I'll be pissed if we see 30gb+ downloads without the option to buy discs.
Yes I like digital but there's still a certain line where for the size of the content it may be cheaper to sell it on a physical disk than to move it over our broadband networks. This will probably help the physical copy hang around a bit longer than it should.
I dont really think that becomes an issue in 4 or 5 years. Could you have imagined 5or so years ago downloading a game on dialup? 1 song took 10+ minutes to download 10 years on my dialup now it takes seconds. Whenever the next gen console comes out (1-3 years???) add on 2 or 3 years to that and the thought of conserving or thinking about bandwith limits or time likely is moot. Unless the technology does not advance...
It's not the problem of dial-up as it is a problem of allowed throughput. Some places in Canada only allow 20GB A MONTH. Us in the States can get like 250GB a month just with a regular Comcast account. Not every country is the same. This would be international suicide if it was mostly, if not all, digital sales.
I understand that but a similar argument was made with cellular phones not long ago. I was paying like 3$ a call, networks were thought of never going to be able to handle the boom. The phone companies expanded their networks and continue to do so.
The service providers (ISPs in this case) will always offer what the consumer wants (bandwith in this case); perhaps charge more and more for it, but I am sure that the cable/ISP companies see the gaming/download crowd as people that can afford it.
It's not the problem of dial-up as it is a problem of allowed throughput. Some places in Canada only allow 20GB A MONTH. Us in the States can get like 250GB a month just with a regular Comcast account. Not every country is the same. This would be international suicide if it was mostly, if not all, digital sales.
There's no bandwidth caps in Finland. However, from a personal viewpoint, there's local issues as to what kind of a connection you can get. My current connection is 8/1 M, the fastest I could get via the local phone company is 24/1 and I don't see any benefit in it since for gaming purposes, I'd prefer the upload speed to be over 1 megs. Due to the local phone company being in conglomerate of sorts with other companies in the area, there's basically no other options. There is one that offers slightly better/cheaper connections but their website doesn't indicate for sure if it's available here. Cheap memory stick wireless connections are becoming far too common these days here (they're very obvious to see in FPS games) and I don't think those users would appreciate 30 gigabyte downloads very much.
I dont really think that becomes an issue in 4 or 5 years. Could you have imagined 5or so years ago downloading a game on dialup? 1 song took 10+ minutes to download 10 years on my dialup now it takes seconds. Whenever the next gen console comes out (1-3 years???) add on 2 or 3 years to that and the thought of conserving or thinking about bandwith limits or time likely is moot. Unless the technology does not advance...
Maybe I'm not as optimistic, but in the past 6 years, the speed of Comast has remained roughly the same (~10-12mbps) unless you wanted to get the very expensive stuff (>$100/mo.).
And I've had broadband since 2001, and I'm STILL not excited about downloading anything over a few hundred MB. I downloaded Deus Ex Human Revolution yesterday, and even at 2mb/min download speeds, it still took almost 2 hours to download. If Steam wasn't just so damn cheap, I'd have gone down to my local Best Buy which is a 15 minute walk, and bought the game and been ready to play (like I did with Mass Effect 3).
Once we account for how much space the game once unpacked and installed takes up (8gb+ for the install files, another 15gb for installed), we're chomping away at disc space real quickly. This isn't a concern for people who use traditional platter HDs, but for those who have only one HD slot and have made the move to SSDs.
One would think that Microsoft could capitalize off this and do the opposite of what Sony is doing, but I don't think they would have publisher support if they went that route. Looks like this is the future of console gaming. TBH it probably wouldn't effect me that much because I hardly buy used games then again I hardly play my PS3, I'm mainly a PC guy.
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo ALL want to restrict the sales of used games or get their share of it.
Not fan of having to download games, either. Not sure why I should have to upgrade my internet package to allow me to play video games on my console. At that point, why buy the console at all? Just game on the computer.
Not at release, but by mid gen I cant see much in the way of physical discs. Music CDs=basically gone, DVD/Bluray=going fast, it is only logical that game discs follow. I guess there are a few physial music CDs/movie shops around but it is really minimal.
You are forgetting that a large segment of people prefer having the physical media. People actually want the discs and cases on their shelves so their collections can be seen.
You are forgetting that a large segment of people prefer having the physical media. People actually want the discs and cases on their shelves so their collections can be seen.
That argument doesn't hold any weight nowadays. There are millions of STEAM users who disagree. With the advent of streaming movies, physical media is on the way out.
Not at release, but by mid gen I cant see much in the way of physical discs. Music CDs=basically gone, DVD/Bluray=going fast, it is only logical that game discs follow. I guess there are a few physial music CDs/movie shops around but it is really minimal.
What? Do you shop at the right stores for this stuff?
I live in a small town and the CD section in Wal-Mart is huge and gets new releases every week. No way are music CDs gone.
That argument doesn't hold any weight nowadays. There are millions of STEAM users who disagree. With the advent of streaming movies, physical media is on the way out.
That argument doesn't hold any weight nowadays. There are millions of STEAM users who disagree. With the advent of streaming movies, physical media is on the way out.
But because the PC market isn't completely vertically integrated like the new video game consoles would be. You have choice on the PC market. And Steam wins on price/promos. This would NOT be the case for these consoles.
That argument doesn't hold any weight nowadays. There are millions of STEAM users who disagree. With the advent of streaming movies, physical media is on the way out.
And there are even more millions of people with racks and shelves filled with Blue Rays and games who agree with me.
And there are even more millions of people with racks and shelves filled with Blue Rays and games who agree with me.
And even more millions used to have racks of records, 45s, 8-tracks, cassettes, laser discs, VHS tapes, floppy disc/cases too. Media is changing again. As well, as people get older the need to "display" all that junk more often then not goes away and they are happy not to have all that clutter in their homes. I have thousands of CDs and old games that have been sitting in a closet for years, and will likely never buy another piece of physical media again. I just wish I would take the time to copy them all to my hard drive so I could throw it all out.
Digital media will take over physical soon, perhaps not as quickly as I think and hope but it is only a matter of time.
Not fan of having to download games, either. Not sure why I should have to upgrade my internet package to allow me to play video games on my console. At that point, why buy the console at all? Just game on the computer.
Because of Steam, I hardly ever use my 360...better gfx, free online, games are usually cheaper too.
You are forgetting that a large segment of people prefer having the physical media. People actually want the discs and cases on their shelves so their collections can be seen.
And there are even more millions of people with racks and shelves filled with Blue Rays and games who agree with me.
I agree with you. When someone comes over to game (OMG, people still game in the same room!) how are they going to know what you have? What do you do, print a list like a menu?
Count me out also if go through with this and I've bought maybe 2 games used. Thanks to downloadable content I've stopped buying games. Who want's to pay 60-70$ for the bare basics of a game considering so many games are made around downloadable content. Microsoft and Sony are becoming such a joke; I'll just stick to playing OOT and Super Smash bros on Nintendo 64 from now on thanks.
I agree with you. When someone comes over to game (OMG, people still game in the same room!) how are they going to know what you have? What do you do, print a list like a menu?
Then you grow up, move out of your parents basement or rental apartment/house and decorate your home with things other than Dali and Escher posters, video game boxes and movie and CD cases.
How are your friends going to know what you have? It is called conversation.
Because of Steam, I hardly ever use my 360...better gfx, free online, games are usually cheaper too.
My productivity would then fall through the floor between gaming, streaming and here
Admittedly, part of the appeal of a console is nostalgia. Also, I just enjoy Nintendo's first part stuff. Another part, though, is getting games for my kid to play, and the experience of sitting down and playing a console. I grew up with friends coming over, playing tecmo, contra, etc. We have kids over now and they play Mario, Kirby, deBlob, etc. There's just something more kid friendly to a console (especially a Nintendo console, which I know plays into all of the stereotypes thrown around) than to gaming on a computer.
That would suck if you have topay to play a game on a different console.
Get a game, want to take it to your buddy's to play ? Better bring your system, or pay 20 bucks.
They probably would just tie it to your account, but it's still garbage.
You think they'll actually provide an advantage to this whole thing and allow users with, say, PCs to pay for the same game ONCE and be able to play it on both their PS3 and 360?
SURELY they would provide a discount for direct downloads given the costs they save on manufacturing, right?
