Publisher 1C talks down ‘childish’ retailer Steam ban

You might remember that UK retailers were a little miffed that Steam is such an awesome digital distribution service that most PC game publishers are having it come with the games they sell, even the ones in a box. They were so miffed in fact, that they threatened to ban Steam-equipped games from their shelves.

Now one publisher has fired back, writing an opinion piece at MCV. Darryl Still, International Publishing Director for Publisher 1C (also known as “the guys that publish all those weird/awesome Eastern European PC games”) took the retailers to task for their whining, among other things relaying a great anecdote about the pathetic excuses they use to not stock various PC games:

I remember fondly the meeting in my office with a red-faced publisher who was explaining why their initial order from a major retailer for one of our new releases was just 30 units. At the time I had my browser open on the Steam product data page, which updates sales numbers every few minutes.

“They have taken one unit for each of their top 30 stores” he told me. “There is just no demand from their customers”.

I glanced at my screen, hit refresh and advised him: “In the time it’s taken you to tell me that there is no demand, Steam has sold 45 units”.

And that was just for Steam. 1C deals with over two dozen other digital distribution platforms, including GamersGate, Impulse and Direct2Drive.

Digital distribution’s here to stay, and it’s time for brick-and-mortar folks to quit whining and start adapting, lest they get left behind.

[Thanks to Duran L for the tip!]