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.
In the video game world, there’s bundling – 
and there’s true customer appreciation.
Valve Software is showing other publishers how to beef up a software release without looking like an obvious play to boost sales. The company announced Tuesday that gamers who buy the PlayStation 3 version of “Portal 2” will receive the PC/Mac version for free.
Retail video game sales might be 
floundering in 2009, but Steam, the largest digital distributor of PC games, is have a banner year.
Valve Software, maker of the “Half-Life” franchise and the owner of Steam, say active accounts at the service have topped 30 million – with new growth of 178 percent in the past 12 months. At its peak, the number of simultaneous players has reached 3 million.
Hollywood’s relationship with the gamer – especially the 
PC gamer – is a tenuous one. Demographically, they’re right in the sweet spot for most big releases, but the tech savvy of those players always brings about piracy fears.
Now Steam, a popular game digital distribution retailer owned by Valve Software, is taking a look at what’s on gamer’s hard drives – well, at least in terms of installed programs.
Digital distribution has been a hot topic in the video game industry for 
years – with developers, publishers and retailers trying to forecast when it will become a real threat to traditional brick and mortar stores.
New data, however, shows that time might be closer than many were expecting.
While physical sales still hold a dominant position over 
digital downloads when it comes to videogame consoles, retail is in danger of losing that spot with PC gamers.
A study from the NPD Group, which tracks videogame sales, finds that digital downloads of PC games essentially reached parity with retail sales in 2009. Online purchases of full-game PC titles hit 21.3 million in the U.S. last year, compared with 23.5 million units purchased at stores.
Chris Morris: Journalist 