GameStop: Black Ops DLC "largest DLC launch of all time"; 3DS sales to slump in Q2

During its call to investors yesterday after releasing its latest financial report, GameStop reported that the Escalation DLC Pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops on 360 was the for the retail chain. However, on the same call, the firm noted some not-so-good news as well, as it stated sales of Nintendo 3DS have lagged since its banner launch period.

Digital is where it's at

The firm stated it sold over 50,000 pre-ordered codes to its PowerUp Rewards members, and it also sold 200,000 extra codes for the DLC during its first week of availability.

In its earnings report yesterday, GameStop reported that online digital sales surpassed the previous year's earnings and were up 53 percent. The firm stated that digital had become "just as important as boxed products," to the chain.

GameStop also plans to move ahead with its digital offerings by launching an internal beta for a cloud-based digital distribution service, which is based on its acquisition of Spawn Labs, in July.

An influx followed by a lull

During the call to investors, GameStop touched up the lagging sales of Nintendo 3DS which at launch, saw the firm with a 45 percent market share of the new handheld.

"We were very excited about 3DS when it launched. [It] was one of the highest market shares we've ever had for a Nintendo launch at 45 percent," said GameStop president Tony Bartel. "We were excited about market share.

"I think there have been reports that the numbers are lagging from what the expectations were in the US, and I think our results will be in line with that. In [fiscal] Q2 [ending July], we expect to fall slightly short of what we expected. We were excited at the launch, but in Q2 we believe it will slightly lag [behind] our expectations."

Yesterday, the firm reported that thanks in part to the launch of Nintendo 3DS, sales of new hardware were up 24 percent. Bartel said the handheld's launch was good for the handheld gaming space and lifted its profile a bit, "but it hasn't been a significant increase," as hoped.

"We anticipate the 3DS is going to continue to be the hottest handheld platform for at least the second quarter," Bartel added, even with lagging sales.

Nintendo 3DS sold approximately 400,000 units at launch in the US.

Thanks: IndustryGamers, Gamasutra.