Microsoft touts digital downloads as the future of gaming media… again |
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BY Se Ajala August 11th, 2008 |
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Ever since the format wars formally ended with Sony’s Blu-ray edging out the Microsoft-preferred HD DVD, the House of Gates has adamantly suggested that they weren’t really putting much effort into disc-based media as they saw digital downloads always being the way to go. In a speech at the recent Gamefest developer event in London, David Gosen, Microsoft’s VP of strategic marketing and Xbox LIVE has once again reiterated this belief, “There’s no question digital will overtake physical. It happened in music and will happen to our industry.”
Gosen cites the success of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero as a red herring for what to expect in the future. He also inferred that Xbox LIVE would be one of the principal services leading the way in the gaming industry. “We have to think about how the consumer is changing and how the ways they are accessing media is changing,” Gosen said. “We believe Xbox LIVE as the key differentiator in the business.”
There were a couple of surprises that Gosen alluded to during his speech as well — he spoke of Microsoft dolling out a lot of cash to promote Xbox LIVE in Europe and that there would be some ‘key announcements’ for new Xbox LIVE content and services within the next month.
But Gosen isn’t the only one who thinks digital downloads is where the industry is heading, SCEE CEO David Reeves also shared a similar sentiment at Sony’s developer conference months ago.
August 12th, 2008
at 2:13 am
Disagree. Consumers still prefer brick and mortar. In many ways, it’s more reliable than digital downloads. Even if we come to a point that download speeds would be much shorter than they are now, a physical copy is still very much preferable.
Besides, you can’t sell digital downloads. Steam, for one, has given me a huge headache because I could not get rid of my Half-Life 2 since it’s permanently connected to my Steam account.
Music can’t be compared to video games because these two forms are very much different from each other. Digital downloads worked with music its files are much smaller. Thanks to the advent of the MP3 format, size and download waiting time of such files are much more manageable. Games are a different beast altogether.
Download speeds may increase over time, but so will the size of games.
August 12th, 2008
at 1:32 pm
I don’t think that hardcopies of games will go the way of the cd. But I do think that more and more disc based games aren’t going to be “full” versions of games. But I think devs. may skimp on putting the most onto a disc. I mean if you can offer expansions for games at a fraction of what it would cost in terms of manufacturing, packing, etc. Then why not?
I also see digi-downloads the way to go for some future/unkown projects. Games like Braid, Bionic Commando ReArmed etc., Street Fighter HD. Sure 2 on that list are pretty much remix’s, but look at something like Lost Winds, you can save a ton of money, get your game out to an already installed user base for a cheaper costs and possibly reap in the cashola.
But who knows where the future will take us.