Remedy: The Sooner We Go Digital the Better

[LunarCircle]

Well, with bandwidth caps that ISPs are implementing, as well as AAA games sometimes reaching 20gigs in storage, going fully digital is still a ways off. Which is all right with me, as I enjoy owning physical items. As others have said, having a physical disk ensures you're not at the mercy of the developer/publisher.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I didn't sell my "Alan Wake", for the record.

But I've bought many used games.

I'd don't want an all-digital future for all of gaming, but I think it works better for smaller studios. Double Fine is currently working digital MAGIC.

 

[MarsProbe]

The PSP Go died because Sony thought the exact thing but GOT PROVEN DEAD WRONG. Good luck with doing better.

As callous as it may sound, I am glad the PSP Go failed. That way there is hope that it may act as a warning for the next company that thinks purely digital game delivery would be a great idea. It all seems a little presumptous of these people that there will be a switch to purely digital delivery for games. It hasn't happened for any other form of media, despite them also being available in a "convenient" digital format. Books, CDs and DVDs/Blu-rays still manage to continue exist so it also seems unlikely that boxed games will cease to exist.

Also, people still like to buy stuff. In a shop. Definitely a much more fulfilling experience that clicking through a menu on your PC/console, if you ask me.

Edit: Also, can we stop using the term "transition", please? There is no "transition", and never will be. I just won't allow it, you see!

 

[JasonEllis66]

If I want to rent games I put them on my gamefly account. If I buy them, I own them and don't want to lose my purchase due to some issue on the company's servers, company closure or company policy. I will be buying physical copies until I am unable.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

one problem.
those of us without credit cards can't do shit.

and then again, those of us without jobs can't even do that much

 

[hansari]

That's like saying you can't use your vacuum cleaner because you're not on the phone while using it.

Which is a silly way to deal with this country's major vacuum piracy problem.

Errr wait...

OT: "Physical retail chains blacklist Remedy games", in tomorrows news...

 

[Nerf Ninja]

Just had a flash of the future... brick and mortar shops will simply offer download services in the stores where you buy the game, and install it on usb sticks or something and as they'll have mass purchase licences they'll be able to offer it cheaper or even used maybe...

 

[Shoggoth2588]

the day gaming becomes 100% digital is the day I focus on amassing a library of the 'good ol' days' devices for gaming.

Also, brick-N-mortar retailers aren't the only means by which to obtain physical games, as amazon shoppers know full well.

 

[thepyrethatburns]

I would agree IF he was talking about a model like Direct 2 Drive where you can buy the games and save them to disk without ever having to link up to D2D ever again.

However, that's going to require give & take. While we would have to provide our own media and we wouldn't be getting the extras (manuals & whatnot), the companies would have to drop DRM schemes such as "always online" DRM. Even Steam games can't really be backed up as you have to connect to their network to play the backup.

Given that companies aren't going to be abandoning their attempt to move games over from something that you're buying to something that you're renting, Digital Distribution is also going to continue to shrink the audience. (For me, this is my last console generation and DD is one of the reasons if not the main reason. Except for Starcraft 2 and a few misc games like Painkiller:Redemption or some of the Infinite Interactive puzzle games, I've already dropped the PC.) As long as developers/publishers continue to define "Engage the customer" as "Chop up the game into parts and retain a death grip on the game through DRM", then DD will continue to play second fiddle to the physical product.

Plus what people who discuss Digital Distribution never seem to figure out: Best Buy and other places sell consoles based on the mark-up of both the hardware and the software. Remove the software which is the lion's share of the profits and there is going to be far less incentive to take up valuable shelf space with something that only brings in hardware margins. Add to that the fact that most retailers are well aware of what DD-only consoles like the PSP Go were and you might find that a lot of retailers stock few or none of the consoles.

This wil move gaming back over to the PC which has been doing SO well the last few years and is COMPLETELY piracy-free.

All of this means that games like Alan Wake will fail even harder and companies like Remedy and Ubisoft will either move towards Farmville-like games or will go under altogether.

So, as it stands, No. It will be better for noone unless a shift in thinking occurs where draconian DRM schemes become a thing of the past.

 

[Irridium]

Sorry, I don't feel like waiting weeks to download games when I can just go out, buy the things, then install them in about an hour. At the latest.

Or just go out, buy, and play with the consoles.

 

[Ldude893]

I don't buy games online because I don't have a credit card, and convincing my mother to pay for my games is just weak.
You want my money? Let me give it to you in cash, because I can't pay a single dollar if it's online.

 

[Kaytastrophe]

yeah I don't see it as beneficial to the consumer. While steam is great with its online sales, not all companies are going to be so generous with its price cuts. Thus, there is a good chance that we will get very few sales, and even less price drops. Based on my experience on the PSN store prices are usually pretty fixed for example: the price of fallout 3 (game of the year edition) has decreased in price; however, all the dlc content on psn store remains as expensive the day it was released (last time I checked).

Speaking of PSN, in light of what happened to Sony I think Microsoft and Sony will try and get out of this online store business. I couldn't imagine maintaining said store generates much revenue compared to the costs of operating it and the risk/responsibility in maintaining customer privacy. I think the risks in having peoples information lost and suffering repercussions will cause the console companies to move away from maintaining a store in order to protect themselves.

This idea of digital download exclusivity idea, will also hurt those who buy used games, your going to alienate part of the gaming demographic. I know some will say that its not necessarily a bad thing because the developer doesn't get the money from used sales. But let me ask those who buy games new: Do you sell your games once you've beaten them? Do you use said profit to purchase more new releases? For all the damage it does perpetuate a cycle that allows new games to be purchased (because if the used market disappeared so to would some gamers due to price etc.).

There is also the issue of bandwidth, in Canada this is a huge issue as it is with other places as well. Some people don't have extensive bandwidth to download a lot of games.
Finally, this will only further complicate the whole argument between owning and leasing contents and programs between customers and publishers.

There is also the fact that people enjoy going out to the game shop/electronic store and browsing the selection, socializing with other gamers etc. This whole idea that gamers want to shop in their underwear at 2:30am doesn't accurately reflect me or my gaming friends. I prefer going outside and interact with merchants and such.

No I think Nerf Ninja is right, digital distribution of content only benefits the developers and publishes at the cost of the consumer, don't be fooled by their claims otherwise; the wolf never tells the sheep his intentions.

 

[Rayne870]

Makes it a pain in the arse for people to buy games without credit cards, or makes it a pain to go out buy a card put the card on the account, then buy the game. Also I like collecting stuff, the covers, the manuals the collectors edition art books and such, there's something special about having printed materials that compliments a game.

 

[cerebus23]

This is nothing like news for the pc side, after all most retailers have continually cut back the pc sections of their stores, if you do not have a major electronics retailer near you the only way to get many pc games is to goto steam or order via mail.

And even at that most boxed games documentation is so utterly pathetic that it seems laughable to even bother with a boxed copy over a digital copy. GOne are the days of full color maps, even my mepire total war special edition was a black n white paper map i mean wth i buy a special edition i want lest a color damn paper map for my extra 20 dollars. Now day many order bonuses are wholly digital anyway with free "dlc" or other incentives.

I still think that most console games are a generation or two from going totally digital, looking as sonys br ps3 games can be pushing 20 gigs, with many parts of the world having bandwidth caps, and limited internet, i would think switching over too soon would alienate many people if they had to download all their ps4 and xbox 720 games via internet. Which would several limit their purchases if they had to go that route and have to retail disks that they can buy/rent.

 

[beema]

Funny, I never had my CC# and personal info stolen when I was buying physical games at a store.

Yeah I know I'm like the 100th person to drag PSN in to this topic, but how can you not? Not only it is a big blow to Sony, but it's a big blow to proponents of DD.

That said, I do love Steam and haven't had any issues with it thus far. That is until Gabe Newell has a massive heart attack, and the Valve accountant takes over as CEO and suddenly decides that we don't actually own any of the titles we've bought on Steam.
Yeah it could happen...

 

[Art Axiv]

http://blog.machinima.com/insidegaming/2010/12/29/the-most-pirated-games-of-2010/

This is why he thinks so.

 

[Anti-Robot Man]

Physical copies will always be better for the consumer, though I can't seem them totally going away in the near future.

I think a really important thing to remember is that broadband infrastructure is still a long way from total, even in small, well-off countries like the UK. Let alone bandwidth restrictions in place by ISPs.

Then of course is the ownership issue, the inability to resell and the relience on services that may be interupted or disappear entirely. With my physical game library, if I want to play say MKII on the Megadrive, I can go dust off the console, plug it in and play (takes less than 5 minutes), barring the console eventually failing I will always be able to play it, digital does not ensure that.

Further, many of the current services are crap. XBox Live and Steam are good, but things like GFWL are far from hassle-free.

 

[Art Axiv]

Physical copies will always be better for the consumer, though I can't seem them totally going away in the near future.

I think a really important thing to remember is that broadband infrastructure is still a long way from total, even in small, well-off countries like the UK. Let alone bandwidth restrictions in place by ISPs.

Then of course is the ownership issue, the inability to resell and the relience on services that may be interupted or disappear entirely. With my physical game library, if I want to play say MKII on the Megadrive, I can go dust off the console, plug it in and play (takes less than 5 minutes), barring the console eventually failing I will always be able to play it, digital does not ensure that.

Further, many of the current services are crap. XBox Live and Steam are good, but things like GFWL are far from hassle-free.

Also its easy to authenticate yourself as the rightful owner of the account that the game is registered on IF you get hacked. Happened to me twice, and both Blizzard and Valve asked for a scan/picture of the cd-key/case.