GameStop CEO finds digital used market 'interesting'

GameStop CEO Paul Raines mentioned recently the company finds used downloadable goods "interesting," but "it's not a meaningful business yet." Speaking to Gamespot, Raines said, "Right now we're not seeing that as a huge market, but I think we're on the leading edge. There are a few companies, a few startups, out there that we've talked to that are doing this."

Coincidentally, we already asked Gamestop about this topic when it purchased Stardock's Impulse digital distribution system, which had been playing with Goo, a system created to create a "used PC license market."

"We don't see a lot of interest in that model from our publishing partners," Steve Nix, manager of PC digital distribution for GameStop told us earlier this year. He noted the potential interest by customers, but had a hard time seeing publishers supporting the model.

Raines wouldn't share the companies they were talking to over concerns of "competitors rushing in." GameStop has seen great success in slowly applying its physical store practices to the digital realm.