 2 is really, really wonderful." Okay, we made that up (though Dolphin Olympics 2 is really, really wonderful). Raines actually said, "Kongregate advances GameStop's digital strategy by providing a gaming platform for casual, mobile and browser games that can be promoted and played by our existing gamers. We welcome the Kongregate team to the GameStop family."

GameStop has previously experimented with free-to-play online gaming with initiatives including the Legends of Zork browser game and a small "Free2Play" portal on its retail site.