GameStop, regardless of how you feel about them, was one of the last bastions of pure core gaming bliss. They served the core and we rewarded them with our hard earned money. Alas, the core does not have all the money when it comes to gaming anymore. People who would rather spend 30 minutes a day playing Angry Birds instead of eight hours playing Dragon’s Dogma now have a majority of the money. GameStop recognizes that and has begun to market to those gamers as well.
It was announced on Friday that 1,600 GameStop locations around the country are to begin carrying Android powered tablets. The company previously only sold refurbished iOS devices. The move to selling new Android tablets is significant as some of them are seen as better dedicated gaming devices. It fits in much better with the idea of GameStop as a games retailer.
The company is selling a variety of Android tablets from the ASUS Transformer Prime to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. To encourage the purchase of tablets from GameStop, they are including free games with the purchase of select tablets. Some of those games include Riptide and Sonic CD. Gamestop purchased tablets also come preloaded with Kongregate Arcade and a free issue of Game Informer digital.
It’s not made clear if GameStop will also take trade ins of Android tablets. The online store features used tablets, so it’s a safe assumption. You will still want to call in before making a trip just to make sure they are taking in pre-owned tablets.
To see a full list of the Android tablets being sold by GameStop, check out their storefront. There’s plenty of variety that serves all kind of budgets from those who only want a small tablet that can play the simplest of games to the super expensive Transformer Prime for those who want the very best.
It’s pretty clear that GameStop has one of the best deals in the market for a new Android tablet. They know how to sell to gamers, even those who prefer their games on a tablet. The addition of free games and other bonuses are probably going to attract a lot of business for the company. It also could blow up in their faces and be seen as a poor investment. I think GameStop has a good chance of breaking into the market when you consider just how popular tablets are.