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On Digital Distribution For Games - Does It Work?

Posted by simoniker on from the bits-and-cds dept.

Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter for its article discussing whether digital distribution can really work for videogames. The piece focuses on NP Cube, developers of PC MMO Dark And Light, who are based on the tiny Reunion Island, east of Madagascar, and intend to distribute free versions via "a peer-to-peer site", before charging a monthly fee later. Co-founder Laurent Paret argues of online distribution: "It's so much more cost-effective than signing a contract with a publisher... One peer-to-peer company wants to charge us $300 a month to distribute 'Dark And Light.' I have no idea how they can charge so little and I'm not asking." However, Mark Jacobs of Mythic Entertainment disagrees with the approach, suggesting: "I know they think they can make up some of their development costs earlier if they distribute online [thus getting higher profit margins]... But they're sacrificing long-term profits for short-term gains."

43 comments

  1. I know how they do it... by hookedup · · Score: 3, Funny

    $300/month to distribute their game...

    Here's how they do it.

  2. MMO by crackshoe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think digital distribution is perfect for MMO pay per foo, but thats mostly because i find the concept of paying for paying for a game, and then paying to actually using it, insane. but thats just me.

    --
    Don't worry - its just stigmata. Pass me a napkin and don't you dare tell my mother.
    1. Re:MMO by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      I think digital distribution is perfect for MMO pay per foo, but thats mostly because i find the concept of paying for paying for a game, and then paying to actually using it, insane. but thats just me.
      That's because, like most folks, you don't understand what you are paying for. When you buy the box off the shelf, you are paying for the client, when you pay your monthly fee you are paying for the cost of running the servers. There's a distinct difference between the two.
    2. Re:MMO by Pluvius · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If the client could run multiple products without much consumer inconvenience (like a VCR or a console) then this viewpoint might be understandable, but I don't think I've seen an MMORPG developer do this yet. Selling a game separate from the entirety of its gameplay is like selling a car without an engine or an OEM computer without a CPU.

      Just because you can justify this sort of thing doesn't mean that you should do it.

      Rob

    3. Re:MMO by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      If the client could run multiple products without much consumer inconvenience (like a VCR or a console) then this viewpoint might be understandable,
      If they client were a piece of general purpose hardware or software, you might have a point. (And even then, as I show below, these items have ongoing costs to get the 'entirety of the experience'.)
      Selling a game separate from the entirety of its gameplay is like selling a car without an engine or an OEM computer without a CPU.
      Hardly. When you buy a car, do you get free gasoline for life? When you buy a console, do you get free games for life? When you buy a VCR do you get free movies for life? The answer too all three is a resounding 'no'. For all three items, in order to get 'the full experience', you have periodic and ongoing costs.
      Just because you can justify this sort of thing doesn't mean that you should do it.
      I'm justifying anything, I'm stating simple facts.
    4. Re:MMO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually it's like buying a car and having to pay extra for gasoline.

      However, I don't like the idea of paying for both the game disk and its usage. The difference to a car is that the majority of the games work without any running costs. An MMO client is unable to operate if you don't pay the monthly fee. Games like Phantasy Star Online at least give you a reason for paying for the client and online feature separately (the game has a singleplayer mode). I think Meridian 59, Subspace and other smaller MMOGs had the client downloadable for free (at least the clients were on every magazine CD I had) and made their money with the monthly fees.

      Also, you don't need a credit card to pay for gasoline ;).

    5. Re:MMO by Pluvius · · Score: 2, Insightful

      When you buy a car, do you get free gasoline for life? When you buy a console, do you get free games for life? When you buy a VCR do you get free movies for life?

      The pricing systems of MMORPGs are hardly similar to any of those situations. You can separate a car from its gasoline, or a console from its games, but you can't separate a game from itself.

      Rob

    6. Re:MMO by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      When you buy a car, do you get free gasoline for life? When you buy a console, do you get free games for life? When you buy a VCR do you get free movies for life?

      The pricing systems of MMORPGs are hardly similar to any of those situations. You can separate a car from its gasoline, or a console from its games, but you can't separate a game from itself.

      ROTFLMAO. And what will your car do seperate from gasoline? Nothing. And what will a console do seperate from it's games? Nothing. Looks like you cannot seperate them.
    7. Re:MMO by Pluvius · · Score: 1

      And what will your car do seperate from gasoline? Nothing.

      What does your car doing nothing have to do with its existence as a car?

      Rob

    8. Re:MMO by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      I'm attempting to point out that a car without gasoline is useless in performing it's functions as a car. The same applies to consoles without games.

      But I'm afraid the point is too subtle for you.

    9. Re:MMO by Pluvius · · Score: 1

      I'm afraid my point is too subtle for you, so I guess I'll have to make it clearer.

      A car without gasoline is still a car. A console without games is still a console. A game without gameplay is no longer a game.

      Get it now?

      Rob

  3. Ragnarok Online does this... by feidaykin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Ragnarok Online is an MMORPG with ~$12 monthly fee. However, they don't make you buy a disc. Not only can you download the client for free, but you can play free for 15 days. And that's free, as in, they don't ask you for a credit card number or anything until your 15 days are up. I wish more games followed this model! Seems to be working great for them, but maybe the rules are different when you're based in Korea? ;)

    --

    "To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking

    1. Re:Ragnarok Online does this... by Reorax · · Score: 1

      Is RO still just a beta? If so, that might be why. They'll probably make you buy the retail version.

      --
      This sig is only here so people stop skipping the last lines of my posts.
    2. Re:Ragnarok Online does this... by crazysim · · Score: 0

      You can order a CD .. FOR FREE!! I forgot the link, go look for it kiddies.

    3. Re:Ragnarok Online does this... by feidaykin · · Score: 1

      Nope... I played it back when it was in beta and there were no fees of any kind then. Once the beta ended they started the monthly fee.

      --

      "To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking

    4. Re:Ragnarok Online does this... by C0rinthian · · Score: 1

      So does Eve: The Second Genesis. Subscription numbers really started to climb once the free client download came out. Especially since they had lost their publisher and it wasn't on shelves for a couple months. We also recently broke the 10,000 simultaneous users mark in the same game world. (not sharded) This is up from 3-4k when it was a box at retailers. Appearantly there is a market for this type of distrobution.

    5. Re:Ragnarok Online does this... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1
      Yes, this is the only reasonable way (IMO) to run a MMORPG. I played and got seriously hooked on Shattered Galaxies when it was in beta, that game was mad fun and I was doing very well at it, moving up the ranks very quickly. Then they announced that even beta testers would have to pay for the client AND for service, and I dropped the thing. If I have to pay for a client, I want to be able to play without a subscription fee as if all of that money had been spent on the subscription. If I have to pay for the game, I am damned well not paying a subscription fee.

      The real problem is that the game is going to age and they're not going to maintain it forever. I'm going to want to play something bigger and better, and I'm not going to want to pay for the new client when I buy the new version of the game, or its superior spiritual successor from someone else, whichever happens to be the case.

      Especially for network-only games, there is no reason (if you do not charge for the client) why you couldn't give it out via bittorrent or something. If you really must get an initial startup cost charged to people somehow, charge it as a sign-up fee. Of course, I won't be playing your game in that case, but the industry in general charges for the client, so I guess they're not too worried about me anyway.

      And of course, if you don't charge for the client, you can give other people the right to distribute the client, with or without profit, and then you never have to generate game CDs; people can buy them from cheapbytes for a buck, or what have you.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  4. It wont really work yet by Datasage · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It could work, but we are not yet at the point were it will work exclusivly. A dialup user wont wait days to download a game. Some people dont have internet at home and couldnt download a game anyway.

    There is another problem, the consumer midset is that if i pay $50 for a game, i should get something tagible and not just a license. So if publishers want to charge full price for a digitally distrubuted game, its not going to fly. I myself would rather pay $50 for a box and cd rather than a digital file.

    The only market that could go exculivly online distrubution is MMO's, but there again, you better be charging less than you would for a boxed product.

    --
    In America we are imprisoned by our fear of them.
  5. Easy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    BitTorrent.

    BitTorrent Makes it easy to host multi-GB files from a relatively small pipe. Considering 768kbps upload can be had for $99 a month with 6Mbps down, $300 can buy you a lot of bandwidth. Once your P2P downloads are seeded (you have your customers uploading from their machines), your bandwidth usage tails off dramatically as your only demand now is that you have to run the tracker (ie: the thing that coordinates clients among themselves).

    1. Re:Easy. by bishiraver · · Score: 1

      This would especially work well if the MMPOG included it in their application. What I mean by this, is: If you have the available bandwidth, you help out with the seed - while you're playing the game. With a large MMPOG this means that several thousand people are helping out other people that are downloading it.

  6. wave of the future? by Lord+Dreamshaper · · Score: 2, Interesting

    you can download a game direct from creators, official/unofficial mirror, or better yet save bandwidth expenses and P2P it. All you would pay for is the unique activation file the creators e-mail you upon confirmation of receipt of payment. You've got tangible game, they've got your money. You paid less than retail for comparable game, they made greater profit margin by direct-selling. If you can't/won't do that, they mail you a CD for slightly higher price, probably at or below retail prices...It's like Led Zeppelin never having real success on commercial radio...if you're good enough, you don't need traditional marketing paths...

    --
    When all of your wishes have been granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed - Marilyn Manson
    1. Re:wave of the future? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All you would pay for is the unique activation file the creators e-mail you upon confirmation of receipt of payment. You've got tangible game, they've got your money.

      maybe you should look up the definition of tangible? Here let me help

      tangible adj.

      a) Discernible by the touch; palpable: a tangible roughness of the skin.

      b) Possible to touch.

    2. Re:wave of the future? by Lord+Dreamshaper · · Score: 1

      hmmm....forgot to mention the part about burning the file (ISO?) to disk...the unique file you get only from the creators activates the program...off the top of my head, not foolproof to protect from duped copies, but not likely any worse than purchasing complete program off the shelf...

      --
      When all of your wishes have been granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed - Marilyn Manson
  7. Do both by 0x0d0a · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It doesn't even have to be via P2P -- it's quite possible to let users download an installer to their hard drive from a website that takes a payment.

    But unless the publisher stipulates otherwise (and I'd imagine that there's probably a publisher that's willing to work with a developer on this), there's no reason that a game cannot be sold both through traditional channels and online channels.

    Distribution costs for a gig of data are a couple of cents. That's a lot cheaper than buying a box and CD, and many people are happy to just buy the software (and don't give a damn about a pressed CD). So provide both, and pass on the distribution savings to the customer.

    I suspect that some webmerchant retailers might be happy to provide both download services and physical boxe sales. I'd guess that in the Linux world, Tux Games probably would be willing to try something like that.

    Benefits of online distribution:

    * Small sales can be made, so budget/older titles can be available.

    * Warehousing costs do not exist, so titles that are unlikely to sell well can be made available, and there is no reason for something to go "out of print" (it irritates me to no end when a book goes out of print). That oddball game title that did well in Japan but was unlikely to do well in the US can, for the cost of no more than the translation fee, be sold in the US.

    * A reliable backup of your game. Ever lose a CD? It'd be easy for a retailer to verify your purchase information and provide additional downloads of the game.

    * Patches included in copies as soon as they are finished. Normally, a pressed run of CDs is locked in, with all the bugs that might be found. Users must go online, locate a patch (usually on a publisher's or developer's website -- and too intimidating for many users) and apply it. If Boomstick Development comes out with a fix for their rocket launcher and releases v1.09 of Rocket Launcher Rebels, they can have their retailer automatically provide an updated release, rather than forcing users to obtain and apply the patch.

    * Broader distribution area. It's easier to ship electronic copies of something than it is physical copies -- maybe you can't ship boxed software to a Mongolian plain easily or cheaply, but you can transfer it via satellite downlink.

    * Speed of purchase. I generally can't get an obscure game without combing the web and ordering something FedEx. If I download a game and install it, I can have it as soon as my Internet connection brings it down.

    * Risk. The more distribution that's done electronically, the lower the financial risk the publisher has to assume for deciding to committing to publish a game. That means they don't have to demand such a large chunk of money from the developer.

    There are a couple of issues.

    * Piracy is an obvious one, but really, there aren't many more barriers to ripping and copying a physical CD than there are to transferring a file -- in general, any form of remotely effecitve protection is going to take place in the form of checking in the game software itself.

    * Consumer Appeal. I'm not sure how people will react to buying something that isn't physical (though I can think of some partial solutions to th eproblem). People do certainly purchase services all the time.

    --
    May we never see th
    1. Re:Do both by Swanktastic · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But unless the publisher stipulates otherwise (and I'd imagine that there's probably a publisher that's willing to work with a developer on this), there's no reason that a game cannot be sold both through traditional channels and online channels.

      I liked your post except for this argument. You learn the exact opposite in Marketing 101- channels cannot conflict with each other. No retailer is going to stock your product, give it good shelf positioning, in-store displays, anything, if you're out there hocking the product for less on your own web site. It's a big no-no in marketing to have "channel conflict" between your various distribution methods, but going direct around retailers is like sticking your thumb in their eye. Retailers (who ARE your customers after all) tend to put up with direct-to-consumer distribution only so long as it doesn't eat into their sales too much. You cannot charge less to the consumer than your retail channels!

      So, If you're not hocking it for less $$$, you're providing a substandard product (no CD, box, printed manual) to your consumers for the same price, so why bother?

      This is a huge problem in most industries, and the general answer is that you need to differentiate the product you sell direct and those you sell through channels, if you sell direct at all. Again, your post makes a good argument why online distro is good, but I really do not believe that you can go with a split online/retail distrubution strategy.

    2. Re:Do both by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      Let's look at these realistically;
      * Warehousing costs do not exist, so titles that are unlikely to sell well can be made available, and there is no reason for something to go "out of print"
      Not true. You still need the servers and people to maintain them, and the bandwidth to transfer them across. True, it's not as expensive as a traditional warehouse, but it's not free, not by a long shot.
      * A reliable backup of your game. Ever lose a CD? It'd be easy for a retailer to verify your purchase information and provide additional downloads of the game.
      And the headache of dealing with customers who stored their purchse information on the same (now crashed) HD that formerly held the game. And the headache of multiple users that use the same purchase code... (Not an issue for MMO's that charge a fee, or shareware which assumes honesty, but a problem for other games.)
      * Patches included in copies as soon as they are finished. Normally, a pressed run of CDs is locked in, with all the bugs that might be found. Users must go online, locate a patch (usually on a publisher's or developer's website -- and too intimidating for many users) and apply it. If Boomstick Development comes out with a fix for their rocket launcher and releases v1.09 of Rocket Launcher Rebels, they can have their retailer automatically provide an updated release, rather than forcing users to obtain and apply the patch.
      Which ignores the problem of the users that downloaded the software version that contains V1.011 of Rocket Launcher Rebels. You'll always have someone who'll need to patch. (And lets face reality here, increasingly PC games automagically locate and DL pathches.)
    3. Re:Do both by 0x0d0a · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not true. You still need the servers and people to maintain them, and the bandwidth to transfer them across. True, it's not as expensive as a traditional warehouse, but it's not free, not by a long shot.

      There is some cost; my point is that that is effectively either constant or per-copy-sold. Warehousing is an issue with physical because you have to predict how well something will sell and then produce that many units...and then it costs you money to have a bunch of units sitting around in a warehouse. Pain in the rear end for retailers. So, maybe I think that Max Payne III is going to sell more copies than any other game in existence, and I produce and warehouse many, many units, and it flops. That costs money. With electronic distribution...I only need to pay once for the hard drive space for the game (negligable, even if you have servers scattered around the world) and for bandwidth for each copy sold.

      And the headache of dealing with customers who stored their purchse information on the same (now crashed) HD that formerly held the game. And the headache of multiple users that use the same purchase code... (Not an issue for MMO's that charge a fee, or shareware which assumes honesty, but a problem for other games.)

      Yeah, but realistically, if you're asking for credit card or some other information that people aren't going to want to hand around, it shouldn't be an issue. And you can always say "only N re-downloads of the software", etc. Oh, and maybe charge a small fee to cover any re-transfer costs.

      Which ignores the problem of the users that downloaded the software version that contains V1.011 of Rocket Launcher Rebels. You'll always have someone who'll need to patch. (And lets face reality here, increasingly PC games automagically locate and DL pathches.)

      Yeah, I suppose so -- autopatching is a good point. I still think that *partially* solving the problem is better than not solving it, though.

      --
      May we never see th
    4. Re:Do both by 0x0d0a · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This is a good point, but I can think of at least some prescedent. The product *is* different in that you get a CD/box/paper manual, etc, and I think you *could* have it cost less.

      The best parallel I can think of is old personal computer systems that sold in "kit" form, like the Timex Sinclair. Admittedly, you'd still get them through the same channels...but you could buy a different product that replaced the first for a lower price -- but many people still purchased preassembled systems, despite the higher price, because they wanted everything done for them.

      Many Linux distributors today currently provide something similar -- a *free* set of CD images, with the only removed features being a box, pressed CDs, any paper documentation, and installation support, and they seem to have convinced many retailers to carry their products, so I believe that there are retailers that are willing to work with such a constraint. That is also why I gave the example of a web-based retailer -- I buy almost all my games from online merchants, and for an online merchant, it's just as easy to provide downloads...and they get a sale either way, but they have lower distribution costs for a download.

      --
      May we never see th
    5. Re:Do both by DerekLyons · · Score: 2, Insightful
      With electronic distribution...I only need to pay once for the hard drive space for the game (negligable, even if you have servers scattered around the world) and for bandwidth for each copy sold.
      Not true. You have to pay monthly for the electricity to keep that hardrive spinning and your NIC pumping bits, and the computer clocking along that supports both. You need to pay monthly for the cooling, and either rent or property taxes on the building they are in. There's also the ongoing cost of replacement hardware, and the ongoing cost of the personnel who supervise and perform these functions. It does not matter if you do it yourself, or pay a colo to do it, but you will pay it.

      Electronic storage and distribution is niether free nor a one-time cost.

      Yeah, but realistically, if you're asking for credit card or some other information that people aren't going to want to hand around, it shouldn't be an issue. And you can always say "only N re-downloads of the software", etc. Oh, and maybe charge a small fee to cover any re-transfer costs.
      Storing credit card info? A non-trival security problem, not just from the outside, but the inside as well. Better add regular reviews of your security to the costs above. What happens when the customers credit card number changes, or the card expires, or the card is stolen and the number cancelled? You expect the customer to keep a record of all his numbers and which companies they are associated with? This sounds like a recipe for customer service nightmares. Only N re-downloads? A potential customer service nightmare, particularly if the game is popular and long lived. A small fee for transfer costs? That's a *real* good way to piss off your customers.
      I still think that *partially* solving the problem is better than not solving it, though.
      The problem is that your scheme partially solves one problem (patches) while introducing a whole host of new ones. The issue isn't as simple as it's often painted.
    6. Re:Do both by 0x0d0a · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not true. You have to pay monthly for the electricity to keep that hardrive spinning and your NIC pumping bits, and the computer clocking along that supports both. You need to pay monthly for the cooling, and either rent or property taxes on the building they are in. There's also the ongoing cost of replacement hardware, and the ongoing cost of the personnel who supervise and perform these functions. It does not matter if you do it yourself, or pay a colo to do it, but you will pay it.

      Okay, I did over-simplify, but the variables involved are still effectively the same. Constant cost (where the variable is the number of games being sold) for most of these, and only a small cost per-game sold. There is no cost per-game-estimated-to-be-sold. Nobody will stock copies of Curse of the Azure Bonds, because it's an ancient DOS game, and costs them in warehousing. If they keep Curse of the Azure Bonds available, though, as one of many titles they sell, they have very little storage cost. They need to keep one copy on a server, not 5,000 units in a warehouse getting dusty in case someone wants to buy one. So that small number of people who say "Gee, I'd like to play Curse of the Azure Bonds" can still be served.

      Electronic storage and distribution is niether free nor a one-time cost.

      But it there is no cost (well, negligable to the point of not being an issue) associated with stocking something. Any cost caused is associated with either actual sales (which are presumably priced at such a point that they are profitable), or is effectively constant per-store -- the building, the servers, the air conditioning. Adding another drive doesn't cost much more.

      Storing credit card info? A non-trival security problem, not just from the outside, but the inside as well.

      Yes, but that's an issue that any Web-based retailer (even for physical products) already has to pay for in the form of their sales database.

      This sounds like a recipe for customer service nightmares.

      [shrug] Then another private identifier (like the infamous mother's maiden name that web merchants like to use with accounts these days) plus a street address. Companies provide customer service on products all the time -- systems to deal with matching a customer to an older purchase are presumably in place. I mean, I can call up a company right now and probably impersonate someone (like call up the cable company and pretend to be someone and get their cable shut off), but in practice it isn't a really huge problem.

      A small fee for transfer costs? That's a *real* good way to piss off your customers.

      I don't see why -- even if a physical product failed and a web retailer will replace it, I generally have to pay shipping back. (The main point of such a fee would be allowing the requirement of current credit card data, which would make it easier to detect fraud -- if five requests from different people come in on a single purchase, something is quite wrong.)

      The problem is that your scheme partially solves one problem (patches) while introducing a whole host of new ones. The issue isn't as simple as it's often painted.

      [shrug] I'll buy that -- any time you try out a new scheme, you're going to run into lots of issues that you didn't expect. However, my interest is primarily in solving issues with retailers being limited in what they can stock, and in reducing distribution costs. A number of the things I listed were just nice perks of the format.

      I don't think that e-distribution of software is infeasible.

      It has been tried before (not just as shareware, but as retailers selling electronic copies of software). I haven't seen anyone that's done too well, but there are major changes today from earlier:

      * More people have broadband Internet connections. Just three years ago, that was a huge limiting factor.

      * More software can rely on people having always-on Internet connections. This changes copy pr

      --
      May we never see th
    7. Re:Do both by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      I don't think that e-distribution of software is infeasible.
      I never said it was. But having sold both physical and virtual goods, I know better than to [shrug] and [handwave] away the very real issues. It isn't as simple as you keep painting it, which is one of the very real reasons it hasn't been more widely tried.
      I'll buy that -- any time you try out a new scheme, you're going to run into lots of issues that you didn't expect.
      Being unexpected doesn't make them any less real, or any less problematic. (And the ones I listed are ones that I have either encountered or occured to me with about 30 seconds of thought. That, in my experience, tells me that their are many more landmines remaining unseen.)
  8. Maybe not for games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Maybe not for original games, but sure as hell it's a good idea for expansion packs.

    People already have your product and those who are willing to sacrifice the "nice box" for 10$ less in price will download it in an instant.

    Tie it into an online updater with friendly "buy an expansion" interface and off you go...

  9. Existing systems by Rexz · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I'm familiar with two currently implemented and successful systems for the distribution of commercial games:

    Sony's EverQuest allows expansion packs to be bought and downloaded with a single click using credit card details already saved server side.

    EverQuest is one of the few games that is practically unpiratable because of the massive cost of running a single server - each server consists of dozens of machines - and the amount of server-side content that is completely hidden from the client.

    Valve's offers Counter Strike: Condition Zero for download through its proprietary content delivery system, Steam. Steam's bandwidth is provided by Valve itself and a select group of donors, although a peer-to-peer extension is planned.

    CS:CZ does not rely on a centralised component for gameplay and so can be played singleplayer or on cracked servers relatively easily.

    1. Re:Existing systems by RotJ · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Of course there's some controversy over user rights with Steam. Every time you play a game you bought with Steam (at least play online), you have to log in, and it can automatically patch your game and patches Steam itself without your consent. And for a while Half-Life single player mode coudn't be played without going online and logging into Steam.

  10. Reunion Island by robson · · Score: 1
    Wow, Reunion Island was looking pretty good to me until this part:
    Natural Hazards: Periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano
    Although... "substantial annual subsidies from France" does sound good...
  11. Amen brother by metalhed77 · · Score: 1

    I started playing NC Soft's lineage 2. Which, admitedly is a pretty shitty game. I would have paid for about two months of play, $25, if it weren't for the fact that I'd have to buy a boxed version too. Besides, the way to trap customers is to make em build up a character and keep charging em. That way they HAVE to pay.

    --
    Photos.
  12. I would do it by Dan+Farina · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I certainly would buy/download my games. As aforementioned, it's easier to replace lost/broken copies, CD-keys easier to look up, and is simply a lot less hassle than going to your local store.

    A couple of examples of pay-for-download games that have done alright:

    Savage: http://www.s2games.com
    Escape Velocity: http://www.ambrosiasw.com/news/

    P2P is simply another method of distribution: are we really talking about P2P as a way to lower the cost barrier to distribution, or about the larger idea of selling games via download in general?

    1. Re:I would do it by Delphiki · · Score: 1

      One thing that bugs me about some pay for download software is that they will only let you download the software for a certain period of time, sometimes as short as two weeks, so if you should lose the original copy due to hardware failure or something like that you're screwed. It's made me wary about buying software online.

      --

      Feel free to mod me "-1 - Angry Jerk".

  13. It took them this long? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm stupified that it's taken this long for people to realise that this is going to be the future. Sell your product for less with online, Bit Torrent style distribution, and give them a key (works especially well with MMOG's because folks have to store the characters on their server, so they HAVE to pay sometime), but most folks will be happy to burn the distro and pay for a license. When I first heard about Valve and what they were going to do with STEAM, I thought it would be like this. I see now that they're taking the old route; or maybe I misread their intent; either way, selling bits of plastic wrapped in paper is moronic for the vast majority that will be happy to get it at home (think BT style distribution that has a download resume thingy for the dialup folks).

    All this truly makes me wonder what will happen to the dedicated retail gamestores (EB, GS, ETC) of the world - the publishers will still have money, people will still buy hardware and software (thinking further down the road here - xbox 2's remote storage and PS3's wifi capabilities all point to digital distribution) - gamers will still buy games, and new game companies (and older, less successful ones) will still want a publisher to $$seed them. The only ones who would seriously be left in the cold would be the game stores... Sony is going to push Hotspot capability on the PSP (think about going to $tarbuks to play a few rounds of games with friends local and far away - and guzzle some mochas while your there) - look at the specs and google it. Tho UMD may prevent that in the end.... I'd like to know if the format is going to be accessable - linux distro, it's got wifi & usb2.0 so you could bring a ( w/ a
    USB to bluetooth adapter) and a Bluetooth mouse (keep the BT connected to your phone also) and do some browsing online, troll slashdot... hey, for all you know, this message is from 2 years in the future, I'm typing this on my laser keyboard (I keep seeing pictures but where can you buy them?) connected to my PSP while slurping an iri$h cream Mocha(TM).... oh god the troll police are coming! /runs/

  14. It works in China by taweili · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Most of online games distributed in China are via online download. Piracy of games is around 95% in China and most companies are not likely to even recover the cost of packaging/shipping/logistic/warehouse cost of packaged software. Plus, online games depends on subscription revenue instead of package sales. In fact, China's vast piracy network actually does a favor for the online game distribution by selling the online game's disc for about 80 cents for those who are too lazy to download the games.

  15. Shattered Galaxy by Pahalial · · Score: 1

    Shattered Galaxy does this, and it's old. 2001, I think? They've been offering the free download since it started, and recently apparently started offering a free play alternative (minor downsides). Mind you, the game may not be as popular as other titles, but I'd say it's simply due to lack of marketing.. Have yet to hear any complaints about the online distribution.

    --
    Stuff.
  16. Steam? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can't believe nobody has mentioned how awful steam is. I am quite sure that nobody would use the thing if they didn't have to to play HL mods. When something goes wrong and a company folds, or a hard drive implodes, or you simply get a new computer, the user is out their $50 they paid for the game. With a CD, you have the backup and the responsibility is on you; you actually get something of worth for your $50.

    Also in regards to the distribution of 4GB games: Never under-estimate the bandwidth of a tractor trailer driving down a highway.