"I really don't care about physical copies of games. Those are going to go extinct in the next decade anyways, so people still clinging to packaged over digital are just living in the old."
More games are sold at retail than on all digital distribution platforms together. Maybe digital distribution is the future, but
right now retail is still bigger:
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/21/npd-pc...ng-parity/
(10-03-2010, 12:06 PM)Eidolon Wrote: [ -> ]"I really don't care about physical copies of games. Those are going to go extinct in the next decade anyways, so people still clinging to packaged over digital are just living in the old."
More games are sold at retail than on all digital distribution platforms together. Maybe digital distribution is the future, but right now retail is still bigger:
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/21/npd-pc...ng-parity/
Hence why I said in the next DECADE. The transition between VHS and DVD took almost ten years to full transpire. Something very similar is beginning with digital and retail.
Meh , as with girls .... I prefer the REAL package of flesh and blood ....
.....but yeah ...some people stick to j*rking of in front of their pc to a digital version.
btw. the same with cars.
(10-02-2010, 10:46 PM)dvow Wrote: [ -> ]I really don't care about physical copies of games. Those are going to go extinct in the next decade anyways, so people still clinging to packaged over digital are just living in the old.
I've bought my fair share of digital distribution games on Steam / Impulse / GOG and directly from developers (like I did with Amnesia). It doesn't change the fact that I prefer physical copies if I have the chance. There are several reasons for it:
- Some people are gamers AND collectors. A long game list in Steam isn't the same as some shelves full of boxes and cases. :)
- There are still a lot of people who don't have broadband and I guess most of them won't have in 5-10 years, either. Games don't get smaller, though, so downloading them with <2 MBit is not a comfortable option.
- Although they're often unneeded and their quality has decreased over the years, in some cases physical manuals are a lot better than alt-tabbing out of the game everytime to look into a PDF.
- Collector's and Limited Editions are still a way for companies to get more money out of games. They have more appeal to buy than just some extra ingame items.
As with books and ebooks, I don't think games and "egames" will replace each other in the near future. Different people have different reasons to buy one or another. And for small developers like Frictional, digital distribution is a good and less risky way to publish and sell their games. I'd be happy if it gives them enough financial backup and publicity to release a retail copy, too.
Just bought the Penumbra Collection (DVD) and I would love to add Amnesia to my collection, despite already buying the digital release.
Just do it :3
I'd definitely buy a boxed edition !
I'll wait until January and if there still be little chance for boxed distribution by then, I'll purchase the game online, probably directly from the FG store. I'll then play it like I replayed Black Plague cca 9 months ago : During the winter time, with the heating turned off in my room and the window mildly opened to let som chilly air inside (it adds to the overall immersiveness and atmosphere
).
Yup, if there was a physical disk, instruction booklet, packaging, maybe a poster or something gimmicky i would buy even though I already own Amnesia.
I agree with Zonker and all other people saying that among us players, there are collectors and all.
Plus, a box copy may include a nice book with artworks, or like was said, t-shirts.
I don't agree at all with people sayong that games will be digital only in the next decades. Just for the reason above : there are collectors and will always be.
So, if you plan on publishing a box copy, I will buy it even if I already bought it on your online store.
And if there's some deluxe edition or whatever, it will surely by a nice christmas/birthday gift :>
My apologies for necroing this thread !
There's a boxed version of Amnesia to be released in a few days (31st November) over here, presumably for the central European market.
I'm intrigued, but I hope FG knows about this and someone isn't screwing them over again (like Lexicon Entertainment a few years ago).
I'm still considering about buying the game online though - just because it'd support the devs more directly. Decisions, decisions...
Where is over here?
