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Denver, 8:41 PM
Thu Nov 12
56 posts in the last 24 hours
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04:14 PM
04:05 PM
That being typed, I hope they start giving more for trade-ins and that the obnoxious 'pre-order bonus' trend dies a painful death in a dark ditch. I know it's just wishful bitching, since pre-orders are likely helping retailers stay afloat, but I don't like being punished for being a prudent shopper. #taketwo
03:40 PM
I think this is the biggest obstacle to retail going away, quite honestly. Because think about it. Let's say 10 years ago that 100% of gamers bought games at retail. Now let's say that 70% of those people will someday switch to downloading, and 30% of people will be resistant for one reason or another. It's pretty simple math to figure out that somebody's gonna lose out on this deal. You can't switch distribution mediums and lose a bunch of customers in the process and make *more* money.
Or at least, most companies can't - certain middlemen and other people in the process might make more money, and they're the ones promoting the switch to digital downloading. (This includes the console manufacturers, btw, who want to be the new middlemen in the process of getting games from third party devs to you). But overall, the industry as a whole will lose.
And btw, the music industry already learned/is learning this.
03:26 PM
I understand that there are agreements that have been made and fears about the digital version undercutting the brick and mortar stores. But this is an aspect that i think needs an overhaul for the digital distribution model to become adopted by EVERYONE. #taketwo
03:28 PM
03:33 PM
03:45 PM
Honestly. Even price parity between the different versions would be inscentive enough to think about buying the digital version, but under the current pricing structure, I can see it being adopted for some time to come. #taketwo
03:20 PM
1) Value - A digital copy of a game in most modern cases becomes worthless once it's purchased. It can't be resold or traded. I'm sure that has the potential to change in the future, though.
2) Collections - I much prefer having a shelf full of boxes to showcase my game collection to loading up 5 different PC programs/consoles to see what I own.
3) Borrowing - Ever since I was a kid, I've been a fan of swapping games with a friend for a little bit to try games I wouldn't have necessarily spent money renting/buying before while showing off a game I love to them. In the current day when so many games have online play, this is a great benefit. I leant my friend my copy of Borderlands (which he didn't buy because he didn't like the art style) and he loved it, and he's going out to buy it to play with me soon.
4) Vanishing Act - Say I buy 30 games on Steam. But my hard drive doesn't have room for them all, so I delete them time to time to make room. Then in 5 years Steam dies (which I doubt, but it could happen to any online distributor I buy a game from.) The games I bought from them that aren't currently on my hard drive are now lost in the void.
5) Age - Similar to above, imagine 20 years from now we're on our 4th generation of Xbox/Playstation. I have a fit of nostalgia and dig out my 360. I want to play some of the old games I loved but, shucks, I can't download those old games I used to have anymore. Shame I hadn't bought a physical copy!
6) Bandwidth - A large percentage of North Americans have no access to broadband internet. In my current situation, I only have access to dialup, as the only viable alternatives are prohibitively expensive or don't meet my needs. Cell phone company wireless has a tiny download limit, gets horrible reception in my area and isn't shareable over a network. Satellite wants a ton of money to buy hardware and about $70/month for their basic package. I'm surrounded by trees, so I don't have line of sight to the other wireless type. And even for those who do have broadband, most companies these days impose bandwidth limits. Some are reasonable, others are prohibitive to downloading anything other than email.
Digital distribution is definitely not going away, and it's a great medium for distributing indy games that can't afford all the money and red tape required to package a game up and stick it on the shelf at EB Games, Walmart, etc.
03:11 PM
Lets hope so, because i'm not a fan of digital downloads.
03:14 PM
03:17 PM
03:18 PM
03:20 PM
03:23 PM
To be fair, though, it was GameCrazy's last day, and they were 80% off. I think I spent about $20 total. :D
Thanks to that purchase, though, I've got one heck of a backlog to work through. Not that I didn't already. Game sales and clearances are both blessings and curses.
03:30 PM
Yeah i'm going to be busy for a while as well...once i'm able to play again that is :Þ #taketwo
03:31 PM
03:40 PM
But the second option sounds pretty good (^_~) #taketwo
03:53 PM
03:59 PM
04:53 PM
03:08 PM
Say what you will about used games being bad for the industry, yada yada, but I manage to subsidize my game playing habit by selling old ones, either on Craigs List or Ebay (forget Gamestop's horrendous trade in values).
I purchased both MW2 and L4D2 using monies earned from the resale of old games I wasn't playing anymore.
I understand why digital downloads are attractive from a publisher's standpoint, but as a frugal consumer, I'm going to be buying the physical product for a long time to come. #taketwo
03:11 PM
03:13 PM
you cant borrow a game, resell a game, rent a game, play your game on another system...
all the while they charge you the same price as retail......
who really wins when it comes to digital downloads? not you. #taketwo
03:14 PM
*pulls head out from under rock* #taketwo
03:25 PM
I used goozex a few times, and gave up. You are much better off going the ebay/craigslist route, or trading with friends. #taketwo
03:31 PM
11/04/09
Point 2 Why hasn't PETA said anything about WoW? You know you can kill bunnies in that game?
Point 3 It won't sell anyway unless it is an awesome remake of Big Top.
[en.wikipedia.org] #peta
11/04/09
Whose to say that the elephants didn't want to be beat. #peta
11/04/09
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11/04/09
PETA's qualm with the game isn't about the content (I seriously doubt they would allow you to beat elements with sticks in a game rated E) but the circus itself. PETA's saying when you buy the game, you support the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, a company they apparently have a problem with. #peta
11/05/09
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11/06/09
11/04/09
11/04/09
They're more worried about the dogs in World at War #peta
11/04/09
11/04/09
Think about it, they're actually doing something cooperative for once!
But at least we know they ain't sadomasochists! #peta
11/04/09