I can see how they wouldn't want to sell the hardware - as they are going to be losing out on the games. But I think it's inevitable, and have for years. People like to argue 'I like to hold the game in my hand.' And I get that, but I think it's going the way of music, movies, TV shows, newspapers, magazines, and most other media.
Games will be going all digital, like they have been on PC's for years and have always been on your phones. Yes, it will hurt those stores, and put people out of work. It's sad, but it's what happened to music stores, video stores, some hardware stores like Circuit City, etc.
The future doesn't need physical stores for mostly digital information.