In a statement given yesterday, GameStop said it and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe had reached an agreement for stores in Europe and Australia to sell vouchers for downloadable content and games games over the PlayStation Network.
The deal means customers will be able to purchase DLC with any form of payment—whether cash or trade-in credit (or a gift card). Stores have, of course, sold PSN wallet cards, basically a gift certificate in varying amounts. This allows someone to buy DLC a la carte and pay only its price.
"The ability to use cash and trade credits as currency is a powerful tool and SCEE recognizes that it provides a new channel for gamers to access and purchase exclusive digital content," said Mike Mauler, GameStop's executive vice president of international. "We are thrilled to be bringing this initiative to our international customers."
The regions include more than 1,600 store locations in Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The plan is for Europe only as of now. GameStop last month started selling Steam wallet vouchers in $20 and $50 amounts. This week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sony had considered making its next console a download-only device, a move that would have been damaging to GameStop's business selling physical games, and especially used ones.