Jimquisition: Welcoming A Digital Future

[Domehammer]

50/50 physical and digital distribution is best. Steam has completely ruined digital distribution for me with his super heavy handed drm. If I could download games with zero drm, make backups and not require a 3rd party program like steam then I would buy digital games more. I regret what games I didn't buy physical copies for on steam currently and plan to only buy physical unless game has zero drm or requires no other program to work.

 

[MB202]

So... What happened with Double Fine?

 

[TheRussian]

Can someone tell me what game that is at 2:09?
It looks fairly interesting.

 

[beetrain]

So... What happened with Double Fine?

They don't get the money until the time limit runs out. It's still going up, albeit much more gradually. They'll reach $2m easy. You can keep track of it here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure?ref=spotlight

 

[beetrain]

Can someone tell me what game that is at 2:09?
It looks fairly interesting.

E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy? or the one after it, some Twisted Metal game?

 

[MB202]

So... What happened with Double Fine?

They don't get the money until the time limit runs out. It's still going up, albeit much more gradually. They'll reach $2m easy. You can keep track of it here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure?ref=spotlight

Ah, alright, thanks!

 

[TheRussian]

E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy? or the one after it, some Twisted Metal game?

Yea, that's E.Y.E. and it's got a shitty rating on Steam. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Oh and what you said about adventure games. If someone needs to make a remake of Quest for Glory/Hero's Quest. Modernize it to take out the grind and the interface clunkiness and you have a guaranteed winner.

 

[The White Hunter]

Issue: What about console sources? If the major hardware companies go digital only we will pretty much have prices dictated to you. Frankly, who the fuck wants to pay £55 for Bodycount because the publisher said so and SCEE don't give a fuck about us?

EDIT: Before I'm told to get a PC instead, I simply can't afford to get my PC up to snuff and won't be able to for a good 3 or 4 years. So yeah.

I see so many people say this "It's too expensive" yet they go pay £40-60 on some console game every month or so. Where as on PC, I scoff at the idea of paying £20 for a game, let alone £40. Seriously, in the long run you save so much, and you will get more out of your games because the communities tend to last longer on PC.

OT: Yea, I've been saying this for years, soon as I discovered steam, digital distribution is the only way forward. Sure people will whine about wanting hard copies to collect, but last time I checked you can still buy hard copy CDs for albums, even though they're also on iTunes.

I see what you're saying but I don't buy a £40 game every month. I can't afford to do that either, I'm living off the bare minimum student loan for the next 3 years so yeah I seriously can't afford it. Know how many games I've bought since september? 1. MGS HD collection for £20 thanks to vouchers for Xmas.

When I stop being a poor student then maybe I can afford to upgrade my shit. When I say I can't afford any upgrade I mean it.

 

[theultimateend]

Dungeon Keeper's developer is not the only developer EA has ruined or is ruining at this moment.

Each time I try to feel passive about EA I'm reminded of just how many companies I've loved that they've crushed.

:/.

Maxis and Westwood alone are enough for me to never forgive them, but the list grows relentlessly.

My Steam library dwarfs my physical collection and cost me significantly less per game.

For me, the digital age is already here and it is good.

Yeah, I've got to say I too have jumped of the physical bandwagon. I love the digital era.

Same here, plus digital distribution has been the only way to get some of my favorite games of recent.

+1

221 games in my Steam Library and still growing and I'm not even counting my GOG library. With that same money I've spent on digital purchases, in less than 3 years mind you, I'd probably buy a console and have less than 20 full priced games.

I own more games digitally than I do physically.

I >love< physical more, but digital is so much more cost friendly.

I've spent maybe .25% of the "value" of my steam catalogue. Valve found the real price point for games.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Anyone else starting to worry that, if thing go 100% digital, publishers are going to start blaming indie games/gamers for loss of sales rather than game stores? I wouldn't put such a leap in logic past some of them...

Why not? All they're doing now is blaming the gamers who don't have as much of a variety to shop from anymore since certain retailers have near monopolies.
And that's what makes me back away from the digi-dist future: sure we see some good prices on things like Steam and Onlive right now. But when they become the only game in town, I have a feeling we'll be seeing much fewer great deals.
Also, it sounds like digi-dist will be great for independent devs with projects that aren't terribly ambitious, it will kill the big budget AAA part of the industry. Not that it would be a terrible thing to happen at this point. Over the past few years they seem to be selling less & less (quality) content while asking for more and more money. Fuck 'em.

 

[DonTsetsi]

We are approaching the end of increasing computer power now and will probably max it inside the decade.

An example of a technology dead end you say? in atmosphere manned flight speed.

1903 wright brothers first powered manned flight speed 6.82mph

1967 North American X-15 4,519mph

64 years difference between the two and yet 45 years later NO progress.

You are wrong. Several months ago scientists found out a way to store so much data without increasing our storage devices in size that it was unthinkable of. Hundreds of terrabyte. The same goes for processing power and everything, we are not even close to what can be reached in computing technology.

What does computing power have to do with it? Internet availability and speed is what's important. I doubt that small villages and remote farms will have high-speed internet in 50 years.
P.S. Actually, it has something to do with it, the more powerful PCs get, the faster the connection would need to be.

 

[Krion_Vark]

Sorry, Jim, but it isn't quite that simple. A fully digital future is a dire one indeed, because I doubt that even in fifty years, the entire world will have access to an internet that allows them to download gigabytes upon gigabytes. Or to hardware that will store that amount. Cloud gaming? Again, requires a good internet and constant internet connection. As it stands, gaming will have to go the way of music where the market is half hard copy and half digital. That is a good future.

If you don't think that we will have that kind of computer science in 50 years you obviously have no idea how much advancement we have made in the last 50.

as an example this is what we had 50 years ago

Spoiler

you want to know what can out compute that?

Spoiler

We have come a long way, in 50 years we would likely not even recognize what the fuck was going on if we were able to look at it today.

Maybe reread that bolded part there of what was said? Yeah I really don't see it likely to happen in the NEAR future 50 years isn't really the near future now is it.

 

[Kapol]

I like phyisical copies of games because I know I own them. If something happens and I do, say, get banned from Xbox live, I can sell my copy of the game to another. That brings up my biggest fear with the digital age... it's giving publishers an incredibly amount of control over the consumer. In ways they really shouldn't be able to if you ask me.

The best example of this is something even the beloved Valve does. Taking away your ability to play all of your games for doing something that breaks the ToS. Or for some services *cough*Origin*cough* it's more like whenever the company feels like it. Now you can say that most companies would use it sparringly, but there is always margin for error. And the fact they have the power both legally and technically to just take away things that you legally purchased without any compensation seems wrong to me. And that's just one example of the kind of power companies will have with digital distribution.

 

[Something Amyss]

If only we had a big digital distro network that was comparable to iTunes. Oh wait, we do. It's called Steam. And it hasn't changed pricing structures. It hasn't changed anything. Standard prices on Steam rival brick and mortar stores, the only breaks coming from Steam are sales. And that. Doesn't. Count.

This is a load of crap.

 

[Something Amyss]

What does computing power have to do with it? Internet availability and speed is what's important. I doubt that small villages and remote farms will have high-speed internet in 50 years.
P.S. Actually, it has something to do with it, the more powerful PCs get, the faster the connection would need to be.

The guy I quoted brought it up.

And sorry, 15y ago internet speed was a joke compared to today, you think it won't change in the next years? Outside of the US are several countries with good internet avaibility and speed. Here where I live broadband is standard (yes, in villages outside in nowhere people have broadband), more often than not people have access to fiber optic cable connection (don't know what it's called in english).

Just because the US is really behind on this one doesn't mean it's never going to change.

The United States is full of companies so profit driven they will cap usage and ban people for too much internet rather than improve infrastructure. Comcast, one of the largest ISPs in the nation, has not laid new line in over a decade. In some regions, it's actually been fifteen years or more since there was any infrastructure increase.

Now, I cannot prove a negative. There's a chance that things will change in the future, but there's also a chance that if I think positive thoughts, I will become a millionaire. You're talking about things changing away their normal progression in this country, not toward it and that shifts out of your favour.

And since the US is one of the largest gaming markets, this will impact distribution. Especially with how bitchy corporations get about dealing with rights overseas. The rest of the industrial world tends to be less in the pocket of media owners.

 

[Ickorus]

E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy? or the one after it, some Twisted Metal game?

Yea, that's E.Y.E. and it's got a shitty rating on Steam. Thanks for the heads up though.

Too bad really because the game has a cool concept, just not very well executed.

 

[Irridium]

E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy? or the one after it, some Twisted Metal game?

Yea, that's E.Y.E. and it's got a shitty rating on Steam. Thanks for the heads up though.

Too bad really because the game has a cool concept, just not very well executed.

I felt it did rather well, considering how batshit insane it is.