Lack of PC Games in retail stores! :(

To be honest I can't even remember last time I bought a PC game in store. Buying online has been the way to go for a long time.
 
The reason EA are not putting BF3 on Steam is because Valve will not let EA manage the patching process & other online services EA want to manage for their own games so EA pulled Crysis2 & BF3 & others will probably disappear sooner or later!

Steam's monopoly is on borrowed time anyway all the major publishers want to sell to you direct to cut out the middle man (retailors/etailors/digital distributors etc etc). EA, Ubisoft & Activision are all either setting up their own digital stores or soon will be! Once it makes financial sense to do so they will pull all their games from Steam then Steam will shrink unless they drastically change how much money they take from each transaction (even if they do the publishers will never stop asking for a bigger %).

Just because Steam got into a strong market position does not mean they will stay there forever..........
 
I'd say reason EA is pulling titles has nothing to do with any patching processes but quite simply that they have their own distribution system which they are trying to push more lately.

Maybe it's a good thing as Valve may start making games again and finally learn to count to 3 ;)
 
:)

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AWPC said:
The reason EA are not putting BF3 on Steam is because Valve will not let EA manage the patching process & other online services
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Codswallop.

There are numerous titles allready on Steam which are patched "outside steam".

All the MMO's they sell for a start.

Regarding "other online services", what do you mean?
 
My local GAME has loads of PC titles... I think the PC section is the biggest actually, they have a shelf for Top 10/recent games, one shelf for 2 for £30 games, one shelf for 3 for £10 games and one more for 2 for £15 ones.
 
AWPC said:
The reason EA are not putting BF3 on Steam is because Valve will not let EA manage the patching process & other online services EA want to manage for their own games so EA pulled Crysis2 & BF3 & others will probably disappear sooner or later!
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Actually Crysis 2 was removed because EA want to release DLC to specific retailers only and Steam say that ALL your game content MUST be avaliable to Steam customers. Do you want to buy a game from a certain retailer, be it Steam or D2D or Gamersgate, and then find out a month down the line that there is DLC only avalible for those who purchased via Origin or Game? Do you? Do you really think that Steam forcing publishers to make all game content avalible to people who purchased through Steam is a bad thing?

Case in point BF3 PWP. This was almost certainly a reason BF3 was not going to be on Steam. Steam would not stand for content being unavaliable to their customers.

Also plenty of games are patched outside of Steam. All UPlay Ubisoft games, all the MMOs that Steam distributes, and I am sure many more beside.
 
E.A allready seem to be cosying up with Gamestop/Impulse. To sell on Impulse but NOT on Steam stinks.

Either sell exclusively on your own platform or sell everywhere.

Do not discount the biggest player for that very reason, it is even worse when that "biggest player" has become so by offering a good service.

It may seem silly not buying BF3 if it is not on Steam but I think there are many reasons that indicate this is E.A trying to flex their muscles to the school geek just because they are jealous.

E.A - KISS MY ***.
 
I'm always amazed at the number of people who don't get the basic idea of a business. It's not a service you're entitiled to. It's someone selling a product or service to make money. If there are no PC games on shelves, it's because they're not selling.

OP actually states that he does most of his shopping online, and then he's shocked because the retail stores don't have stuff he's looking for. *boggle*
 
Sleepery said:
I'm always amazed at the number of people who don't get the basic idea of a business. It's not a service you're entitiled to. It's someone selling a product or service to make money. If there are no PC games on shelves, it's because they're not selling.

OP actually states that he does most of his shopping online, and then he's shocked because the retail stores don't have stuff he's looking for. *boggle*
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To be fair, the biggest game retailer in the U.K (Who bought their competition) are the ones who forced people to go online due to their inflated "Allways RRP" prices.

They deserve all they get.
 
The VAST majority of my PC game purchasing occurs during Steam sales. You just can't get any better than that, IMO.

Brick and mortar store prices are still behind the times. I very rarely do anything but browse in them these days -- even my console games I'll purchase online for a good tenner less than the high street rip-off merchants.
 
Sleepery said:
I'm always amazed at the number of people who don't get the basic idea of a business. It's not a service you're entitiled to. It's someone selling a product or service to make money. If there are no PC games on shelves, it's because they're not selling.

OP actually states that he does most of his shopping online, and then he's shocked because the retail stores don't have stuff he's looking for. *boggle*
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Yup. It's not something the retailers just suddenly decided on.... they've just been thoroughly beaten by the competition.

They were still called "Electronics boutique" the last time I bought something from that particular company.

For a while there was an indie shop 3 doors away which undercut their prices by a few quid, so I bought all my retail games from there. In the early 2000's, e-tailers like Play and Amazon started undercutting the indie game stores, so I switched my custom to them (as did a lot of others) and the indie store near me closed down.

At the same time, the pubishers started putting more and more DRM on their games. This has pretty much killed the second-hand pc game market, which used to provide a lot of profit for the retailers.
 
I've been to a few GAME shops, usually there is a average selection of pc games and they have a large selection of the SOLD OUT stuff.

They have some deals like 2 for £25 on games that have been out for a few months and 3 for £15 on games that are quite old. I genuinely find them pretty price competitive on that basis.

I also use the purple shirt place which for a while now has been startlingly bad on getting in the latest releases, they have a selection of the very popular titles but thats it. Also they will have multiformat games for the ps3/xbox but they wont have the pc version which is maddening.

They seem to mainly cater for budget buyers and point and click puzzle gamers ie WOMEN. So even in the shop that has PC in the name pc games are dying on their arse.
 
Eventually, it'll all be digital distribution - I wouldn't want to be part of a store selling games, they're a dying "breed".

And I look forward to when it's all digital.
 
Gimpymoo said:
E.A allready seem to be cosying up with Gamestop/Impulse. To sell on Impulse but NOT on Steam stinks.

Either sell exclusively on your own platform or sell everywhere.

Do not discount the biggest player for that very reason, it is even worse when that "biggest player" has become so by offering a good service.

It may seem silly not buying BF3 if it is not on Steam but I think there are many reasons that indicate this is E.A trying to flex their muscles to the school geek just because they are jealous.

E.A - KISS MY ***.
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I'm sorry to say it Gimpy but that is very immature of you.

Do you think big corporations like EA or Valve act emotionally at all? It's all business. I think gropingmantis' explanation seems very probable in this case and following this logic, we might be seeing BF3 on Steam at a later date, when all DLC is available to all retailers.

If you don't want to buy the game, fair enough. But don't suggest that EA is acting like a little child because it's silly and shows how little knowledge or understanding of the big world you have.
 
I am aware of how the world and big business works, it does not mean I have to like it though just because it is the "status quo".

I respect your comment but this is E.A, the company who make constant bad decisions and this is just another in a long line.

I do not believe it is immature of me to dislike the way E.A are handling this.

The reason why is obvious, they do not like the market share Valve have of sales of their own products via digital distribution.

Me personally, I trust Valve (rightly or wrongly) and if they are saying "This is not right", I will be certain E.A are upto something murky, especially with what will be their biggest (read profitable game) for many years.

The DLC arguement is void anyway. Many games sell DLC through GFWL marketplace and NOT THROUGH STEAM without issue.

There is something else going on, it stinks and E.A know it but because it is BF3, they expect us to swallow it regardless, I for one, will not. Personal choice which I am entitled to have, not saying everyone else should agree.
 
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Running a brick and mortar store (of any kind) in the UK is very expensive, it's easy for the etailers to undercut them. Of course there's the convenience of ordering online as well.
 
It's all digital my good man.

Steam and the like are just a step above the others in terms of ease. Sure, some places are cheap and decent to get hard copies... but as my splurges in the steam sales show, I love the downloading more.

Seems quicker and less mess to me.
 
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