http://kotaku.com/5398259/online-retailer-refuses-to-sell-modern-warfare-2
Somehow, I think there is more to this story. Such as Steam securing a an exclusivity deal on the sly -- after all D2D did stock Zeno Clash and others which required the use of Steam...
They state this is due to the Steam store front, but then, why didn't they refuse the earlier titles for the same reason based on initial sales of the first major game to use it?

Interesting. I'm guessing that D2D and Impulse started seeing this becoming a bit of a trend so decided to put their foot down on the matter. While not carrying the game will have a small negative impact on D2D and Impulse, I'm guessing it will have a larger negative impact on Activision and Infinity Ward. Basically it's a shot across the bow for all publishers and developers that might also be considering linking their games with Steam.

Doesn't D2D also sell Saint's Row 2, which installs this "trojan horse" as they call it?

This is interesting. Poor digital distribution.... it didn't have to be like this. I'm interested to see the result of the decisions made by all the companies involved in this scenario.

What I'm wondering is what does Valve have to lose by spinning off Steam? It could easily work as two different companies, I'm sure both are profitable on their own.

And several others. Which is why it seems strange that they'd start with this game knowing that it's going to sell well despite (or perhaps because of) all the drama around it. Why not make their point with a game that isn't going to damage their bottom line instead?
Is this just yet another PR stunt to make themselves look good in the eyes of non-questioning gamers, or like I suspect, is there another underlying reason which isn't being made public?
Either way, their publicized point is a good one. Steam really should be separated from Valve. It would be best for the service and its customers. Of course, it would be bad news for Valve as they'd actually have to start releasing games in a timely fashion instead of just leeching money from sales of competitor products.

Well from a business perspective I can see the reasoning, D2D & the other retailers selling games that are irrevocably tied to steam changes their business model from 'digital game retailer' into 'authorised steam re-seller'. Once the customer base catches on to this they'll cut out the middleman and buy direct from steam for the sake of simplicity.
Pulling this with a title as big as MW2 takes a set of solid brass balls. Hopefully IW will learn from this and think twice about future platform tying moves but since activision just compared guitar hero's brand respect to that of the harley davidson, I have a feeling that THEY won't learn a thing (and probably never think again)
I think if steam had secured genuine exclusivity rather than might-as-well-be-exclusivity, they'd be jumping up and down and telling everyone how awesome it'll be for the games industrry when they're the only shop in the world

Gamersgate appears to be joining in on the boycott party. Sadly, I don't think it will affect anyone other than them. People who were going to buy it on D2D, Impulse, or GG will probably end up buying it from Steam - especially since that's where it will end up anyways.
Edit: Grammar

Vertical integration and the extra market control it brings.
Because this action as a statement would be fairly meaningless unless it was done with a major game. D2D and Impulse have to show that they're willing to take a hit in income to inflict a larger hit to the publishers if they decide to pull shit like this.

The problem with taking this stance is that they've already ceded so much ground to Steam as to render it meaningless.

Has GamersGate ever sold an Activision title? I don't recall ever seeing any of the COD series sold over there. And like I say, I understand why they made such a move; I just question their true motives for doing it with this title and not any of the earlier ones.
I also don't think Valve would ever make a fuss over exclusivity, simple because they already consider themselves as having exclusivity to a fashion -- such as their "dedicated" fan boys who'd rather pay more to get a game on Steam than to get it cheaper from a better source.
And I'm fairly sure they already have several non-Valve published exclusive titles that they've never bothered to advertise as such. Perhaps that's just because they aren't all that special though.

And the bonus of their dollars being equal to the euro

My guess would be that when it happened earlier they decided to wait and see whether it was a one-off occurrence that wasn't going to catch on or if it was going to become more widespread. Then with this release it started looking like something that was only going to become more widespread if left unchecked so they decided it was best to take action.
Now, make no mistake, D2D and Impulse would both love to pull off this same kind of integration if they could (and Impulse already does with all Stardock titles), and if Steam slipped from it's lead position it would start engaging in similar protests to stop integration with other distributors. Basically Steam, D2D, Impulse, GamersGate, etc would all love to become the only online distributor of any significance so they could milk customers for all they're worth, but as long as there's meaningful competition they'll remain at each others' throats and us customers will benefit as a result.

More than likely. "Biggestest Gaem EVAR!!! Only On Steam!" would be something they'd trumpet I'm sure. They have a guaranteed attach rate with it but I doubt they'd pass up the chance to make extra money on it.
Fuck given the fact that it was selling for us$90 the last time I looked, it seems they don't have a problem using the game to rake in the coin

Can someone who knows legalese explain to me how the forced bundling with steam compares to the case with microsoft and internet explorer? To me they seem very similar (though on a smaller scale), but if they were, I suppose the other digital distribution platforms would actually be trying to undertake some legal action.