Saturday, March 31, 2007
Digital Distribution: Who Gets My Money?
In their own inimitable style, Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade have weighed in on the "used game" issue, but more specifically discuss digital distribution.
To them, it's a done deal. "Tycho" posts, "Going completely digital is a growing option for PC centered titles and its native developers - for example, I'm typing this post while Command & Conquer 3 drips down to me via EA's digital solution. I've also been a huge proponent of Steam. But even in the next round of consoles, you'll see those massive hard discs put to work storing full products. Marketplace, EDI, and the Shopping Channel are the first chapter of a story that ends poorly for Gamestop."
And as usual, their cartoon is funny and poignant. Although I have noted that GameStop has already jumped on the digitial distribution bandwagon.
But when you are planning on getting your next new game online, are you going to go to GameStop.com? Or will you go to the developer's / publisher's website? What does GameStop offer you, the customer, that warrents a portion of your cash when you are shopping online for digital downloads to your system? Is there any added value there?
Information about the game - faster downloads - free extras - community support - those would all be added values that would be worth it for me. Otherwise, I'd just as soon go directly through the publisher's or developer's site... or maybe an affiliate link through an online games site that has reviewed the game and helped me with my purchase decision.
To survive in the age of digital distribution, the brick-and-mortar media guys have to reinvent themselves. Their old service - slapping information into distributable package, and providing a moderately convenient place for consumers to get access to it - is losing its value. Its based on a foundation of technological limitation that is gradually fading away.
They've got a limited period of time to pull off the reinvention, or they will go the way of Tower Records (and I actually shopped at that very Rockville shop mentioned in Tycho's post). It'll be interesting to see what happens.
(Vaguely) related grumbles:
* Will 2007 Be the Year of the Downloadable Game?
* I Will Not Mourn Their Passing
* Indie Evolution or Revolution?
.
Labels: Biz, Mainstream Games
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 9:54 AM (Permalink)
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I suppose easy of use or something similar will appeal to me. I use Steam for my digital needs mostly and it does me fine. Another developing adding their game onto Steam has more of a chance of me buying it than them adding it into their own library. Why? First Steam might well inform me of the availability or I'll just stumble across it when browsing. If the developer had their own "Run On Windows Startup" program to manage games I'd probably not want another one.
However I still hope the developer gets a good deal out of this. Like Penny Arcade said I am keen to see the people who made the product be rewarded for it. I don't like the idea of the middleman cutting the designers out of the loop (indeed I've only bought one second hand game and that was because I couldn't find it new).
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However I still hope the developer gets a good deal out of this. Like Penny Arcade said I am keen to see the people who made the product be rewarded for it. I don't like the idea of the middleman cutting the designers out of the loop (indeed I've only bought one second hand game and that was because I couldn't find it new).
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