Loading... November 20, 2008 - Digital distribution FTW!

[Ethec]

Loading... today sees me going all fanboy for digital distribution. With a trip down memory lane, I'll show how MMOGs played a solid role in saving PC games with the DD revolution.

We also have an exclusive Mines of Moria launch interview with LotRO's Jeffrey Steefel and several exclusive screens from EverQuest 2's just-released expansion, "The Shadow Odyssey", plus more great Ten Ton Hammer exclusives and a hilarious epic forum thread and real world news links. It's all a click away in Loading... Digital Distribution FTW!

[Bansaw]

I love when you use the term "Broadband Penetration" :duck:

[Ethec]

If you had DSL and cable, would you have double broadband penetration?

::shudders, goes off to take a shower::

[Kralle]

Originally Posted by Ethec

If you had DSL and cable, would you have double broadband penetration?

::shudders, goes off to take a shower::

Yeaa...nothing beats a good cleanup...before or after


But Ethec, I didnt know....

[Bansaw]

Originally Posted by Ethec

If you had DSL and cable, would you have double broadband penetration?

::shudders, goes off to take a shower::

Sounds painful...

But to comment on your loading... question. I personally think DD's are great for two reasons. You don't have to go through the hassle at the store and you get a freshly patched version.

I can't tell you how many "expansion hunting trips" i've been on. I hate having to go to the store and try and find new games or expansions.

[Bansaw]

Originally Posted by Kralle

But Ethec, I didnt know....

I think there is much we don't know about our fearless loading leader...

/Ban mails Ethec a new leather gimp mask with matching rubber ball gag..

[Sardu]

I'm definitely a fan of digital distribution, though at the same time there's something I've always enjoyed about physical packaging so long as it's done well. PC games continue the push towards generic DvD boxes with at best a bare-bones "guide" included though - much like the music world, the concept of awesome packaging is quickly becoming a lost art form reserved for the pricey collector's editions which is a shame really.

There's perhaps only a couple of games a year that get released that I'll decide I want to purchase on it's release day - so far this year my local game retailer has had a 100% miss rate on having games on their shelves on release day apart from the massively hyped AAA releases like Gears 2 or Wrath. Everything else keeps getting lost in the "Ship date vs. Street date" shuffle - and my local retailer keeps losing sales as a result.

Retailers like GameStop could really care less about PC gamers though - they can't make a profit from used sales on them, so they also don't care much either way weather or not they get new copies on their shelves anywhere near their release date. In fact, the local store dedicates more shelf space to used DvDs than they do to new PC titles which is just sad.

On the flip side, I think Steam has the potential to become a one stop shop for digital releases. They're not quite there yet, but the service continues to grow and become more user friendly. Then add in that they're supporting the distribution of mods through their service and I can see Steam being the gaming world's iTunes in 5 years time.

[Anacche]

What needs to happen with Digital Distribution (apart from your mention of a one-stop shop) is to have a universal price.* *of course adding applicable gov't taxes.

As is, even after currency conversions, Australians and many other countries are paying double, triple, sometimes up to five times as much for the same exact digitally distributed software. And then they have to pay their ISP for the download space.

Also certain countries (I'm sure I'm beating my own dead horse when I mention Ass-tralia) to pick up their game with broadband. Get rid of miniscule download caps and pick up the speed.

Ultimately I'd love to see the option from such a place as this is pay (purely for example's sake) $40 for a digitally distributed game, or for $50-$60 whatever, they send you out a box, but give you a download code as well. Sort of like a license to play while you wait for your nice boxy product to arrive. I still love game boxes, especially CE's.

Would such a digital market hurt or even wipe out bricks-n-mortar shop? You betcha. The solution? They have to evolve, be the ones to open these shops online. Granted it would still be nice to have a physical store every here and there, because its always nice to talk to someone about your purchase. Lest our parents go online and purchase the entire wrong thing for xmas--- "Oooh whats that game that Billy's always playing? I don't know, something about War, wait a minute, this game says its an expansion for Warcraft" then you unwrap your present, and wonder how you're going to try install Burning Crusade as an expansion for Call of Duty: World at War.

[Sardu]

Originally Posted by Anacche

Would such a digital market hurt or even wipe out bricks-n-mortar shop? You betcha. The solution? They have to evolve, be the ones to open these shops online. Granted it would still be nice to have a physical store every here and there, because its always nice to talk to someone about your purchase. Lest our parents go online and purchase the entire wrong thing for xmas--- "Oooh whats that game that Billy's always playing? I don't know, something about War, wait a minute, this game says its an expansion for Warcraft" then you unwrap your present, and wonder how you're going to try install Burning Crusade as an expansion for Call of Duty: World at War.

For now I think the retail shops are pretty safe in their business model, but that could all be turned on it's head once the next generation of consoles start hitting shelves. With mandatory installs for PS3 games on the rise, growing storage space and more high profile "marketplace" (aka download only) games being released it's only a matter of time before even consoles rely primarily on download sales vs. physical copies at retail. Even some of the major publishers like EA are pushing for that future as a means to pull the rug out from under chains like GameStop who make most of their revenue from used console game sales.

What's silly though is that consoles are currently only one step away (not counting the Wii which is this generation's Trivial Pursuit ) from being a branded PC. The next evolution should see that last step taken, at which point I can't imagine how they'll market the things at a reasonable price point let alone as a gimped piece of hardware that could do everything your PC does, but simply won't allow you to.

I do see your point though with having actual sales staff to talk to about purchases. A great example would be a conversation I had with another pair of customers when I stopped in to pick up my copy of Ye Olde Liche King. Mind you it's a conversation they should have been having with someone who actually works there, but those people were too busy shooting rubber bands at each other to be bothered.

Basically they were wanting to pick up the Warcraft battle chest, but got confused when they saw the WoW battle chest sitting right next to it. It took me a good 15 minutes to explain what the difference was, and when I eventually left I could still see the lingering doubt in their eyes as to which one was which.

[Bansaw]

my post isn't as insightful as all of yours but.. I would hate to see games disappear all together from stores.. I personally like going by the gamestop or whatever when I'm at the mall and "browsing" games..