Analyst Predicts Long Life For Game Retail

[Logan Westbrook]

Analyst Predicts Long Life For Game Retail

EEDAR CEO Greg Short says that despite the increase in digital distribution and downloadable content, retail will remain the dominant force for years to come.

Do you buy your games from the store or do you buy them from digital distributors life Steam? There are advantages to both, so it's essentially a question of personal preference, but Short believes it will be a long time before the majority of gamers prefer downloads over boxed copies for their purchases.

Speaking at GDC Europe, Short said that digital distribution was growing at an incredible rate, but that research showed that retailers and game packaging were the main source of customer awareness about downloadable content. He added that many consumers were still confused over the value of DLC, and that an upcoming EEDAR report suggested that 35% of gamers remained uninterested in paying for extra content.

Short also said that current download speeds make downloading full games impractical. The average PS3 game, he said, would take five hours to download, based on the average internet speed in Europe, and that a game that used a full Blu-Ray disc could take up to 14 hours.

As Short says, retail isn't going anywhere, not for a good long time anyway. There's a great deal of satisfaction in owning a physical product that you can hold in your hand and won't vanish if a server goes down or a hard drive blows up. Until attitudes and buying habits change, retail's place in the market is secure.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/40447/PS4-and-Xbox-720-will-hurt-retail]








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[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Well yeah... in every poll I've seen that asks 'Do you prefer Digital Distribution or Hard Copies' Hard copies always win.

As long as they can sell limited editions with special packaging... in fact as long as they can sell game with any packaging then people will want to buy them.

Having a list of XBLA games you've downloaded is fine.

But having a stack of cases with shiny discs inside is much better.

 

[TheMarkedOne]

Haven't bought a retail game ever since I first started using steam.
Then again, I'm only a pc gamer.

 

[mattttherman3]

I hope this guy is right, because fully digital is a bad idea, you get an account hacked and it gets shut down, you would have to buy everything again, granted thats a worst case scenario.

 

[Darktau]

A mix of digital and real copies is how I roll

 

[Delusibeta]

To be honest, brick and mortal retail for PC games is pretty much dead. That said, I wouldn't rule out website retail lasting far longer than brick-and-mortar retail (in general).

 

[mad825]

no surprise there.

however owning a game physically is far more emotional but also has the greatest protection via consumer rights as there are little to no rights covering on-line retailers such as steam

...in the UK

EDIT: once you have lost a game via steam (ect) you have lost it forever. sadly enough,steam can do anything to your account at their whim, that decision could cost you,it could be over £500 worth of games lost in one go.

 

[samsonguy920]

I'm waiting for the expert that declares water will stay wet. I will express faux skepticism in a snooty voice for all to hear.

 

[Upbeat Zombie]

I stick with hard copies for my console. But i have a couple digital copies on my pc.

 

[Jared]

Ill agree with this. If I have a choice I will always go for the hardcopy if I can...I like to be able to look on my mantlepiece, and smile at what I have

 

[Quaidis]

I could only hope so.

It would be a tragedy if I could no longer hold a box with a game inside.

 

[Tom Phoenix]

Haven't bought a retail game ever since I first started using steam.
Then again, I'm only a pc gamer.

Ironically, I am a PC gamer and I never bought a single game on Steam (although I do have a Steam account for other reasons). But then again, the PC retail situation in Europe is much better than in the US.

Anyway, I certainly hope Short is right. Digital distribution has it's advantages and is certainly a welcome alternative (especially as far as independant developers are concerned), but I much perfer physical copies of games. While a physical copy is harder to obtain and sometimes costs more, you have more rights as a consumer as far as physical copies are concerned. You have the right to make a backup copy as well as the right to sell it should you deem it fit to do so. Most important of all, once the exchange is complete, that specific copy is (legally) undisputably yours. No matter what happens after that (even if the company you bought it from goes bankrupt), you cannot lose it or have it taken away from you (unless through negligence or theft, of course).

Overall, until digital distribution can replicate all the advantages of physical copies (which I am not sure if it ever will), game retail is here to stay.

 

[kibayasu]

Wow, this is about only the 12th time some analyst has said this. Way to be cutting edge guys!

 

[oppp7]

Are there any other ways to get console games? I think as long as consoles are around retailers will be safe.

 

[Shawn112]

the reason that digital distribution hasn't forced out retail in america is because of the communication junta that keeps bandwidth slow.

 

[ActionDan]

Do you buy your games from the store or do you buy them from digital distributors life Steam?

I do from Steam quite a lot, but, I also like and have hard copies of games. Such as Left 4 Dead 1 and 2, Grant Theft Auto 4, Half life 1, 2, Counter Strike:Source, Half Life 2eathmatch, Call of Duty 4, Assassins Creed, F.E.A.R, and Prey.