Digital Distribution

[helpless_writer]

Though the topic itself is more of a grand scale thing dealing with the game industry the thought does come up with all the steam topics.

As we all can put together Steam is being used not only to fight piracy but to save money on creating disc. My question is, do you guys think when it comes to PC and maybe in the future console games, should things will all be distributed that way?

Pros;
1. Less Creative Interference (you Take out the Publisher and its just the developer, Steam or whoever distributes it and you)

Cons;
1. Must have Internet Connection (Though in this day and age sometimes you get just get a wireless card and feed off someone else's)

 

[Chalks]

Online activation is certainly the future of DRM, but I think it will be a long time before a mainstream game is released entirely digitally. Internet access may be fairly ubiquitous among gamers but the ability to download several gigs of information on demand is still a luxury for many.

 

[Osama Bin Davis]

I personally like it, for pc its about the only way I can get the games I actually want. Gamersgate has been the best thing to happen to me in reagrds to pc gaming.

I love it for consoles, but only for smaller games, I would still rather buy the games themselves in a hard copy form.

What I hate is when Digital Downloads are as expensive and sometimes more expensive than the hard copy.

I also hate the outrageous price differences to do with DD and different regions. Civ5 for example is like US$30 more for us in australia than it is in the US. I have no problem with paying the exchange rates and even a little more, much like how gamersgate functions, but the huge differences that are there is just a rip off.

Another thing that annoys me is the regional restrictions on Digital Downloads, which seem to happen heaps on steam (I know this isn't steam's doing), I can understand some games because they are banned in that region, but so many games have no reason not to be released and are only losing sales.

 

[Disgustipated]

yeah it still takes quite a long time to download several gigs. Us people in the U.S. just don't have access to that great of broadband. In theory I'm supposed to get like 200k or something, but in reality I believe it's far less.

hard copy for me, thanks.

 

[deanej]

The regional restrictions are a hallmark of downloading. Music is worse. If a song isn't released in your country, good luck getting it without buying the physical album (possibly paying an arm and a leg for shipping).

 

[Ddude97]

yeah it still takes quite a long time to download several gigs. Us people in the U.S. just don't have access to that great of broadband. In theory I'm supposed to get like 200k or something, but in reality I believe it's far less.

hard copy for me, thanks.

Roughly same here, I'm supposed to be getting higher than I actually am.
Same, I'd rather have a hard copy, but thats just me.

 

[deanej]

It can be especially bad if you're at the end of the line and/or have old infrastructure. Until recently, my internet at home was rated at 1.5M but was actually only double what you would get from dial-up. A combination of a line upgrade and reconfiguration of the internet in my area fixed that.

 

[Osama Bin Davis]

This is why I am looking forward to our national broadband network, 80mbps would be pretty sweet lol Though I can it being finished by the time we are 10 years behind everyone else like usual.

I've never bought music digitally, its a hard copy only stance on my part. The price you pay for digital music is a rip off, you can normally get the physical copy for cheaper and you get to have a nice big collection like I have

 

[Ahriman]

do you guys think when it comes to PC and maybe in the future console games, should things will all be distributed that way?

This question is ambiguous; is this a positive or normative question? Should or will?
Be distributed this way, or be ONLY distributed this way?

I'd say yes to will, yes to should, no to only for the near term.

 

[Suho1004]

I voted for dislike mainly because I guess I'm a little old school--I like the idea of having something physical in hand. Download times aren't really an issue here in Korea, at least in Seoul, so I'm not too worried about that.

I realize that this is a trend that will most likely continue, and as time goes on I will feel more and more like a dinosaur. That's OK, though--that's just the way life is. I will adjust in my own way, until the day I play my final game of Civ and a generation is born that can't fathom how people ever survived without cybernetic implants.

 

[Suho1004]

I voted for dislike mainly because I guess I'm a little old school--I like the idea of having something physical in hand. Download times aren't really an issue here in Korea, at least in Seoul, so I'm not too worried about that.

I realize that this is a trend that will most likely continue, and as time goes on I will feel more and more like a dinosaur. That's OK, though--that's just the way life is. I will adjust in my own way, until the day I play my final game of Civ and a generation is born that can't fathom how people ever survived without cybernetic implants.

[Edit: Unless I misunderstood the question... I took it to mean only distributed digitally.]

 

[tom2050]

I prefer an actual product... for digital download, they should have a large discount on the product (which they may, but I doubt anything more than a few dollars; EDIT: Digital download costs $10 more I believe for hardly anything more). The company saves A Lot of money by not having to create and ship an actual product to a store. Digital download costs them only bandwidth primarily.

Dislike for me.

 

[Schwarzbart]

As long I only need inet and the Software of the shop for downloading and patching, I can make my own backup for the installer (so I dont have again to download when Installing new) and there is no limit how many times I can download it or a timerestriction for the download then its ok for me. But I dont accept to be forced to register a retail Version or even need a Inet Conection to start playing this. And even for the Digital Distribution I dont accept any Inet Connection requirements for starting or even playing Singleplayer games.
So Impulse and GOG are ok so fare I can tell it but no way I buy something from Steam or Retail soft that is linked to Steam.

 

[Thormodr]

Speaking as someone who cares about the environment, I think digital distribution would be much better for the environment than the plastic packaging for the game you buy in a store and materials used to make CDs.

 

[tom2050]

You realize that paper and cardboard is a renewable resource right? It's not like you are buying toxic fuel.

 

[Chalks]

You realize that paper and cardboard is a renewable resource right? It's not like you are buying toxic fuel.

I have yet to encounter a cardboard CD, but I'll keep my eye out.

Also, deforestation is bad.

 

[tom2050]

I have yet to encounter a cardboard CD, but I'll keep my eye out.

Also, deforestation is bad.

Cardboard is often used in a game package to enclose the manuals and the DVD. CD's are not used for games very often anymore either. I'm referring to actual PC boxed packages, not the dollar bin of old PS2 games.

You are in your imaginary world, if you think CD's are cardboard. Deforestation of every tree on Earth is bad, cutting down trees has occurred throughout history because they grow back.

Your post gets an F for a grade... as do the majority of every post you leave. Please give more effort in the future for the sake of the rest of us.

 

[Chalks]

You are in your imaginary world, if you think CD's are cardboard.

This has made my day. Your insight is legendary.

Let me know when you work out what just happened.

 

[tom2050]

This has made my day. Your insight is legendary.

Let me know when you work out what just happened.

The only person lost here is yourself. Same thing as you think DRM is used to only combat piracy. Trying to dig yourself out of a no-brainer post you made... it's too late for that.

 

[Chalks]

The only person lost here is yourself. Same thing as you think DRM is used to only combat piracy. Trying to dig yourself out of a no-brainer post you made... it's too late for that.

Look, I'll help you out:

There might have been some sarcasm involved in the cardboard CDs comment.

If I had time, I probably would have let it go on for longer because watching super dooper on the ball people such as yourself throw themselves at awesome education drives is always fun. Unfortunately I do not.

Next time dude, I'll really run with it and see how long it takes you to notice.