From the news submitter:Yasuda is quoted as saying that the 2006 plan of SCE Asia is to construct a PlayStation 3 infrastructure on which software makers can distribute software digitally ... selected developers will get prototype funding from KIPA, and additional post-prototype funding from SCEJ, as well as free technical support and PlayStation 3 development kit rentals. Further online reports have indicated that digital downloads of game material, as currently available for the Xbox 360, should be relatively simple with the PlayStation 3, though details of the PS3's online service are still closely veiled. TFA ...and the actual news item. So... Retailers selling games are going to have to look at their business model... Especially if PC distribution like steam, MS's Live Arcade, and Nintendo's 'whatever its called' gains traction with the games players as well as this news from Sony. Who among you would WELCOME this model for distribution? Got to be better than walking to the shop right? Or are you concerned about the DRM that's bound to come with this, and restrict your ability to play your software whenever you like... It's also gonna destroy the second hand market too right? Edited by Carlo at 17:33:32 21-02-2006 |
Sony may use download service to stop piracy, bankrupt retailers?
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Carlo 21,801 posts
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Registered 16 years ago -
boo 13,901 posts
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Registered 18 years agoSony go down this route and I won't bother buying a PS3.
I like a physical copy of a game, not some data stored somewhere that can get deleted if the machine goes on the fritz if there's a power spike or somesuch.
Nice box, artwork, the smell of a fresh manual...
Downloads - no thanks. -
JamFDUK 262 posts
Seen 13 years ago
Registered 16 years agoboo wrote:
Sony go down this route and I won't bother buying a PS3.
I like a physical copy of a game, not some data stored somewhere that can get deleted if the machine goes on the fritz if there's a power spike or somesuch.
Nice box, artwork, the smell of a fresh manual...
Downloads - no thanks.
Agreed. It's just not the same. -
Whilst digital distribution is an inevitability, I wouldn't think that retailers have any real concern about it for a good 5-10 years or so yet. DRM is the main issue, and it's the one that's putting most people off DD. -
oceanmotion 17,358 posts
Seen 2 years ago
Registered 18 years agofrod wrote:
This is two stories. One about digital distribution to combat piracy in certain parts of Asia, and one about the aided development of online enabled titles for Korean devs.
yea, here is the other one and more interesting.
Sony Pisses Off Online Korean Developers
Does'nt really matter since its really all PC gaming there but still sucks if they go that route in some respects. -
jozz 4,871 posts
Seen 4 years ago
Registered 16 years agoCome on, it says '...in Asia' in the title of the article. Why didn't you post that? -
JamFDUK wrote:
boo wrote:
Sony go down this route and I won't bother buying a PS3.
I like a physical copy of a game, not some data stored somewhere that can get deleted if the machine goes on the fritz if there's a power spike or somesuch.
Nice box, artwork, the smell of a fresh manual...
Downloads - no thanks.
Agreed. It's just not the same.
I am pretty much like that, but I'll have to admit I recently enjoyed downloading stuff from Direct2drive, for example. It's ... extremely comfortable. While I wouldn't want to do without a box like the one of Ico or SotC, most of the time I really wouldn't need it.
Respect to Introversion, btw - I downloaded the full version of Darwinia, and they sent me a boxed copy a few days later. Now that's a distribution model I'd welcome with open arms.
Edited by UncleLou at 18:14:31 21-02-2006 -
tengu 10,294 posts
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Registered 18 years ago -
Tiger_Walts 16,674 posts
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Registered 19 years agoI don't see any of the big multiformat publishers going along with this mode of distribution, at least not in Europe.
Distributers and retailers may not stock a game at all for the other formats if they can't get any for the PS3. It's bad enough that publishers take nearly 50% of the shelf price as it is.
It's also unlikely in that only 65% of internet connections in the UK are broadband, there no reason for needlessly cutting out up to 35% of your market. What this unfortunately means is that online distributed titles will get a debut in the east and not reach our shores till the threat of piracy will have a lower hit on sales. -
matrim83 5,713 posts
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Registered 17 years agoWill this really affect piracy? I honestly doubt that. Over all I'll still rather buy it than download it unless its offered at a significantly lower price. -
Freek 7,682 posts
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Registered 18 years agoOnline distribution is obivously going to be a bigger and bigger part of the market in the comming years. You just have to look at the succes of Steam and Live Arcade for that. And not just for retro stuff either, they're looking into bringing Sin Episodes to Arcade aswell.
But having an online distribution as an option is a long way away from having it exclusivily. It's an option, not mandatory.
And here it's even only an option in Asia, so it's irrelivant to us. -
Carlo 21,801 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 16 years agoMost of these arguments were the same arguments (for and against) about the music download industry wern't they?
Then along came Apple... -
Even aside concerns about losing stuff due to a machine crash I like owning a box and a manual!
I don't particularly like the prospect of having to buy additional hard drives to store more games on.
As i've said before - if there's no trade in value on a game then they'll have to be a lot cheaper or i just won't buy them. I happily pay around £20 for brand new pc games and don't expect to get any trade in value. There's NO chance of me paying £40 for a game which isn't worth around £15 when i'm finished with it. That and for the above reasons a downloadable game is worth less than a boxed one and they can count me out if they come in at anything more than £20 - £25. -
sam_spade 15,745 posts
Seen 1 week ago
Registered 20 years agoYou'll buy what you're offerred. And like it! -
Mine says "£4.97 - Asda Smart Price". -
Dammit I like mooching around the shops and picking up bargains! They can't make me download stuff i tell you! Never! NEVER!
/sony announce sly 4 and singstar 2 to be online distribution only
/signs up -
JammyB 756 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 19 years agoIf a game has no resale value and the genuine prospect that I won't be able to play it in the future because of DRM then I would value it much less. I just can't see myself buying anything like this unless the games are less than a fiver, which they won't be (especially if the 2nd hand market is destroyed).
I like to collect games as well as play them, that's half the fun for me. If renting DRM'd games like this is the only way to play in the future then I think I'd rather just give up on gaming to be honest and just play my back catalogues. -
DrDamn 1,216 posts
Seen 4 days ago
Registered 16 years agoIt's not going to be the only way to play games any time soon, but it is the future.
Currently retail is taking a slice of the game profits and the manufacturers will always look at ways to get more of the profits for themselves. This is a logic step for them.
Look on the brighter side - developers will cut out all the pre-rendered cut scene crap to bring titles down to a more managable size :-D.
I think you will also see more diversity in games if publishing costs are reduced - well ok that one is a bit far fetched... -
Pike 13,459 posts
Seen 1 year ago
Registered 18 years agoDrDamn wrote:
Look on the brighter side - developers will cut out all the pre-rendered cut scene crap to bring titles down to a more managable size :-D.
Don't count on it. By the time downloading will replace shops 100 Mbit+ connections will be the rule. -
sam_spade 15,745 posts
Seen 1 week ago
Registered 20 years agoFozzie_bear wrote:
Dammit I like mooching around the shops and picking up bargains! They can't make me download stuff i tell you! Never! NEVER!
/sony announce sly 4 and singstar 2 to be online distribution only
/signs up
See Singstar 2 is perfect for online distribution, it's small with just a video and an overlay. Plus you can keep it up to date through booster packs and have the top selling songs for each month. -
Cheezit 42 posts
Registered 18 years agoThis is coming to Europe and the US sooner than you think. Tie together statements from the likes of Phil Harrison slagging off retail for flogging pre-owned with their recent announcements about The Hub, and the writing's on the wall. There will still be a big retail market for years to come, but the specialists (GAME, GameStation, GameStop) are screwed long-term.
EA have a toe in the water (and its a no-brainer to see they'll push their PC downloader idea towards Xbox and PS3/PSP), MS are building a whole OS around digital distribution and moving files around the house (to the extent they see this as the REAL HD future, not BluRay/HDDVD), and even Nintendo are getting in on the act. But the real playmaker is Sony; the others are scared to upset retail right now, which is why you're not seeing price differenetials between retail and online downloads, and instead seeing experiments with online only 'booster packs' etc. But if Sony stick two fingers up to retail then the others will follow; the question is can Sony break retail or can retail break Sony? I'd bet on the former, simply because no one retailer has as dominant a market position as Sony.
Finally, there's an argument that the number of broadband connections isn't there yet, which is true, but if correlate console owners with broadband connections you'll find the 'gap' is narrower than you think.
Retailers have one cycle left and then they're done with the existing business model. Is this a good thing for consumers? Well, that's an entirely different question... -
Personally I see digital distro as a logical step forward, and a good thing. While I too err on the side of perferring a hard, physical copy of a game with nice packaging and that, I can't help but feel the reduced costs of the digital medium will mean that the underdog will have a far greater chance at audience share and financial success.
I know everyone's on about it at the moment, but I can't help but feel a game like Psychonauts would have been done the world of good if it had the benefit of a good solid digital distribution network, instead of the floundering half-arsed distribution and marketing that a small-time publisher like Majesco could afford it. Not only that, but the gamer gets his games at a cut price (if there's any common sense in the pricing structure, that is).
Anything that will do the creatives some good I'm all in favour of.
Edited by mouse at 11:39:40 22-02-2006 -
Cheezit 42 posts
Registered 18 years agomouse wrote:
Personally I see digital distro as a logical step forward, and a good thing. While I too err on the side of perferring a hard, physical copy of a game with nice packaging and that, I can't help but feel the reduced costs of the digital medium will mean that the underdog will have a far greater chance at audience share and financial success.
I know everyone's on about it at the moment, but I can't help but feel a game like Psychonauts would have been done the world of good if it had the benefit of a good solid digital distribution network, instead of the floundering half-arsed distribution and marketing that a small-time publisher like Majesco could afford it. Not only that, but the gamer gets his games at a cut price (if there's any common sense in the pricing structure, that is).
Anything that will do the creatives some good I'm all in favour of.
Edited by mouse at 11:39:40 22-02-2006
In principle you're right, digital distribution should reduce costs to the customer long-term. The problem is that a lot of the big players are effectively creating 'walled-garden' models (which have been proven time and again not to work, but never mind), which means the only way to buy a PS3 game is via Sony's servers or buy an Xbox game is via MS. If you look at the services such as Direct2Drive and Metaboli, they're a straight digital version of a retailer and have to compete with each other, but MS and EA are conspicuous absentees from these types of service, and in the console space it looks like you're stuck with the platform owners themselves as gatekeepers. It may be that this model won't be allowed to stand in places like the EU because its anti-competitive (Sky had open their satellite platform for similar reasons), but right now I don't necessarily see console customers getting a better deal. -
Freek 7,682 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 18 years agoSuddenly it all makes sense.
Japanese companies have a bizar and twisted view of the second hand market. Ofcourse they may get away with that stuff over there but in the West they'd never be able to do that, we like our second hand things. And if online downlaoding is to take off, it's not becuase they forced you to adopt it, it'll be when consumers want it.
Edited by Freek at 22:05:43 22-02-2006 -
CerealKey 2,860 posts
Seen 12 years ago
Registered 19 years agoWell it will be when they want it because they control the platform. They'll just stop approving manufacturing of discs and tell you to buy online, then you'll be stuck. -
Freek 7,682 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 18 years agoCerealKey wrote:
Well it will be when they want it because they control the platform. They'll just stop approving manufacturing of discs and tell you to buy online, then you'll be stuck.
No, you won't becuase you'll simply not buy thier product anymore, Sony is not the only company in the video games world. They push the consumer too far, MS, Nintendo and the PC scene will gladly scoop them up. -
CerealKey 2,860 posts
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Registered 19 years agoBut Nintendo and MS are making the same moves, the PC Market is already dancing about in the download-only retail park. -
Freek 7,682 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 18 years agoCerealKey wrote:
But Nintendo and MS are making the same moves, the PC Market is already dancing about in the download-only retail park.
No they aren't, they're giving the people who want it as an option, they're not in anyway completly switching over, not untill consumer demand is there. -
Teeth 7,987 posts
Seen 10 years ago
Registered 18 years agoThere are some guys in the comments of that article saying it's alarmist and linking articles, I didn't read them but you know... may wanna have a read. -
Teeth wrote:
There are some guys in the comments of that article saying it's alarmist and linking articles, I didn't read them but you know... may wanna have a read.
It's only alarmist for the reader who is under the impression that sort of thing was going to happen in the West, it's how japanese companies operate in Japan, nothing more. It makes it verry clear it's about Japan.
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