DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited July 2010
The main advantage I see to digital stuff is that if I lose my data I can redownload for free compared to having to buy a new game if the disc broke or scratched.
I can play 20+ year old NES games on my NES just fine. If my NES breaks, I can get a new NES and/or a clone and play those same games.
If my Wii breaks, I'm shit out of luck. How will I play those WiiWare titles 20 years down the line?
NES break? Does not compute.
Perhaps break is too strong of a word, but NESs become unplayable for various reasons quite easily. Controllers becoming unresponsive due to dirty connectors, AC adapter cable fraying or general burn out, and the ubiquitous dirty/bent cartridge slot that requires opening up the console and bending the pins back so they're springy again and will make contact. I've had all of these problems at some point.
You can re-download it for free NOW. But what about in 5 years? 10 years? There's no guarantee.
Well, that already happened with the Oxbox DLC. That probably won't happen with the less shitty Xbox Live, but I wouldn't bet on it. Nintendo being Nintendo, they are probably going to fuck it up big time. No clue about Sony considering the lack of much online last generation. Like Jesus, Steam is always with us. Unlike Jesus, it is also like Santa Clause and provides us with huge discounts.
The majority of gamers still prefer to purchase their games on physical discs, according to a new study done by UK media research firm Ipsos MORI.
The study conducted in May, which surveyed over 1000 people between the ages of 15 to 55 (of which 577 were owners of next gen consoles - Wii, PS3, Xbox 360), showed that 64% still prefer to purchase games on physical discs. 25% say they prefer digital downloads while 11% said they had no preference. Other forms of media, newspapers, films, and music, showed higher interest in digital preference.
Ian Bramley, Senior Director at Ipsos MORI, told IGN the used game market is likely the cause of gamers choosing discs over downloads.
"The preference for physical discs amongst next gen gamers, despite the high levels of interest for digital models, reflects the value gamers derive from the second-hand resale market which likely contributes to holding up the preference for physical - this is unlike the music and film markets," Bramley said.
"Also the physical disc has a long and well established history in the games market which is deep mindset to change, particularly when building a physical collection and in-store browsing are important to gamers, as are fears of losing digital versions."
Geez, not even newspaper readers are as attached to meatspace objects like gamers.
I think the limited availability of most console games as downloads would have something to do it. To my knowledge very few console games are sold on both discs and as downloads. I would assume (actually hope) that the results would be significantly different if everyone asked were primarily PC gamers.
Also, where can you even buy movies digitally? The few services I've seen you pay for access for 24 hours and seem to have pretty poor picture quality.
You can re-download it for free NOW. But what about in 5 years? 10 years? There's no guarantee.
And your discs are unscratched and un-stolen now, but...
The difference is that the condition of discs can, with care, be maintained. Downloads becomning unavailable will happen no matter what you do.
Once the content has been downloaded, the console can also be maintained in the same way. Unless the distribution model requires constant connecting or time-limited downloads which is stupid.
The source is actually something called Next Gen Gamers, as seen in the graph.
No, you're reading it wrong. If it were the source, it'd be listed as the source. What they're actually saying is that 'next gen gamers' are the base of their survey, which just means that they ignored the opinion of anyone that didn't have a 'next gen system'. I think they assumed that anyone that didn't own a 'next gen system' (stated in the article as PS3, Wii and 360) wasn't interested in videogames or the delivery method, so would just end up skewing the data.
You can re-download it for free NOW. But what about in 5 years? 10 years? There's no guarantee.
And your discs are unscratched and un-stolen now, but...
The difference is that the condition of discs can, with care, be maintained. Downloads becomning unavailable will happen no matter what you do.
And here, "maintaining with care" really just means "put it back in its case when you're not using it, nummuts."
Apparently, more people at the PA Forums are actually living in bandit-infested, sandstorm-ravaged wastelands.
Anecdotal: I've got plenty of games I bought 5, 10, or even 15 years ago at the beginning of the CD-ROM's adoption for gaming. They still work. Because I put them in their cases/envelopes/whatever. It's pretty simple. Trying to find downloads for patches and fixes, on the other hand, can be near impossible, especially from the original publishes. And these are 50 kb fixes, downloading a 700 mb or 8 gb game presents more challenges.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
You can re-download it for free NOW. But what about in 5 years? 10 years? There's no guarantee.
And your discs are unscratched and un-stolen now, but...
The difference is that the condition of discs can, with care, be maintained. Downloads becomning unavailable will happen no matter what you do.
And here, "maintaining with care" really just means "put it back in its case when you're not using it, nummuts."
I know this seems to be hard for people to understand. But shit happens sometimes and excuse me if I don't want to have to pay another 50 or so bucks when shit does happen.
I mean, if you want to go back. I still have games from the PS1 era in perfect condition. Doesn't mean I haven't had discs break or scratch every now and then.
You can re-download it for free NOW. But what about in 5 years? 10 years? There's no guarantee.
And your discs are unscratched and un-stolen now, but...
The difference is that the condition of discs can, with care, be maintained. Downloads becomning unavailable will happen no matter what you do.
Once the content has been downloaded, the console can also be maintained in the same way. Unless the distribution model requires constant connecting or time-limited downloads which is stupid.
Consoles are much more likely to break down nowadays and are harder to maintain. I still prefer downloads for the PC though but that is because Steam is awesome.
The majority of gamers still prefer to purchase their games on physical discs, according to a new study done by UK media research firm Ipsos MORI.
The study conducted in May, which surveyed over 1000 people between the ages of 15 to 55 (of which 577 were owners of next gen consoles - Wii, PS3, Xbox 360), showed that 64% still prefer to purchase games on physical discs. 25% say they prefer digital downloads while 11% said they had no preference. Other forms of media, newspapers, films, and music, showed higher interest in digital preference.
Ian Bramley, Senior Director at Ipsos MORI, told IGN the used game market is likely the cause of gamers choosing discs over downloads.
"The preference for physical discs amongst next gen gamers, despite the high levels of interest for digital models, reflects the value gamers derive from the second-hand resale market which likely contributes to holding up the preference for physical - this is unlike the music and film markets," Bramley said.
"Also the physical disc has a long and well established history in the games market which is deep mindset to change, particularly when building a physical collection and in-store browsing are important to gamers, as are fears of losing digital versions."
Geez, not even newspaper readers are as attached to meatspace objects like gamers.
Rainbow Despair does it right, though. Downloadable games need to be, on the whole, cheaper than their physical counterparts because I'm getting less for my money. I can't trade that game in, I can't lend it to my friend, and I can't easily store it in another room when I'm done playing and want space but don't want to get rid of it.
Seriously, there's no reason for Crackdown to be $20 on Games on Demand $15 used from GameStop. If nothing else the prices should be the same because I have a feeling that Microsoft (or whoever published Crackdown) would rather they get $15 than GameStop get $15. Because either way they're not getting my $20.
I love DD services, but I think the only thing in my Steam list that I bought at full price was Plants Vs. Zombies and that was only $10. XBLA I'm more prone to buy at full price, but that's because full price is seldom more than $15.
Yeah, I saw that article as well. I can't say that I'm surprised - although digital has the potential to be much better than hard copies (faster load times, no need to switch disks, cheaper prices, more money goes to the developer instead of the middlemen, no worries about running out of stock, etc), the used game market is so entrenched and publishers are so afraid of offending retailers that it'll take some time before we get there.
But hey, I'm doing my part! Besides buying an obscene number of XBLA & PSN games (with a WiiWare/VC title here and there), our first RPG sells for $1 & and our second one will sell for $3. Viva la revolution!
I agree, and don't get me wrong. I love DD. I just think it's a bit ridiculous that, to use a recent example, Just Cause 2 costs just as much through Steam as it does in Best Buy. If nothing else, it should be a bit cheaper because I'm not getting a box, I'm not getting a paper manual, and I'm not getting physical media. Even if the discount is only $5, it should be cheaper because I'm getting less for my money. And like I said before I think the discount should be greater for console games 1) because they're more expensive for no good reason and 2) because I'm losing even more in my purchase since there is a thriving used games market.
You barely get paper manuals these days. It should probably be cheaper due to distribution costs but that would make retailers pissy and game companies also don't want to lower prices when many of them are having a hard time making a profit thanks to them being stupid with development costs.
The majority of gamers still prefer to purchase their games on physical discs, according to a new study done by UK media research firm Ipsos MORI.
The study conducted in May, which surveyed over 1000 people between the ages of 15 to 55 (of which 577 were owners of next gen consoles - Wii, PS3, Xbox 360), showed that 64% still prefer to purchase games on physical discs. 25% say they prefer digital downloads while 11% said they had no preference. Other forms of media, newspapers, films, and music, showed higher interest in digital preference.
Ian Bramley, Senior Director at Ipsos MORI, told IGN the used game market is likely the cause of gamers choosing discs over downloads.
"The preference for physical discs amongst next gen gamers, despite the high levels of interest for digital models, reflects the value gamers derive from the second-hand resale market which likely contributes to holding up the preference for physical - this is unlike the music and film markets," Bramley said.
"Also the physical disc has a long and well established history in the games market which is deep mindset to change, particularly when building a physical collection and in-store browsing are important to gamers, as are fears of losing digital versions."
Geez, not even newspaper readers are as attached to meatspace objects like gamers.
Rainbow Despair does it right, though. Downloadable games need to be, on the whole, cheaper than their physical counterparts because I'm getting less for my money. I can't trade that game in, I can't lend it to my friend, and I can't easily store it in another room when I'm done playing and want space but don't want to get rid of it.
Seriously, there's no reason for Crackdown to be $20 on Games on Demand $15 used from GameStop. If nothing else the prices should be the same because I have a feeling that Microsoft (or whoever published Crackdown) would rather they get $15 than GameStop get $15. Because either way they're not getting my $20.
I love DD services, but I think the only thing in my Steam list that I bought at full price was Plants Vs. Zombies and that was only $10. XBLA I'm more prone to buy at full price, but that's because full price is seldom more than $15.
Yeah, I saw that article as well. I can't say that I'm surprised - although digital has the potential to be much better than hard copies (faster load times, no need to switch disks, cheaper prices, more money goes to the developer instead of the middlemen, no worries about running out of stock, etc), the used game market is so entrenched and publishers are so afraid of offending retailers that it'll take some time before we get there.
But hey, I'm doing my part! Besides buying an obscene number of XBLA & PSN games (with a WiiWare/VC title here and there), our first RPG sells for $1 & and our second one will sell for $3. Viva la revolution!
I agree, and don't get me wrong. I love DD. I just think it's a bit ridiculous that, to use a recent example, Just Cause 2 costs just as much through Steam as it does in Best Buy. If nothing else, it should be a bit cheaper because I'm not getting a box, I'm not getting a paper manual, and I'm not getting physical media. Even if the discount is only $5, it should be cheaper because I'm getting less for my money. And like I said before I think the discount should be greater for console games 1) because they're more expensive for no good reason and 2) because I'm losing even more in my purchase since there is a thriving used games market.
That's....much more common than you might be led to think. For several weeks, Mass Effect 2 was far cheaper ($15 cheaper, to be precise) on Amazon.com than it was on Steam. The Steam sale brought it to a comparable price, but that only lasted one day (eventually, the Amazon.com price rose a while later, but it's still $13.45 cheaper, new, than off Steam--since Amazon apparently has the Steam price listed on its front page for it). That includes free shipping. It's not alone either.
Currently, barring their individual sales events, which they have a lot of, most DD services seem to be convinced that there's no reason why they should charge you less. You're getting the same game (barring those other things--physical media, manual, box). In fact, they certainly don't mind charging you more, because of their offer to redownload, and "convenience" or any other things they think is worth the price.
It's a strange set of events. I could order ME2, have it next-day shipped to me, and still get it cheaper than Steam. I could get it for free shipping, wait 3 to 5 days, and get it for two thirds the price.
That's....much more common than you might be led to think. For several weeks, Mass Effect 2 was far cheaper ($15 cheaper, to be precise) on Amazon.com than it was on Steam. The Steam sale brought it to a comparable price, but that only lasted one day (eventually, the Amazon.com price rose a while later, but it's still $13.45 cheaper, new, than off Steam--since Amazon apparently has the Steam price listed on its front page for it). That includes free shipping. It's not alone either.
Currently, barring their individual sales events, which they have a lot of, most DD services seem to be convinced that there's no reason why they should charge you less. You're getting the same game (barring those other things--physical media, manual, box). In fact, they certainly don't mind charging you more, because of their offer to redownload, and "convenience" or any other things they think is worth the price.
It's a strange set of events. I could order ME2, have it next-day shipped to me, and still get it cheaper than Steam. I could get it for free shipping, wait 3 to 5 days, and get it for two thirds the price.
I suppose I should factor that in, too, but as somebody who takes care of his discs the "convenience" to redownload instead of throwing a CD in the drive is pretty marginal. I do get the feeling that Valve would set Steam prices lower than other places as a standard but that publishers are only on-board for the ass-kicking sales.
Then again, they set their own prices, and their games (unless you preorder) seem to sit in line with traditional retail prices and that just baffles me. Maybe that is because Valve partner with other publishers for retail though.
I'm still not convinced that Steam has ass-kicking sales. Certainly enough to sustain itself, attract a decent crowd of devotees and draw in other publishers who haven't been able to make their own online schemes work, but outside of hardcore circles it doesn't seem to be setting the world on fire.
It would be nice if we got some vague hint at sales figures, but that'll never happen.
That's....much more common than you might be led to think. For several weeks, Mass Effect 2 was far cheaper ($15 cheaper, to be precise) on Amazon.com than it was on Steam. The Steam sale brought it to a comparable price, but that only lasted one day (eventually, the Amazon.com price rose a while later, but it's still $13.45 cheaper, new, than off Steam--since Amazon apparently has the Steam price listed on its front page for it). That includes free shipping. It's not alone either.
Currently, barring their individual sales events, which they have a lot of, most DD services seem to be convinced that there's no reason why they should charge you less. You're getting the same game (barring those other things--physical media, manual, box). In fact, they certainly don't mind charging you more, because of their offer to redownload, and "convenience" or any other things they think is worth the price.
It's a strange set of events. I could order ME2, have it next-day shipped to me, and still get it cheaper than Steam. I could get it for free shipping, wait 3 to 5 days, and get it for two thirds the price.
I suppose I should factor that in, too, but as somebody who takes care of his discs the "convenience" to redownload instead of throwing a CD in the drive is pretty marginal. I do get the feeling that Valve would set Steam prices lower than other places as a standard but that publishers are only on-board for the ass-kicking sales.
Then again, they set their own prices, and their games (unless you preorder) seem to sit in line with traditional retail prices and that just baffles me. Maybe that is because Valve partner with other publishers for retail though.
At times I suspect (vaguely) that the price-setters at services like Steam and other DD less and less consider themselves competing with the actual console/PC game market as a whole, but rather, just among themselves. Otherwise, you'd think they would at least try to be a little more competitive. Perhaps they've been increasingly convinced that their main consumers are people who will buy DD anyway, not because of competitive pricing (which it does not have more and more) but out of principle ("transcend petty meatspace"). They might be hoping that even if they're at a $10 or $15 or $20 disadvantage against a major retail seller, that won't be that big of an issue.
You can find people here on the forums who'll quite happily pay a few extra $$ (in this case, $13.45) to buy something digitally than wait for a box. They're not that uncommon (given that we represent a much more game-orientated segment of the population of our countries than the average resident). They have no problem explaining that as the case or giving their reasons for it. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, it just kind of poses an interesting line of thinking for those services.
Or maybe companies like Valve are just totally fucking weird and mysterious in regards to their actual business strategies. Like you'd imagine privately owned companies could be.
EDIT: On another note, I think DD are fairly convinced they're not the universal standard of the future, and I can see why. Stuff like Steam is amazing in its own regard, but it doesn't get over the fact that games are getting bigger and bigger, and ISP providers are not getting faster at the same rate. Plus, not everyone everywhere is online. In the meantime, the huge shipping conglomerates and retail market of the industrialized world will have to suffice. Personally, I'm happy with that arrangement, since I prefer a tangible product anyway but that's just me.
Rumor is Lego Harry Potter is doing well. Anyone else hear the same thing?
I know a surprising amount of people who have bought it that normally wouldn't bother with a Lego game, myself included
Anecdotal obviously
But it's pretty good and deserves the sales
I have no issue calling it the best Lego game out there. And I am not a Potter fan, at all.
I'm a bit wary since for some reason my Lego Star Wars save data just disappears. Like I had the game at 93% and when I turned on my Wii again the save data was gone. So I started over and that save data was gone the next day. No other games have problems and my Wii isn't full by any means (oh lawd).
You spend $1.2bn annually on Xbox Live
News Xbox 360 News by Robert Purchese Today 13:12
Xbox chief operating officer Dennis Durkin has revealed that more than half of Xbox Live's revenue comes from downloadable content, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
Microsoft has previously said that around half the 25 million people on Xbox Live are Gold subscribers, which amounts to around $600m in fees a year.
Therefore, if downloadable content - avatar clothing, game content, films, Live Arcade games, etc. - exceeds that figure then total revenue for Xbox Live must be $1.2bn or higher.
Given that, it's no wonder Sony's now offering a premium subscription service on PlayStation Network.
Microsoft reports its 2010 fiscal results later this month.
Also, where can you even buy movies digitally? The few services I've seen you pay for access for 24 hours and seem to have pretty poor picture quality.
You can buy movies from iTunes, Zune, Amazon, Playstation Network, and I'm sure there are a few other places that sell them. The problem is they are all DRM-laden and constantly have to have licenses renewed in order to view them and even then only work with certain software/players. I can't play iTunes videos on my Zune or through WMC on my 360 to my TV. Zune and Amazon videos work if the license is current, but the 360 won't go out and renew the license for me if it's expired.
It's quite ridiculous. A friend of mine buys tons of shows and movies on the PSN because he can dump them on his PSP Go (yeah, he bought one despite owning a PSP 3000 and iPod Touch) and watch them wherever. I despise DRM, so if I'm going to buy a TV series or movie I buy the DVD and then I can watch it and convert it to whatever/wherever I want. Stores are going to have to go DRM-free before I start to put any money in digital movies. I did the same with music, bought CDs until I could get DRM free tracks. Though I still buy a lot of CDs cause I can get them cheap on sale.
Also, where can you even buy movies digitally? The few services I've seen you pay for access for 24 hours and seem to have pretty poor picture quality.
You can buy movies from iTunes, Zune, Amazon, Playstation Network, and I'm sure there are a few other places that sell them. The problem is they are all DRM-laden and constantly have to have licenses renewed in order to view them and even then only work with certain software/players. I can't play iTunes videos on my Zune or through WMC on my 360 to my TV. Zune and Amazon videos work if the license is current, but the 360 won't go out and renew the license for me if it's expired.
It's quite ridiculous. A friend of mine buys tons of shows and movies on the PSN because he can dump them on his PSP Go (yeah, he bought one despite owning a PSP 3000 and iPod Touch) and watch them wherever. I despise DRM, so if I'm going to buy a TV series or movie I buy the DVD and then I can watch it and convert it to whatever/wherever I want. Stores are going to have to go DRM-free before I start to put any money in digital movies. I did the same with music, bought CDs until I could get DRM free tracks. Though I still buy a lot of CDs cause I can get them cheap on sale.
It's been a while since I've checked, but I think that most of those services aren't available in large parts of the world, including Denmark where I live. I guess there might be some good digital distribution service for movies available in my region, but I don't actually care enough to find out.
Rumor is Lego Harry Potter is doing well. Anyone else hear the same thing?
I know a surprising amount of people who have bought it that normally wouldn't bother with a Lego game, myself included
Anecdotal obviously
But it's pretty good and deserves the sales
I have no issue calling it the best Lego game out there. And I am not a Potter fan, at all.
I'm a bit wary since for some reason my Lego Star Wars save data just disappears. Like I had the game at 93% and when I turned on my Wii again the save data was gone. So I started over and that save data was gone the next day. No other games have problems and my Wii isn't full by any means (oh lawd).
either way, I want to play this a ton.
That was happening to me with Lego SW. Turns out my son was saving over my save data. As was my wife by accident.
You spend $1.2bn annually on Xbox Live
News Xbox 360 News by Robert Purchese Today 13:12
Xbox chief operating officer Dennis Durkin has revealed that more than half of Xbox Live's revenue comes from downloadable content, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
Microsoft has previously said that around half the 25 million people on Xbox Live are Gold subscribers, which amounts to around $600m in fees a year.
Therefore, if downloadable content - avatar clothing, game content, films, Live Arcade games, etc. - exceeds that figure then total revenue for Xbox Live must be $1.2bn or higher.
Given that, it's no wonder Sony's now offering a premium subscription service on PlayStation Network.
Microsoft reports its 2010 fiscal results later this month.
That's like 1.1 billion dollars profit after you remove the cost of developing fake clothes for little avatars.
Also, where can you even buy movies digitally? The few services I've seen you pay for access for 24 hours and seem to have pretty poor picture quality.
You can buy movies from iTunes, Zune, Amazon, Playstation Network, and I'm sure there are a few other places that sell them. The problem is they are all DRM-laden and constantly have to have licenses renewed in order to view them and even then only work with certain software/players. I can't play iTunes videos on my Zune or through WMC on my 360 to my TV. Zune and Amazon videos work if the license is current, but the 360 won't go out and renew the license for me if it's expired.
It's quite ridiculous. A friend of mine buys tons of shows and movies on the PSN because he can dump them on his PSP Go (yeah, he bought one despite owning a PSP 3000 and iPod Touch) and watch them wherever. I despise DRM, so if I'm going to buy a TV series or movie I buy the DVD and then I can watch it and convert it to whatever/wherever I want. Stores are going to have to go DRM-free before I start to put any money in digital movies. I did the same with music, bought CDs until I could get DRM free tracks. Though I still buy a lot of CDs cause I can get them cheap on sale.
It's been a while since I've checked, but I think that most of those services aren't available in large parts of the world, including Denmark where I live. I guess there might be some good digital distribution service for movies available in my region, but I don't actually care enough to find out.
Oh, right, I keep forgetting to check location tags..
As far as avatar clothing/accessories. I haven't bought a single thing. I use all the free stuff I get, like the free Perfect Dark shirt for headshotting a guy, the free grill they gave out a month ago, also the free Chocobo, and the free night-vision goggles and 2010 glasses, etc. I just swap out to whatever freebie item I got last.
I was severely tempted by the lightsabers.. But then I noticed that they cost $5! I'm not spending $5 on a fake lightsaber for my avatar. But yeah, most stuff is like $1. Then a lot of accessories are $3-6.
'Pets' like the warthog cost about $3-4. Other items range from $1 for individual clothing to $3 for a full suit.
It isn't that expensive, overall, but that's up to the individual buyer.
Isn't 5 dollars kind of a good hourly wage though there? Here I can't justify stuff like that because I have to think I slaved away for an hour for that money I'll be damned if I use it on a polygon shirt.
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Other than that, I do like physical media too.
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Perhaps break is too strong of a word, but NESs become unplayable for various reasons quite easily. Controllers becoming unresponsive due to dirty connectors, AC adapter cable fraying or general burn out, and the ubiquitous dirty/bent cartridge slot that requires opening up the console and bending the pins back so they're springy again and will make contact. I've had all of these problems at some point.
And your discs are unscratched and un-stolen now, but...
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Well, that already happened with the Oxbox DLC. That probably won't happen with the less shitty Xbox Live, but I wouldn't bet on it. Nintendo being Nintendo, they are probably going to fuck it up big time. No clue about Sony considering the lack of much online last generation. Like Jesus, Steam is always with us. Unlike Jesus, it is also like Santa Clause and provides us with huge discounts.
I think the limited availability of most console games as downloads would have something to do it. To my knowledge very few console games are sold on both discs and as downloads. I would assume (actually hope) that the results would be significantly different if everyone asked were primarily PC gamers.
Also, where can you even buy movies digitally? The few services I've seen you pay for access for 24 hours and seem to have pretty poor picture quality.
That sounds like a threat some mobster would make in order to encourage payment of protection money.
The difference is that the condition of discs can, with care, be maintained. Downloads becomning unavailable will happen no matter what you do.
Once the content has been downloaded, the console can also be maintained in the same way. Unless the distribution model requires constant connecting or time-limited downloads which is stupid.
No, you're reading it wrong. If it were the source, it'd be listed as the source. What they're actually saying is that 'next gen gamers' are the base of their survey, which just means that they ignored the opinion of anyone that didn't have a 'next gen system'. I think they assumed that anyone that didn't own a 'next gen system' (stated in the article as PS3, Wii and 360) wasn't interested in videogames or the delivery method, so would just end up skewing the data.
Apparently, more people at the PA Forums are actually living in bandit-infested, sandstorm-ravaged wastelands.
Anecdotal: I've got plenty of games I bought 5, 10, or even 15 years ago at the beginning of the CD-ROM's adoption for gaming. They still work. Because I put them in their cases/envelopes/whatever. It's pretty simple. Trying to find downloads for patches and fixes, on the other hand, can be near impossible, especially from the original publishes. And these are 50 kb fixes, downloading a 700 mb or 8 gb game presents more challenges.
I know this seems to be hard for people to understand. But shit happens sometimes and excuse me if I don't want to have to pay another 50 or so bucks when shit does happen.
I mean, if you want to go back. I still have games from the PS1 era in perfect condition. Doesn't mean I haven't had discs break or scratch every now and then.
Consoles are much more likely to break down nowadays and are harder to maintain. I still prefer downloads for the PC though but that is because Steam is awesome.
I agree, and don't get me wrong. I love DD. I just think it's a bit ridiculous that, to use a recent example, Just Cause 2 costs just as much through Steam as it does in Best Buy. If nothing else, it should be a bit cheaper because I'm not getting a box, I'm not getting a paper manual, and I'm not getting physical media. Even if the discount is only $5, it should be cheaper because I'm getting less for my money. And like I said before I think the discount should be greater for console games 1) because they're more expensive for no good reason and 2) because I'm losing even more in my purchase since there is a thriving used games market.
Or you know, have small children.
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That's....much more common than you might be led to think. For several weeks, Mass Effect 2 was far cheaper ($15 cheaper, to be precise) on Amazon.com than it was on Steam. The Steam sale brought it to a comparable price, but that only lasted one day (eventually, the Amazon.com price rose a while later, but it's still $13.45 cheaper, new, than off Steam--since Amazon apparently has the Steam price listed on its front page for it). That includes free shipping. It's not alone either.
Currently, barring their individual sales events, which they have a lot of, most DD services seem to be convinced that there's no reason why they should charge you less. You're getting the same game (barring those other things--physical media, manual, box). In fact, they certainly don't mind charging you more, because of their offer to redownload, and "convenience" or any other things they think is worth the price.
It's a strange set of events. I could order ME2, have it next-day shipped to me, and still get it cheaper than Steam. I could get it for free shipping, wait 3 to 5 days, and get it for two thirds the price.
One day you'll figure out that it's because nobody reads and everybody plays games. Some things are just fucking important, man.
I suppose I should factor that in, too, but as somebody who takes care of his discs the "convenience" to redownload instead of throwing a CD in the drive is pretty marginal. I do get the feeling that Valve would set Steam prices lower than other places as a standard but that publishers are only on-board for the ass-kicking sales.
Then again, they set their own prices, and their games (unless you preorder) seem to sit in line with traditional retail prices and that just baffles me. Maybe that is because Valve partner with other publishers for retail though.
It would be nice if we got some vague hint at sales figures, but that'll never happen.
At times I suspect (vaguely) that the price-setters at services like Steam and other DD less and less consider themselves competing with the actual console/PC game market as a whole, but rather, just among themselves. Otherwise, you'd think they would at least try to be a little more competitive. Perhaps they've been increasingly convinced that their main consumers are people who will buy DD anyway, not because of competitive pricing (which it does not have more and more) but out of principle ("transcend petty meatspace"). They might be hoping that even if they're at a $10 or $15 or $20 disadvantage against a major retail seller, that won't be that big of an issue.
You can find people here on the forums who'll quite happily pay a few extra $$ (in this case, $13.45) to buy something digitally than wait for a box. They're not that uncommon (given that we represent a much more game-orientated segment of the population of our countries than the average resident). They have no problem explaining that as the case or giving their reasons for it. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, it just kind of poses an interesting line of thinking for those services.
Or maybe companies like Valve are just totally fucking weird and mysterious in regards to their actual business strategies. Like you'd imagine privately owned companies could be.
EDIT: On another note, I think DD are fairly convinced they're not the universal standard of the future, and I can see why. Stuff like Steam is amazing in its own regard, but it doesn't get over the fact that games are getting bigger and bigger, and ISP providers are not getting faster at the same rate. Plus, not everyone everywhere is online. In the meantime, the huge shipping conglomerates and retail market of the industrialized world will have to suffice. Personally, I'm happy with that arrangement, since I prefer a tangible product anyway but that's just me.
I'm a bit wary since for some reason my Lego Star Wars save data just disappears. Like I had the game at 93% and when I turned on my Wii again the save data was gone. So I started over and that save data was gone the next day. No other games have problems and my Wii isn't full by any means (oh lawd).
either way, I want to play this a ton.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/you-spend-USD1-2bn-annually-on-xbox-live
You can buy movies from iTunes, Zune, Amazon, Playstation Network, and I'm sure there are a few other places that sell them. The problem is they are all DRM-laden and constantly have to have licenses renewed in order to view them and even then only work with certain software/players. I can't play iTunes videos on my Zune or through WMC on my 360 to my TV. Zune and Amazon videos work if the license is current, but the 360 won't go out and renew the license for me if it's expired.
It's quite ridiculous. A friend of mine buys tons of shows and movies on the PSN because he can dump them on his PSP Go (yeah, he bought one despite owning a PSP 3000 and iPod Touch) and watch them wherever. I despise DRM, so if I'm going to buy a TV series or movie I buy the DVD and then I can watch it and convert it to whatever/wherever I want. Stores are going to have to go DRM-free before I start to put any money in digital movies. I did the same with music, bought CDs until I could get DRM free tracks. Though I still buy a lot of CDs cause I can get them cheap on sale.
It's been a while since I've checked, but I think that most of those services aren't available in large parts of the world, including Denmark where I live. I guess there might be some good digital distribution service for movies available in my region, but I don't actually care enough to find out.
That was happening to me with Lego SW. Turns out my son was saving over my save data. As was my wife by accident.
Get Lego HP! Outstanding in every way.
3DS: 1521-4165-5907
PS3: KayleSolo
Live: Kayle Solo
WiiU: KayleSolo
That's like 1.1 billion dollars profit after you remove the cost of developing fake clothes for little avatars.
They keep putting out new clothes but I'm waiting for something really awesome
I want a Plumtree shirt for my Avatar
I'm a cheap bastard sometimes.
It isn't that expensive, overall, but that's up to the individual buyer.
Oh, right, I keep forgetting to check location tags..
As far as avatar clothing/accessories. I haven't bought a single thing. I use all the free stuff I get, like the free Perfect Dark shirt for headshotting a guy, the free grill they gave out a month ago, also the free Chocobo, and the free night-vision goggles and 2010 glasses, etc. I just swap out to whatever freebie item I got last.
I was severely tempted by the lightsabers.. But then I noticed that they cost $5! I'm not spending $5 on a fake lightsaber for my avatar. But yeah, most stuff is like $1. Then a lot of accessories are $3-6.
Isn't 5 dollars kind of a good hourly wage though there? Here I can't justify stuff like that because I have to think I slaved away for an hour for that money I'll be damned if I use it on a polygon shirt.