As winter begrudgingly surrenders to spring and 
you begin that annual task of cleaning out all the detritus that has accumulated in your closets over the past year, you might want to start with your game collection.
Everyone has a few favorites they’ll hang on to forever, whether for sentimental value or because they enjoy replaying them from time to time. But most video games simply gather dust — and while some of those games on your shelf might have limited value, others are in high demand.
Stardock’s recent sale of its Impulse digital 
distribution service to GameStop is in the history books now, but the retailer was hardly the only bidder for the service.
Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock, says there were conversations with dozens of companies – with roughly a half-dozen of those presenting term sheets – before Stardock made its final decision. And even then, it took a lot of convincing on GameStop’s part.
GameStop might be the retail sales leader when it 
comes to video games, but the company’s lack of a strong digital arm has always worried analysts.
The announcement, then, that the company has purchased Impulse, a digital distribution service, as well as game streaming service Spawn Labs, is being met with cheers. And GameStop’s prediction that it will see digital revenues hit $1.5 billion by 2014 is receiving an even warmer reception.
Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks with GameStop
president Tony Bartel about its recent acquisitions and the company’s potential plans to build its own tablet computer.
After running relatively quiet on the digital front for a long period, GameStop came out with both guns blazing last week.
The surprise purchases of Stardock’s Impulse digital distribution service and streaming technology firm Spawn Labs put the company in direct competition with Steam and OnLive. And it’s just getting started.
While it rules the retail sector when it comes to video 
game sales, GameStop hasn’t exactly been leading the pack when it comes to digital distribution. Now, it’s starting to play catch up.
The company plans to buy Stardock — and its Impulse digital delivery service — as well as the game streaming service Spawn Labs to prepare for its future. In other words, GameStop is putting Steam and OnLive in its crosshairs.
Kongregate is launching its ‘Kongregate Arcade’ 
app for Android devices. Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks to CEO and co-founder Jim Greer about discovering opportunity on that platform.
With its presence already well-established in the Web space, Kongregate is branching out into the world of mobile. The Gamestop-owned game portal on Tuesday announced the launch of the ‘Kongregate Arcade’ app for Android devices.
With an initial library of 300 games, the app represents one of the biggest collection of games on the platform. And Jim Greer, CEO and co-founder of the company, says Kongregate plans to build that number rapidly – conservatively estimating the company will add “dozens” of games per month (versus the 1,500 or so that the desktop client sees in the same amount of time).
One of the problems with being a 
gamer during the holidays is you get a lot of duplicates of games you already own – or, worse, a collection of titles you never wanted in the first place. And not everyone is kind enough to include a gift receipt.
There’s money in those unwanted games, though – and there are a variety of ways to cash in on them.
Last year, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” 
set an all-time entertainment industry record for opening day sales – and has gone on to become one of the best selling titles in the industry’s history.
No one was expecting the follow-up – “Call of Duty: Black Ops – to match those numbers, but a comment today from a GameStop executive might have some people rethinking their estimates.
When a 2009 holiday price war erupted between
two of the largest online retailers, GameStop found itself caught in the middle.
Amazon and Wal-Mart kicked off last December by slashing prices on 25 of the year’s most popular video games—with the average discount ranging from 15 percent to 20 percent. That caught GameStop by surprise—and ultimately contributed to the company reporting flat earnings for the nine-week period.
Another big-box retailer is looking for a cut of the lucrative 
used video game market.
Target has kicked off a pilot program in Northern California allowing customers to trade in their used games, as well as old electronics devices, for store credit. By year’s end, the company plans to expand the program to 850 locations.
Chris Morris: Journalist 