GameStop looking into reselling digital content

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.

"It’s very interesting," he said. "There are some technologies out there in Europe, and we’ve looked at a couple that are involved. We’re interested; it’s not a meaningful business yet. 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."

Raines declined to identify those outfits, saying, "No, we wouldn’t 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.