Most Gamers Still Prefer Retail Over Digital

[JohnSmith]

If games developers could see their way clear to actually compressing games or paying for Australia to have a better internet connection digital distribution would be great, at the moment though buying something on steam comes very close to saying "i'll get it tomorrow".

 

[Vladamir69]

Online games are cheaper aren't they?

not necessarily anyway you can get a game for cheaper retail if you trade in one or two games.

 

[ChickDangerous]

I like to have tangible goods in my hands and they look good on bookshelves. Some games I have downloaded, but I usually buy them since my brother gets me insane discounts on them through his work and it's a lot cheaper.

 

[oliveira8]

If Steam didnt crap over the prices in Europe for the Euro the number would have been diferent...maybe...

Also this age of DRM with its "limited install options" buying digiatlly seems a like a better idea...

 

[SimuLord]

I love digital download. I tend to prefer GamersGate's DRM methods to Steam's, but if Steam has the exclusive (Empire: Total War comes to mind) I have no problem at all with buying from them.

Regarding retail, the king is dead - long live the king. Not having to deal with retail-box DRM, miserable customer support, and just general crap treatment from the companies that refuse to get on board the new model (EA and Ubisoft leap immediately to mind) is worth not having a physical copy.

Furthermore, I have a very large game collection. It's reached the point where storage of the discs is a royal pain in the ass. If I move to another apartment I don't have to worry about taking my digital games in a box, I just hook my computer up and boom, games are all there, no discs to unpack and sift through. If I buy a new computer, both Steam and GamersGate allow me to re-download, and with my lightning-fast ISP it's only modestly more time-intensive than installing from those discs, and with no threat of disc-read problems due to scratches/dust/age.

 

[DaxStrife]

Digital distribution is pretty much my only option for my PC games... EB and GameStop seem to have a grudge against computer gamers and don't keep stock longer than two weeks, if they stock PC games at all.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Furthermore, I have a very large game collection. It's reached the point where storage of the discs is a royal pain in the ass. If I move to another apartment I don't have to worry about taking my digital games in a box, I just hook my computer up and boom, games are all there, no discs to unpack and sift through.

Funny, my hefty game collection drives me to feel the exact opposite: The games are what I collect but the boxes, discs, manuals and everything else are the physical manifestation of that collection, the part that makes it all "real." Without that my interest would fade pretty quickly. It strikes me as kind of like recording songs off the radio and calling it a "music collection." What have you really got there?

Which isn't meant to denigrate your perspective or your approach to collecting. One of the great things about collections is how they can mean different things to different people. It's just not my cup of tea. And unfortunately, I think that while many people have expressed similar sentiments in this thread, the reality is that we're a small minority, and that someday we may be left behind.

 

[DaxStrife]

What's wrong with Amazon or eBay or [insert well-known online American retailer here]?

Shipping costs. Steam and other direct-download services haven't failed me yet, and if the choice is between a digital download that costs the same as a store copy (said store copy not available in a store) and paying the extra money for shipping, I'd cut out the hassle and go for download.

 

[Royas]

I buy some games from download services (Steam, Direct2Drive) but I still really prefer retail. Unfortunately, the only places I can go to browse and buy retail PC games are Wal-Mart and Best Buy, two stores I hate. Gamestop, the only other game retailer in town, carries only a handful of PC games, stored on a beat up old rack in the back of the store. Most of the games are older game that didn't sell well to start with. None of the games they carry are on the just released list. In order to get PC games retail, I have to order them from an online source, usually Amazon.

I don't see downloading replacing retail due to preferences, I see it replacing retail due to lack of retail availability. And Khell_Sennet has a point about the lack of accountability at these download services (EA is particularly bad from a customer service standpoint). Who do you complain to if things go wrong? In a retail store, the person is right there across the counter. He can't ignore you, you're standing in front of him, shouting. At an online service, all they have to do is hit the "send form email reply" and they are done. No reason to pay attention to you, you aren't bothering the other customers. And you can't just reach over and slap the ever loving hell out of them if they mouth off to you either, it's an email. They know they can't be touched (hell, the EULA probably says that they aren't responsible for anything, no matter what) and it shows in their arrogance.

Gaming has got to be about the only industry in the world where companies can fail to perform and not be held responsible.

 

[Baneat]

It's a mental thing. People like to physically get something from their cash. Also, you save some GBs of bandwidth, which is never a bad thing.

 

[Sir_Montague]

Plus, who doesn't love going to the game story and checking out all of the options in front of you... I made an event out of it and went with several friends and we all picked up games the other day... Good stuff, good stuff, quality time getting out of the house to stay in the house more...

 

[CrustyMedic]

I only purchased one game digitaly and it wasn't real popular but it was real good. It was NHL Eastside Hockey Manager 2007, a stats based management sim that put you in the seat of a NHL team manager. I believe there is one for baseball and another for soccer. I believe you can get these games still, but as for the hockey one, they no longer make new versions due to piracy and thats a shame.