Poll: Downloadable Content Delivery vs. Physical Boxed Media

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I hate DLC. I've even recently gone back online specifically to get the DLC for L4D and ME, and I still hate it. I would much rather pay a little extra and get all of this content on one disk, thank you. Some of the ME DLC, if you put it all on one disk, would probably constitute a whole new game, and the same with Fallout 3.

It just annoys me. Especially when sometimes the DLC just unlocks content that was already on the goddamn disk, because it feels like they are charging me forty pounds for a full game, then an extra twenty pounds to actually play the entire game.

You wanna be up front about it? Fine, I'll pay sixty quid for the entire fucking thing, but don't make me buy all the extra shit to get online, then spend more money on Points than I need just to get one piece of DLC I might like.

 

[veloper]

As does piracy. It let's people play those games if they can't buy new (because it's either out of print or too expensive).
So someone pirates Oblivion, starts to like Beth somehow and then maybe decides to buy FO3.

Are you truly prepared to say that theft is the same as not buying new? Are you going to take that further and claim that I am guilty of grand theft auto for buying a used Jeep?

Think about the implications? Is rental also piracy? Those of us who use Netflix are all nasty pirates too? Why aren't we all in jail?

Don't worry you're perfectly legit and won't go to jail.
Then again, copying a Jeep is rather impractical and expensive, so go ahead and buy used cars.

What you may want to consider however is how well your money is actually spent on used media that you could simply copy for free instead.
You're not doing yourself a favor and neither are you doing anything to support the people who made the game for you.

 

[veloper]

As does piracy. It let's people play those games if they can't buy new (because it's either out of print or too expensive).
So someone pirates Oblivion, starts to like Beth somehow and then maybe decides to buy FO3.

Are you truly prepared to say that theft is the same as not buying new? Are you going to take that further and claim that I am guilty of grand theft auto for buying a used Jeep?

Think about the implications? Is rental also piracy? Those of us who use Netflix are all nasty pirates too? Why aren't we all in jail?

Don't worry you're perfectly legit and won't go to jail.
Then again, copying a Jeep is rather impractical and expensive, so go ahead and buy used cars.

What you may want to consider however is how well your money is actually spent on used media that you could simply copy for free instead.
You're not doing yourself a favor and neither are you doing anything to support the people who made the game for you.

So you suggest that I pirate the game instead of buying it used?

You see, this is where this lunacy leads. It only makes piracy more attractive.

It's already free stuff. How much more attractive can piracy possibly get?

A combination of piracy and first sales is simply better for the publisher, the studio and you, the gamer, than people selling and buying everything used in a shop.

Ofcourse we're not supposed to condone piracy on these boards, but the bottom of the pit is where shops selling used games is at. While it's legit, it's also stupid.
Trade with other gamers directly instead and skip the middleman, if you want to both stay legit and save money.

 

[coolguy5678]

I prefer boxed, mostly because, in a country were uncapped internet is the exception rather than the norm, digital distribution isn't actually cheaper (occasionally the download actually costs more than buying the game), unless you get a Steam backup in person from someone who already owns the game, but that's hardly more convenient.

 

[Delusibeta]

You are not taking "shelf space" into account here. Do you know why retailers clearance out items? It's because they need shelf space and in a 100% DD environment shelf space is no issue. HDD space is no issue today and it won't be in the future either. With DD there is no physical product to stock and maintain. There will be lots of savings in the area of distribution but it likely will not be passed on to you. You do realize that if retailers could get away with never dropping prices, they would. They have to deal with space though so that is why they drop prices.

EA already has their store and Blizzard has theirs. Blizzard doesn't sell on Steam do they? EA does but they won't forever. They are likely using Steam to learn how to build their own DD service and when they get it right, they will likely stop selling on Steam. I can't speak for D2D but from what I hear, it sucks.

It's pretty silly to even expect that Steam could chase out a Microsoft funded service. Hell, last gen Sony couldn't chase Microsoft out of the console market either.

Your argument is essentially schematics and an irrational fear that individual publishers will colonise their own catalogues. There's also one, major flaw with your argument: keys. Publishers has to generate keys, and good publishers keep track of said keys. If they run out, then the publisher has to run out and generate more. Of course, if this is difficult, it could wind up having the same effect as removing it from sale (see: Prey's appearance in the last Steam Christmas Sale, and subsequent disappearance from the Steam store).

Of course, I should point out that Green Man Gaming is doing exactly what you want: promoting a set of games in a sale, and threatening to remove said games from stock.

I've heard that the inverse to what you're predicting is true with EA: that they're planning to switch to Steamworks in the next couple of years, with it rendering the EA store somewhat academic. Say what you want about Direct-2-drive, by all accounts it's the number 2 Digital Distribution service.

If you don't like my Games for Windows Live example (although I thought it was a good one, considering the hounding it gets from most people who use it compared to Steam), then explain why Impulse (Stardock)and Gamersgate (formally of Paradox, now it's own company) hasn't been chanced out yet? As I said before, it's all about profit, and the continued existence therof.

 

[philjo]

Mixed.
I speak for myself when I say I have my worries about DD. I also have worries about boxed games too. I'll briefly try and weigh up the pros and cons of each here (on a purely selfish basis):

DD PROS:
Fastest way to get a game, in my case (50mb connection)
Automatic game patching and fixing.
A bunch of games at my fingertips (no fooling around with discs and boxes (I'm so lazy)).
Some stupidly cheap deals that are always a pleasant surprise.
If you have internet, you have your copy of the game a few clicks away.
Option to backup the DD content to any media I choose.
Never asked to put a CD in my drive.

DD CONS:
No tactile or materialistic satisfaction (not holding a shiny box in hand and drooling)
Sometimes those auto updates break my game, happened on many occasions.
Strange feeling that you could one day lose everything you bought.
DLC is really annoying most of the time unless it's free.
Weird feeling that devs could at any moment be nerfing your game with an update behind your back.

BOX PROS:
A nice shiny possession to slaver over ' (massive advantage imo)
The social element of lending your game to a friend.
You get to choose which version is installed on your system.

BOX CONS:
Expansion packs are even more annoying than DLC. So many discs for one game D:
Physical damage, wear and tear will inevitably result in you losing your copy of the game, having to rip it to other media and then struggling with no cd cracks etc.
Finding updates for boxed games is generally more fiddly a process.
PLEASE PUT THE CD/DVD IN THE DRIVE. F*** OFF!!!!!

I'm sure there are more points but I can't think at the moment. Will edit post if there's something important I missed.

 

[Sacman]

I like to have boxed content for the novelty of actually owning it but Steam and GOG are just so cheap and efficient...

 

[Dys]

Depends, I will only use steam when absolutely necessary (it's a horrible system, what with the broken update system and regular connection issues...I hate it, not to mention the obscene price of their games, if you're going to inflate the price of Australians, at least fucking convert the price to our currency...assholes)...I do like impulse, however it's still usually cheaper to buy physical copies either through playasia or one of the specialty stores in Melbourne's CBD.

Don't worry you're perfectly legit and won't go to jail.
Then again, copying a Jeep is rather impractical and expensive, so go ahead and buy used cars.

Also because copying a jeep would be illegal. Cars are not games, the auto industry rely on the second hand sale of their cars, as it increases the life of the vehicle and they make most of their money from servicing, supplying parts etc. If you were to manufacture the car yourself, they would get nothing from it (and you presumably would have the know how and opportunity to supply your own parts) and you would get prosecuted, it does happen.

 

[Kouen]

As does piracy. It let's people play those games if they can't buy new (because it's either out of print or too expensive).
So someone pirates Oblivion, starts to like Beth somehow and then maybe decides to buy FO3.

Are you truly prepared to say that theft is the same as not buying new? Are you going to take that further and claim that I am guilty of grand theft auto for buying a used Jeep?

Think about the implications? Is rental also piracy? Those of us who use Netflix are all nasty pirates too? Why aren't we all in jail?

Don't worry you're perfectly legit and won't go to jail.
Then again, copying a Jeep is rather impractical and expensive, so go ahead and buy used cars.

What you may want to consider however is how well your money is actually spent on used media that you could simply copy for free instead.
You're not doing yourself a favor and neither are you doing anything to support the people who made the game for you.

How did we Get to Piracy? lol.

 

[veloper]

As does piracy. It let's people play those games if they can't buy new (because it's either out of print or too expensive).
So someone pirates Oblivion, starts to like Beth somehow and then maybe decides to buy FO3.

Are you truly prepared to say that theft is the same as not buying new? Are you going to take that further and claim that I am guilty of grand theft auto for buying a used Jeep?

Think about the implications? Is rental also piracy? Those of us who use Netflix are all nasty pirates too? Why aren't we all in jail?

Don't worry you're perfectly legit and won't go to jail.
Then again, copying a Jeep is rather impractical and expensive, so go ahead and buy used cars.

What you may want to consider however is how well your money is actually spent on used media that you could simply copy for free instead.
You're not doing yourself a favor and neither are you doing anything to support the people who made the game for you.

How did we Get to Piracy? lol.

It started with someone suggesting the used sales market as an advantage of having boxed copies over digital download. Some others, myself included, don't consider this a pro.

I do recognize the tendency in retail to clear stock by lowering the price as a plus for gamers though.

 

[Kouen]

Super Snip

oh aye, i float to which ever is cheaper personally, but am weary of used pc games becuase of cdkey issues

 

[Gindil]

Personally, I prefer the download option only. I don't have all the space for physical copies. So with Steam I can always download a game when I feel like playing it.

 

[Kouen]

Personally, I prefer the download option only. I don't have all the space for physical copies. So with Steam I can always upload a game when I feel like playing it.

Ya mean download right? ^^,

 

[Gindil]

Personally, I prefer the download option only. I don't have all the space for physical copies. So with Steam I can always upload a game when I feel like playing it.

Ya mean download right? ^^,

*whistles innocently*

My good sir, I have no idea what you mean. Surely you changed my words to fit an alternate avatar I presume?

 

[Necromancer1991]

Hard copies because downloading takes too damn long!

 

[Cheesus333]

I don't do Xbox 'Games on Demand' etc., cause I like the physical evidence of owning the game and the satisfaction of unwrapping it for the first time. Downloading a game is a hollow experience for me.

 

[TelHybrid]

In terms of downloadable games, I generally stick to physical forms of media. I like box art, I can hunt around for the best price from retailers/online stores, and I don't have the problem of not being able to play the game if the company distributing the game goes under (e.g. the multiple live arcade games like Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 that were taken down).

I do still however indulge in the downloadable format, as steam seem to get the right idea these days, and some games are only downloadable (as they're small games and it would cost more than they're worth to distribute them on physical media).

I generally find too many flaws with the idea of large scale new games being only downloadable, such as the aforementioned problem of companies going bust or stopping distribution, meaning it can't be redownloaded if there was ever a problem. It also means you're restricted to the power of the 'almighty cloud'.

 

[Retardinator]

I bought all my games played through Steam via retail. (aside from Gmod, obviously) I find it really neat to have a hard copy sitting on a shelf. And given the speed of the internet connection you get here it would take days to recover in case of an HDD format, so it also has it's practical side.

For example: The Sacrifice DLC for Left 4 Dead 2 along with the SDK update has been downloading on and off for 2 weeks now and it's still got a little way to go.