Thursday, March 08, 2007
I Will Not Mourn Their Passing...
I don't visit my Friendly Local Videogame Store often enough. Or rather, my Friendly Local Branch of a National Chain, I guess. But their website (I'll let you guess who it is) advertised a game I've been anxiously awaiting, finally available in the U.S., to ship in just a few days. I thought I'd follow the suggestion of the website and "reserve my copy today" at my local store. I get to avoid shipping costs, get the game as soon as it's available, and the local manager could happily include my purchase in his monthly stats (a drop in the bucket, but every drop counts, right?). A win-win scenario!
But alas, it was not to be. Even though the company website encouraged making a reservation, and even helpfully provided the list of stores closest to my home with the phone number and the admonition to "Reserve Your Copy Today!", the local branch didn't even have the game in their system. Probably a limited release, the salesperson told me.
But what he didn't say was that more importantly, it was a PC game, and they just don't like to stock those anymore. Where once upon a time PC games dominated the shelves of game stores just like this one, they have now been relegated to a tiny fragment of the back wall. Maybe that will change with Microsoft's big "Games For Windows" initiative, or maybe not. Whatever the case, they just didn't want to be bothered. The unspoken message: For PC games, try your luck at Wal*Mart or Best Buy. Or Amazon. Or... anywhere but here. Please take your business elsewhere.
My brother tried to pre-order from his local store. Same story.
Now, there has been an option for several weeks now to directly download the game. But it's a big ol' multi-gigabyte "platinum pack," and part of the reason I wanted to pick it up from the store was so that I could actually have a physical, archived copy. Though I was seriously tempted several times. But I held off for the DVD release.
This time.
So I had to pay for shipping to have it delivered directly to my house. Bummer. Next time, I'll download. I've got broadband and lots of storage space on my hard drive, and a DVD burner that I've never actually used to burn a DVD before.
Now, I don't begrudge this retail chain for stocking what sells. Console games are where its at, and more importantly (for them), there are fewer legal questions about selling used console games --- which makes up a major portion of their revenue. It's their bread and butter, and the sad state of running a brick-and-mortar retail shop is that you have to stock inventory. Inventory which takes too long to sell just costs you more in rent.
But they still, ostensibly, sell PC games. While the salesperson I spoke to was polite enough, he wasn't going to make a big effort to help me out. Instead, he wanted me to pre-order the next big XBox 360 release, of which there will likely be PLENTY this non-Christmas season. Let's face it, unless it's a total surprise hit, there's going to be TONS of copies of these console games floating around, and the only people pre-orders help are the stores themselves. But the more obscure PC game release, where they really COULD help out? Nah, too much effort.
With the emphasis on downloaded content for the consoles now, and for the PCs for the last several years, I think the day of the retail game shops is coming to a close. Right now a big part of their bottom line is reselling used games, something else which may fade away as digital distribution becomes more commonplace.
Not gonna happen? Maybe it's just Utah, but lately I haven't seen many of the retail music stores that used to be found in every mall and shopping center for decades. I hadn't noticed at first, actually, because I was too busy enjoying the selection from Amazon and the convenience of buying (yes, I *BUY* them, much to the RIAA's surprise, I'm sure) digital music downloads.
I expect the next generation of consoles will offer a STEAM-like content delivery system that may get equal billing with traditional media distribution. And the generation after that?
I think the fact that this very same major retail chain is offering to sell certain PC games (especially older ones) as direct downloads may be evidence that they are already planning for the future.
(Vaguely) related gibberish:
* Alternatives to Front-Loading Game Sales
* Will 2007 Be the Year of the Downloadable Game?
* Are Microtransactions Getting Abused By Game Publishers?
* How To FUBAR an MMO Launch
.
Labels: Biz, Mainstream Games
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 8:00 AM (Permalink)
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Is the game Jade Empire? (I remember seeing that you could download it early in the last Bioware newsletter.)
Even stores like Best Buy are quickly reducing their shelf space for computer games. When I tried to buy NWN2 with the gift cards I got for Christmas, I had to visit several stores before finding a copy. They had an aisle dedicated to MMO games, and then some small space for brand new releases. Everything else is reserved for console games.
Even stores like Best Buy are quickly reducing their shelf space for computer games. When I tried to buy NWN2 with the gift cards I got for Christmas, I had to visit several stores before finding a copy. They had an aisle dedicated to MMO games, and then some small space for brand new releases. Everything else is reserved for console games.
Frankly I like downloadble content. I have a DVD burner and a cable connection so I'm not bothered by creating my own copy and saving the cost of the marketing pretties. The thing that really gets me is when stores don't carry the hardware controllers and other physical add ons. I documented my struggle to get Guitar Hero II WITH controller. I want a second controller and don't know that I'm even going to bother asking the local stores, but just get my order in to Amazon and call it good. With the options many online places have for free or reduced shipping the only thing that it costs me any different is the time spent waiting, and with a Premiere account you're guarenteed 2 day delivery which isn't even enough of a wait to fuss over. I've spent more than 2 days looking for the accessories I want locally. I like having the brick and mortar shops, but unless they come up with a better model for competing I agree that they're going to quickly become a thing of the past and most of the on the shelf games we'll see will be at large retailers like WalMart and Target as just part of the 'electronics' section.
Nope, not Jade Empire - it's a flight sim. IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946. The "platinum version" (kinda) of the actually best-selling IL-2 series (which included Forgotten Battles and Pacific Fighters). It also includes the Aces Expansion, and something like 3 brand new expansions (including a speculated continuation of World War II into 1946, with some planes that were only prototypes or on drawing boards when the war ended).
Obviously, not a big-ticket item in 2007. Not like, oh, Burning Crusade, or Oblivion :) But not a tiny, independent release either.
If it weren't for the surity of getting all the games onto one DVD (or is it two?), I probably would have downloaded it.
In the future, I think I'm just gonna download and burn. After the screw-up with Dungeons & Dragons Online, and now this, I really don't have much sympathy for Brick & Mortar game retailers, and figure they are just accelerating their own demise. It could be a whole 'nother story, I think, if they provided a real service. And right now, I think used games are their primary service, with convenience / speed a close second (although if downloads were faster, they'd lose that advantage).
Obviously, not a big-ticket item in 2007. Not like, oh, Burning Crusade, or Oblivion :) But not a tiny, independent release either.
If it weren't for the surity of getting all the games onto one DVD (or is it two?), I probably would have downloaded it.
In the future, I think I'm just gonna download and burn. After the screw-up with Dungeons & Dragons Online, and now this, I really don't have much sympathy for Brick & Mortar game retailers, and figure they are just accelerating their own demise. It could be a whole 'nother story, I think, if they provided a real service. And right now, I think used games are their primary service, with convenience / speed a close second (although if downloads were faster, they'd lose that advantage).
Noticed the same thing at my local mom and pop game store. They used to have half the store chock full of new release PC games, the other half was split among the various consoles. Now, they only have a small little corner dedicated to pc games, and these are just older games that are second hand (makes for great bargain bin hunting!).
The rest of the store are now console games, but even these are rarely new games, they are second hand games that they trade/sell and rent.
There just seems to be no money now in selling new games, and it’s often risky, stock up on a game that doesn’t sell, and you’re suddenly full on inventory that you can’t move, that’s wasted money and wasted shelf space.
I’m very much a gameaholic, I try/play lots of games, more then my budget can afford if I were to purchase them all. As such I’ve always been a fan of rental/trade.
And here in lies my beef with pc games, I can’t rent them anymore. Sure I get that no cd patches and apps like game jackal open up a can of legal worms that most retailers want to avoid, but it stops me from being able to try before I buy.
Demo’s, been burnt by them too often, demos are made to sell, they are very much the first 5 minutes of game, the portion that’s made to hook you. No, I like to rent, play a game for a few levels/days, and if it’s something I’m interested in, then I buy.
I’d like to see a system that let’s you download full PC games at a reasonable rental cost, and that game works fully for say 3 days, after which the game locks and you need to decide if you want to make the full purchase or not.
Am low on coffee, not sure if any of that was coherent.
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The rest of the store are now console games, but even these are rarely new games, they are second hand games that they trade/sell and rent.
There just seems to be no money now in selling new games, and it’s often risky, stock up on a game that doesn’t sell, and you’re suddenly full on inventory that you can’t move, that’s wasted money and wasted shelf space.
I’m very much a gameaholic, I try/play lots of games, more then my budget can afford if I were to purchase them all. As such I’ve always been a fan of rental/trade.
And here in lies my beef with pc games, I can’t rent them anymore. Sure I get that no cd patches and apps like game jackal open up a can of legal worms that most retailers want to avoid, but it stops me from being able to try before I buy.
Demo’s, been burnt by them too often, demos are made to sell, they are very much the first 5 minutes of game, the portion that’s made to hook you. No, I like to rent, play a game for a few levels/days, and if it’s something I’m interested in, then I buy.
I’d like to see a system that let’s you download full PC games at a reasonable rental cost, and that game works fully for say 3 days, after which the game locks and you need to decide if you want to make the full purchase or not.
Am low on coffee, not sure if any of that was coherent.
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