Dino Patti, CEO of Playdead, the independent Danish developer of downloadable hit Limbo, has said the retail model is "broken from a developer's point of view."
Speaking to Eurogamer at last weekend's GameCity6 festival in Nottingham, Patti called on platform holders to more fully embrace digital distribution in the next generation of consoles.
"The retail model has always been, and still is, broken from a developer's point of view," he said. "Driving discs in a big van all over the world is really inefficient. I don't understand how anyone can make money out of this.
"Driving a truck to Japan just to get it delivered to people when they can get it from the 'net? Hopefully the new consoles will embrace the download space even more."
Those platform holders, of course, rely on retail to promote and sell their hardware, meaning discs are here to stay, for the time being at least. Patti does not dispute that, but sees a sad irony in continuing to push discs as the primary means of distribution when consoles are becoming less and less immediate, with installs, patches and other content downloads meaning the disc is just the beginning.
"There will be discs for a long time from now, but the world has adopted download," he said. "So many publishers are pushing [discs] and there are so many channels which just won't die. In terms of money, it's still bigger than download. There are a lot of people who buy their games that way.
"I hate to have the disc myself. I only buy the disc if I want a console game, but everything else I download from Steam. All of the new games today also need to be installed. Why did I get a console if the games need to be installed? That really sucks. That's a PC.
"It should be more like plug and play. The first consoles were cartridges. When it takes one hour to install Gran Turismo 5? I don't know. Obviously it improves performance, but they should be able to build consoles with better performance from the disc drive."
Of course, it's easy for Patti to say this, not only as the owner of a studio that only releases digitally, but also as a relatively young company. Unlike traditional publishers, Playdead does not have to worry about long-established, well-valued relationships with bricks-and-mortar retailers; it is not dependent on strong first-week sales for its games to succeed. They sit on the download services forever, and can regain marketplace prominence with short-term discounts or, in Limbo's case, with a release on other platforms long after their console equivalents have been consigned to the pre-owned bins.
Yet he is right. Currently, traditional publishers are trying to appease retailers scared of the rise of digital while also building a digital presence of their own. Inevitably, this compromise means missteps on both sides: on one hand, day-one digital releases that are more expensive than at retail; retailer-specific pre-order bonuses, such as those in Batman: Arkham City, on the other. Playdead, and the rest of the new breed of all-digital, independent developers and self-publishers, are arguably better positioned for growth than their long-established peers.
Source: Eurogamer
Comments
7I never want the retail model to die because I share my games with my friends when I am done with them. Publishers and developers obviously have the same agenda with digital distribution as movie studios and book publishers. They are trying to change the very concept of ownership by selling access to the IP via your membership account instead of selling you a physical thing you can collect or give away.
I don't support digital distribution for any media for that very reason; when I buy something, it is mine. If I want to lend my friend a copy of Uncharted 2 or a new novel because I really enjoyed it, I'm going to.
That doesn't mean I don't use digital distribution platforms, but mostly for old content.
I like the idea of downloading a game without needing to go out to the shop and buy a disc, but I don't like not being able to trade in or pass along a game I'm finished with.
For this reason I would always choose to buy a console with an optical drive over one with only a hard drive.
A typical game costs £40. Thats a lot of money if you only play it a few hours and decide its not for you.
Demos are ok, but I've brought a game on XBLA based on the free trial and still lived to regret the puchase not long after.
The cost just dosn't justify the risk for me.
Surely the only way a solely download market could work (and be legal under monopoly laws) would be to open it up to alternate stores.
The download music industry is thriving as there is competition and variety, say iTunes is your HMV, Amazon is your MVC and Beatport is your indie obscure store (at least for dance etc).
I'm all for downloading Indie, Arcade and full games. In fact this month i have bought Mass effect (£15) Batman AA (£15) and Sonic Adventure (roughly £7). All were slightly more than the cheapest online price but still reasonable.
Yet while browsing i found COD: BLOPS on Xbox marketplace for £45, last time i checked PSN Mass Effect 2 was also £45. This is pure pure greed!
All the reasons Patti suggests retail is 'broken' are in turn the reasons marketplace is overpriced.
If MS or Sony took the Steam model and ran with it, even subsidising in console profit loss, they would be way better off.
To summarise this post i guess i would say to Publishers and Ms/Sony.
Stop trying to rip us off, I have never seen a current gen standard edition game at retail for £45 so why the hell would anyone pay that for DL.
Yeah a major advantage to digital distribution right now is also the publisher cutting out the middleman and not passing the savings along to the consumer.
I paid less for the PC version of Battlefield 3 at Wal-Mart than it costs to buy straight for Origin. It was only like a buck and a quarter less, but the fact it wasn't $10-15 cheaper online is just a scam.
How do you define greed? Do you determine the cost of the product based on labor, R&D, publishing and licensing fees to the platform holders?
I don't get where people justify their position as the poor downtrodden consumer. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Wait, and the price will go down based on market share and demand. You say that you want them to run at a loss just so you can get your games cheaper? When was the last time you saw a company that looses money quarter after quarter stay in business?
And if you feel so strongly about it, learn to program and do basic digital art design. Start your own company, do something productive rather than whine about how poor you are and how the evil companies are bringing your wallet down.
Commenting on a slightly different part of the article, it does irritate me that we buy our games on a disc and then have to install the damned thing. I want the space on my hard drive for downloadable games, but I feel like I never have the space because almost every bloody game needs installing. The space GT5 is currently taking up on my hd is 29GB! That is unbelievable. The problem is, I come back to it now and again so I cannot delete and then re-install it everytime. But then you get some games, like Demon's Souls or Final Fantasy 13, that don't require a thing. Just goes to show that you don't need masses of data to produce a quality game (although FF13 is questionable when comparing it to Xenoblade Chronicles, which is far superior in my opinion... I went off the subject).
Looks like Nintendo is adopting the NO INSTALLATIONS approach with Wii U, since it comes with so little initial memory, and expects developers to keep it on the disc. I salute you Ninty. Take note Sony.
The retail model is broken depending on what perspective you take.
If you are Gamestop (here in the states) it works just fine. People buy a product, trade in said product and then product is resold at another profit. It's called good business free enterprise. Do I particularly agree with it, not really. How so I show my displeasure? I have not purchased a used game or accessory in over 5 years. I buy everything new.
Why do I do this you ask? Simple: I support the publisher and developer. I know from my time working at one that the basic agreements are that a certain amount is sold through to the retailers as is the new games sales figures. Is it more expensive for me to do so? Yes, but I put my money where my mouth is.