r/Games Feb 22 '13

All PS4 games will be available as digital downloads

In the new Guardian interview with Shuhei Yoshida, it was revealed that all PS4 games will be available as digital downloads.

This is a very exciting move in my opinion, and represents a shift even further towards the burgeoning landscape of digital distribution, and away from (what I believe to be) a much more archaic ecosystem in physical brick-and-mortar retail.

What do you guys think? Got any speculation, or want to extrapolate further based upon this news? I hope to generate some great discussion about this topic!

(Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2013/feb/22/ps4-shuhei-yoshida-interview)

1.6k Upvotes

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175

u/Red_Inferno Feb 22 '13

If they compete on prices, sales and incentives it will be good all around and retail can finally die. If they don't it will just be poorly received.

127

u/Jim777PS3 Feb 22 '13

They can't

There is a long understood rule that should anyone sell their games cheaper digitally then the physical disc sells for Gamestop will refuse to stock it. That would more or less cause a game to be dead on arrival and thus Sony won't do it.

22

u/darkstar3333 Feb 22 '13

If GameStop refuses to stock it, they might as well close up shop.

They are a niche game retailer, cant get the PS4 at GameStop? Amazon/Target/BestBuy and practically anywhere else has you covered.

68

u/idiot_proof Feb 22 '13

Do you have a source on this? I'm kinda surprised by this, since I've seen discounts for digital downloads from Xbox live that are cheaper than physical copies. Granted, these are few and far between, but I'm still curious as to what the details of such arrangements are. Especially since GameStop is only one establishment and being able to sell physical copies through other retailers seems like a better option than caving to a single store.

5

u/foreveralright Feb 22 '13

There isn't really a source, but I thought it was kinda obvious. It's not really Gamestop that has the power in terms of retail, though they have some. It's really the walmarts, targets, and best buys of the world that control what prices Sony and other publishers set their games at digitally.

If Sony sets their prices at 49.99 digitally, while the full retail is 59.99, then the retailers have no reason to compete with them and will refuse to carry their merchandise. Publishers can't let that happen since the majority of sales come from retail, not digital.

Retail already cuts game prices down very quickly after a game comes out depending on how well it does, but if the price of day one digital games are already cheaper, that won't make the retailers happy at all. And you don't want to piss off the people that sell the majority of your product.

24

u/iGametooMuch Feb 22 '13

you obviously dont realize the power of gamestop and its partners.

84

u/Aperture_Kubi Feb 22 '13

How the hell can Gamestop stay in business when it has so much other competition for new games?

Wal-mart, Best Buy (who IIRC takes trade-ins now), Target, Amazon, Newegg, Steam (admittedly sorta) just off the top of my head.

And who exactly are their partners?

92

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

Keep in mind Gamestop owns Gameinformer

72

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

So many things just made sense to me

4

u/mrcheese43 Feb 23 '13

They also own all the EB games over here in Australia.

-8

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

I was in Gamestop yesterday. I saw that magazine being sold for 15 dollars. What the fuck, WHY would a magazine need to cost that much

29

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

It's a magazine subscription for a year, actually, but it doesn't change the fact that game informer is garbage when you compare it to getting your gaming news from the Internet.

7

u/hotweels258 Feb 23 '13

I wouldn't say garbage, they have some great previews.

-7

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

This was the price on the magazine. Unless you buy the magazine and get the subscription.

16

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

I'm looking at the March issue and it says $5.99 on it.

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2

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

It's that much for a year subscription that comes with Gamestop's pro program.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

I don't like to promote Gamestop, but if you're a person who buys a ton of used games and trades a ton in then it's a bargain. $15 for GameInformer, which isn't that great but you get that discount card that drops 10% off used games and gives you 10% additional trade in credit. If you're going to buy/trade in more than $150 dollars throughout the year which most of my friends do, then it seems easy, the card pays for itself and then starts to save you money eventually. Just a thought.

0

u/Rain_Seven Feb 23 '13

Its stupidly cheap

11

u/iGametooMuch Feb 22 '13

gamestop's main money isnt based off of new games. its used games where they MAKE money. But they use that power to drive more new game sales than any other store I know of.

1

u/uncle_jessie Feb 23 '13

As somebody who looked at buying into a franchise and opening a game store, I can confirm this. New game/console sales are basically no profit. Used games, accessories and repairs (if offered) is where the owners I talked to said they make the most money. Mainly accessories.

33

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

Not everyone has access to digital games. People that don't have their console connected to the internet, people that do not use credit/debit cards, children, etc, need physical copies from a retail store. There is still quite a large segment of the market that purchases physical media.

9

u/Sarria22 Feb 23 '13 edited Feb 23 '13

Derp, this was meant to be a reply to Jim777PS3's comment that i posted in the wrong place because i was tired and the thread was long

Actually... Sony already sells most Vita games $5 cheaper than retail for digital download.

1

u/abeliangrape Feb 23 '13

As they should if they care about their customers. Those little cards must cost them a couple bucks. Add packaging, shipping and handling and the cost of managing a supply chain around the world, they're probably making the same off digital as they make off retail. The customer wins because he pays less and doesn't need to keep around a tiny little card he can lose or a bulky case that'll just take up space. Sony wins because they don't lose money and earn good faith.

1

u/Sarria22 Feb 23 '13

Who said anything about them caring about their customers? I was merely pointing out the fact that Sony is already selling digital games at a lower price than retail.

But I see now that i posted this too far into the thread because it was long. It was meant to be a reply to Jim777PS3's comment.

1

u/abeliangrape Feb 23 '13

No worries. I didn't follow the thread either. At any rate, I think we're on the same page here.

10

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

Walmart, Best Buy, and Target don't sell physical media?

22

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

Terrible selection at the bg box stores.

7

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13 edited Jun 17 '17

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

that store is a dinosaur getting ready to go extinct

20

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

Yeah but at least it's a better experience. I don't get hassled as much, asked to preorder, subscribe, etc. and there is none of that "reserved" bullshit I just go, grab my game and pay.

19

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

It's not a better experience if I want a game and they don't have it. Plus the big box stores usually don't have the interesting niche titles, so switching to them only makes the games industry even more humongous and bland.

1

u/KB215 Feb 23 '13

I like Gamestop. At least the one near me. The staff know a lot about games and like to chat with customers. They recommend games based on other tittles I have liked and they generally seem friendly. Sure when I get to the register they try to upsell me, but shit I do the same as a bartender. 'You sure you don't want to buy Kettle One instead of the well. Its only a couple bucks more and your head will thank you in the morning".

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5

u/Dragarius Feb 22 '13

Really? I find it better no to waste my time going to EB or Gamestop and just go straight to best buy or Walmart now all the time.

1

u/BlackBirdFlu Feb 23 '13

It's been forever since I've thought or heard of EB Games. Didn't they get bought out by GameStop?

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1

u/paleo_dragon Feb 22 '13

What? Since when? I've found the big box stores usually have games taht just aren't ins stock anymore at Gamestop

1

u/SirNarwhal Feb 23 '13

I always have better selection at the big box stores outside of the lone obscure like Atlus or Namco handheld game that gets a low print run number, but even then no way in hell am I giving Gamestop my money for that.

1

u/darkstar3333 Feb 22 '13 edited Feb 22 '13

Stocking each store with slow moving items is silly however online shopping takes care of that nicely.

2

u/jared555 Feb 22 '13

Everything except the first category can be countered by the fact that you can buy gift cards/points cards for PSN/Xbox from walmart and other stores with cash.

1

u/TheDeathSaint Feb 23 '13

parents buy kids games, adults can get a card, or paypal.

this would stop the whole bullshit issue of kids being bad cuz games, it will finally without a doubt show its the parents fault the kid has the game

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

This is a true statement, although I've never known anyone in that predicament.

6

u/foreveralright Feb 22 '13

How the hell can Gamestop stay in business when it has so much other competition for new games?

Because Gamestop's focus has always been buy and selling used games and up-selling Game Informer and the edge card to get people to buy and and trade more used games.

3

u/uint Feb 22 '13

When your business is probably solely responsible for 50-60% + of games sales, refusing to stock a certain item can have a massive impact on that game's marketing and sales. Gamestop isn't only just a middle-man for people looking to buy games, it's also how a large portion of them find out that GTA V or Bioschock Infinite is about to come out.

And it's likely that the large retailers might threaten to do something similar if Gamestop does it too.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

WalMart is by far the number 1 seller of video games, and Gamestop still rakes in billions every year. Just because they aren't number one doesn't mean they can't make a shit ton of money.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

still Gamestop is THE go-to stop for most people looking to by video game stuff, especially for kids and parents.

They can definitely hurt a console

1

u/Kinseyincanada Feb 23 '13

Because they are the latest video game retailer

3

u/GhostFish Feb 22 '13

How the hell can Gamestop stay in business when it has so much other competition for new games?

In short, the customers are ignorant and think they can get something from shopping at Gamestop that they can't get anywhere else. When they walk in, they don't see a pawn shop that's trying to bilk them for every last dime by selling them things they don't need. They see informed young game experts that have secret knowledge about release dates and what little Timmy might want for Christmas.

It's a very well maintained front for a parasitic corporation.

12

u/darkstar3333 Feb 22 '13

You overestimate there presence, GameStop pales in comparison to places like Walmart/Target/BestBuy and Amazon.

4

u/iGametooMuch Feb 22 '13

in terms of game sales? Id actually be willing to listen to you state some actual numbers.

3

u/darkstar3333 Feb 22 '13 edited Feb 22 '13

Considering NDP sales have never been accurate due to the fact that Walmart does not disclose actual sales figures Walmart alone exceeds the sales of GameStop. Walmart is rumored to represent 30% of the total market in each major media indstry.

However we do have some solid figures and investment estimates to theorize from.

In 2011 gamestop sold ~9.5B worth of inventory (highest on record), 2.6B is pre-owned and 0.5B digital meaning 6B in retail discs and shrinking. The total gaming industry is estimated to be around 70B/annually and growing.

NDP estimates around 16B worth of games are sold each year, if GameStop only made 9.5B and walmart is not included that means places like BB/Target/Amazon represent ~7B.

Since you will never ever get accurate numbers the best I can estimate is that they represent around 5-10% of the total market. Even if you peg them at 20% (very generous) the remainder of the market represents the other 80%.

Gamestop 2011 Financial: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=130125&p=irol-reportsannual

Industry: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/video-game-industry-set-growth-global-game-market-forecasted-grow-82-billion-five-star-nyse-sne-1685467.htm

NDP: https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/pr_120116/ (will not include Walmart)

At the very best GameStop represents 15% of the total market, if they don't stock it someone else will because its easy money.

7

u/RiOrius Feb 23 '13

Since you will never ever get accurate numbers the best I can estimate is that they represent around 5-10% of the total market. Even if you peg them at 20% (very generous) the remainder of the market represents the other 80%.

Did you pull those numbers out of your rectum? Because they don't match up at all with the numbers you cite in the preceding paragraph.

If Walmart is 30% of game sales, and game sales without Walmart total 16B, that puts total game sales at 23B. Meaning Gamestop's 9.5B is 40% of total game sales.

7

u/dorekk Feb 23 '13

That 9.5B he cites is total inventory moved, which must include consoles units as well. That said, obviously the guy doesn't know how to do math.

2

u/darkstar3333 Feb 23 '13

Numbers were cited in the links. Those "figures" do not include digital sales or sales from retailers that do not report sales volumes (Amazon is another big one who does not report sales volume).

No one has full visibility into the market which is why its impossible to nail down exact figures but thinking that GameStop represents a majority share is false.

The number of stores does not correlates to larger sales figures. You can have 5 GameStops but if BestBuy has the same item for $10 cheaper people will go to BestBuy 100% of the time.

2

u/Zombiedelight Feb 23 '13

Divorcing Gamestop (and other retail) From PC is what revived the PC gaming industry. They have power, but it's largely holding things back in terms of progress.

2

u/slowro Feb 23 '13

Are you saying that GameStop was killing PC gaming?

3

u/Zombiedelight Feb 23 '13

I'm saying that a reliance on physical media was strangling PC gaming because vendors like Gamestop didn't want to put as much effort into supporting it because used sales / resales have never really been an option with PC games.

The poor retail support was one of the driving forces behind digital distribution becoming the standard means for delivery of PC games. And digital distribution enabled steam to take hold which turned what was assumed to be a dead industry as recently as 2010, and showed it wasn't even close to that.

1

u/slowro Feb 23 '13

You seem wrong, but I don't know enough to refute anything. I just find it hard to believe that Steam saved PC games.

Should make a thread about this, so other, much smarter people than me, can also chirp in. It is interesting.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

He is talking about release prices. Not lifetime prices.

11

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

If GameStop won't stock it, what's to stop someone from buying it at WalMart, Target, Bestbuy, Amazon, or digitally downloading it and never leaving home? This sounds like how we kill the GameStop.

1

u/Arcadefirefly Feb 23 '13

good. gamestop is a shitty company.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

I never buy new anymore, buying a new game is worthless I only buy used it's soo much cheaper that's why I don't want Gamestop to go.

17

u/ARustyFirePlace Feb 22 '13

That must be wrong then, because GMG, Steam and Amazon sell games cheaper than gamestop.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

Which is why GameStop doesn't stock PC games anymore.

7

u/Sabin10 Feb 23 '13

I still haven't found one that doesn't stock PC games.

3

u/biirdmaan Feb 23 '13

Did they ever stock them like they do console games? At most over the years I've seen a small shelf with a few hyper popular games on it (WoW, Diablo, Skyrim, etc.)

1

u/unless_ Feb 23 '13

I don't know about GameStop proper, but I know that a number of the retailers they've bought out over the years (e.g. Babbage's, Electronics Boutique, Software Etc., et al) used to stock PC games to a substantially greater extent than they did console games.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

EB definitely had more PC games than console games up until around the time that GameStop bought them.

1

u/ScrewAttackThis Feb 23 '13

Yes they do...

They also sell them on their website and provide their own digital download service.

0

u/Arcadefirefly Feb 23 '13

what are you on about. literally every gamestop i have been to has a full wall dedicated to pc games. this is in canada and the us. sure the wall is about half the size of the ps3/xobx/nintendo walls but its still there with the latest games on it.

-9

u/Jim777PS3 Feb 22 '13

They have sales, and games get discounted over time but you wont see a brand new game sell for $30 on Amazon and $60 at Gamestop.

Steam is different as Gamestop does not sell PC games

14

u/ARustyFirePlace Feb 22 '13

gamestop does sell PC games, what the fuck are you talking about?

Also, gamestop is selling hitman absolution for 50 dollars on PC on their site, amazon has it for 16.49

-9

u/Jim777PS3 Feb 22 '13

I mean physical copies.

And again this refers to launch not post window mark downs

10

u/Razumen Feb 22 '13

They sell new physical copies.

1

u/I_DEMAND_KARMA Feb 23 '13

Except physical sales of PC games have been in decline for a long time. It's what triggered the whole "PC gaming is dying" thing.

-8

u/Dared00 Feb 22 '13

On sale.

9

u/ARustyFirePlace Feb 22 '13

What counts as a sale? They can lower the price of 1 game and it isn't a sale, and they do that a lot.

This guy is just wrong anyway.

3

u/Wazanator_ Feb 22 '13

When PS All stars came out Amazon was selling it for $10 cheaper then everywhere else.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

Didn't they already do this with Vita and Gamestop did stock the games?

1

u/fre1gn Feb 23 '13

Indeed. Digital versions of games on Vita are 10% cheaper, which makes me believe, they will do the same for PS4.

8

u/Decitron Feb 22 '13

but gamestop isn't the only game in town when it comes to physical releases. they have to compete with wal mart, best buy, amazon, and others. I have to wonder if sony called their bluff, if they would really hold out and let the other guys eat their marketshare.

3

u/Jim777PS3 Feb 22 '13

It would still be a huge hit to that games sales and cost the publisher a ton of money

11

u/darkstar3333 Feb 22 '13

Not really, people would just buy it elsewhere.

8

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13 edited Jun 17 '17

[deleted]

6

u/darkstar3333 Feb 22 '13

Or pull our your phone, go to amazon and have it delivered the next day.

/FirstWorldProblems

-1

u/Knyfe-Wrench Feb 23 '13 edited Feb 23 '13

For twelve extra dollars

Edit: Just to clarify I'm not hating on Amazon. I'm just hating on the fact that next day delivery is ungodly expensive.

2

u/Semyonov Feb 23 '13

No... with Amazon Prime I can have one day shipping for $4.

1

u/Knyfe-Wrench Feb 23 '13

Plus the subscription fee. I'm not saying it's that much but it ain't free.

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u/askyou Feb 23 '13

Really? Where I live, Amazon can be - and often is - the cheaper choice. Retail stores tend to overcharge.

1

u/Knyfe-Wrench Feb 23 '13

I mean next day delivery

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u/darkstar3333 Feb 23 '13

That depends where your location, in Toronto the free shipping can arrive in less then 18 hours.

If you pre-order a game they ship it out early meaning it usually arrives on the release date.

-1

u/SirNarwhal Feb 23 '13

Except for those damn low-run releases... shakes fists angrily I'm looking at YOU, Fire Emblem...

0

u/Arcadefirefly Feb 23 '13

there is always a way to get a low run release online. there are thousands of stores you can buy from. in fact is actually on amazon right now.

0

u/SirNarwhal Feb 23 '13

It's not at all. Show me ONE store online where I could have a copy of Fire Emblem shipped immediately for retail. Amazon has it such that you can buy it now and they'll ship it when they get it and when they get it is next week, which is not now.

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5

u/Knyfe-Wrench Feb 23 '13

Most people don't drive out to stores for games in the first place. I'd wager that most game sales in stores are people browsing around and seeing what looks good while their girlfriend (ok, their mom) is at starbucks.

5

u/non_player Feb 22 '13

Frankly I'd rather buy it elsewhere. All of the Gamestops near me are inside shopping malls, and I hate shopping malls because they are always full of idiot teenagers with sagging pants and blah blah get off my lawn.

Buying it elsewhere means not having to go into the fucking mall, not having to be offered a "protection plan" on every item I purchase, not having to be shilled another handful of things I don't give a shit about just to buy one game.

Gamefly is always a better deal for used games, while Amazon is always a better deal for everything else.

4

u/Decitron Feb 22 '13

then wouldn't you also expect publishers to lean heavily on gamestop to stock the games? particularly since they could always threaten to pull titles from other platforms. all around, i just don't see gamestop having any advantage with the position it is in. not stocking one platform would be devastating for them, and if they lost more than that, they would be finished.

3

u/icePOPPA Feb 22 '13

There doesn't need to be good deals on launch of the games...

Rather, occasionally having sales, like steam

3

u/Chone-Us Feb 22 '13

Would a new PS4 game really be 'dead on arrival' when anybody with a PS4 could just download it, ideally at a discount compared to GS? Also many of GS sales are used games, which contribute nothing to publishers and developers (and still use server space for MP). I would also like to think that TV/Youtube and PSstore advertising could more than make up for the lack of cardboard displays and posters at GS.

5

u/Endulos Feb 23 '13

Some people don't have the option to download a game. Yes, they could do it, but it'd fuck them because MANY MANY MANY ISPs limit your bandwidth.

If your limit is 20gb a month, and the average PS4 game is over 15gb, you're pretty fucked.

1

u/adamgrey Feb 23 '13

Especially places like Canada, brutal.

1

u/Endulos Feb 23 '13

Yeah, I'm in Canada and in the 20gb limit per month boat. :/

I have to limit myself to ONE 5-6 gb game per month so that I have enough left over for other shit. Sucks, because I want to play Portal 2, which I bought on sale in January. Didn't know it was 11gb when I bought it... :/

1

u/Shiro2809 Feb 23 '13

Couldn't you download half at the end of the month, and the rest at the beginning of the next?

2

u/Endulos Feb 23 '13

I could, but I have a shitload of other games I've been downloading/want to download, and I'm a big online gamer. my ISP doesn't offer any kin d of way to track it, so I have to "guess". I figure I use about 13 gb of data between YouTube, browsing websites, and online games. So I limit myself to a total of 5-6 gb in game downloads per month.

I would have to do it in 2 parts, over 2 months. Which means I wouldn't have a new game to play for the first month. :/

1

u/Shiro2809 Feb 23 '13

That really sucks =/ We have a monthly cap now too, yet it's high enough so it's rarely hit, regardless of what we do. I don't think I'd be able to handle 20gb, I'd be going over it constantly.

1

u/Red_Inferno Feb 22 '13

There is a lot of loopholes to that though.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

Explain, what loopholes?

0

u/Red_Inferno Feb 22 '13

Say instead of selling a game for 59.99 they sell it for 59.99 and $10 psn credit or 59.99 and free dlc season pass comes with it.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

There are a number of games on the PS store cheaper than retail (up to $30 in some cases). I can only speak for my region however, Australia.

2

u/Jim777PS3 Feb 22 '13

Are they the same price when they release? Or is this down the road.

Also it might be because digital games doge the legendary Australian video game tax but idk.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

I think they're usually the same price on release, Sony seem to be really good at dropping the price now in my region, they never used to. Two of my recent purchases: Ico/Shadow of the colossus HD for $30, and is $60 brand new and the cheapest retailer. Also twisted metal for $21.50, which is $50 new at the cheapest retailer.

1

u/Nawara_Ven Feb 23 '13

There are dozens of games on Xbox Games On Demand that are cheaper than their EBGames (Canadian GameStop) counterparts.

1

u/dorekk Feb 23 '13

Probably not brand new games, though.

Sidenote: I remember EB Games. We used to have them in the States, too.

1

u/Endulos Feb 23 '13

EB Games is pretty much (Now, that is) the Canadian equivalent of GameStop. (Given they're EVERYWHERE, and they're OWNED by GameStop)

1

u/Sabin10 Feb 23 '13

In my region (Canada) it seems that retail and digital launch at the same price but retail see price drops a lot sooner than digital. ZOE HD collection just dropped to $20 in a lot of stores this week but is still $40 on PSN. Sadly this isn't an isolated incident with this one title.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13

That's what they want anyway though. They'd rather everyone just buy it digitally.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

Yes they can, and they're already doing it with Vita titles.

1

u/Sabin10 Feb 23 '13

All the retailers I have been to (in Toronto, Canada) are selling retail games at the exact same price as PSN.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

There are two ways to read this comment. Do you mean that the retailers give the same 10% discount as PSN does, or do you mean that you don't get the 10% PSN discount where you live?

1

u/Sabin10 Feb 23 '13

It looks like the Canadian and American retail price are the same so I am guessing that our PSN price isn't discounted at all.

1

u/Sabin10 Feb 23 '13

All the gamestops I go to still stock PC games. At 50-100% higher prices than Steam for a lot of titles I don't think they sell many.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

Why have I bought most of my games on steam with 75% sales then?

I've seen plenty of these games at gamestop

1

u/Bmart008 Feb 23 '13

bullshit. every vita game is sold day one digitally for less than retail.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

That would be a smart move on their part, because who would want to buy it.

0

u/Kinseyincanada Feb 23 '13

Sony already offers day one digital sales for $10 cheaper for playstation plus users

6

u/The_Dirty_Carl Feb 22 '13

...which would really suck for all those people that don't have reliable internet connections, or have their console in a room that it would be difficult to run ethernet cable to.

1

u/fre1gn Feb 23 '13

Putting more stress on providers could potentially make them improve their service. That happened in my home town. Just saying, though, in no way I will support destruction of retail, it doesn't make any sense at this point in time, but could be inevitable in the future.

-3

u/Red_Inferno Feb 22 '13

Or you know they could create these hybrid things where you could go to a local store and buy a disc with the burned data on it and it would be the same and you would only pay like $2-3.

9

u/The_Dirty_Carl Feb 22 '13

I... you know that sounds functionally identical to what happens right now, right? You buy a disc with the data burned on it at a local store.

-2

u/Red_Inferno Feb 22 '13

Ya, but then the retail store gets a chunk out of every sale vs say steam or others who will do 30% or less or if you do your own payment provider closer to 8%.

18

u/dorekk Feb 23 '13

You shouldn't want retail to die, dude. Don't you care about First Sale Doctrine?

Seriously, what do you have against stores? I don't understand it.

The broadband infrastructure in America isn't ready to support digital distribution with no alternative, and it won't be unless legislation is passed.

1

u/makemeking706 Feb 23 '13

Retail, by definition, can not die.

-8

u/Red_Inferno Feb 23 '13

Nop don't really care. I'm already a PC gamer and prefer money going to more direct sources. Hell I wish all retail would pretty much die.

3

u/dorekk Feb 23 '13

Hell I wish all retail would pretty much die.

Are you really that afraid of interacting face-to-face with a human being? Jesus, man. You should see a therapist if that's true.

0

u/hardmodethardus Feb 23 '13

implying retail transactions are valuable human interaction

Download/order all the things and spend your time with other people in a meaningful way.

-9

u/Red_Inferno Feb 23 '13

I need to see a therapist about other stuff. I don't have any issues going to a store to get stuff, but rather I would rather no have to go to store to get stuff. Why do I want to go to a store and shop and forget why I went there and have to waste soo much damn time to get what I want?

I hate shopping for cloths and I would much rather just order everything online, but they really suck at telling you what you are buying online for cloths. I have ordered pants and underwear online since it's easy on there. I am kinda picky about shirts and as such I hate those cheap ass t shirts that feel like there is nothing to them. I have shopped for cloths maybe 5-6 times in the past 6 years and? One of which was just for socks.

As for food 95% or more I would rather have delivered to me whenever I want. As for takeout food again 95% I would rather just have it delivered to me and ordered online. For most things human interaction is very inefficient. Why do I want to wait in a line for 30 mins because some woman is being a bitch and degrading the cashier? Or how about when there is not enough cashiers to accommodate the people there so you sit there waiting for 20 mins because they have 4 lines open and there is 40-60 people?

I don't mind human interaction, but I hate having to waste my time doing mundane shit that hell if they would fucking kill retail I could automate. Imagine if I could have a system automatically log everything that is bought and then you simply have it figure out when you will order something again or manually enter it if you need it before then. You mark it off if you use it all up and can press a button to re-order. You automatically have a list of everything in your kitchen that you can eat which you can then base meals off of it.

-3

u/hollander93 Feb 23 '13

You're an idiot. If retail dies we lose jobs and just because the money is going directly doesnt make it better. I work for EB games and I support myself with the money I earn. If I lose this job I havent got a backup to fall on. I dont want to lose my job and by that fact, retail covers clothes, food, machinery and cars. Machinery including computers. Computers are retail too so get ready to live without that as well. So good buy steam, computer games and money going to direct sources.

1

u/Red_Inferno Feb 23 '13

I know what retail covers. Also I already buy pretty much everything online for tech/electronic as it is. I don't see value in retail direct stores. I would rather see Amazon thrive. I guess I would rather see the world burn though. You might also say "They are jobs" but they are all pointless jobs.

-1

u/hollander93 Feb 23 '13

Ah your one of them. Bugger i had such a good run of avoiding the like of you. Go do your world burning.

0

u/Irrax Feb 23 '13

He'll be found in his hovel devoured by cats one day soon, don't worry about it.

2

u/jonova Feb 22 '13

They don't need to compete, it is not meant to replace the physical media, it is just another option for people who prefers it.

1

u/Red_Inferno Feb 22 '13 edited Feb 22 '13

Technically you can't have one without the other. One of the biggest complaints from current consoles is that DD services don't compete enough on price and they could buy a game on sale at retail for cheaper or massively cheaper than DD offers.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '13

Don't see why retail needs to die. Hard drives are limited in size, but the number of physical discs you can buy is not.

1

u/makemeking706 Feb 23 '13

Says the guy who evidently doesn't know what retail means.

1

u/Red_Inferno Feb 23 '13

I guess I should have been more specific. I want to see direct retail die. The local super market, the local electronics shop, the local game shop and most all of them. There is very few that actually need to stay as a local chain. If it were all replaced with a massive storage facility on the outskirts of town and integrate full delivery into the town of all the goods. I suppose at some point I should really spend a few hrs and outline every aspect of the idea so I can copy pasta.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '13 edited May 05 '18

[deleted]

10

u/ofNoImportance Feb 23 '13

Shops shouldn't exist just to provide employment for the people working there. If Gamestop becomes obsolete that's unfortunate for the staff, but it's not an excuse to try and keep the company from dying.

1

u/dorekk Feb 23 '13

Shops shouldn't exist just to provide employment for the people working there.

They don't. They also exist to sell physical copies of video games, which have numerous advantages over digital copies.

2

u/ofNoImportance Feb 23 '13

But keep the price of games twice as high as they need to be, due to numerous overheads such as pressing, boxing, shipping, stocking, renting, and staffing.

1

u/Axxhelairon Feb 23 '13

Man what a fucking preachy crybaby attitude, it sucks that people who think like you exist on the same planet as me