Witcher 2 Sold Four Times Better on Steam

[Greg Tito]

Witcher 2 Sold Four Times Better on Steam

Valve's service worked well for CD Projekt's PC version compared to other download portals.

The Polish developer has its own download portal in Good Old Games, but when stacked up against Steam there was almost no competition between the two. In fact, all the sales from other online retailers Direct2Drive, Impulse and GamersGate added up to 10,000 copies of The Witcher 2, and GOG.com only added another 40,000. Steam on the other hand sold 200k copies of The Witcher 2 in the same time period.

Good Old Games director Guillaume Rambourg used these stats to make the point that restrictive DRM hurts sales - saying that GOG's ability to sell more copies of Witcher than the other portals was due to its non-DRM policy.

"Your customers hate DRM," Rambourg said. "DRM is making companies feel safe while they handle some business, they are trying to protect their product and protect their sales, but the reality is very different.

"The reality is DRM does not protect your content," he continued. "Every game is pirated within a few hours of release or more often before it's released. DRM is not protecting your product or your sales, it's going to harm your sales in the long run."

Honestly, I kind of agree with the sentiment, but the sales figures for Witcher 2 are a bit skewed. CD Projekt has built a loyal following, so that more than likely accounts for the difference in GOG sales vs. Direct2Drive and the others. The massive Steam sales though seem to point to the fact that a form of DRM that only allows you to play the game when signed in to a service is still alive and well.

So, I'm on board with Rambourg - a DRM-less world would be ideal - I just don't think he's using the right numbers or game examples to prove his point.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-11-11-your-customers-hate-drm-rambourg]

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[Frostbite3789]

Steam is just the most widely used and accepted version of DRM.

 

[teebeeohh]

i did buy the game on gog because it was DRM-free...
Ok it was also cheaper because they don't do the 1$=1? bullshit but still

 

[Irridium]

People use Steam not because they like the idea of having to sign into a service to play a game, but because Steam makes it, or at least tries to make it, worth your while to use with it's built-in friends list, fairly easy-to-use structure, easy way to keep track of games, and a shit-ton of amazing sales.

That is why people like, or grudgingly accept, Steam. And even then, quite a few still don't like it. And I don't blame them, having to sign in to something to play a game you already bought,especially if you didn't buy it on Steam, is just crap. Especially when that service gets screwy on slower connections and you get the "this game isn't available, try again later" error. IT IS NOT UNAVAILABLE STEAM! The game is right there, all on my hard drive, now let me play it you jackass. Offline mode isn't that great either. Since it needs to connect to the internet to sync itself so it can go offline, which is pretty hard to do when you have no decent connection.

The massive Steam sales are also probably from, well, Steam's great sales on The Witcher 2.

 

[Frizzle]

I got it from GoG because of the DRM issue. I'd gladly support any developer that sold DRM free games (assuming i actually wanted the game). I think part of this is the fact that a gazillion (<- exact number) people know what Steam is, and about half of those people use it. Direct2Drive is the only other service that I had heard of. Impulse and GamersGate are new to me.

I agree with his point about the DRM. I don't pirate games, but it's not because of DRM, that's for sure. I think the reason Steam does so well is because it's not just games, it's games as a service. People like that.

 

[ph0b0s123]

GOG does not have DRM on their games? Did not know that.... Off to the website now...

Would still like to know on-line vs physical stats.

 

[draythefingerless]

What id like to know is total sales for Witcher 2, hard copies included. 300k sth sales isnt a very nice number...

 

[Richardplex]

Honestly, I kind of agree with the sentiment, but the sales figures for Witcher 2 are a bit skewed. CD Projekt has built a loyal following, so that more than likely accounts for the difference in GOG sales vs. Direct2Drive and the others. The massive Steam sales though seem to point to the fact that a form of DRM that only allows you to play the game when signed in to a service is still alive and well.

So, I'm on board with Rambourg - a DRM-less world would be ideal - I just don't think he's using the right numbers or game examples to prove his point.

So, when I played said Witcher 2 on said Steam, when the internet was turned off, do I not exist any more?

 

[Woodsey]

"The massive Steam sales though seem to point to the fact that a form of DRM that only allows you to play the game when signed in to a service is still alive and well."

Its the bare minimum (a one-time activation), which also works to benefit the customer as much as possible.

That's a trade-off, and one that most people are perfectly happy with. Most other DRM's have no other purpose but to say to paying customers, "hey, fuck you".

only allows you to play the game when signed in

Is this forgetting offline mode, or is this taking issue with just having to run it through Steam (online or off)?

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I bought it from GoG. I wanted a game with no DRM, and that's what I got. Damn, it's an awesome game. Not as awesome as first Witcher but still...DAMN! Can't wait to see how console gamers will react to it once it's released on 360.

 

[Dastardly]

Witcher 2 Sold Four Times Better on Steam

To me, this actually proves that DRM (when done well) really works.

Steam provides a lot of features alongside the DRM function it serves, so people go there to buy it. Other places? Well... let's wait and see what the download rates are for pirated copies of the DRM-free game.

 

[Stormz]

I love GOG and CD Projekt. Bought it GOG and never regretted my decision. Can back up my games on discs and do what I want with them. The Witcher 2 is a superb game.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

All I can say is this: I'm looking forward to buying it for the Xbox. If it's a good port, guys, it'll be a day one purchase for me.

 

[lacktheknack]

GOG does not have DRM on their games? Did not know that.... Off to the website now...

Zilch. Once you download, you can burn it to a disk, back it up to multiple places, edit files, whatever. Also, signing up gives you five or six games for free immediately.

OT: It's because Steam sales. Next month, you can observe the high amounts of hysteria, joy-weeping, and cursing Valve a merry Christmas as the mother of all Steam sales draws near.

 

[kyogen]

I bought it from GOG. I have a Steam account, but why should I pay Valve to act as a middleman, when the developer's own sister company has an excellent download service and no DRM?

 

[El Luck]

I actually bought a physical copy.

Did you not? FOOLS! Look at me, enjoying my walkthrough book, my cursed coin, my personal sealed letter and something else I forgot about, while you only have a virtual copy you acquired for the same money! Hah! Peasants!

Seriously though, I love CDProjekt. I just hope they get round to those promised expansion packs once TW2 is out on xbox. I will pre order all of them.

I got all of that too with the digital copy minus the coin. Though lets be honest the Walkthrough book doesn't really help that much, it just points you in the right direction.

 

[Lost In The Void]

I actually bought the physical collectors edition myself. However it wasn't installing properly on my computer and they gave me a GOG copy. Just as well though I prefer it to the Steam version.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

GOG does not have DRM on their games? Did not know that.... Off to the website now...

Zilch. Once you download, you can burn it to a disk, back it up to multiple places, edit files, whatever. Also, signing up gives you five or six games for free immediately.

OT: It's because Steam sales. Next month, you can observe the high amounts of hysteria, joy-weeping, and cursing Valve a merry Christmas as the mother of all Steam sales draws near.

yes! your avatar is something i finally done cringe at everytime i see it

and you are right about the steam sales...anyone who has a steam account instantly has their wallet obliterated in a week.


OT: steam's "drm" if you want to call it = much much more user friendly than half the bullshit out there.

however, i did buy my copy from gog, like stated, there was no drm and i can do whatever i want with MY purchase.

so yeah, generally in my book

GOG > steam > everything else