The Future is Still Retail
- Thread starter Shamus Young
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On the other hand, CDs and DVDs rot so you will be unable to play any "physical" copies either. Even though Valve might fold before any of us turn eighty, the license to distribute their games will be up for sale for eternity and it is likely that someone akin to GoG would sell them if Valve could not. Whether this means we would have to buy them again or if Steam accounts would still be recognised is of course impossible to say. Either way, games that already have a digital distribution platform are much more likely to survive the ages than games merely sold on disc.Therumancer said:
Very good article. I think the video game publishers suffer from the "sales aren't big enough" syndrome that plagues the music industry. It's not that they aren't making money, it's that they aren't making enough. So we get statements like "Retail and used sales are bad, m'kay."
I love my Steam and my XBLA, but Microsoft charges me to download shit that is otherwise free if you have a PC. Plus, if you buy a digital copy on the XBLA and delete it, you have to re-buy it. Why do they do this? Because they can. That is why I hope retail never goes away. There aren't enough people willing to stand up and say "hey, that's not right, you shouldn't do that to your CUSTOMERS". Plus switching to digital only for the console market would simply give a monopoly to the console manufacturer. I mean, where else would you go to buy a digital copy of an XBOX game?
Come to think of it, that seems a bit anti-trust, doesn't it? I've heard that somewhere before...
I love my Steam and my XBLA, but Microsoft charges me to download shit that is otherwise free if you have a PC. Plus, if you buy a digital copy on the XBLA and delete it, you have to re-buy it. Why do they do this? Because they can. That is why I hope retail never goes away. There aren't enough people willing to stand up and say "hey, that's not right, you shouldn't do that to your CUSTOMERS". Plus switching to digital only for the console market would simply give a monopoly to the console manufacturer. I mean, where else would you go to buy a digital copy of an XBOX game?
Come to think of it, that seems a bit anti-trust, doesn't it? I've heard that somewhere before...
This article conclusively proves the entire game distribution model will not go completely digital in the next two years. That's about it. Some points are silly - plenty of people impulse shop on the internet - and some only speak to the present - sure not everyone is connected to the Internet *now*, but how long is that really going to last? There was a time when lots of people didn't have phones, but eventually there was a phone line in every house, and now there's a phone in almost every pocket.
Most of these arguments could also be made as to why music won't go entirely digital, but the fact is the convenience of digital song purchases is changing the way we purchase music, and as more and more people shop on iTunes, we move towards a tipping point where it will no longer be worthwhile to have big stores that sell CDs.
And yes, sometimes people predict things for years and they take so long it seems ludicrous it will ever happen. 40 years ago people were predicting telephones with screens so we could see people when we talked to them. 30 years ago people were still talking about them, and it seemed like something that just wasn't going to happen. Now we have Skype, video chat and cameras on phones.
40 years from now you're going to be embarrassed you wrote this, although you may go on and on to your grandkids about how cool brick and mortar game stores were and how they're the poorer for having never experienced them.
Most of these arguments could also be made as to why music won't go entirely digital, but the fact is the convenience of digital song purchases is changing the way we purchase music, and as more and more people shop on iTunes, we move towards a tipping point where it will no longer be worthwhile to have big stores that sell CDs.
And yes, sometimes people predict things for years and they take so long it seems ludicrous it will ever happen. 40 years ago people were predicting telephones with screens so we could see people when we talked to them. 30 years ago people were still talking about them, and it seemed like something that just wasn't going to happen. Now we have Skype, video chat and cameras on phones.
40 years from now you're going to be embarrassed you wrote this, although you may go on and on to your grandkids about how cool brick and mortar game stores were and how they're the poorer for having never experienced them.
It is actually the opposite. online distribution has made it MUCH easier and cheaper to access old games. I've even bought old games on Steam I already own, just because they provide me with a handy online 'always available' option and a guarantee it would run on my modern machine.Frozengale said:
Of course what you talk about could be a problem, but you store of games would be worth little and probably would be available at a different supplier. If you ever get the itch to play an old game, it only costs a few bucks and a very short download to scratch it.
The hypothetical case you are talking about has only a small chance of happenming and it would cost you almost nothing to replace the game. This is opposed to retail, where breaking the product of yesteryear would make it almost impossible to replace because it is not available anymore.
Also, I've already run into my first DVD failures because of age, online storage doesn't age at all.
I like reading your column better every time i do.
And you're completely right this time, too. Noting more to add really. Except that we've been there before. Wasn't cinema supposed to kill books? Wasn't TV supposed to kill the radio? They never do - only the focus shifts.
And you're completely right this time, too. Noting more to add really. Except that we've been there before. Wasn't cinema supposed to kill books? Wasn't TV supposed to kill the radio? They never do - only the focus shifts.
As one of the collectors mentioned in the article, I completely agree and hope that you're right. I dread the day I can't go down to the shops and buy a CD or game. Having something real to hold and keep is a much better feeling than having some information on a computer.
In my opinion, nothing beats a physical copy
In my opinion, nothing beats a physical copy
That's a quaint idea, but you are thinking in terms of what exists right now, not where technology is going to bring us.
Our current connection speeds, data storage, processor speeds, and "down" networks and connections will be totally irrelevant in the next century. Hell, what we have right now is already mind-blowing. How can you possibly think that we've reached some kind of plateau in technology?
Our current connection speeds, data storage, processor speeds, and "down" networks and connections will be totally irrelevant in the next century. Hell, what we have right now is already mind-blowing. How can you possibly think that we've reached some kind of plateau in technology?
Good article. Seems well thought out, and I agree with the points.
I prefer to buy a physical copy of the game, I don't think I own one digital game. Plus, there are tonnes of games I've bought because a friend lent me their copy or brought it over with them and I got hooked, so the company got an extra sale out of it. Seems counter-productive to eliminate that possbility.
I hope that we're never totally digital.
I prefer to buy a physical copy of the game, I don't think I own one digital game. Plus, there are tonnes of games I've bought because a friend lent me their copy or brought it over with them and I got hooked, so the company got an extra sale out of it. Seems counter-productive to eliminate that possbility.
I hope that we're never totally digital.