Digital downloads and niche games.

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

I noticed a trend for racing games. The more realistic ones are now mostly
being sold by direct download. While the shiny arcade driving games are
being sold in stores, the ones that have realistic physics don't have as big
a market. So instead of fighting for shelf space in the stores and not
selling well, these games are aimed directly at a smaller community that can
appreciate physics and realism. Because they skip over publishers and
retailers, the developpers have a higher profit margin per game sold which
compensates for the lower volume of sales. Games like Live for Speed (not to
be confused with EA's Need for Speed series), rFactor and the upcoming game
by iRacing are examples of this trend.

Another niche market is the wargaming community. Since most of their games
have clunky interfaces and dated graphics, these games don't appeal to the
general gaming public. But since it's a small community and they are easy to
reach on a few sites and forums, direct downloads are the standard rather
than the exception. The small size of the games themselves make digital
downloads a relatively easy operation.

These niche games don't need developpement teams as big as the more
commercial games because they are usually devoid of the flashy bells and
whistles that distract the player from the game itself. For example LFS was
developped by only three guys. So will digital downloads replace stores for
all the games? Probably not. First person shooters for example are taking
more and more space on hard drives. Most people don't want to or can't
download multi gigabyte games. So best sellers like Battlefield 2 are safe
for a long time.

I expect to see more small developpers go the digital download route. It's a
good thing because we are less likely to see original games in stores
because publishers don't want to take risks on games that are costing
fortunes to develop and market. That's why we are seeing mostly copies and
sequels of existing games. Direct downloads will be the main source of
original and more fun games.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

x-no-archive: yes

Groo the Wanderer wrote:

<snip long list of excuses to try and impose online delivery>

i'm sorry but i don't buy this theory of yours
i bet you work in the pc game industry either developing
or publishing

marketing is the same regardless of the delivery method
as for manufacturing i bet you its way less expensive to
produce 50,000 dvd copies than to maintain a steam type
server during a month

these are all excuses for developers and publishers force
a system upon gamers that favours them and gives them all
the power and control they need to start asking whatever
they want for games

the facts are clear, no online delivery system sells games
cheaper than traditional retail and online delivery system
have hidden costs and expensive requirements that only a
very small minority have
and even those that have all the expensive requirements to
choose online delivery they do prefer having a game in a
physical medium like a cd or dvd

as for pc games losing shelve space in retail stores that
is really happening overall in pc games so its not only
for any specific kind of game but all kinds
pc game sales are year after year decreasing and the pc is
losing market share as a gaming platform so retailers are
taking shelve space from pc games to give it to consoles

for me the way to fight this is some game retail stores
focusing more on pc games so they can attract pc gamers
why not some retail stores becoming pc game exclusive
your are forgetting niche market also exist in retail
lots of retail stores are dedicated to niche markets

i like to compare this with comics, some kinds of comics
are niche markets and you see specialized retail stores
focusing on those niche markets
comics will always be something you need to have in your
hands that's why electronic comics have always failed
and for me the same happens with pc games... you really
need to have a physical support and medium cause games
are not like music which are a thing of the moment you
listen for 3 minutes and then you forget about it
pc games last many weeks and are replayed many times and
usually years apart so most of us will replay the game
we just finish 2 or 3 years from now
this kind of experience requires games to be on a cd or
a dvd
i understand developers and publishers are pushing hard
for online delivery cause that means more profits but
you simply can't do it if the reason is only money cause
we the customers will not accept it

--
post made in a steam-free computer
i said "NO" to valve and steam

 

[Andrew]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 12:49:03 -0400, "Groo the Wanderer"
<jp2@vatican.com> wrote:

>Most people don't want to or can't
>download multi gigabyte games. So best sellers like Battlefield 2 are safe
>for a long time.

I would much rather have had the option of downloading BF2, or any
other game I buy. I realise there are a lot that can't, but I am not
so sure about don't want to.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
Check groups.google.com before asking an obvious question.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

"steamKILLER" <sayNO2steam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1124946280.885017.298030@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Groo the Wanderer wrote:
>
> <snip long list of excuses to try and impose online delivery>
>
> i'm sorry but i don't buy this theory of yours
> i bet you work in the pc game industry either developing
> or publishing
You are wrong. I work in the hardware retail business.

> marketing is the same regardless of the delivery method
False. The members of a niche market are easier to reach. They usually hang
out at a small number of newsgroups and web sites so they can be informed
directly and at limited costs. For a retail game, you need to reach a more
general audience so that means advertisements in magazines, displays in
gaming stores and even tv spots. That's what makes games so expensive to
market.

> as for manufacturing i bet you its way less expensive to
> produce 50,000 dvd copies than to maintain a steam type
> server during a month
Do you have any numbers to support your assertion?

>
> these are all excuses for developers and publishers force
> a system upon gamers that favours them and gives them all
> the power and control they need to start asking whatever
> they want for games
Actually the reason why small developpers like digital downloads is that
they don't need publishers and have 100% creative control. Many times racing
sim developpers were asked to make their games more arcade oriented so they
could have a broader audience even if it goes against what they were making.
>
.... you really
> need to have a physical support and medium cause games
> are not like music which are a thing of the moment you
> listen for 3 minutes and then you forget about it
You are totally missing the point. The reason why downloadable songs are
popular is because people customers don't want to buy an entire album that
has only one good song and also because they are perfect for portable
players like the iPod.

> i understand developers and publishers are pushing hard
> for online delivery cause that means more profits but
> you simply can't do it if the reason is only money cause
> we the customers will not accept it
1. Developpers are pushing for online delivery. Publishers will lose their
"raison d'être" if they become prevalent.
2. The main reason is creative control.
3. Customers are already accepting it.

>
> --
> post made in a steam-free computer
> i said "NO" to ponctuation and sanity
>