Remedy CEO Matias Myllyrinne wants the game industry to go all-digital as quickly as possible, and he doesn't give a damn if retailers are left in the dust. They sell used games, so screw 'em, appears to be the general opinion.
"I don’t think the big, huge experiences are going anywhere, but the sooner we go digital as an industry, the better for everybody. Better for consumers, better for the developers and publishers," he said. "Maybe [it’s] not so good for retail, but then again if you’re selling our games as used copies and incentivising people to do that, then I don’t really feel sorry for you."
I'm sure most developers/publishers are literally salivating for the day they achieve total market control, but I'm not sure it's a market that'll survive if they insist on keeping the current price structure. As I've said before, $60 games are sustained by the secondhand game market.
Remove that, and a week in which Portal 2, Mortal Kombat and SOCOM 4 are released becomes a financially crippling prospect for most gamers -- it's hard enough for most of them already, and that's with extra benefits like trade-in credit. With the current attitude that AAA publishers have, I only see an all-digital market benefiting the corporate, not the consumer, side.
Remedy: “The Sooner We Go Digital, The Better” [Edge]
Contest:
10:00 AM on 05.03.2011 | 
The day that used games sales are taken out of the picture is when you'll see sales decline. I am a family man and the ability to trade my used games for new helps me purchase more games. If I can't trade-in then my family and I will not be able to afford the amount of games we purchase on a yearly basis.
Sincerely,
Joe Everyguy
The majority of people who game on PC would agree with this completely.
post-release. Then everyone wins... except retailers of course.
@Fayt: Steam still have new AAA games at the 40-50; trust me, they won't lower the prices if they do go digital when the PC crowd is willing to shell 10+ dollars on their favorite major gaming series.
Though, seriously Maitias, we don't have much money; how about to give us some slack? Sure you're not making much money with used sales but we have our own mouths to feed too.
Game development and design has been hurt by this business model. Games add fluff content or poor multiplayer in an attempt to counter people trading in the game so soon that gamestop stops selling new copies.
If people don't buy $60 un-sellable games, then prices will go down or quality will go up. I still don't quite understand why a Game of the Year sells for the same price as a random POS movie tie-in game.
Welcome to my no-buy blacklist. Take a sit next to Ubisoft and think about what you've done.
That week, Mortal Kombat and portal 2 were £36 each - I bought both.
That same week Socom was £45 - Despite REALLY REALLY wanting it, i didn't buy it, and won't until it's less than £40.
This "all games are potential GOTY and should all be the same price as all other games" thing needs to die.
There are some £40 games, sure.
But there are a whole lot worth only £30, or even £20, which people will generally buy pre-owned.
Why not just charge that price new? And literally steal sales from the pre-owned prodcut???
Am I missing something.
Hell, just take a peek at Steam and copy how they do it.
See, there's this thing called "waiting." People that buy the initial used value from the likes of Gamestop are only screwing themselves, but by waiting for that price to come down and using that discount card on used games, they'd end up saving cash in the long run.
I have very little confidence in an all-digital industry when they've done little else but try to diminish or destroy consumer choice on the physical media side. They'd do the same on the digital side. That and every other digital distribution model has done its best to try to NOT be like Steam.
I don't begrudge them for not wanting to mirror the iOS market, because that's asinine, really, but the fact that no one really tries to compete with Steam or emulate their business model just boggles my mind.
but hey, I guess that leaves more business for Steam.
I also think that developers and/or publishers are exaggerating on the whole used games issue.
Personally, I have bought one used game EVER. And that was 11th hour because I lost my original version.
From a gamer perspective I don't give a fuck about retailers. But what works for me with a 100mbit connection doesn't work for someone who has no or a very slow internet. Pretty narrow minded if you ask me.
That said, going completely digital isn't just going to screw over the big companies like Gamestop, but all the smaller brick and mortar shops that are struggling as it is. Honestly, in this economy, how could anyone wish for thousands of people to loose their jobs all in the name of accessibility? No thank you.
Buy game outside of the center of the universe (North America and western Europe) is so expensive. At least they should give the two options.
It makes a lot of sense. Same price, less overhead = more profit. That's all they think about.
Basically, I'm all for you guys cutting out the middleman and dealing with me directly, so long as I get at least the same service as I'm currently provided with.
I'll tell you one thing, though. It's not going to happen unless the console manufacturers do it all at the same time. Look at the spectacular failure of the PSPGo.
They may not have been your primary customer at the outset, but they will be for the second round. Unless you're going to be a bit more competitive with pricing after game release, then you're going to be losing out on a lot of new customers as developer by cutting out the second hand game market.
To Matias Myllyrinne (? really what the fuck kinda name is that?): Waaah
I love how he puts better for consumers first which is utter bullshit and he knows it.
BUY REMEDY GAMES USED! >:D
As consumers, allowing the video game industry go to a completely digital business model is effectively giving up our right to ownership. If we allow developers and publishers to go digital, we will no longer own our games, we will just be buying time to play their games. You can bet that if this happens, there will be something in the EULA that states that the devs/publishers have no obligation to keep the service running and they reserve the right to shut it down at any time. This is already happening, and example is with the whole sony vs geohot issue. whether or not you support hacking or pirating, we as consumers HAVE to fight for our right to ownership, and that is what the whole thing was about. As the consumers we have the power here, but to get things the way we want, we might have to sacrifice playing the new call of duty or warcraft or whatever new game that is digital only. We have to let the developers know that we do not want to go totally digital, we do not want our choices and our power as consumers taken from us. The price point is another example, I dont care how much time and effort was put into a game, a video game should cost $40, but as lazy consumers, we let the companies control the price point of video games by complaining about the price but buying it anyways. We have to start getting the video game market back into the control of the consumers where it needs to be, not in the hands of the companies.
Yes, within a couple of weeks after a game releases, you see it for sale 20 dollars off or more. The developers are fine with this, because they've hit the "hardcore must have it day 1" crowd already. By lowering the price, they start to bite into the crowd that would have gone to Gamestop and bought used. I could get it used from Gamestop in a month for 25 bucks, or get it new on Steam for 30 bucks right now. Biting into that used game market share, they are. Reclaiming some of that lost money, reclaiming customers. Hell, look at Amazon's great deals on games, with free shipping no less.
The customers, seeing this growing trend, start to make it a habit to watch for deals instead of slinking over to Gamestop.
I like this method of reclaiming customers as opposed to some terrible copy protection scheme.
...... How about instead of crying like an entitled tool, you make better games, you sell them at a lower price point to more people and you give your customers a reason to stay loyal to you.
Oh wait ..... because that would take skill and effort where the simply going digital plan allows you to change nothing and screw your customers. Hats off to ya!
Ok, go digital. Definetly :D! (<---Hates Alan Wake)
Also Jim has put his usual WAM! * BAM! * He hates YOU! **
He is kind of saying that but its ramped up to 11 When journalists are speaking.
If digital distribution limits what the consumer can do with their copy, then the games worth has been greatly diminished.
I don't think I'd pay any more than $25-$30 for a game I couldn't sell, or even swap for another game with a friend.
Once upon a time the schoolyard cartridge swap determined the future of game development companies. I'd hate to see that lost.
You know how different retailers compete for our business now, and K-Mart will drop $20 off a new game, then Amazon will do the same? Forget about any of that. There will be no competition, ever again. Digital means that there are no retailers out there that want to get rid of old stock and clear up shelf space, so that means no clearance sales. Going digital also means that it will eliminate thousands of jobs in the middle of a recession.
Fuck this guy. I bet he wants to go all digital. But don't ever, EVER believe someone lying right to your face about how it will be good for the consumer. It will be the worst day in the history of video games for consumers. They won't stop at price increases either. Then you won't even own your games. You won't have any say in any of it either.
If you think everyone is going to turn into Steam, you are sadly mistaken. Even Steam is unhealthy since it is turning into a dangerously powerful monopoly.
Just in case I didn't make it perfectly clear ... retailers are your friend. You would do well to remember that.
On topic, the change is coming at some point, how about Blockbuster who got a suckerpunch by netflix? I wouldn't know much about the service because we still have to walk to our god damn blockbuster to get our movies.. and I want to be able to download my games, its all about choice!