Publishers Believe Digital Distribution Will Save PC, Says Stardock CEO

[AceDiamond]

It might be an American thing, yeah. The PC selections at Gamestop/EB Games/Funcoland went from taking up half a store when I was 8 to just being one shelf 14 years later. Even the newest Gamestop that cropped up nearby, which is both larger than the others and more "modern" looking has a tiny one-shelf PC section.

I think it's more that consoles got more popular instead of the PC gaming market dying as well though. My only real gripe is that a lot of computer-only places like CompUSA closed down over the years around where I live and that felt to me like a blow to PC Gaming, in that I no longer had an easy place to go for things like peripherals, or at least have an option over Best Buy.

Having said that, I love online distribution places like Steam and Good old Games. Sure you don't get a physical box to put on your shelf, but since i no longer have any shelf space that's hardly a problem

 

[PezNic]

Yeah it'll save PC gaming but ruin console gaming.

Awesome, imo consoles are just a thorn in the side of PC gaming. Designing a game around a specific system and then porting it to a flexible platform like PC is whats wrong with the industry. Besides Microsoft and Sony have too much control over the console industry whereas no single developer has their hands around PCs throat.

Steam is awesome in australia cause aussies get ripped off massively for games. Console games can cost up to $120 and PC games can be $90-100. Steam sells most games at say $50, which with the current exchange rate usually ends up like $60-70

 

[hansari]

Perhaps that is more of an American thing, as browsing my local retailers (GAME, HMV and the like) in the UK and they still have a substantial PC gaming section. Certainly not almost nothing. Admittedly it has shrunk over the years, but I would posit that this is more to do with more consoles being available and popular now than ages past. Shop space hasn't increased, but the number of games and consoles has. A change in size is understandable, I would have thought.

Change is understandable, but while the title may be inappropriate, there is no doubt that pc gaming needs to make a comeback.

At the moment, a bin the size of a bed side table will contain a rows of pc classics mixed in with new great games. At the same time, console games stretch across the walls of the store...

 

[Amnestic]

At the moment, a bin the size of a bed side table will contain a rows of pc classics mixed in with new great games. At the same time, console games stretch across the walls of the store...

just being one shelf 14 years later. Even the newest Gamestop that cropped up nearby, which is both larger than the others and more "modern" looking has a tiny one-shelf PC section.

Okay, yeah, it definitely sounds more American then. The PC section in my UK stores are still substantial. At least two stands for their 'oldie' games like C&C Tiberian Sun, Civilisation Collection games and Theme Hospital, totalling around 60-80 or so game cases in total, as well as two-three of those large wall-mounted stands which stretch to the ceiling packed with the more modern titles.

Or perhaps Sheffield, England just loves PC games and we're the last bastion for PC Retailers. Who knows? \o/

 

[cleverlymadeup]

yeah i always love these "pc gaming is dying" articles. what it really means is "we can't control it the way we want, so we're going to take away more of your rights"

digital distribution is fine and would be ok if there wasn't the ability for the distributors to pull the plug on your purchases if they want

 

[CuddlyCombine]

The times, they are a changing...

I'm tempted to smack a few of you with a large trout, though. He didn't say that PC gaming is dying. Nobody did. However, you've got to admit that PC games don't sell well at stores. People with PCs are far more prone to pirate their games or purchase them online. I legally own 29 games (I keep count), and only two were bought in-store (and only for the Collector's Editions).

So, I agree. Given the rapidly-increasing speeds the Internet is experiencing, I think this will become the main form of purchasing soon.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I set up a thread about it, but for interested people, Direct 2 Drive is having a £5 sale, including Saint's Row 2, Civ IV, Bioshock and loads more, if you've never considered a DD game, maybe it's worth risking a fiver to try it.

I admit I prefer Steam to D2D, but at a fiver I'm now using both.