The death of PC games at retail

NickJames

Join Date 03/2006

The death of PC games at retail

I remember when I first started playing electronic games. I was 8 year`s old. My dad was obsessed with getting the high score on Pac-man at our local arcade. So, Pop`s took me along for the trip. This is when my own obsession started. I loved the arcade. Dad was on Pac-man, I was on Punch out, Karate champ, Pro wrestling or whatever it was called. Then Double dragon, Slaughterhouse, TMNT arcade and T2.

I finally got an NES for christmas. Final fantasy, Metal gear, Zelda. The list could go on forever. I owned pretty much every console upto the Dreamcast. That was my last console. I then graduated to the PC. I don`t have any of my console games anymore, I have most of my PC games.

Electronic games have been my hobby(obsession) all my life. I`ve always felt like all of them were small treasure`s. I collect games. Not just for the games, The boxes and manuel`s too. I love adding new boxes too my collection. I love looking at the artwork on the cover. I really enjoy holding the boxes and reading the description`s on the back. I buy classic PC games on Amazon. I do it just so I can have the "mint" condition boxes and manuel`s. I pay a "mint" price for them too.

The point of this post is this. I`m not going to be able to continue this hobby much longer. Digital distribution is the way of the future. I`m not going to be able to get those fancy boxes anymore. EB games(In Canada,Gamestop in the state`s I think) PC selection get`s smaller by the week. They might as well just get rid of the PC section cause there`s nothing there anymore. This bother`s me alot. My games, Are my library. Imagine a library without any new book`s, This is how I feel.

I guess this show`s my age, I`m 31. The younger generation is being raised on digital distribution, The console`s are going this way too.

Am I alone in feeling this way? It`s the end of an Era...

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If developpers (as in programmers & coders & designers) can cut their titles manufacturing cost sooooooo much by going the digital ways for distribution instead of sharing (handing over, maybe) HUGE chunks of some profits to WallyMarty & who else in order to give gamers, faster, better more innovative products

New game release`s on Steam or any other DL service are no cheaper then boxed version`s. Where are those saving`s going? Entrenchment is the exception. I have no problem paying $9.99 for a DL only. I only buy digital when they`re on sale at least 50%.

A while back I started a topic called "Where has the value add gone" with the subtitles of "Dude where's my cloth map?". I too think like you, however the overwhelming response and thus the will of the forums is that we're wrong. We're wrong to want our Microprose 'black box' games, we're wrong to expect a full god damn manual in the retail packaging

This is exactly what I mean. I know it`s beating a dead horse, Quality packaging is a thing of the past. Paradox Interactive is the only company I can think of that release`s quality boxes, Full color manual`s. The game`s inside those boxe`s are usually buggy as all hell at release, It`s something.

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Where are those saving`s going?

Valid argument, pricing of products is a business decision that's closely related to market competition in a given time period. And yet, we can't really compare current values with previous "similar" or equivalent items for a very simple reason; economic conditions.

I'll use an analogy; I bought my first car (used Mazda RX3) for a whopping 2500$ in 1976 (1250$ just for Insurance; 21 years old was such a crazy risk, profitable to who?) and gazoline was at 0.30/Gallon, pack of cigarettes near 1.75$.

Today -- an RX8 will slap a tag of 35000$, fuel is certainly roller-coasting it's way to 1.45/Liter & smokes are overtaxed to the rim at 8.25/pack... and counting.

These "savings" go straight to PROFITS and then, mostly distributed to a bunch of investors, banks, states while partly excluding consumers right at the end of the big resupply process.

Capitalism, out of control.

And yet, offer & demand rules sometime do make a difference in pricing.

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