So what do we learn from all that in last weeks episode? Well it seems like the technology of next generation system is all over the place. Con: we are still far from anything conclusive. Pro: the sky is the limit. What about the software? Surely the future of games themselves is a little clearer?
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| J.J. Abrams (Jim Merithew/Wired.com) |
Well if you are hoping for a definitive “yes”, you would be disappointed. Downloadable content has exploded over the last couple of years, becoming almost a standard for any genre and driving the interest in downloading entire games. What does that mean for game delivery of the future? Are we still going to swing by the local GameStop for our copies of Uncharted 4 or Mass Effect 5? Will we be paying for online pay? What will the game collection of 2015 look like really?
Downloading appears to be the future. It makes sense; companies can save on all that packaging and shipping while the players are stuck with the costs of media, namely hard drives. Distributing networks such as Steam or Sony’s SEN charge the same price for games as you would find in store despite the reduced cost of distribution.
Current models are skewed in favour of the publisher that is clear and there will have to be some considerations from those publishers if complete game downloads is the path of the future. The problem with this system is that players are not dumb. In an age when you can price check a product within seconds online using a computer or your phone pricing a product the same, or in some ridiculous cases more than a physical copy is a hard sell.
From the players perspective they are getting less for the same price. That is even before you consider that games today are not small and media isn’t cheap. If I downloaded everything I bought I would probably fill a hard drive or two a year. For systems such as Sony’s new Vita with proprietary memory cards a mere 16 gigs will cost you $60. Downloading games begins to look more expensive than the previous system.
This is what companies are pushing for. Let us focus on the Vita for a moment because it is a good case study for future systems of game distribution. PlayStation released games on their network for the system before they sold versions in stores. They have also announced they will not be bringing their UMD transfer system to the US. This does two things, first it makes the Vita not backward compatible and second it sends the message that digital copies of games are better for you. After all you could still play your copy of Killzone Liberation if you had downloaded from the online store instead of heading to GameStop.
Before the system is even available in North America they are creating an ecosystem that supports the downloading of titles over purchasing of physical copies. A high profit margin, there is no sharing games and more importantly there is no selling the game back to GameStop for credit. There are good things about downloading you games however. If there were some compromise on the price points online purchases are better for the environment and mean less clutter for living room.
We just hit an important and controversial issue in the game industry. The used game industry is a large one and some say it is a destructive one; which is likely why the game industry, or more specifically the publishers and console makers are trying to dismantle it. Online game sales are just one approach that could leave half the shelves in your local GameStop empty.
Console makers and publishers are looking for ways to reduce the used game industry, one that accounts for a large part of GameStop’s profits that the publishers get no part of. One approach is the pay to play system that has been appearing in some big titles of late. EA has developed an online pass system used in titles such as Battlefield 3 and Dead Space that gives first time buyers free online play but players who buy the game used can’t play online unless they pay $10 for the privilege.
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| EA's Online Pass Info Page |
They are not alone; Sony has released several titles in the past few months, Uncharted 3 and Resistance 3, with similar system. Nintendo has pledged to setup their online system with the Wii U and is thinking about engaging a similar as well. Gamers hate it because who likes paying for anything? It does appear, however, to be a compromise. This way EA gets a cut of the used game industry and players can continue trading games.
It is certainly a more reasonable approach than that of the Future Xbox 720. The system is rumoured to feature technology that will not play used games at all; A blow that could destroy the used game markets. In defence of game companies the used game market represents a great deal of potential revue lost by game publishers. It was estimated $2 billion in lost sales last year 2011. WOW, I would be a little upset with companies like GameStop too if I saw it that way!
Some developers, such as Saints Row developer Jameson Dural, are praising this claiming it could save the
Plenty of people have come out opposing standard industry excuses such as lost sales. A few developers on the consumer side. Halo developer, Matthew Karch, and Witcher 2 developer, Adam Badowski, have both expressed concerns about the fairness of a system that doesn’t allow players to try games. As a great piece of literature once said, DON'T PANIC. Nothing is set in stone we are still far from a new Xbox.
Could controls over games drive users to downloading titles? or could downloading you games help relieve industry concerns over used games. After all you can't trade in DLC. Personally I am not crazy about downloading games. My bandwidth is allocated else where and there is something comforting about having a physical copy of an object (even if I don't own it any more than the downloaded content). I would not be opposed to it though, really the pricing issue is the biggest obstacle to downloading full titles.
The moral of this story? Game companies, console makers and publishers alike need to develop systems that make it easier for users to get their content not more difficult. They can't treat players like criminals and they certainly can't take advantage of them, at least not so obviously.
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