The Day Videogame Retail Stores Died

Any thoughts on this? With Nintendo, Sony, Xbox and Apple having their own versions of online stores, do you think just downloading games onto hard-drives will become the norm within the next decade?

What were to happen then? Would games become cheaper by eliminating the middle-man that resides in brick-and-mortar stores? Would it be more convenient this way? Would it improve piracy problems, or aggravate user-ownership rights?

Should video-game specific stores like Gamestop be worried?

I'm preferably more interested in hearing from the multi-system Gaming Lords who have been playing since around the 8-bit days.

Any thoughts on this? With Nintendo, Sony, Xbox and Apple having their own versions of online stores, do you think just downloading games onto hard-drives will become the norm within the next decade?

What were to happen then? Would games become cheaper by eliminating the middle-man that resides in brick-and-mortar stores? Would it be more convenient this way? Would it improve piracy problems, or aggravate user-ownership rights?

Should video-game specific stores like Gamestop be worried?

I'm preferably more interested in hearing from the multi-system Gaming Lords who have been playing since around the 8-bit days.

tweezer-bum

Any thoughts on this? With Nintendo, Sony, Xbox and Apple having their own versions of online stores, do you think just downloading games onto hard-drives will become the norm within the next decade?

What were to happen then? Would games become cheaper by eliminating the middle-man that resides in brick-and-mortar stores? Would it be more convenient this way? Would it improve piracy problems, or aggravate user-ownership rights?

Should video-game specific stores like Gamestop be worried?

I'm preferably more interested in hearing from the multi-system Gaming Lords who have been playing since around the 8-bit days.

tweezer-bum

Oh, some people will try it. At least in the beginning, the market will also resist it. Digital distribution, when laden with DRM, is fundamentally anti-customer. It generally cuts out the possibility of selling the game used, loaning the game to a friend, and so on. It can also be a ridiculously convenient tool of planned obsolesence. So yeah, I'm on the aggravation side of things.

The funniest thing is that if a DRM-heavy digital distribution system ever gets established, it has a very real risk of being disrupted by a conventional disk-based "ecosystem".

or it will be like hd-dvds

work for a while ,

then theyll go back , because people who dont have internet , , cant buy them ,

its like how car makers make a certain model of cars -example dodge charger -then discontinue it , only to come back some 15 yrs later - release another model under the name

also like how nintendo canceled goldeneye for snes ,, it ended up being a n64 game later on

Any thoughts on this? With Nintendo, Sony, Xbox and Apple having their own versions of online stores, do you think just downloading games onto hard-drives will become the norm within the next decade?

What were to happen then? Would games become cheaper by eliminating the middle-man that resides in brick-and-mortar stores? Would it be more convenient this way? Would it improve piracy problems, or aggravate user-ownership rights?

Should video-game specific stores like Gamestop be worried?

I'm preferably more interested in hearing from the multi-system Gaming Lords who have been playing since around the 8-bit days.

tweezer-bum

Stores like Game Stop should not be worried. A lot of those store's revenue comes from shovelware games. People who buy/play shovelware don't usually know how to download games. So games at retail stores will still bring in cash. And as the PSP Go has proven, this generation of gamers are not ready to go fully disc/cartridge less.

I hope it never comes to that as I prefer to have a physical copy of a game as once I'm finished with it I can sell it. If I wasn't able to sell my games like I do then I just wouldn't be able to afford to buy as many new games as I do.

Downloading games has been here for years with steam. consoles are just playing catchup. once systems get bigger HDs, then we might see digital distribution hit the console market

I hope it never comes to that as I prefer to have a physical copy of a game as once I'm finished with it I can sell it. If I wasn't able to sell my games like I do then I just wouldn't be able to afford to buy as many new games as I do.

shawn7324

the day games go fully DD is probably going to be the day I quit gaming, I am much more of a game collector then I am a game player , it may sound absurd, but its what I am. And unfortunatly, you cannot "collect" non physical objects.

the day games go fully DD is probably going to be the day I quit gaming, I am much more of a game collector then I am a game player , it may sound absurd, but its what I am. And unfortunatly, you cannot "collect" non physical objects.

dragonfly110

Yeah, usually playing the game is what people want to do, not looking at the case, so you're definitely in the minority.

I welcome DD, with open arms. More money into the devs pockets, Less need for big publishers to fund games. No Gamestop employees selling me pre-orders, or rain checks from Best Buy. Trading and selling games is a rip off anyway since the value drops so damn quick.

DD is usually cheaper overall anyway.

DD is what the developers want. Less overhead = more money for them. Used sales are the bane of the industry as far as console devs are concerened. Look for a huge push towards digital. Like MP3 "killed" CD's, DD will "kill" retail game sales. There will always be a market for retail but it will shrink exponentially.

For you it may even work in your favor. Less people buying retail will lead to retail being more scarce, and thus eventually more valuable anyway.

[QUOTE="tweezer-bum"]

Any thoughts on this? With Nintendo, Sony, Xbox and Apple having their own versions of online stores, do you think just downloading games onto hard-drives will become the norm within the next decade?

What were to happen then? Would games become cheaper by eliminating the middle-man that resides in brick-and-mortar stores? Would it be more convenient this way? Would it improve piracy problems, or aggravate user-ownership rights?

Should video-game specific stores like Gamestop be worried?

I'm preferably more interested in hearing from the multi-system Gaming Lords who have been playing since around the 8-bit days.

_Teron_

Oh, some people will try it. At least in the beginning, the market will also resist it. Digital distribution, when laden with DRM, is fundamentally anti-customer. It generally cuts out the possibility of selling the game used, loaning the game to a friend, and so on. It can also be a ridiculously convenient tool of planned obsolesence. So yeah, I'm on the aggravation side of things.

The funniest thing is that if a DRM-heavy digital distribution system ever gets established, it has a very real risk of being disrupted by a conventional disk-based "ecosystem".

Downloading games has been here for years with steam. consoles are just playing catchup. once systems get bigger HDs, then we might see digital distribution hit the console market

ironman388

yeah, and despite Steam, the pc gaming market isn't even remotely close to doing away with physical discs any time soon. When M$ talks about DD, they literally intend to not have retail version of games anymore. It just won't work. A full-scale online purchasing system isn't the most viable strategy. If you ask me, M$ is just plain greedy. They wanna control every aspect of the market.

I wouldn't like to say that day

I buy most of my PC games through Steam and Direct2Drive

The idea of consoles making the switch isn't really that much of a stretch. I think harddrive space is the only thing stopping XBox Live and PSN from featuring more full games for download.

I buy all my games online and get the disc´s in mailbox, better price. That day consoles goes Digital download only that is the day i stop play consoles.

I buy most of my PC games through Steam and Direct2Drive

The idea of consoles making the switch isn't really that much of a stretch. I think harddrive space is the only thing stopping XBox Live and PSN from featuring more full games for download.

UnknownSniper65

actually the issue is infrastructure. theres not enough high bandwidth internet lines throughout the world to deliver the content. i have friends that have ps3's and no internet line b/c a cable line isn't available in their area (dsl is too slow generally as is satellite) they'd be saying "unless you have a high speed internet setup you can't play our system" which would alienate the hell out of their fanbase. its going to be at least another 10-20 years before they can start thinking about digital downloads only.

Gamestop should be worried because of places like Amazon and even Wal-Mart.

Amazon especially for me, I'll never walk to a store to buy a video game again. Always, ALWAYS cheaper via amazon.

[QUOTE="tweezer-bum"]

Any thoughts on this? With Nintendo, Sony, Xbox and Apple having their own versions of online stores, do you think just downloading games onto hard-drives will become the norm within the next decade?

What were to happen then? Would games become cheaper by eliminating the middle-man that resides in brick-and-mortar stores? Would it be more convenient this way? Would it improve piracy problems, or aggravate user-ownership rights?

Should video-game specific stores like Gamestop be worried?

I'm preferably more interested in hearing from the multi-system Gaming Lords who have been playing since around the 8-bit days.

Oh, some people will try it. At least in the beginning, the market will also resist it. Digital distribution, when laden with DRM, is fundamentally anti-customer. It generally cuts out the possibility of selling the game used, loaning the game to a friend, and so on. It can also be a ridiculously convenient tool of planned obsolesence. So yeah, I'm on the aggravation side of things.

The funniest thing is that if a DRM-heavy digital distribution system ever gets established, it has a very real risk of being disrupted by a conventional disk-based "ecosystem".

[QUOTE="dragonfly110"]

the day games go fully DD is probably going to be the day I quit gaming, I am much more of a game collector then I am a game player , it may sound absurd, but its what I am. And unfortunatly, you cannot "collect" non physical objects.

Metalscarz

Yeah, usually playing the game is what people want to do, not looking at the case, so you're definitely in the minority.

I welcome DD, with open arms. More money into the devs pockets, Less need for big publishers to fund games. No Gamestop employees selling me pre-orders, or rain checks from Best Buy. Trading and selling games is a rip off anyway since the value drops so damn quick.

DD is usually cheaper overall anyway.

DD is what the developers want. Less overhead = more money for them. Used sales are the bane of the industry as far as console devs are concerened. Look for a huge push towards digital. Like MP3 "killed" CD's, DD will "kill" retail game sales. There will always be a market for retail but it will shrink exponentially.

For you it may even work in your favor. Less people buying retail will lead to retail being more scarce, and thus eventually more valuable anyway.

thats not the point of it, I mean by that logic all collections are pointless "why collect stamps, you should just put them on an envelope" "why collect albums? just get them on itunes" its ALWAYS nicer (at least for me) to actually physically own a game, and not just have a virtual list stating that you own it.

it's funny cause Gamestop announced they'd open 200 new stores last year. the bankruptcy is going to be ugly.

it'd like to see a cable type of service for videogames. 30 dollars a month flat fee with as many games as you'd like to play.

the day games go fully DD is probably going to be the day I quit gaming, I am much more of a game collector then I am a game player , it may sound absurd, but its what I am. And unfortunatly, you cannot "collect" non physical objects.

dragonfly110

I too am a collector which would be impossible if there was DD.

not until American ISPs stop being manipulative.

wish we had ISPs like France, real competition and fair prices.

not until American ISPs stop being manipulative.

wish we had ISPs like France, real competition and fair prices.

HavocV3

This pretty much.. the size of games will only go up and with bandwidth caps on ISPs on one of the most profitable markets, it just wouldn't make sense to go DD only especially in regards to consoles.

The only way DD can continue to grow is by aggressive competitive pricing. Steam is a great example, people thought it was a joke and a burden back in the day but look at how far it's gone since then.