Overwatch: “Above Expectations” – Sales Figures Delight Retailer

The hero shooter Overwatch and a sales tactic from Blizzard are ringing the cash registers for retailers.

Gamestop is one of the largest retail chains, especially in the USA. Here, they are currently excited about Overwatch. Chief Operating Officer Tony Bartel stated during a conference call:

“Overwatch has exceeded our expectations. It was a very strong launch for us.”

Especially praised by the Gamestop representative is that Activision Blizzard allowed the sale of “physical”, i.e. “box games”, two days before the servers went live. Bartel notes that this is “very progressive”.

The retail chain is in favor of prioritizing box games – “a very progressive step

This allowed for two full days to sell the game before the server launch, resulting in a “significant increase, well above expectations.” However, Gamespot did not release any exact sales figures.

Bartel believes that this type of launch will spread throughout the gaming industry. It is thought that Blizzard Activision also benefited from a stronger overall sales due to this tactic.

Even at an international level, outside the USA, this phenomenon has been noted; the preference for the physical version leads to increased sales. Gamestop believes that the opposite strategy of favoring “digital sales” would have the exact opposite result: retailers and developers would sell fewer games.

Mein MMO says: Certainly, Gamestop, as a “retailer” that focuses on box sales, is tooting its own horn. In recent years, digital sales have become increasingly strong. Not only on PC, where Valve has established a dominant position with Steam, but also on consoles like PS4 and Xbox One. There, it has also become normal to download games digitally. A practice that is not embraced by everyone in Germany: fast internet is not the norm in our regions.