GameStop is expected to triple its sales over the next three years, from a projected $500 million in 2011 to $1.5 billion in 2014, thanks to its fledgling digital strategy. This includes GameStop's digital distribution service, Impulse, which it acquired this year, and the addition of former Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim.

Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian said in an investor report that GameStop plans to take "a meaningful share from market leader Steam" with Impulse. GameStop is looking to begin its digital regicide with a strike on Battlefield 3, according to the report: "The upcoming EA title Battlefield 3 will be sold as a download through GameStop, but not through Steam. Given Steam's dominance -- and insistence on users downloading a Steam client application -- publishers are likely to be receptive to a competitive alternative."

EA's list of digital retailers for Battlefield 3 is currently down, leaving Impulse's inclusion and Steam's dismissal offically unconfirmed, for now. We have contacted Sebastian and EA for clarification. One thing that is confirmed is GameStop's bravado in the digital realm, but that may also only be for now.