Their main argument right now seems to be that people are still willing to pay for physical copies instead of downloading large games, but the fact that Steam alone accounts for over half of the PC market, physical stores included, speaks very strongly in the opposite direction.
The recent release of other titles like “Fallout 4” made it clear that people have no issues downloading games of really large sizes, and at the same time personal Internet connections keep getting better and better, further adding to the situation and making it more questionable why people would not want to download their games.
We’ll likely see more information about this incident in the future, most probably when – or if – GameStop decide to clear up the air about their previous statement. Many people are apparently interested in hearing the company’s side right now, so they will have plenty of chances to share it.
Gamers are having fun with the game and that’s all that matters – and even though it has some minor issues, according to reports, it doesn’t sound like anything that can’t be fixed with a few patches that are likely going to come over the next few months. It’s the standard life cycle of a “Halo” game, and we expect that this one will be no different in terms of its post-release support.