Hardcore Gamers Sticking to Retail

[Andy Chalk]

Hardcore Gamers Sticking to Retail

A new report claims that rumors of the demise of retail have been greatly exaggerated.

The widely-held belief that gamers are rushing en masse to embrace a digital future is only partially true, according to a new report from analyst firm Wedbush Morgan. Casual and social gamers are definitely making the move and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, but it seems that "hardcore" gamers actually have a preference for retail. Because of that, the report says the "packaged goods business" should be viewed by the industry as two distinct sectors: hardcore games, selling primarily on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and casual, which focus on the Wii and DS.

"Our thesis has been borne out by the 2011 figures (according to the NPD Group), with Xbox 360 software sales up 12 percent, PS3 software sales up four percent, DS software sales down 21 percent and Wii software sales down 31 percent," the report says. It goes on to note that the slide of Wii software sales is "largely correlated to growth in free-to-play social games," while the DS is being victimized by mobile and tablet games.

That's not to say that things aren't changing among the hardcore demographic. Core gamers have become more selective about what they buy, resulting in a growth of "top-tier" games even as overall sales have slowed. Software sales are expected to continue to decline through the summer but then bounce back for the holiday season and even to a position of overall growth for 2012, driven by a strengthened release schedule and demand for 3DS and PS Vita games and the forthcoming Wii U, which will slow - but not stop - the slide of casual and mobile sales at retail.

Source: GamesIndustry [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-04-03-hardcore-gamers-not-looking-to-abandon-physical-product]


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[Oirish_Martin]

Doesn't seem to suggest WHY certain gamers are sticking to retail. I'd be curious to know that. Further study needed, perhaps, unless the reports haven't picked up on it.

 

[MrTub]

Would be nice if they included pc in those numbers..

 

[viranimus]

Well this is certainly good to hear. I was starting to loose faith in gamers.

I honestly have to hope that the reason why is that gamers are starting to understand what these people are doing and how they are tryin to destroy sections of the industry in the name of corporate greed and profit.

Kudos people, regardless of the reasoning, youve done the right thing. Please carry on.

 

[Fasckira]

The only time I buy a physical game from the shop is either:

a) impulse buy; Ive been shopping in the city centre, I see a game shop and decide, "Oh, just a quick look then..."
b) its for the console; Ive yet to buy a digital title on the 360. Ive got two 360s in the house and its nice to have the option to easily switch between which one Im playing on.
c) its a special edition pack and comes with random goodies.

 

[Mortuorum]

Doesn't seem to suggest WHY certain gamers are sticking to retail. I'd be curious to know that. Further study needed, perhaps, unless the reports haven't picked up on it.

Speaking for myself, I prefer physical media. I don't like the idea that Sony or Microsoft can arbitrarily decide I'm not entitled to content I've paid for... either because I've violated their ever-changing TOS or just on a whim. (Although Sony seems to have figured that one out even for media-based games. Way to go, Sony!)

 

[Agente L]

Linking "hardcore and softcore" to consoles is such an horrible thing to do.

I would sincerely consider a Wii owner which plays Madworld and No More Heroes more hardcore than a ps3 owner that plays only CoD.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Doesn't seem to suggest WHY certain gamers are sticking to retail. I'd be curious to know that. Further study needed, perhaps, unless the reports haven't picked up on it.

That's the interesting question, definitely. A lot of it ties into the definition of "hardcore" as well. For me it's a question of ownership: A game isn't "mine" unless it's in a box, on my shelf. I suspect that's the case for a lot of gamers. It's not particularly rational, since even most retail games are dependent on some kind of online component these days, but the games I "own" are the ones I can look over and see. Games on Steam, GOG, Origin, etc., don't fit that bill.

 

[Oirish_Martin]

Doesn't seem to suggest WHY certain gamers are sticking to retail. I'd be curious to know that. Further study needed, perhaps, unless the reports haven't picked up on it.

Speaking for myself, I prefer physical media. I don't like the idea that Sony or Microsoft can arbitrarily decide I'm not entitled to content I've paid for... either because I've violated their ever-changing TOS or just on a whim. (Although Sony seems to have figured that one out even for media-based games. Way to go, Sony!)

Oh sure, I can appreciate that, I currently prefer physical media also for a few other reasons.

My point though is that these arguments seem to have been thrashed out online time and time again, but some actual data from a survey, e.g., would be welcome.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

But these figures arnt that correct as its all dependent on what titles are released. No good AAA titles released means shops make less money. Even "hardcore gamers" (guess they game on sides of mountains or something) are not going to spend money on crappy games just to keep shops from closing.

 

[Antitonic]

Would be nice if they included pc in those numbers..

That's assuming enough stores still sell PC games to be counted, and not removed as anomalies.

 

[Azuaron]

Would be nice if they included pc in those numbers...

PC gamers say, "Who the *#$% goes to a store?"

 

[Azuaron]

Well this is certainly good to hear. I was starting to loose faith in gamers.

I honestly have to hope that the reason why is that gamers are starting to understand what these people are doing and how they are tryin to destroy sections of the industry in the name of corporate greed and profit.

Kudos people, regardless of the reasoning, youve done the right thing. Please carry on.

Really? Because I live for a future with zero retailers and matter compilers.

 

[Something Amyss]

Doesn't seem to suggest WHY certain gamers are sticking to retail. I'd be curious to know that. Further study needed, perhaps, unless the reports haven't picked up on it.

I think a good chunk of that may come down to the infrastructure in the US sucking. A lot of people don't have the means to download, either because they lack broadband or because they don't have the speeds to make it viable.

This is why I think the DD model will be a while before it becomes the norm, more than any real objections or people who hang on to the physical model.

Though further study would be needed to see why, and how much.

 

[Mumorpuger]

I forget... is a "hardcore" gamer defined by how much they play, or what they play?

 

[Scars Unseen]

Doesn't seem to suggest WHY certain gamers are sticking to retail. I'd be curious to know that. Further study needed, perhaps, unless the reports haven't picked up on it.

That's the interesting question, definitely. A lot of it ties into the definition of "hardcore" as well. For me it's a question of ownership: A game isn't "mine" unless it's in a box, on my shelf. I suspect that's the case for a lot of gamers. It's not particularly rational, since even most retail games are dependent on some kind of online component these days, but the games I "own" are the ones I can look over and see. Games on Steam, GOG, Origin, etc., don't fit that bill.

The hilarious part being that games that you get from GOG are probably more yours than most of the games you get in a box. But I get what you're saying.

 

[tredien]

1) The study if void since it doesn't say anything about PC's.

2) The middleman is the root of all evil.

 

[Sis]

A very interesting article, which I'm very glad to see

 

[Pyrian]

There's no Steam equivalent for XBox360 or PS3 for top-tier games. If you want to buy Skyrim for your XBox360, you get it at retail, you don't decide "retail or download?". Once that discrepancy is solved, game retailers are going to find themselves in the same position that music and book retailers have been facing. Obsolete.