GAME in trouble?

[Tempscire]

Stuff about UI's

You've picked on the only part of my post that was meant to not be taken seriously

 

[Kasatka]

I honestly don't think we'll see any change the the hight-street games industry. GAME have long been overpriced and stocking of a narrow range of products. Gamestation and others like CEX however have been focusing on re-selling - something that nets them 100% profit and the developer 0% (well, some games might require some keys to be bought which might give the developer some money, but still less than a new copy and without eating into the shops profit).

Now some developers may be trying to avoid this re-selling of product, but there's little they can do as long as they want to provide hard copies for sale. Once we move into the age of download only products, then i could envisage an end to high-street retailers.

 

[Silk]

Now some developers may be trying to avoid this re-selling of product, but there's little they can do as long as they want to provide hard copies for sale. Once we move into the age of download only products, then i could envisage an end to high-street retailers.

Not heard of live passes then? Each account has to pay to unlock online content for a game - with the first obviously included for free with the original game purchase. They'll become the norm soon, and next gen hardware will probably take it a step further with single player requiring a pass rather than just multiplayer.

Bye bye CEX when that happens.

 

[Spicypixel]

Already there, both Sony and Microsoft will have a full steamesque DRM system in place for the next gen. Product per account awesomeness here we come.

 

[Tempscire]

Already there, both Sony and Microsoft will have a full steamesque DRM system in place for the next gen. Product per account awesomeness here we come.

I do hope that this includes some way to 'lend' games to another account, as I think that gamers should have a choice of what to do with a product they've bought. Would probably be nice to have a rental system as well.

 

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

It would be nice if steam added a features where you can give games to your friends for a 60% refund off the 'current' steam price, or something like that.

I dont know how it is with console peripherals sales. But i'd imagine without GAME, they would need a new way of distributing information regarding what's available, i would expect consoles would have to have more on screen advertising (i've no idea what they have already).

 

[Kasatka]

Not heard of live passes then? Each account has to pay to unlock online content for a game - with the first obviously included for free with the original game purchase. They'll become the norm soon, and next gen hardware will probably take it a step further with single player requiring a pass rather than just multiplayer.

Bye bye CEX when that happens.

Indeed i have heard of them, but there are plenty of small, indie companies that either don't care for or can't afford laborious and expensive DRM setups with the merchandise and unless the entire industry shifts that way we'll instead see a slew of customers converting from AAA publishers to indie and small companies that basically say "hey, you're money, so do what you want with the software!"

 

[Panda with issues...]

I do hope that this includes some way to 'lend' games to another account, as I think that gamers should have a choice of what to do with a product they've bought. Would probably be nice to have a rental system as well.

This is it in a nutshell though. Things like steam are hanging out in a legal grey area, where we aren't sure if we own our games, or are just renting them indefinitely. You bet most publishers would prefer the 'rental' side of that argument.

 

[Windzarko]

I do hope that this includes some way to 'lend' games to another account, as I think that gamers should have a choice of what to do with a product they've bought.

Heh, try telling that to console publishers. Clearly if you buy a game, you should be buying at the highest price you can, never letting another living soul see your copy in action, never lend it, and never sell it used. If you do, YOU ARE THE DEVIL, and you're doing unlawful things with THEIR game (never mind that what you paid for isn't a liscence or a rental but a full purchase...).

This is it in a nutshell though. Things like steam are hanging out in a legal grey area, where we aren't sure if we own our games, or are just renting them indefinitely.

If you're a perfectly well-behaved user/consumer, you can probably consider it a purchase. If you're at all inclined towards anything that could violate the Steam EULA or ToS, it's kinda more like a rental since you can be utterly cut off, lose access to ALL your games and have to buy them again as if you never had them in the first place (barring any saved game files you had left over; kind of like lingering saves on a memory card from console rentals gone by).

 

[Panda with issues...]

If you're a perfectly well-behaved user/consumer, you can probably consider it a purchase. If you're at all inclined towards anything that could violate the Steam EULA or ToS, it's kinda more like a rental since you can be utterly cut off, lose access to ALL your games and have to buy them again as if you never had them in the first place (barring any saved game files you had left over; kind of like lingering saves on a memory card from console rentals gone by).

Again though, this is it. If I act like a twat (shocking thought, I know!) no moral police comes round and steals my books, or record collection.

 

[thatbloke]

Again though, this is it. If I act like a twat (shocking thought, I know!) no moral police comes round and steals my books, or record collection.

No, but if you act like enough of a twat to receive a fine of some sort, then you may have to to afford said fine.

 

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

My local GAME is one of the stores closing. I do wonder if our consumer rights are protected when buying a steam works game on the high-street.

 

[Panda with issues...]

No, but if you act like enough of a twat to receive a fine of some sort, then you may have to to afford said fine.

When does paying a fine equate to removal of my property?

Answer: Only when I cannot pay said fine and they send the bailiffs round.

Nowhere near the same thing.

 

[Ronin Storm]

Again though, this is it. If I act like a twat (shocking thought, I know!) no moral police comes round and steals my books, or record collection.

Thing is, this is all still moot. Steam, Origin, Impulse and whatever other distribution apps exist are there, at one level, to control your access to digital media. That you've "bought" it is now something of an anachronism. We've been working on/with a licenses model for years. Hell, you can even have your console thrown off the associated network so you're locked to single player with no updates. But none of this is new and none of this changes with the existence or lack of Game.

 

[Panda with issues...]

Thing is, this is all still moot. Steam, Origin, Impulse and whatever other distribution apps exist are there, at one level, to control your access to digital media. That you've "bought" it is now something of an anachronism. We've been working on/with a licenses model for years. Hell, you can even have your console thrown off the associated network so you're locked to single player with no updates. But none of this is new and none of this changes with the existence or lack of Game.

This is exactly the point I've been trying to make. In the digital age, the line between purchase and rental is becoming totally blurred.

 

[bacon]

This is exactly the point I've been trying to make. In the digital age, the line between purchase and rental is becoming totally blurred.

To be fair, if we're expecting the retailers and publishers to move on, embrace the internet and change their business model then we've got to accept that that will change how it works from our end as well.

 

[Panda with issues...]

To be fair, if we're expecting the retailers and publishers to move on, embrace the internet and change their business model then we've got to accept that that will change how it works from our end as well.

Sure. I'm not exactly sure what options are for the different digital download services. It could all end up being as simple as an itunes type system vs something similar to spotify.

As a person, I generally think competition is a good thing for markets, but in this case, I find it very difficult to think about platforms other than steam, due to trust and convenience.

It would be interesting to see a large well-run alternative service to steam which had a slightly different business model. In this case, I sort of see steam a bit like spotify, in that access to your games can be taken at will. Does anyone use any of the other platforms, such as direct2drive or anything like that? How do they handle 'ownership'?

 

[thatbloke]

I can't remember the name of it, but I know Zooggy uses some online games thing where instead of buying games on a per-game basis, you pay a monthly fee and then have access to a large library of games (a lot of which are the latest and greatest) and you are free to install and play these games as much as you like, as long as you continue to pay the subscription.

 

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

I can't remember the name of it, but I know Zooggy uses some online games thing where instead of buying games on a per-game basis, you pay a monthly fee and then have access to a large library of games (a lot of which are the latest and greatest) and you are free to install and play these games as much as you like, as long as you continue to pay the subscription.

£20/m or less?

 

[thatbloke]

£20/m or less?

Yes (I remembered the name of it now - clicky the linky)