Thus proving that the real problem with the games industry is overpricing and not piracy or second hand sales which are only a by-product of that problem.weker said:
Why online distribution will suck
- Thread starter Sakash
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A shop in my local town Sells Pre-Owned PC games, Along with Gamecube and original Xbox. How i love CEX <3NLS said:
OT: I doubt online distribution will get huge any time soon, not everyone has the internet and not everyone has good connections, some people will still need the retailers around.
Well my personal idea for game pricing is all games should be reduced to 75% with the big titles reduced by £10 as 30 pounds for most games I think seems fair. 75% is due to many games I feel are just slightly over priced, like Hard Reset which is a great game, but recently in a discussion they bring up the Witcher 2.CannibalCorpses said:
Piracy will always be a problem, I personally don't mind DRM at all, and are yet to have a bad experience, however I will agree that it should not be too over the top and intrusive. With piracy many only do it as they can't afford the game, tho many people still pirate games because they can do it for free with out much risk (insert a variety of swear words aimed at pirates)
In the preowned market the whole issue is pricing and getting the cheapest offer, after all why else would you buy something that will be more damaged. if games pricing was lowered you could hypothetically dissolve the preowned market.
But neither of these issues are "CAUSED" by over pricing, they are only effected by it.
Changing pricing, will not solve it instantly as if you buy it preowned when the price has been reduced, the preowned cost will also be reduced (never ending cycle)
Sakash said:
Point is the advent of digital distribution doesn't mean second hand sales are dead. That said, pre-owned cd keys are no cheaper, but trade ins are still possible. Hopefully Steam will get some solid competition sooner or later and adopt this policy as well. Plus, second hand PC sales have been dead for a long time. Thanks to online activation and the like, it's almost impossible to get a second hand game to work for you.
That said, I don't trade games. I used to, then I started to miss most of the games. Plus, I buy almost everything off Steam, so no trade ins even if I wanted to.
No it isn't, think of DLC and the games that require you to pay to subscribe or have microtransactions as being the equivilent of paying for servicing, parts and insurance on a car.number2301 said:
Online distribution is far from being an ideal solution for anyone.
Customers get bogged down in hefty DRM and have less control over what they're allowed to do with the game they paid for (not to mention being stuck with long, painful download times depending on location and which service you use as well). It's also worth mentioning that there are still a lot of people out there for who the idea of everything being online is either impractical or just an impossability.
What about those people in countries that don't have stable, constant internet connections?
What about the people who can't afford (or otherwise can't obtain) a reliable internet connection?
What about kids? (online distribution is a problem for them in a huge way and an even bigger one for their parents)
Developers still have to battle the constant threat of pirates (and it could be argued that piracy will become an even bigger problem if online downloads are the only way people can access their games) which will only fuel the proverbial arms war between pirates and devs (resulting in potentially even more ridiculous DRM and EULA issues in the future). In short, if you were pissed about how EA have handled the whole 'Origin' problem then an ageof online distribution as the sole source of obtaining games will not just see a continuation of crap like that but will potentially make it worse (not to mention eliminating the alternative of just buying a physical copy).
Then there's the issue that with an age of online distribution as the sole release method there would be no reason to keep physical retailers around, this in turn would result in most (if not all) of them shutting down or going online.
As you can guess, this would result in there being even fewer jobs out there for those of us who are looking for work (if your feelings about that situation are 'I don't care' or 'not my problem' then allow me to be one of many to officially tell you to go fuck yourself).
I'm probably one of the few that are like this, but I actually prefer to have a physical copy of a game if I pay money for it. It just gives me extra satisfaction and piece of mind if I have a physical copy of the game. Although, that might stem from my old school console collection. I don't see brick and mortar stores or second hand sales going away, no matter how popular Steam gets. There will always be people who prefer second hand games to new, and there will always be people who want physical copies of their games.
I don't trade in, I did it once, and the stores rip you off so hard its not funny(buy games from you for ~$5 - ~$15, sell for ~$50).
I do my research and buy my games for keeps. DD forever!
I do my research and buy my games for keeps. DD forever!
For the most part I don't care much for online distribution. I like having a hard copy and a few of the games I've bought online have ended up needing a new validation code due to a messup. You don't have those kinds of problems with hard copys 
I'm in the same boat as OP, I can't do anything with my games after I get bored of them.
I'm lucky enough that its not really a problem for me, I can afford the games I want without needing to sell on old ones. However I know plenty of people that can't and NEED to resell to afford the next game.
Also, the number of times I have had an awesome game and wanted to be able to lend it to a friend so that they can see how awesome it is and then they can buy a copy.
HOWEVER
This is not a fault of digital distribution. This is a fault of crappy DRM that is designed solely to stop second hand sales. We all know it doesn't stop the pirates, yet they persist in doing it. The only people DRM hits are paying customers.
I'm lucky enough that its not really a problem for me, I can afford the games I want without needing to sell on old ones. However I know plenty of people that can't and NEED to resell to afford the next game.
Also, the number of times I have had an awesome game and wanted to be able to lend it to a friend so that they can see how awesome it is and then they can buy a copy.
HOWEVER
This is not a fault of digital distribution. This is a fault of crappy DRM that is designed solely to stop second hand sales. We all know it doesn't stop the pirates, yet they persist in doing it. The only people DRM hits are paying customers.
Since i have a steady income, i did not care much about the used market anyways. I import Games from the UK where they are cheap and rapidly get cheaper within a few months, and i rather buy new than used. And on the other hand, whenever i try to sell my own games i get next to nothing for them when they are 1-2 months old.
And while i like and even prefer hard copys of games, i have nothing against digital distribution as long as it has a clear advantage over buying the physical medium.
In other words, i buy games digitally when they are cheaper then on Disc. Or maybe if you get some other kind of value advantage out of it.
And while i like and even prefer hard copys of games, i have nothing against digital distribution as long as it has a clear advantage over buying the physical medium.
In other words, i buy games digitally when they are cheaper then on Disc. Or maybe if you get some other kind of value advantage out of it.
I thought DRM was only there to prevent piracy and nothing else. I thought online passes and instant DLC were included to prevent second hand sales?Phishfood said:
IMO digitally should always be cheaper than the disc because you're not paying for the disc. If it's going to cost me the same for a physical copy over a digital copy, I'll get the physical every time. I get the satisfaction of owning something, I don't have to wait for it to download, and I can microwave it when I grow tired of it.Frybird said:
I guess my issue is at the moment that digital downloading is cheaper.....at the moment. Once everything is downloadable only and not bought on DVD or Bluray, the prices will go back up to what they are now. Look at downloadable songs/albums/books - they are still expensive eventhough they are not a physical thing - they should be really cheap....not just a few pounds cheap. I see it similiar to game shops were a new title is £40, but they sell a 2nd hand version for £35. Id rather just spend a couple more pound extra and buy a cd/dvd or book. Atleast i have it. Can take it where ever i go. Enjoy the booklet with the lyrics, or game manuel. As for books, i would rather take a £5 (or cheaper) book on a train and read it than spend £200 on an electrical device for the same thing.
Im just not interested in the bullshit they add to tech these days. Like phones, all i want is to ring people or txt, thats it. If i want to read, i buy a book, i dont want an Ipad2 and all the other pointless crap it does as im not interested in it. Just seem companies are selling gadgets for everything other than what its meant for, like iphones, they sell it for all the crap id does and then at the end say "Oh it all allows you to make phonecalls as well" as an afterthought. My version of hell, which will be the future, it you will have one gadget that does everything, gaming, TV, Films, Music, reading, phone, photographing...everything. An when that gadget breaks, then your screwed. Also i hear they are releasing Iphone5 this year....didnt number for get released last year? Such a ripoff.
Sorry for the rant. I know i will be dragged kicking and screaming into the future.
Im just not interested in the bullshit they add to tech these days. Like phones, all i want is to ring people or txt, thats it. If i want to read, i buy a book, i dont want an Ipad2 and all the other pointless crap it does as im not interested in it. Just seem companies are selling gadgets for everything other than what its meant for, like iphones, they sell it for all the crap id does and then at the end say "Oh it all allows you to make phonecalls as well" as an afterthought. My version of hell, which will be the future, it you will have one gadget that does everything, gaming, TV, Films, Music, reading, phone, photographing...everything. An when that gadget breaks, then your screwed. Also i hear they are releasing Iphone5 this year....didnt number for get released last year? Such a ripoff.
Sorry for the rant. I know i will be dragged kicking and screaming into the future.
What benefit do you feel from DRM? Is it something that adds to your experience or is it possibly just a stumbling block for you in the future? The online only DRMs are going to have an effect the first time your internet goes down for any length of time and how will that benefit you?weker said:
Don't people goto each others houses anymore and play games? If the DRMs were in place when me and my friends started playing games we wouldn't have bought half the games we did, simply because we wouldn't have been able to show them off anywhere but at our own homes. If my PC is a pile of crap then the only experience my friends would have of the games i play would be sub-standard and would make them less likely to buy it. With a hard copy i could take it round to their machine and let them sample it for what it would be to them. Digital only sales are good for companies but really don't have many benefits for any but the lazy people who don't want to leave their homes.
This is a little off topic for sure but i've yet to hear anyone give a good reason for DRMs and if i can understand the why's then maybe i won't be so quick to put them down(DRMs, not the individuals). Essentialy what i'm seeing is the PC market becoming closed in the way that consoles are and i can't for the life of me think why people are anything but disgusted by that.
$80-90 games out of the question? Come to Australia.NameIsRobertPaulson said:
I feel your pain, my dear countryman.Miles000 said:Australia is the internet ghetto of the world...Hardcore_gamer said:
