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Selling downloadable content in a physical store may sound backwards to some, but for GameStop, the endeavor has been a great success. The retailer’s director of digital content Brad Schliesser told GameSpot that the company has moved over 10 million pieces of DLC since it began selling add-on content through a limited pilot program in 2010.

“We had an opportunity over the last two years to prove to first-party that we can play a meaningful role in the distribution of digital content. In 2010, we started with 35 stores and five sellable DLC SKUs in a [pilot program] with Microsoft. Since then, we’ve added 4,500 stores and 1,800 products available for sale just on the console side,” Schliesser said. “And we’ve sold over 10 million units of DLC in that time period. I think we’ve proven that retail still provides a very meaningful role, even in the digital content space.”

Schliesser believes GameStop’s success in this area is due in large part to its employees. He said they speak directly with consumers at the point-of-sale about additional game content, and this is crucial to sales.

“The associate that works in the store is more impactful than any marketing campaign that we could probably ever do for digital content,” he said. “That is still a clear divider between what we’re able to do and what our competitors are able to do. And quite frankly, what first-party is able to do.”

He said though first-party console virtual marketplaces like Xbox Live are able to house heaps and heaps of content, a user is only presented with 5-10 pieces of content at any given time. And even then, he said, it’s “buyer beware.” The impact of GameStop’s sales associates should not be overlooked, he said.

“The associate that works in the store is more impactful than any marketing campaign that we could probably ever do for digital content.”

“For the consumers who are purchasing from us, it’s a huge value, a huge service to have somebody there that helps them along and helps them make a better decision on what they want to purchase,” he said.

Schliesser acknowledged that not everyone will buy into leaving their home to purchase DLC. He said he is OK with this, adding that a market for in-store DLC exists, despite what the “vocal minority” of Internet commenters may say.

“If there is a story that comes out of our conversation most of the people that read it are going to comment and say ‘Why would I ever go to a retailer to buy content?’ And I’m cool with that,” he said. “If you’re already transacting through a first-party, fantastic. We can’t convert everybody into a GameStop customer. We don’t sell sell 100 percent of the physical games now. So I think it’s more understanding that there’s a market that exists outside of the vocal minority that is still interested in purchasing content [in a physical store].”

To back up his claim even further, Schliesser revealed several DLC attachment rates for major games. [An attachment rate is the percentage of total software sales that also purchased DLC] He said prior to Gears of War 3, GameStop’s DLC attachment percentage was less than 2 percent. Since then, however, the rates have largely increased.

Gears of War 3: 10 percent
Batman: Arkham City: 16 percent
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: 17 percent
Mass Effect 3: 50 percent
Borderlands 2: 20 percent
Assassin’s Creed III: 10 percent
Halo 4: 13 percent

The news flood for Grand Theft Auto V continues. The digital edition of Game Informer‘s December issue released today, and Kotaku reports that it bears numerous news nuggets about the upcoming open-world action game.

The first of which is a claim that the game world of GTAV is larger than Red Dead Redemption, GTA: San Andreas, and GTA: IV combined.The game’s fictional Los Santos setting reportedly includes wilderness, a military base, and an explorable underwater ocean floor.

Additionally, the game’s three protagonists are named Michael, Trevor, and Franklin. Players can switch between them at “nearly any time,” the magazine suggests. Further, these characters will sometimes work together, with players able to swap back and forth in a similar way to the Lego series of games.

On top of that, Michael, Trevor, and Franklin each has a distinct personality, skill set, and posse of friends. When players are controlling one of the characters, the other two will leave and do something else on their own.

Similar to Red Dead Redemption, players will find randomized missions and events in GTAV. These include events surrounding hitchhikers, dead bodies, muggers, and others to be named later. Lastly, the GTAV gameworld will include some sort of an economy, though players will not be able to purchase properties.

Rockstar Games last week confirmed GTAV will ship for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 during spring 2013. Preorders for the game opened this week at select retailers in the United States and Europe. The game’s second trailer will arrive November 14.

For more on GTAV, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

The NPD Group reported United States industry sales figures for October today, revealing NBA 2K13 was the best-selling game in a month that saw overall declines. Sales of 2K’s latest professional basketball simulator rose 60 percent over last year’s version in terms of dollars and units. NPD analyst Liam Callahan said this uptick in sales can be contributed to a favorable comparison to last year’s game, which was surrounded by the uncertainty of a lockout.

Nintendo’s new role-playing games Pokemon Black and White 2 were also bright spots for October, helping spur portable softwares to a 37 percent increase year-over-year. Additionally, Callahan said Skylanders Giants performed well during the month, selling over 160 percent more units than last year’s Skylanders game during its debut month.

Overall, total software sales for October fell 25 percent year-over-year to $451.8 million, compared to $605.6 million last year. Callahan attributed this overall downturn to difficult comparisons to October 2011, which saw the release of top-performers Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City.

In terms of hardware, all platforms saw declines year-over-year to the tune of a 37 percent dip. However, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and 3DS each saw higher sales over September’s figures. According to Callahan, this is evidence of “increasing momentum” moving into the holiday season.

NPD did not release specific sales figures for hardware, but Microsoft separately revealed that the Xbox 360 shifted 270,000 units during the month. This is more than any other console and marks the system’s 12th consecutive month at the top spot. Microsoft also claimed that the Xbox 360 commands 56 percent of current-generation console marketshare.

Microsoft further added that total retail spend for the Xbox 360 platform during October (which includes hardware, software, and accessories) came in at $315 million.

Looking into November, Callahan said there is reason to be optimistic for software, due to the release of several high-profile games. ·

“While October was another month of steep declines in retail sales, we are looking forward to November 2012 with the results of Assassin’s Creed III, and Halo 4, which were positively reviewed, as well as the results of Call of Duty: Black Ops II,” Callahan said. “These software titles, along with the Wii U launch on November 18, will provide a much needed boost to retail sales.”

Of note, Dishonored was October’s only non-sequel to crack the top ten.

OCTOBER US GAME SALES (September 30-October 27)
OVERALL DOLLAR SALES

Total retail sales: $755.5 million (-25%)
Non-PC hardware: $187.3 million (-37%)
Non-PC software: $432.6 million (-25%)
Accessories: $135.6 million (-5%)
Total software: $451.8 million (-25%)

TOP 10 GAMES FOR OCTOBER 2012
Title (Platforms) – Publisher

1. NBA 2K13 (X360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PC) – Take-Two Interactive
2. Resident Evil 6 (Xbox 360, PS3) – Capcom
3. Pokemon Black Version 2 (DS) – Nintendo
4. Dishonored (X360, PS3, PC) – Bethesda Softworks
5. Pokemon White Version 2 (PC) – Nintendo
6. Madden NFL 13 (X360, PS3, PS Vita) – Electronic Arts
7. FIFA Soccer 13 (X360, PS3, Wii, PS Vita, 3DS, PSP) – Electronic Arts
8. Medal of Honor Warfighter (X360, PS3, PC) – Electronic Arts
9. Borderlands 2 (X360, PS3, PC) – Take-Two Interactive
10. Skylanders Giants (X360, PS3, 3DS, Wii) – Activision Blizzard

Seven US Navy SEALs who served as paid consultants on EA’s Medal of Honor: Warfighter are reportedly under investigation for revealing secrets while working on the game.

According to a report by GameSpot’s sister-site CBS News, the seven SEALs, who are all currently on active duty, used classified material given to them by the Navy while working with EA on Warfighter.

CBS News reported that all seven have received letters of reprimand and have had half their pay taken away for two months. One of the SEALs involved was reportedly on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter was released on October 23. EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau said that the critical reception for the game fell below EA’s expectations, but that the publisher would continue to push the game during the holiday season through marketing, including the upcoming map pack tied in to Sony Pictures’ new movie Zero Dark Thirty, which chronicles the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden.

The game fell into controversy prior to its release when EA began promoting its partnership with real-world weapons manufacturers by linking to their sites from the Medal of Honor: Warfighter official page.

Gamers gearing up for Gears of War: Judgment who preorder the upcoming shooter will receive an “exclusive” in-game multiplayer weapon, Microsoft has announced. This gun is the “Classic Hammerbust,” which appeared in the first Gears of War as a Locust assault rifle.

Additionally, players who reserve Gears of War: Judgment will receive bonuses depending on which retailer they visit. A full list of participating retailers will be published in the coming weeks, but Microsoft said multiplayer character skins will be up for grabs. These include Young Marcus, Young Dom, Anya (at right), and Alex Brand.

Gears of War: Judgment is due out exclusively on Xbox 360 March 19, 2013 and is the first entry in the series since last year’s trilogy-capping Gears of War 3. Developed by Epic Games in conjunction with Bulletstorm studio People Can Fly, the project focuses on series soldier Damon Baird and will not use the Kinect.

For more on Gears of War: Judgment, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

The rumor was right. Take-Two Interactive today confirmed that its 2K publishing label is planning to relocate its Northridge, California quality assurance studio to Las Vegas, Nevada. The move was made possible through partnerships with both the State of Nevada and the City of Las Vegas and is expected to be completed by early 2013.

Proposal documents that surfaced last week suggested the City of Las Vegas had offered Take-Two $600,000 in incentives to set up shop in Sin City. Take-Two did not reveal any monetary sum in its announcement today. Additionally, the earlier report stated 150 jobs would be created in the process, though Take-Two did not address this today.

According to 2K chief operating officer David Ismailer, the new facility in Las Vegas will be “significantly” larger and “more effective” than its current operation. The proposal documents state the facility will measure 24,700 square feet.

Las Vegas mayor Carolyn G. Goodman praised the move in a statement, and added that Take-Two’s new outfit in the city may help attract other technology-based firms.

Las Vegas is not considered a game development hub, with Petroglyph (End of Nations, Rise of Immortals) the only major studio in the area. However, the city has hosted a number of game-related events including the inaugural Minecon, as well as the annual Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain (D.I.C.E.) summit, to be held this year at the Hard Rock Hotel February 5-8, 2013.

Halo 4 players who log enough hours in the game’s multiplayer department or spend enough money on Halo-related items will be rewarded for doing so. Microsoft has announced a new “Halo 4 Combat Tour” offer that gives Xbox Live Rewards members the opportunity to score as many as 800 MS points just for playing 343 Industries’ new shooter.

“Are you ready to put your Halo addiction to good use?” reads a line from the promotion.

Gamers who play 35 or more hours of Halo 4 multiplayer by November 30 will receive 100 MS points ($1.25). Those who log 70 or more hours will score 300 MS points ($3.75), while those who spend 140 or more hours in Halo 4’s multiplayer will receive 600 MS points ($7.50) for doing so.

Additionally, players who spend 3,000 MS points ($37.50) on Halo-related Xbox Live marketplace content will get 200 MS points ($2.50) back, while those who spend 1,500 MS points ($18.75) on Halo items will get 100 MS points ($1.25) in return.

This is not the only promotion that rewards Halo 4 gamers for playing. Eligible American Express card holders can receive a $25 statement credit for completing the game’s campaign on Normal or harder difficulty.

Halo 4 launched worldwide yesterday exclusively for Xbox 360. For more, check out GameSpot’s review.

Rockstar Games’ upcoming open-world action game Grand Theft Auto V is the company’s most ambitious project to date, and according to one analyst, that deep investment will be rewarded with strong first-year sales. Electronic Entertainment Design and Research analyst Jesse Divnich told Now Gamer recently that he believes the hotly hyped game could sell 25 million or more copies during its first 12 months.

He explained that though the current high-definition game market is “softening” as the existing console cycle comes to a close, the market for big-budget AAA titles like GTAV remains healthy.

“In the case of GTAV, I have little concerns about when it is released,” he said. “Whether April, June, or even Winter, I’d expect GTAV to sell in upwards of 25 million copies in its first 12 months.”

Rockstar Games last week confirmed GTAV will ship for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 during spring 2013. Preorders for the game opened this week at select retailers in the United States and Europe. The game’s second trailer will arrive November 14.

For more on GTAV, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

Ubisoft today officially announced the Assassin’s Creed Anthology and revealed it will launch November 30 exclusively in the United Kingdom through Amazon. No mention was made of a launch outside of the region, and a Ubisoft representative was not immediately available for comment.

As was rumored earlier this week, the Assassin’s Creed Anthology will include all five Assassin’s Creed console games. These are the original Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, and Assassin’s Creed III.

Additionally, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation premium bundle will include all expansion packs and downloadable content for each game within the bundle, including the DLC season pass for Assassin’s Creed III. The bundle also packs in five game-themed lithographs, a steelbook case, and a collector’s box.

The Assassin’s Creed Anthology will retail for £120, or about $192.