GameStop Now Sells Cellular Service for Some Reason

Okay, clearly GameStop has something in the works. What else could possibly explain the game retailer’s decision to become a cellular service provider? That’s right, from now on you can sign your phone up for GameStop Mobile, which will provide voice, 3G data, and text.

GameStop will be operating as an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) on AT&T’s network. Pricing starts at $20, which nets you a pay-as-you-go plan that costs 10 cents a minute or text message. An unlimited talk/text plan starts at $35 a month, $45 nets you 100Mb of data, $55 nets you 500Mb of data, and $55 nets you 1Gb a month.

In case you were wondering, no, those are not competitive prices.

This is really an odd thing. This wasn’t mentioned to investors at all, and the the coverage map and pricing matches another MVNO, Good2Go Mobile. There are also large coverage gaps that don’t match up with AT&T’s map, despite it supposedly running on their network.

The website has since been password protected, so likely it wasn’t supposed to go live yet. Maybe the information was placeholder, and GameStop is still working on the details. But that still leaves the odd situation that GameStop is starting its own cellular service.

That said, we’ve seen GameStop expanding its reach recently. You can now buy used iPhones from the stores, for example, and there are constant rumors that they are developing a tablet and streaming game service. This service is likely meant to be an integrated affair, something you get when you buy an iPhone or a branded GameStop device.

But until the service is officially unveiled, and the website isn’t password-protected, everything is just a guess.

If you want to see more shots of what the website looked like before it was locked, check out this gallery.

The Verge Photo by : Stephan Mosel