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(Note: This is a copy/paste repost from a thread I created over at Gamespot. I thought it'd be bring some good discussions here, too. )



Between XBox Live, Sony's PSN, Nintendo's online feature on the Wii (the name escapes me) and most especially Valve's Steam, it seems that video games are moving more and more towards digital copies. At the moment, it's mostly (except for Steam) relegated to classic or smaller games. Admittedly, it still has some bugs to work out (Steam, I believe, had some issues with Aliens vs. Predators on its launch). But like movies, I'm starting to wonder if the next generation of our entertainment media will be digitalized.


For the past decade, downloading has become more and more normalized. Ticket sales at the box office, at least according to Hollywood, have slumped because of downloading. Music, most especially, has changed because of downloading. I haven't bought a hard copy of a CD in ages, and iTunes has become a household name. I'm noticing the music section in stores such as HMV are shrinking every couple of years, as they introduce other product to put on their shelves such as movies, games, and even books. iPods and other mp3 players have now become the norm. Rarely do I see someone with a CD player or a walkman anymore as I did growing up (Note: I'm 31).


Gaming is becoming the same thing. Demo discs have already gone the way of the dodo. Actually, I'm not 100% certain on that, as I believe PC Gamer still provides a disc with their magazines, as does Xbox's magazine. But the idea of plopping in a disc to play a demo is gone. Now, it's a matter of logging into, say, the Playstation Network and downloading it.


At the moment, though, downloading is relegated to classic or smaller games. The PSN provides a large assortment of PS1 games, for example. The Wii provides games from the NES, SNES and a few N64 games. Rumours are growing every once in awhile that PS2 games will soon be available on PSN.


Steam, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be...pardon the pun...running out of steam. At first, it started as a means to register your game, a form of copy protection. To play Valve games such as Half-Life 2, you were required to log into Steam. Soon, you also had the option of downloading Valve games. In the last few years, other game companies joined in being available on Steam. Today, almost every single new PC game is now available for purchase and download through Steam. More and more classic games are becoming available, as well. In fact, I fell prey to their dasterdly Christmas holiday sales, spending about $30 on at least a dozen games in total.


Another company that has been phenomenal with online purchases is Telltale games, creators of the episodic adventure games such as Bone, Sam & Max, Wallace & Gromit, Strong Bad, and most recently, Monkey Island. Their online policy is similar to Steam: once you have purchased a game, you can download it again at any time at your leisure. Additionally, if you've purchased a full season directly through their website, you can pay just the shipping costs and have a hardcopy disc of the game.
I think Telltale's example of gaming will be the first step that other companies will follow. Imagine buying God of War III on the PSN, then having the option to have the game mailed to you? Admittedly, a disc game is not fully installed onto your PS3 and still requires the disc, so the example doesn't quite work the same, but the idea in theory is no different.


Already, Sony and Nintendo have begun the pure-downloading idea in portable fashion. Both the Nintendo DS (the DSi, specifically) and the PSP-Go can have games downloaded onto them. The PSP-Go, in fact, is purely download only, with a large catalogue of games available on PSN. It would not take much of a jump to go to next-gen systems. Companies could cut costs on manufacturing and shipping, which might (but not likely) lower the hefty price on games.


What do you folks think? I'm all for the idea of a purely digital gaming business. Already, I'm beginning to move my movie collection into digital, instead. But I know many people who like to have those movies or games on their shelves. Thoughts?

I get nearly all of my games from Steam and Direct2Drive. It's cheaper and quicker.

Dave said:

I get nearly all of my games from Steam and Direct2Drive. It's cheaper and quicker.

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Yeah, it's not just Steam selling downloads on the PC. You mentioned Direct2Drive, but there is also GOG (Good Ol' Games, which is DRM free), Stardock's Impusle, Microsoft's Games on Demand, GamersGate (anyone have expeirence with them?) and others, I'm sure.

One drawback to downloadable games is no second-hand market. Although I heard Stardock was working on plans to allow trading-in of old games, I don't think any company allows games to be sold yet. Once a game is bought and in your Steam account, it's there for good. I don't mind much, because I buy almost all my games on sale, and I've rarely sold any of my old games in the past, but I think the ability to sell old games is pretty vital to the games market. If things go completely digital, with no resale of games, I think the game companies will be surprised at the drop-off in interest (unless they discount titles faster or offer other incentives).

Even then, I don't think we'll see solely online sales for a while yet. Retail sales are still big business, and there are still a lot of consumers who walk into the games section with no idea that there are games not on the shelves there.

Ah, yeah, I'm unfamiliar with other online sale places outside of Steam, since that's where I do my business. Thanks.

Yeah, I do agree on the trade-in value. It's not that big a deal for me, since like you, I've bought all my games online through sales, except for the Sam & Max games.

What if more games had, instead of a demo, a trial basis? I know some PC demos had this before, where you could play the full game for X amount of time. Say, an hour. Although, that might backfire with a game like Brutal Legend, where the gameplay changes considerably a short while into it.

ThatNickGuy said:

What if more games had, instead of a demo, a trial basis? I know some PC demos had this before, where you could play the full game for X amount of time. Say, an hour. Although, that might backfire with a game like Brutal Legend, where the gameplay changes considerably a short while into it.

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I don't think a trial addresses the fundamental issue. Games are generally not worth $60, even if you like them. There gamers (how many, I don't know) who buy the new release, at full price, only because they know they'll have it beat in a month or less, and will sell it to Gamestop, or on eBay, and put that money towards the next new game. I imagine it's possible to get >$40 back on a $60 game, if the turn-around time is fast enough and you sell it yourself, rather than through a store.

On another note, I know console gamers who play primarily games they rent via Gamefly. They buy a few games a year, that they intend to replay a lot, but anything they'll only play once is a rental. Until you can rent new titles via a download service, then there's a big gap in the downloadable games market. (Gametap doesn't count because it's games aren't new releases, and the selection is limited) PC gamers are used to not being able to rent, since that never really was an option, but console gamers aren't. Taking that away from them would anger and confuse a lot of customers.

I think the game companies see "no resale" as a perk, not a flaw. I think the number of people who would honestly NOT buy a game because they couldn't sell it later is rather small, especially given the frequency of sales online and other benefits to downloading stuff.

I'm a PC only gamer, I would like to see a digital only market emerge and prosper, mainly so that the game companies could push back against the lies spread by the ISP's about how "Teh intertubez all cloggered, we limit you now, give us more monies kai?"

Lets face it with a 60gb limit (largest I've seen proposed, usually around 5-20gb) a copy of Arkham Asylum, two windows updates, and a lolcat page, your net is gone for the month.

Raemon777 said:

I think the game companies see "no resale" as a perk, not a flaw. I think the number of people who would honestly NOT buy a game because they couldn't sell it later is rather small, especially given the frequency of sales online and other benefits to downloading stuff.

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Online sales work because...

1.) You can get the game without ever having to leave your home.

2.) You can get the game for dirt cheap if you just wait a few months (It's been 6 months and L4D2 was 50% off)

3.) The price you pay for a digital copy is usually less than what it costs in a store, as little as a few weeks in.

Not being able to trade a game in isn't such a big deal if you already got it for a discount.

The internet is the future of all media. We're on the cusp of seeing hard copies fly out the window. Movies, TV, and Video games all have flourishing online markets that are eventually going to eclipse the physical copies. I can definitely see Hulu becoming the new standard for television, and with some expanded service, for movies as well.

All the games on my computer are either on Steam, EA Download (Sims 3 + content packs and expansions), and World of Warcraft.

I do not own a current-gen console.

AshburnerX said:

Not being able to trade a game in isn't such a big deal if you already got it for a discount.

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That's a pretty big IF there. Right now consoles rely on big launches to get people excited for a game, and it remains to be seen if console makers are willing to shift strategies to what will make downloadable titles work.

Bowielee said:

The internet is the future of all media. We're on the cusp of seeing hard copies fly out the window. Movies, TV, and Video games all have flourishing online markets that are eventually going to eclipse the physical copies. I can definitely see Hulu becoming the new standard for television, and with some expanded service, for movies as well.

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I doubt that it's going to COMPLETELY eclipse physical copies. Everyone said e-books would completely overwhelm real books, but we're only just now getting readers anyone wants. Even then, it still doesn't quite match the feeling of holding a REAL book in your hand. There is always going to be a small audience of people who want physical copies. The total flop of the PSPGo shows that pretty conclusively.

Until you can balance a ereader on your face to take a nap in the yard and keep the sun off, there will be paper books.

Dusty668 said:

Until you can balance a ereader on your face to take a nap in the yard and keep the sun off, there will be paper books.

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More like "Until you can give net access to the entirety of Africa for free, there will always be paper books."

I for one can't wait for a future where all your games will get taken away at once when someone get a hold of your password...

@Li3n said:

I for one can't wait for a future where all your games will get taken away at once when someone get a hold of your password...

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You can dispute this if you can prove that your the account holder, not they. They usually do this via the credit cards and phone numbers. It just takes awhile.

I still prefer hard copies - for several reasons. Heck, I mostly don't buy games that require constant internet access, either. I don't have faith in any company still being there in 10 years time, and I do want to be able to replay games. I still regularly play games from the nineties. Even EA or Ubisoft can go the way of Interplay or Westwood, given enough time.
I'm a purely-pc player, too, so I guess I'm a dying breed anyway. :-(

AshburnerX;362279][QUOTE=Dusty668 said:

Until you can balance a ereader on your face to take a nap in the yard and keep the sun off, there will be paper books.

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More like "Until you can give net access to the entirety of Africa for free, there will always be paper books."[/QUOTE]

I dunno, I never napped in Africa.

I am mainly a console gamer and while I do see downloadable games becoming more popular I hope they at least give us the option of buying a hard copy. Cause I like physically owning/holding my game. Also I like collecting my games and it isn't quite the same when it's a downloaded copy that you're your friends about later on down the road while trying to impress them with your "rare" game. In fact downloaded games pretty much ruin any chance of owning a rare game later on since hey everyone can just download it.

Downloading - The Future of Gaming?

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Probably.

@Li3n said:

I for one can't wait for a future where all your games will get taken away at once when someone get a hold of your password...

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Its not remotely difficult to get your account back. Assuming it was your credit card and not your mom's. Now, if on the other hand you loose a CD key, enjoy your new coaster.

For PC games I can't see how retail/box distribution will ever work again. The advantages over the crappy built in DRM issues found in box versions and the issues with keeping your game up to date are just too damned good. There is no reason to buy a PC game in a store, unless you don't have an internet connection. In which case you should just /quit life. Because you have totally failed.

Console games are an entirely different matter though. I don't think digital distribution will ever be a major way to distribute core games (not XBLA mini games/added content). The advantages of being able to buy/sell/trade used games is simply too large to remove it as a possibility. Moreover, consoles themselves are just not as good as a PC when it comes to managing something like this. For little cheapo games, maybe, but for a 60$ 10 gig game I wouldn't want to have to limit how many I can have on my hard drive at any given point. I want to be able to slap a game in and just go. Finally, Gamestop is not a poor company. If they ever saw it coming they would fight it, hard.

I have a handful of games I bought off steam. I enjoy that service very much especially since I usually buy them dirt cheap unless it’s select titles. Xmas time, things get ridiculously cheap. I’m not a fan of buying new games as I cannot get rid of them in any shape or form. Is it the future? Perhaps but it won’t be the be all and end all of things.

People will still rent console games, people will still pirate new games, people will still want to sell off their games. Heck, did you know there’s an elite market where you can sell old games for insane prices? For example, I had a friend who told an OLD game he found at a garage sale last summer on ebay for 600$ simply because it was a near mint version of some mediocre game on the old Nintendo system?

600$! SIX HUNDRED AMERICAN!!! He bought it for 50 cents! You’ll never do this with the new games off steam and whatnot.

$600 American?!? That's like $10,000 in Canadian or Monopoly money!




:laugh:

1 Dollar Canadian is 98 cents American today. By mid-summer they state we'll be between 1.05 and 1.10.

But yeah, close to 600... bastard

I love the ability to download my game. I do buy some games off steam (like Star Trek I love it) at full price. There are some enticement when buying online. I took advantage of steam holiday sales (spend over 50$) on games I might play, but it was cheap so why not. I am kinda interest in some of the game, but I think it is a good way to go.

I know the original media draw is that people can resell back to stores. This is only good for the store (like gamestop) where they can make money again on the sale of the SAME game, but the developers don't get that (they hate it too) direct digital download sales goes toward the maker of the game per game sold. I am hoping the price might come down in the future on digital version cause well, there isn't a need to package it (cost money) and shipping (cost even more now-a-days). Steam sales has proven it is a good way to distribute software. A lot of use Steam (my exclusive, I don't use other services)

The internet is here to stay and it is getting faster and faster (for home use) which is pretty awesome. The major downside for the world is that companies REALLY need to shift their gears and adjust to it. iTunes did this and making a bundle on music at 1$ to 1.99$ a SONG. Rockband and Guitar Hero market this stuff. Companies like Newspaper and Record company are still trying to fight it. I hardly read any news on the actual paper anymore unless it happen to be lying around at work. I read all my news online. I watch my show online. I play my games online.

I don't think I'm alone on this.

Necronic said:

Its not remotely difficult to get your account back.

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It takes time though, and you'd better hope that whoever stole your account doesn't get you VAC banned while you're getting things straightened out, because that'll take even more time to fix, if you can get unbanned at all.

Gamestop is already fighting it. I have yet to see a single one stock a PSPGo.

Another problem with downloadable games: No transferring DSi games to the DSi XL. That headline really dampened my interest in DSiWare games. Some of them look really cool, but I don't want to be tied to a single hardware unit that can be lost, stolen, broken or otherwise cease to function.

figmentPez said:

Another problem with downloadable games: No transferring DSi games to the DSi XL. That headline really dampened my interest in DSiWare games. Some of them look really cool, but I don't want to be tied to a single hardware unit that can be lost, stolen, broken or otherwise cease to function.

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To be fair, they ARE trying to get a solution for this. It's not like they want you to have to buy new copies, but they didn't put much forethought into their architecture.

AshburnerX;362763][QUOTE=figmentPez said:

Another problem with downloadable games: No transferring DSi games to the DSi XL. That headline really dampened my interest in DSiWare games. Some of them look really cool, but I don't want to be tied to a single hardware unit that can be lost, stolen, broken or otherwise cease to function.

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To be fair, they ARE trying to get a solution for this. It's not like they want you to have to buy new copies, but they didn't put much forethought into their architecture.[/QUOTE]
I am going to keep an eye on that one

but right now I'll just stick with Steam. It is pretty nice when I upgraded my PC I can just log onto steam and redownload all my games. Granted SOME game have 5 install limits (I forgot which) but I'm not going to worry too much right now

Chibibar;362958][QUOTE=AshburnerX;362763][QUOTE=figmentPez said:

Another problem with downloadable games: No transferring DSi games to the DSi XL. That headline really dampened my interest in DSiWare games. Some of them look really cool, but I don't want to be tied to a single hardware unit that can be lost, stolen, broken or otherwise cease to function.

Click to expand...

To be fair, they ARE trying to get a solution for this. It's not like they want you to have to buy new copies, but they didn't put much forethought into their architecture.[/QUOTE]
I am going to keep an eye on that one

but right now I'll just stick with Steam. It is pretty nice when I upgraded my PC I can just log onto steam and redownload all my games. Granted SOME game have 5 install limits (I forgot which) but I'm not going to worry too much right now [/QUOTE]

I want to point out, because some people use it as an arguing point against Steam, that the install limits are imposed by the company producing the software, NOT valve. Those install limits would exist even if you had bought a physical copy of the disk.

SeriousJay said:

I have a handful of games I bought off steam. I enjoy that service very much especially since I usually buy them dirt cheap unless it’s select titles. Xmas time, things get ridiculously cheap. I’m not a fan of buying new games as I cannot get rid of them in any shape or form. Is it the future? Perhaps but it won’t be the be all and end all of things.

People will still rent console games, people will still pirate new games, people will still want to sell off their games. Heck, did you know there’s an elite market where you can sell old games for insane prices? For example, I had a friend who told an OLD game he found at a garage sale last summer on ebay for 600$ simply because it was a near mint version of some mediocre game on the old Nintendo system?

600$! SIX HUNDRED AMERICAN!!! He bought it for 50 cents! You’ll never do this with the new games off steam and whatnot.

Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with the being able to download games or not. It's a rare antique. Things that are rare get expensive. If download never existed and we still sold hardcopy games exclusively that Nintendo game would still sell for 600 bucks. You're really pointing out a very limited case here. Rare Nintendo games were at the forefront of the gaming industry. There aren't many around anymore. This won't ever happen again. A hardcopy of Grand Theft Auto IV will never become worth 600 dollars in your lifetime because there are simply too many copies of that game around. It's exactly the same as the principle behind coin collecting. Age really has nothing to do with the value of the coin. It's how rare it is and how bad someone wants it. I don't doubt that there will be digital media titles (accounts) that will sell second hand for a lot of money simply for rare downloads or achievements those accounts have. Look at WoW, you have people that pay hundreds of dollars for accounts and items.

So you're saying...there's a supply

and

a demand

Yea.. some game became rare cause of limited production like Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 for the PS2 (only like 100k was made and stopped due to license or some such) but since a newer version/remake is coming out these item prices are going down.

@bowilee - you are right that it is with the company. I don't blame steam for my limited install. I think the only thing that will hurt are the re-sale users (play for a month and sell and buy a new game) with digital download, there is no re-sale (for now)

Necronic;362553][QUOTE=@Li3n said:

I for one can't wait for a future where all your games will get taken away at once when someone get a hold of your password...

Click to expand...

Its not remotely difficult to get your account back. Assuming it was your credit card and not your mom's. Now, if on the other hand you loose a CD key, enjoy your new coaster.
[/QUOTE]

You know i always wondered, if the cd-key is on the box how does one lose it without loosing the cd/dvd too?!

Well duh... Not keeping the CD in the corresponding box!

Some games also had the CD keys on cards in the box or the manuals. I think of the 2 CD keys I've ever lost, they were all on something that didn't fit inside the game's original case.

Bowielee said:

Some games also had the CD keys on cards in the box or the manuals.

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Oh right... i didn't buy games back then myself.