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Game Retailers Facing Digital Distribution Transition

Posted by Soulskill on from the adapt-or-perish dept.

This editorial at Eurogamer examines how the games industry is dealing with the growth of digital distribution — a transition they're handling better than other entertainment industries, but not without a few stumbling blocks of their own. "The examples from other industries undergoing this transition are not promising, since they tend largely to focus on metaphors involving creeks and a distinct lack of paddles. Bricks-and-mortar retailers of music and movies have largely sat back and grumbled while their businesses were hijacked, first by online retailers of physical product and then by digital distribution services. ... Specialist games retailers who follow that model face little more than a decline into insolvency in their medium-term futures. Worse again, they face competing with far bigger companies to retain their slice of an already shrinking pie — as boxed game retail sales fall off in favor of digital distribution, supermarket chains are increasingly seeing high profile games as a worthwhile loss-leaders."

4 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. Why are there still game retailers? by Animats · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Record stores are dead. Video rental stores other than a few major chains are dead. Why should game stores stick around? The only one near me is a tiny one next to a Cartridge World (ink, not ammo).

    The A titles may still justify some shelf space at WalMart, but I don't see any remaining need for standalone game stores.

    1. Re:Why are there still game retailers? by Ifandbut · · Score: 4, Interesting

      1) If I lose internet one day and I want to play a random game I have it is alot easier to install it with an actual disk (however some DRM is making this moot).

      2) If I move and have to go back to 1.5Mb internet connection then it will be faster to install from a disk then patch online instead of downloading the whole game.

      3) For some games the manual is extremely valuable (NWN, KOTOR, even WoW for the lore) and it is easier for me to thumb through a hard copy instead of a PDF.

      4) This may make me appear old fashion but I still like a physical version of the product.

  2. Re:And the hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    There are those oldschool values like true ownership not rental, freedom to use stuff you paid for as you please - and they are important to some people.

    Which would be great, if you actually got those when buying the game. Sure the End User License Agreement may be unenforceable in some places, but that doesn't mean they won't try their hardest.

  3. Re:And the hardware? by Vaphell · · Score: 2, Interesting

    it's an entirely artificial distinction and it's bullshit. I know it is in the law but it should be straightened up. I guess we just love to have overly complex laws to screw us from behind
    Music, movies, books and software share similar model - pay a lot in advance, product supply is unlimited and copyright is supporting the business model to recoup the initial investment. Hell, movie dvds shine exactly like game dvds. Why the games are allowed to play by the different set of rules?
    If one day MPAA started to put some EULA like bullshit into the dvd movie releases Joe Average would just think they are fucking insane, ignore it entirely and continue to do his thing... yet game publishers have such privileges and nobody questions it.