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Gaming will never go fully digital

Digital game purchasing has become increasingly popular very quickly. Some have even come to question how much longer companies will continue to produce physical copies of games. With Next-Gen approaching there are some key reasons why going fully digital will still be a problem.

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gameblinx.com
dasbeer884608d ago

In response to the title of this article: STEAM begs the differ.

DeadIIIRed4608d ago

The size of games are growing at a much faster rate than bandwidth here in the states. Downloading 50 gig games would put a lot of stress on the existing infrastructure if everyone needed to do it.

SpitFireAce854608d ago

Well they need to sell games at a discount
if they want me to go digital $10-15 cheaper.
And I'am in otherwise no way will i pay
the same price as retail.

MicDude4608d ago

@DeadIIIRed

The same argument can be made that download speeds are getting faster and the price of storage is getting cheaper. I think we are looking at an all digital future, but it's still 5-10 years away.

PickAShoe4608d ago

Try Onlive, the quality is not good. Digital only works for music and movies. I prefer renting movies on disc anyway for better picture quality and sound.

DeadIIIRed4607d ago

@MicDude

Download speeds are getting faster, but imagine a next gen game as popular as GTA V and suddenly you have over 5 million people attempting to download 50 GB at once. At that point service speed doesn't matter if the current infrastructure can't support it.

Improvements are being made, but what we is more of a complete overhaul.

ChickeyCantor4607d ago

"The size of games are growing at a much faster rate than bandwidth here in the states. "

Not if Google can help it. The bandwidth you guys get ( not to forget the freaking data cap ) for that high price is a crime. I really hope Google shakes up the north american internet provider business.

No_Pantaloons4607d ago

DeadIIIRed hit the nail on the head. People are already talking 4k this and that, but very few are talking about how a 4k movie is over 100GB.

Thing's like google fiber are amazing, but they've only gotten to like 3 cities in 2 1/2 years, even with huge acceleration it will be a long time before something similar is available country wide. Comcast and the others have no interests in upgrading while they can still milk the current market.

Aceman184607d ago

i personally will never go full digital. physical media will also be in my collection. i'll buy a digital game here and there.

SilentNegotiator4607d ago (Edited 4607d ago )

"The same argument can be made that download speeds are getting faster and the price of storage is getting cheaper"

Counter arguing with that is like arguing that accelerating your car against an identical car that you're racing will guaranteed get you ahead of the other car.

Unless you deny that game sizes are quickly getting bigger, there's no argument that we're getting closer to an all-digital future.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 4607d ago
P0werVR4608d ago (Edited 4608d ago )

Digital none the less. Besides, not everyone are game collectors.

So your average joe will more likely buy it only $60 for it.

@dasbeer88

Yes sir!

denawayne4607d ago

I think it'll come down to some of the game being downloaded to the local HD while the rest will be accessed on the fly. MS's cloud anybody?

pyramidshead4607d ago

Pretty much. As long as there are people will awful internet connections around, retail will be around for a long time.

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ZBlacktt4608d ago

Nope, collectors edition are not going away!

admiralvic4608d ago

Go away? Most likely never.
Stay physical? Terraria collectors edition ( http://www.gamestop.com/ps3... ) begs to differ.

Terraria: Collector's Edition

More details
Terraria 2GB Pick-axe USB stick
Exclusive New Items Crafting Poster
3X Velum Character Stickers
Digital Game Download Card

It's entirely possible that we will just see "special" editions that exist physically (that, ducktales, MvC 2, a couple of PSP games like Patapon 2), but are nothing more than X with a voucher code.

kjones05874608d ago (Edited 4608d ago )

It's like saying, "music will never go fully digital." Cd's haven't disappeared, but once the capacity is there, the majority of people will prefer the pros of having digital copies versus physical discs.

VitaOwner4608d ago

I think there will always be a use for physical copies if for nothing else but for Backup purposes. No matter how great your digital system is, There is the potential for Data loss.

keabrown794608d ago

Music cd's are not 50 GB+ With internet caps you are lucky to download "A" game per-month

Jovanian 4608d ago

Lol you serious bro? I've downloaded several games ranging from at least 10-20GB in size within the span of a month. And the only games that are 50GB are from idiots who don't know how to port, that is a gross misuse of hard drive space

keabrown794606d ago

@Swadian_Grognard many current gen PS3 games, examples being GTA 5 at 18GB, MGS 4 is about 32GB compressed. Those are quite bit for current gen and with next gen assets being a higher resolution you can expect quite a bit of an increase in file size to a low 20gb and then up from there. So potentially if you have an internet cap of 50 gb you could only download 2 games in a month.

Hufandpuf4607d ago

With services such as Spotify, google music, Hulu, red box, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if physical music and movies disappear just because of convenience. Physical copies may continue to go down in price until they eventually don't make a profit anymore.

If that can happen to those markets, the same can happen to games. Just not anytime soon.

deep_fried_bum_cake4608d ago

A future in which physical copies are still readily available is a future I will game in. Otherwise I just won't bother. I like the convenience of digital but I will never fully trust that I actually own games unless I have the physical copy.

sypher4608d ago (Edited 4608d ago )

Exactly, i think the closure of Games For Windows Live (any content you owned on that simply disappears) show's the future of any DD service. Once they disappear so does all your stuff because well you never owned it in the first place...

I do believe a Netflix like service will eventually become the norm on the systems. There will be too much competition and choice that its the only logical choice for digital only content.

deafdani4608d ago

A Netflix like service? That is pretty much what OnLive is.

Now, that platform is a superb idea, but it's still a bit ahead of its time. There's still a lot of people that just don't have the required connection speeds to use OnLive effectively, and hell, there's even still a fair amount of people without internet!

However, that will obviously change over time. In the future, when everyone has a minimum of 100 MB internet speed or something like that, then yes, OnLive (and other services) will be as popular for games as Netflix is for movies now, if not more.

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80°

Playstation Plus Monthly Games for May: EA Sports FC 26, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, Nine Sols

All available May 5.

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blog.playstation.com
FPSRUSSIA18d ago

What's Point in commenting your basicly closing down the site.

LiViNgLeGaCY18d ago

I'm surprised it's still the old site. I thought he said starting today?

Eonjay18d ago

Its like the final episode of the Sapranos. You gonna go to make a comment and when you click add th-

Profchaos18d ago

Timezone thing maybe.... RIP

darthv7218d ago

Insert the Ferris Bueller end scene... "You're still here? It's over.."

LiViNgLeGaCY18d ago

I think the only game here for me is Nine Sols. Was always interested in that game.

TheColbertinator18d ago

Glad I don't buy FIFA games anymore

Rebel_Scum18d ago

Hey now! Thats a great month.

Nacho_Z18d ago

Good month for me, I wanted that particular footy game and thought it might be due. Anyway who cares, shame about the site I'll miss the comment sections. All the best everyone.

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70°

Naughty Dog Was Reportedly Divided On Joel's Controversial Fate During Development Of TLOU Part 2

Naughty Dog was reportedly divided on the controversial fate of Joel in The Last of Us Part 2 during the game's development.

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twistedvoxel.com
SimpleDad18d ago

NO, that can't be... No! I can't... Really?/s

Cacabunga18d ago

They for sure chose the worst way to deal with it

-Foxtrot17d ago

Funny considering Bruce left half way through development and now we get told there was an internal conflict with the story direction.

Makes you think…

HectixRose18d ago

I think it was good decision, if he was still alive, he would have been a mascot just like Kratos, drake and many others. These old dudes gotta die for new characters to take center stage with their own storyline. They keep dragging the emotional baggage into many sequels and eventually the story just turns into absolute shit show.

JEECE18d ago

It was ironic because people complained heavily about the story in the Uncharted games not having sufficient stakes because all the key characters always survived, despite the dangerous situations they were always in. Then ND killed a character in a more serious series and everyone lost their minds. Just shows that people don't always really want the thing they say they want.

CantThinkOfAUsername17d ago

I thought the more common complaint about Uncharted franchise was how the main cast are the good guys acting so nonchalantly while killing hundreds in cold blood (aka the dissonance between gameplay and story cutscenes). They just did it again in Part II.

Soy18d ago

Didn't have to kill him. Just have them part ways or Joel can "retire," whatever.

DarXyde18d ago

I don't think he would necessarily need to become a mascot (and besides, technically, I'd say Ellie is... So regardless, someone was going to be).

From a narrative perspective, I do think it has a similar effect to Ricky dying in Boyz N Da Hood: very likeable character, and you're really motivated to see the get back—in this case, it's more intense because it's an interactive experience. Most people hated Abby, but I get what they were after with portraying the cycle of violence and revenge—unfortunately, the game appears to want to take the side of the bad people.

But I will say that if Joel survived, it does become harder to tell an interesting story. What COULD have happened is an exploration into the rift between Joel and Ellie after the trolley dilemma events of the first game. It could have been interesting to see Abby out for revenge at the same time Ellie hated Joel.

Ashunderfire8618d ago

Sorry just had to say this lol! RICKYYYY!

Man Cuba Gooding Jr was miscast in that movie, but that part was cringey it was sad and funny at the same time man.

Ashunderfire8618d ago (Edited 18d ago )

I understand but the way they went about killing Joel, was poorly executed. Even the show of the Last of Us games tried to improved it, but it was just as bad. Well at least Joel got to know the reason why he had to die, before the death happened in the show. That part gave us the full context, but the game just let it happen with no pay off.

Joel death should have been a midway thing through the story, so we at least get to play him a little more with Ellie. Abby didn’t need to be this Hulk looking woman, but more like the show Abby which is a beater idea in my opinion.

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InUrFoxHole18d ago

The only ND game that was so disappointing to me I couldn't finish it.

pwnmaster300018d ago

Honestly as much as I loved the game, they could have just not killed him off.
I get it creator vision and all but killing a character that made you millions is just wrong imo. At least have him go down fighting.

Show all comments (25)
60°

Final Fantasy X 25th Anniversary Website Launches With New Nomura Artwork and Merchandise

Square Enix launches Final Fantasy X 25th anniversary site, revealing new Nomura art, books, music releases, and merchandise.

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twistedvoxel.com
-Foxtrot18d ago

Look I know VIII has its issues and all that but how on earth can the do big anniversary events with new artwork and merchandise for VII, IX and X yet VIII got sweet f*** all.

They could have given it something during its 25th anniversary yet all it got was a single Happy Anniversary post on their social media.

solideagle18d ago

they should know that we are OG fans of VIII as it sold truckload as well. not as much as VII or X. I personally didn't like IX but X and VI are my personal fav.

Shadow Hearts 2 covenant is another game I love. I hope one day someone can make remake, I would be delighted

Relientk7718d ago

Final Fantasy VIII is great and you are always the first to defend it in the comments