Filed under: Games
Findings in a recent report presented at the London Gaming Conference last night show that 7% of console – and 14% of PC-gamers prefer to download their games in digital, no-box-or-paper-instruction-booklet format.
This isn’t as big news as it seems though, as many PC owners also own consoles, and vice-versa — and I bet there’s some cross-over in the demographics.
But, with the recent take-off of digital-only download services like Direct2Drive, Valve’s Steam, and Microsoft’s LIVE Marketplace, it’s no surprise that gamers have been enjoying the lower prices and quicker delivery times inherent to such services. As game developers continue to jump on-board with these services and reap the higher profit margins, we can expect the trend to continue.
As always though, when there’s a shift in sales, someone has to lose out — even if it’s not the customer.
In this case it’s the real-world shops like EB Games and Game. They’ve often relied on value-added deals to turn a decent profit — buy two games, get a third free, that kind of thing — and with more and more people staying home (really, the number of reasons to leave your home is getting quite low…), I think game stores will soon have to mix things up, or die.
[via Neowin]
1 in 5 UK gamers prefer to download their games originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.