CDs is another thing all together, the ACCs and MP3s you get from DD are pretty compressed compared to the real deal and with a good sound system you can easily hear the difference.Zac Smith said:
Poll: Would you embrace a shift to purely digital distribution of games?
- Thread starter rob_simple
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You realize you could just buy your games from a digital distribution site that does not force you to run a client and then its the same as playing a normal copy but with no disk.believer258 said:
I buy all my games on gamersgate and gog so I'm fine with it. I don't think it should or even would be 100% because some people will always buy from brick and mortar stores.
I would support such a shift. There's always other way to keep collectibles of a product with things such as figurines and plushies and things like that.
I want Digital Distribution to become the norm and the dominant system of distribution. For starters, because with digital distribution, I can always have it. If I have to have traditional media it's a hassle to keep up with. Attempting to keep up with it, find room in a house, worry about it being stolen since you live on the bad side of town.
If you all are as adamant about anti-piracy as you claim, a lot of you are probably living on the not so great side of town because again, you're buying games when you don't have the money instead of pirating. So again, funds are probably tight and you don't live in a nice neighborhood, unless you're lucky and you have a really nice paying job(which kind of would also explain an anti-piracy stance). If you pay for all your games and thus live on the bad side of town however, you have to deal with the worry of theft. With Digital Distribution, you can at least be assured that you will still own your games and they will not swiftly be pawned and you'll never see them again.
Again, that's the advantage of such a thing. You really can own your stuff safely and it's the the hands of someone who's job is security over the item. Gamers make over half of the United States population, and a lot of those people are poor and jobless and honestly sometimes buy video games instead of enough food. At least for people like that, Digital Distribution pretty well provided a permanently safe version of the game that will not be stolen.
Plus traditional media is just outdated in general. A "physical copy" of something is nothing more than an unnecessary baggage as I've given reasons before. And traditional media leads to those used games that developers oh so hate. The answer is to port pretty much every software companies' library to some digital distribution group. And y'all may not like it, but I doubt y'all with have a choice, as a result of such a thing, the traditional media market will shrivel up. Steam already dominates the PC market. And console markets are already making a lot of headway in the distribution format. It is only so long before traditional media is just wiped out. And will be very limited in copies created and sold.
I want Digital Distribution to become the norm and the dominant system of distribution. For starters, because with digital distribution, I can always have it. If I have to have traditional media it's a hassle to keep up with. Attempting to keep up with it, find room in a house, worry about it being stolen since you live on the bad side of town.
If you all are as adamant about anti-piracy as you claim, a lot of you are probably living on the not so great side of town because again, you're buying games when you don't have the money instead of pirating. So again, funds are probably tight and you don't live in a nice neighborhood, unless you're lucky and you have a really nice paying job(which kind of would also explain an anti-piracy stance). If you pay for all your games and thus live on the bad side of town however, you have to deal with the worry of theft. With Digital Distribution, you can at least be assured that you will still own your games and they will not swiftly be pawned and you'll never see them again.
Again, that's the advantage of such a thing. You really can own your stuff safely and it's the the hands of someone who's job is security over the item. Gamers make over half of the United States population, and a lot of those people are poor and jobless and honestly sometimes buy video games instead of enough food. At least for people like that, Digital Distribution pretty well provided a permanently safe version of the game that will not be stolen.
Plus traditional media is just outdated in general. A "physical copy" of something is nothing more than an unnecessary baggage as I've given reasons before. And traditional media leads to those used games that developers oh so hate. The answer is to port pretty much every software companies' library to some digital distribution group. And y'all may not like it, but I doubt y'all with have a choice, as a result of such a thing, the traditional media market will shrivel up. Steam already dominates the PC market. And console markets are already making a lot of headway in the distribution format. It is only so long before traditional media is just wiped out. And will be very limited in copies created and sold.
With a few changes sure. I'd love for some DD websites to allow you to sell your games back, or Trade them with friends, after already playing them. There is one that actually allows you to trade them, I don't know the name I heard it in one of TB's videos.
Being able to play a game without having to have an internet connect as well as being able to skip the launcher loading just to play the game.
I could really give a shit about a physical copy of the game. What do I care if I don't have a disk to tote around? I rarely read the manuals or case, usually only if the load times are long.
Another big thing, a way to keep my games should something befall myself or the company. If the company goes under, I want to be able to play my games still. Same thing if I get banned from the forums, I should be able to still play other titles.
More Cloud style like OnLive would be neat too, take some of the "Can my comp handle this beast?" out of the question. Or just more Demos.
Being able to play a game without having to have an internet connect as well as being able to skip the launcher loading just to play the game.
I could really give a shit about a physical copy of the game. What do I care if I don't have a disk to tote around? I rarely read the manuals or case, usually only if the load times are long.
Another big thing, a way to keep my games should something befall myself or the company. If the company goes under, I want to be able to play my games still. Same thing if I get banned from the forums, I should be able to still play other titles.
More Cloud style like OnLive would be neat too, take some of the "Can my comp handle this beast?" out of the question. Or just more Demos.
Under two conditions:
1. I am not required to be online to start and play them.
2. I am allowed to burn a copy to a disk that will work even if my Digital Distribution Platform privileges are revoked.
Basically, if the platforms were GOG.com.
1. I am not required to be online to start and play them.
2. I am allowed to burn a copy to a disk that will work even if my Digital Distribution Platform privileges are revoked.
Basically, if the platforms were GOG.com.
I'm actually find with Digitally downloaded games. I'm going to college next year, so it will be a pain trying to bring so many games with me. Plus the deals are preety sweet and the games will always be there ( Unless you get your account banned, and what are the chances of that happening?)
I can see why you would want a physical media, but its not like you really touch the disc all that much and it can be a pain in the ass to search for games once you get over 100 titles.
I can see why you would want a physical media, but its not like you really touch the disc all that much and it can be a pain in the ass to search for games once you get over 100 titles.
Yes, when I get a new Internet connection, which should be next week. I do like owning the physical copy of a game sometimes though.
As a gamer who lives outside the Northern Hemisphere, I embrace the DD system wholeheartedly. With it, I can buy games whenever I want, and I don't have to wait for local stores to stock up and charge abusive prices (would you buy a game for more than 100 dollars? That's commonplace where I live).
But, like others, I would like a real offline mode whenever I play. That's why I love GoG.com: games that have 0 DRM and are priced fairly. Although I must admit that I go overboard during Steam sales.
So, if you live outside the major tech centers, DD is a blessing, no other way to look at it. However, if you live in one of said centers, DD has some drawbacks from physical copies.
But, like others, I would like a real offline mode whenever I play. That's why I love GoG.com: games that have 0 DRM and are priced fairly. Although I must admit that I go overboard during Steam sales.
So, if you live outside the major tech centers, DD is a blessing, no other way to look at it. However, if you live in one of said centers, DD has some drawbacks from physical copies.
Pretty much already do with Steam. Only times I buy retail is when a game is cheaper to buy at a store. Recent examples include BF3 and Skyrim.
500GB is pretty average by today's standards. With the way some games are going in terms of install size, such as Rage at 20GB, Consoles are going to have to start using at least 1TB of storage if they ever want to go pure digital distribution.newdarkcloud said:
I would love this idea if they provided little cards (like credit cards) with some artwork and the code - I'm a game hoarder and wouldn't like to not have any pretty boxes t display 
No.
- Most of the US doesn't have the luxury of superfast broadband, me included.
- DD is prone to price fixing. (see XBL non-sale prices compared to physical copies (the physical copies get cheaper over time while the XBL prices hardly ever drop)) Valve's been nice with their pricing, but you can bet that everyone else will abuse that shit like crazy (especially EA, Activision, Sony and Microsoft).
- I can't help but see "Always Online" DRM become a requirement if DD became commonplace. Which I hate.
- Most of the US doesn't have the luxury of superfast broadband, me included.
- DD is prone to price fixing. (see XBL non-sale prices compared to physical copies (the physical copies get cheaper over time while the XBL prices hardly ever drop)) Valve's been nice with their pricing, but you can bet that everyone else will abuse that shit like crazy (especially EA, Activision, Sony and Microsoft).
- I can't help but see "Always Online" DRM become a requirement if DD became commonplace. Which I hate.
I think full digital distrubution is a bad idea. Think about how many companies we saw close down in the last couple of years. If this were to happen to a digital distrubution company you could loose hundreds or even thousands of dollars of merchandise because their service closed down.
I already dont like STEAM and origin because of their policy's on keeping games. When they're able to take them away I have a huge problem with that. 10 or 20 years from now I may want to play Total war Shogun 2 and if these services arent around or I dont have access to my game for some reason Ive lost out on a product I bought.
Yet another problem is the system in place to make purchases. Not only have we seen networks hacked and credit cards stolen like on PS3 but not everyone has a credit or debit card. Ive got a family friend who just turned 16 last week and I gave him $100 for his birthday because I didnt really know what to give him. However he lacks a way to purchase things online at the moment and can only pay cash for things like physical copies of games. On that note, he bought Dark souls (probably because I keep talking about how good it is lately)
I think digital distribution should be a choice. If people want to use it and accept the risks that come with it Im totally fine with that. However I want my physical copies, I do not think and will never think that digital distribution belongs as the only means to sell games.
I already dont like STEAM and origin because of their policy's on keeping games. When they're able to take them away I have a huge problem with that. 10 or 20 years from now I may want to play Total war Shogun 2 and if these services arent around or I dont have access to my game for some reason Ive lost out on a product I bought.
Yet another problem is the system in place to make purchases. Not only have we seen networks hacked and credit cards stolen like on PS3 but not everyone has a credit or debit card. Ive got a family friend who just turned 16 last week and I gave him $100 for his birthday because I didnt really know what to give him. However he lacks a way to purchase things online at the moment and can only pay cash for things like physical copies of games. On that note, he bought Dark souls (probably because I keep talking about how good it is lately)
I think digital distribution should be a choice. If people want to use it and accept the risks that come with it Im totally fine with that. However I want my physical copies, I do not think and will never think that digital distribution belongs as the only means to sell games.
Absolutely not. Digital distribution is already causing too many problems with gaming as it is. Rewarding developers for doing absolutely nothing and giving them consent to continue releasing unfinished and buggy games with the intention to "complete it via dlc" or "fix it later when we get around to with a patch" is bad enough.
To take it a step further and give them permission to change the model of games to a subscription instead of a product is begging for people to have a company take their money and give nothing for it in return. If there is no other alternative than that format your giving them permission to seek a new way to screw you over because you willingly accepted being screwed over before. It is insanely irresponsible on the part of the gamer/consumer to reward companies that are using their rewards to bite the hand that feeds them.
I can accept digital distribution can have its place, but not as the exclusive means of distribution.
Also, as for the original post, I would have to dispute the "pros" set forth.
-I doubt it's possible (or that they'd allow it) but it'd be nice if there was some way I could put the old game discs in and unlock them in the virtual library, sort of like burning a CD.[/quote]
But that would defeat one of the companies points of rereleasing them into digital format. Making you pay for the same thing a second time. And technically what your proposing is no different to the company than piracy. Because they have no way of validating how you obtained that physical copy. You could have bought it at a pawn shop, you could have borrowed it from a friend and made a copy, you could have stolen it. I know you stated that its not realistic, but even if it were, they wont because there is no profit to be had to give you credit for a digital copy just because you may or may not have bought the physical version.
Not trying to single you out. However many of the pros your expressing about digital distribution are some of the same that are always expressed about digital distribution. They simply are not true and the publishers are banking on the ignorance of the average customer trying to push to make digital distribution the ONLY means of distribution.
Like any good drug dealer will tell you, if you control the means your product is distributed, then you control everything about that product. You get to skirt the law, You generate inflated demand, you set your own gouging prices, and you dont have to share profits with middlemen who bear all the risk. The only thing that could possibly be better than that is to get the public behind you for doing so.
To take it a step further and give them permission to change the model of games to a subscription instead of a product is begging for people to have a company take their money and give nothing for it in return. If there is no other alternative than that format your giving them permission to seek a new way to screw you over because you willingly accepted being screwed over before. It is insanely irresponsible on the part of the gamer/consumer to reward companies that are using their rewards to bite the hand that feeds them.
I can accept digital distribution can have its place, but not as the exclusive means of distribution.
Also, as for the original post, I would have to dispute the "pros" set forth.
Just off the top of my head:rob_simple said:
Problem with this is that its not accurate. Developers are never going to lower their bottom line. The public has now accepted 60$ is a tolerable weight to the consumer. If it costs less for the publisher to make the product.. that extra savings is NOT going to be passed on to the customer. In actuality what this does is causes the prices to take a longer time to decrease, as it eliminates the used market so there is no lower price option for a new copy to compete with.
Yet this is not entirely accurate. If this were the case you would not see steam download speeds moving from the 5mb per sec range to averaging at about 1mb per sec on Steam as more people adopt the use of the service. If anyone has worked out the kinks of the technical end of digital distribution it is surely steam. The infrastructure does not yet exist to make this viable as an exclusive distribution platform and bear the weight of that massive jump from 1/5th of the industry to the entirety of it. Perhaps when fiber optic or some other means of bandwidth becomes viable
But there are more reasons than just physical distribution that keep Japan from releasing their titles over here. Just for example, how easy is it to get the original Kings field that was not released in the US over PSN?
-I doubt it's possible (or that they'd allow it) but it'd be nice if there was some way I could put the old game discs in and unlock them in the virtual library, sort of like burning a CD.[/quote]
But that would defeat one of the companies points of rereleasing them into digital format. Making you pay for the same thing a second time. And technically what your proposing is no different to the company than piracy. Because they have no way of validating how you obtained that physical copy. You could have bought it at a pawn shop, you could have borrowed it from a friend and made a copy, you could have stolen it. I know you stated that its not realistic, but even if it were, they wont because there is no profit to be had to give you credit for a digital copy just because you may or may not have bought the physical version.
Not trying to single you out. However many of the pros your expressing about digital distribution are some of the same that are always expressed about digital distribution. They simply are not true and the publishers are banking on the ignorance of the average customer trying to push to make digital distribution the ONLY means of distribution.
Like any good drug dealer will tell you, if you control the means your product is distributed, then you control everything about that product. You get to skirt the law, You generate inflated demand, you set your own gouging prices, and you dont have to share profits with middlemen who bear all the risk. The only thing that could possibly be better than that is to get the public behind you for doing so.
I've always been someone who enjoys holding physical copies rather than purely digital copies (i.e. textbooks, music, videos, games, etc.). I do not support any movement that seeks to eliminate all physical purchases and only allow digital distribution of a product.
The first reason is that the retailers of the digital property are greedy fothermuckers. You will need to pay the price for their product and it is usually a rip off. I wanted to purchase digital copies of a TV show that I enjoy watching on my MP3 (because I don't spend a lot of time at home and I enjoy watching the episodes on the go). The price for the whole season in a digital copy is more expensive than the physical copy and that doesn't make any sense. The only difference is that with a physical copy is that I can watch it on any device that plays DVDs, I have hours of extra content that is not provided in the digital copy, and I never have to worry about backing up a physical copy.
Another issue is that some digital distributors will be really anal about where you can watch/download the purchased content. Some content can only viewed using a specified player, on limited devices, or on a limited number of computers. So this makes buying and viewing your purchased copies even more a drag.
So either digital distributors offer me something that will entice me to buy their expensive crap, or they make digital copies more affordable (or just plain cheaper) than physical copies so that I can get excited to go for a digital copy.
The first reason is that the retailers of the digital property are greedy fothermuckers. You will need to pay the price for their product and it is usually a rip off. I wanted to purchase digital copies of a TV show that I enjoy watching on my MP3 (because I don't spend a lot of time at home and I enjoy watching the episodes on the go). The price for the whole season in a digital copy is more expensive than the physical copy and that doesn't make any sense. The only difference is that with a physical copy is that I can watch it on any device that plays DVDs, I have hours of extra content that is not provided in the digital copy, and I never have to worry about backing up a physical copy.
Another issue is that some digital distributors will be really anal about where you can watch/download the purchased content. Some content can only viewed using a specified player, on limited devices, or on a limited number of computers. So this makes buying and viewing your purchased copies even more a drag.
So either digital distributors offer me something that will entice me to buy their expensive crap, or they make digital copies more affordable (or just plain cheaper) than physical copies so that I can get excited to go for a digital copy.
When I buy something, I want to be able to hold it in my hand. Otherwise, I have not actually purchased it.
The problem with DD is that you aren't actually buying anything. You're only paying for the privilege of access, which may be rescinded at any time.
The problem with DD is that you aren't actually buying anything. You're only paying for the privilege of access, which may be rescinded at any time.
But if you hold it in your hand it can be easily stolen. And sold to a pawn shop for a quick sack of marijuana from some ruffian. And you do own it, you own the right to download and use it at any time. With the security of a major Corporation preventing you from losing access to a working game. And if they do not provide you access, you can sue them.
Whether you buy something through digital distribution or traditional media, you have the right to play it. Digital distribution is only less fragile for you. It's not going to be stolen from you, and you can access it wherever you move to without having to worry about movie it and safely. If you've ever moved houses, you should be aware that the more things you have to move, the more of a hassle it is.
Whether you buy something through digital distribution or traditional media, you have the right to play it. Digital distribution is only less fragile for you. It's not going to be stolen from you, and you can access it wherever you move to without having to worry about movie it and safely. If you've ever moved houses, you should be aware that the more things you have to move, the more of a hassle it is.
Increasing numbers of retails are pulling exclusivity nonsense or worse petitioning the government in an effort to stop digital distribution from competing. So I'm all up for the bastards going broke for trying to prevent competition rather than adapting. It's funny how all the 'evil capitalists' are actually failing at capitalism forever.