Lack of PC Games in retail stores! :(

QlimaxUK · 19 Jul 2011 at 20:48

i don't like the clutter of disks and the 'insert play disk' for every game!!!! steam takes all that away and also speeds up the install time (as long as you keep the game files on the drive after a format) the only BAD thing about steam is having to download it in the first place and being TRAFFIC CAPPED! by evil VM!
so the best advice for steam is to always keep games on the HDD and you don't have to worry about scratched disks, read errors and CYCLIC REDUNDANCY CHECKS!

Moothead2 · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:01

orderoftheflame said:
Crummy plastic boxes do nothing for me compared to the big cardboard offerings from yesteryear packed with goodies.

Aye;

Miss those days.

Still, this move to stock as little PC games as possible does alienate those with lackluster download rates. I have 1MB download speeds which I can live with but it's still no where near as fast as some people on here. I've also seen people with 350KB/s and imagine downloading GTA 4 + DLC from Steam on that.

Admiral Huddy · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:04

I miss the buying CD/DVD games but the DD has it's uses.. It's nice to see the games library building which means I can easily replay an older games knowing that I don't have to worry about updates/patches too much.. However, Eggs in one basket springs to mind though

Hatton · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:04

I was looking in my brother's room the otherday to borrow some socks (white ones, very rare) and I couldn't help but see this horrible stack of retail console game cases. It just looks so old school and unecessary, it was kind of like going back to those old video cases!

I love having my games all on Steam, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Mr Krugga · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:05

Some games, like the Witcher/Witcher 2, still contain awesome extras and are worth purchasing in retail solely for this reason.

Other games are only worth it because they usually cost 30-50% less in retail than in any of the Digital Distribution services (excluding Sales).

I don't understand why you wouldn't purchase retail games online, though. They are usually priced very competitively.

EdwardTeach · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:15

I received the Witcher Premium edition in the post today (£16 from tesco). First boxed game I have bought in a while, and its actually really nice. I think I will start buying more boxed games. I already have deus ex premium edition on pre-order. I will most likely be buying from etailers though, I sometimes browse the high st, and whilst the hmv and game near me do have some stock, the prices are poor.
Last decent high at deal I can recall was game selling shogun2 total war for about £14. I held off because I haven't completed a campaign in empire or napoleon yet, and I know creative are going to **** out a lot of dlc, so would rather wait for the "game of the year" edition, or whatever ******** they call it.

Spook187 · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:15

orderoftheflame said:
Why is it better in your opinion? What features does it offer that digital distribution doesn't?

Oohh a disk! It goes in the machine, it comes out the machine! In, out, in, out, in, out, sits on a shelf. Magic.

Crummy plastic boxes do nothing for me compared to the big cardboard offerings from yesteryear packed with goodies.

I like clutter

i use both,but i like my game boxes on a shelve.
What if all Blue Ray/DVD had gone Download would you like that,i think not.i have vast movie collection on disk,and it wouldn't feel right if it was all on my hard drive.

setter · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:16

The last games i bought disk copies of were, bc2 and far cry 2 limited edition in a nice wooden box. Prefer DD now as theres enough game/dvd boxes to store as it is.

Mr Krugga · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:17

Spook187 said:
I like clutter i use both,but i like my game boxes on a shelve.
What if all Blue Ray/DVD had gone Download would you like that,i think not.i have vast movie collection on disk,and it wouldn't feel right if it was all on my hard drive.

I have vast majority of Blue Rays/DVDs on the HDD

King Damager · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:21

The local Game isn't bad for me, they have a reasonable selection of 'top 10' selling games, so things like Witcher 2 are on there... They also have a mediocre pre-owned section. Saying that, you simply cannot beat Steam. I try and buy most games that I really want in boxed versions from local stores when they come out, but the Steam sale is just incredible prices...

kd

orderoftheflame · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:21

Spook187 said:
What if all Blue Ray/DVD had gone Download would you like that,i think not.i have vast movie collection on disk,and it wouldn't feel right if it was all on my hard drive.

Provided the final experience was exactly the same, I'd love that.

I've already got a large portion of my DVDs ripped, would be far better to cut out the middle man imo. Using the time I spend ripping, downloading would be fine by me.

AWPC · 19 Jul 2011 at 21:26

neoglow said:
Just recently I have bought a number of PC Games, some old, some new. All of them were bought online apart from one.

Normally I do most of my shopping for things online, purely cos its easier and I bargain hunt to get the cheapest price.

The last couple weeks Ive been on annual leave from work and have been catching up with shopping for clothes etc which I havent done for while.

I was amazed of either the lack of a good selection or any PC Games at all on the shelves in highstreet retail stores. Even my local medium sized HMV dont stock ANY PC Games at all. Other stores like Gamestation have a very poor selection against a mass array of console games. PC World had the worst PC Games shelf I've ever seen in a "PC" store.

Tesco had some, the chart titles and a few others, Sainsburys (my local one) dont sell them at all.

What the heck is going on? What annoys me is new games are coming out every week, a lot of them multi platform, but it seems that 'multi' just means PS3, Xbox and Wii. These same games come out on the PC too you know! Obviously the PC platform is still 'current' or the developers wouldnt make games for the PC.

It should be compulsory, if you sell chart videogames then you sell them on every platform.

>Rant over.

Just buy PC-DVD games online from an etailor much cheaper than shop prices & far better than digital distribution. Its only a matter of time before console games disappear gradually from the shops as well retailor margins are huge & most games publishers resent paying them.

Retailors make most of their profits from used console games which is why they do not bother wasting shelf space on PC. A lot of console games now come with a stealth DRM (1 time only online playcodes) which means they are becoming worthless used!

I spoke to someone a while ago who works for one of the big retailors & they told me PC-DVD sales online are still healthy enough in UK they will not go away for several years yet digital distribution has a long way to go pricewise & obviously Valve are happy they are taking a huge cut out of it for doing very little which is why EA & others are starting to sell PC games directly or refuse to sell big games on Steam anymore (Crysis2 & BF3 are the big exceptions here!). US is the only market where PC @ retail is totally dead EU has a long life ahead of it at least 5 years more of physical media if not longer as UK ISP's are not good enough & until new cabling is introduced most areas will be stuck on poor broadband speeds making all digital even further away.

gropingmantis · 19 Jul 2011 at 22:35

Turambar said:
What's even more irritating is that despite having bugger all shelf space for PC titles, GAME can still hassle publishers into giving them 1 months exclusivity before some titles make it onto Steam.

This is so true. Retail sales of PC games must be tiny compared to DD (especially Steam). So why does EA give exclusives to GAME but not sell it through Steam? Do EA not like money or something?

Spook187 said:
I like clutter i use both,but i like my game boxes on a shelve.
What if all Blue Ray/DVD had gone Download would you like that,i think not.i have vast movie collection on disk,and it wouldn't feel right if it was all on my hard drive.

I'm currently moving all mine to HDD.

Cases just look so tacky. Playing on my mates 360 at uni and having to put a disc in for every different game was ridiculous. Haven't had to do that for ages. The last retail game I bought was Homeworld 2 (I wish those games were on Steam, I would happily buy them again to not have them in French (damn you ebay)).

Gimpymoo · 19 Jul 2011 at 22:44

Spook187 said:
I can't see why a lot of you are obsessed with steam,its ok for sales,but having a retail disk if far better imo,the argument about patches up to date dont wash,the babies who say they are not buying BF3 because its not on steam is just childish,buy retail which would have been cheaper in the first place.

And you Sir obviously no **** all about the subject matter.

I am one of those who will not be purchasing BF3 unless it is on Steam.

What E.A could end up doing would be very sad if it happens.

They still make money from sales on Steam, E.A are just a bunch of greedy ********.

Spook187 · 19 Jul 2011 at 23:07

Gimpymoo said:
And you Sir obviously no **** all about the subject matter.

I am one of those who will not be purchasing BF3 unless it is on Steam.

What E.A could end up doing would be very sad if it happens.

They still make money from sales on Steam, E.A are just a bunch of greedy ********.

Now thats just silly not buying because its not going to be on steam :confused:

,yes i agree EA are being selfish but it wont stop me buying any of their games just because they have pulled the plug from under steam.

Gimpymoo · 19 Jul 2011 at 23:14

If they refused to let the UK's biggest retail chain stock the game, I think there would be an equal amount of negativity towards them.

gropingmantis · 19 Jul 2011 at 23:14

Spook187 said:
Now thats just silly not buying because its not going to be on steam,yes i agree EA are being selfish but it wont stop me buying any of their games just because they have pulled the plug from under steam.

Like I said EA don't like money. I will be buying BF3 retail (unless between now and when I buy it some Steam news appears) but I sure as hell won't be buying from Origin or Game/Gamestation and no way am I buying if it forces Origin (unlikely but possible).

Team Meat summed up my thoughts on the matter here:

“The reason Valve has the monopoly and the reason that’s okay is a) they know what they’re doing and b) out of all the people we’ve dealt with, Steam is the most open and the quickest to respond. Working with Valve isn’t like working with Microsoft, it’s like working with another part of a team in a way.”

Will EA be live Valve with their DD service? Noooooooooooooooo.

gropingmantis · 19 Jul 2011 at 23:16

Gimpymoo said:
If they refused to let the UK's biggest retail chain stock the game, I think there would be an equal amount of negativity towards them.

I don't think so.

BF3 not being in Game would cause much less uproar than it not being in Steam.

AtticusFinch · 19 Jul 2011 at 23:19

Online is easier/cheaper and retail is in a state of torpor in this sector. Such is life. Next.

Gimpymoo · 19 Jul 2011 at 23:44

gropingmantis said:
I don't think so.

BF3 not being in Game would cause much less uproar than it not being in Steam.

Could this then escalate into yet ANOTHER PR **** fest for E.A?