Digital Game Distribution Expands

Looks like Amazon has decided to join the digital distribution party for games, as one analyst deduces from looking at the job postings on their site. Amazon has had success with other digital media, notably e-books and music, so this is not entirely new to them. It will be interesting to see how they implement it.

Looks like Steam will have some well-heeled and experienced competition to deal with in the future. This should benefit consumers, as you can bet  we'll see more efforts to appeal to customers from all digital distributors. It's not just price; look for exclusive deals and more creative offerings. The interface is one area where we're likely to see changes. Amazon's secret weapons in this battle are its recommendation engine ("other games you might like") and the user comments. I don't know about you, but when I'm looking into a serious purchase I always take a look at Amazon's comments. You'll learn a lot about a product's pros and cons that way.

All this activity in digital distribution is another sign of how rapidly the market is growing; Amazon wouldn't jump in if it wasn't a big enough market. Not the best of news for Gamestop...