Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 16 of 17

Thread: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    139
    Thanks
    10
    Thanked
    8 times in 7 posts
    • bandsaw's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P9X79 Deluxe
      • CPU:
      • Core i7-3930K
      • Memory:
      • 32GB Samsung Green DDR3-1600 (8x4GB)
      • Storage:
      • 160GB Intel 320 + lots of HDDs
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 3GB MSI HD 7970 Lightning
      • PSU:
      • 750W Corsair HX750
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Fortress FT02-B
      • Operating System:
      • Win7 Pro x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 24" Dell U2410
      • Internet:
      • 16MB ADSL

    Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    Am I missing something in all this digital distribution lark???
    Just taking C&C4 as an example (primarily as that's what I'm thinking of getting), how come Gameplay can offer it for £26.99 (and claim they'll have it delivered on Friday, the day of release, for an extra 99p) yet digital distribution is £34.99? Direct2Drive is the culprit here; Steam doesn't give a price for reasons I know not.

    For this extra £8 over Gameplay, all you get is a soundtrack by the London Philharmonic (wooooo!) and an 'exclusive' prequel mission... er... £8?! Damn near an extra 30% for basically one map? I dare say it's stereotyping somewhat, but come on, would anyone want a game soundtrack performed by an orchestra?

    I thought the likes of D2D and Steam were supposed to have minimal business overheads thanks to not having a physical product to peddle and thus should be able to offer stuff cheaper. How then, in the name of all that's holy, is it more expensive - are these people having a laugh?

  2. #2
    Fried Chip Extremist alsenior's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Stafford
    Posts
    2,949
    Thanks
    103
    Thanked
    191 times in 145 posts
    • alsenior's system
      • Motherboard:
      • DFI Lanparty Jr x58-T3H6
      • CPU:
      • Core i7 920
      • Memory:
      • 6 x 2GB ocz Gold
      • Storage:
      • 1 TB Samsung F3
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 1gb 4890 vapor-x xfire
      • PSU:
      • xfx 850W
      • Case:
      • Lian-li Pc7
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 X64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 2208WFP
      • Internet:
      • 30mb Virgin media

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    the price for both these services are set by the publisher so they have to sell them at what ever price they dictate. and atm alot of publishers are reluctant to drop the prices on digital releases for fear of causing upset with the retailers . once we get over this little problem prices will begin to fall.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay View Post
    What kind of emergency would need Windows 95? I think you are already in a bad state of emergency when your backup plan is Windows 95.
    Beginners guide to raid Beginners guide to raid post edition Hexus.Social - FAQ

  3. #3
    Butter king GheeTsar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    The shire of berks
    Posts
    2,106
    Thanks
    153
    Thanked
    260 times in 163 posts
    • GheeTsar's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P
      • CPU:
      • Intel i5 2500k
      • Memory:
      • Corsair 8GB
      • Storage:
      • Samsung EVO 850 1 TB + 2 x 1TB Storage
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ASUS Radeon R9 280X
      • PSU:
      • Tagan TG600-U33 600W
      • Case:
      • Fractal Design Define R3
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • Acer 24" 120Hz GD245HQ
      • Internet:
      • Virgin 100mb

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    That's why I buy all new release games at retail and only buy digitally if the price drops much lower than retail.

    That said, I do like the auto-patch feature of Steam.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Stringent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Neverland
    Posts
    5,227
    Thanks
    45
    Thanked
    155 times in 117 posts
    • Stringent's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Intel DQ57TM
      • CPU:
      • Intel i5 760
      • Memory:
      • 8GB
      • Storage:
      • 1TB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • NVIDIA Geforce 260GTX
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX620
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Centurion
      • Operating System:
      • Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dual Iiyama 24"
      • Internet:
      • Patchy

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    I like having a physical copy of something. Box and all.

  5. #5
    jim
    jim is offline
    HEXUS.clueless jim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Location: Location:
    Posts
    11,435
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked
    1,639 times in 1,304 posts
    • jim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500K @ 4.5GHz
      • Memory:
      • 8GB Corsair Vengeance LP
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Sandisk SSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ASUS GTX 970
      • PSU:
      • Corsair AX650
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Fortress FT03
      • Operating System:
      • 8.1 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell S2716DG
      • Internet:
      • 10 Mbps ADSL

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    I only ever buy things from Steam during the sales.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Posts
    4,825
    Thanks
    161
    Thanked
    358 times in 288 posts
    • badass's system
      • Motherboard:
      • ASUS P8Z77-m pro
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 3570K
      • Memory:
      • 32GB
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Samsung 850 EVO, 2TB WD Green
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon RX 580
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520W
      • Case:
      • Silverstone SG02-F
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 X64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Del U2311, LG226WTQ
      • Internet:
      • 80/20 FTTC

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    Quote Originally Posted by snootyjim View Post
    I only ever buy things from Steam during the sales.
    Me too. Otherwise I would rather have a physical copy.
    "In a perfect world... spammers would get caught, go to jail, and share a cell with many men who have enlarged their penises, taken Viagra and are looking for a new relationship."

  7. #7
    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    30,748
    Thanks
    1,787
    Thanked
    3,287 times in 2,647 posts
    • kalniel's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra
      • CPU:
      • Intel i9 9900k
      • Memory:
      • 32GB DDR4 3200 CL16
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Samsung 970Evo+ NVMe
      • Graphics card(s):
      • nVidia GTX 1060 6GB
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic 600W
      • Case:
      • Cooler Master HAF 912
      • Operating System:
      • Win 10 Pro x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell S2721DGF
      • Internet:
      • rubbish

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    Quote Originally Posted by bandsaw View Post
    Am I missing something in all this digital distribution lark???
    Just taking C&C4 as an example (primarily as that's what I'm thinking of getting), how come Gameplay can offer it for £26.99 (and claim they'll have it delivered on Friday, the day of release, for an extra 99p) yet digital distribution is £34.99? Direct2Drive is the culprit here; Steam doesn't give a price for reasons I know not.

    For this extra £8 over Gameplay, all you get is a soundtrack by the London Philharmonic (wooooo!) and an 'exclusive' prequel mission... er... £8?! Damn near an extra 30% for basically one map? I dare say it's stereotyping somewhat, but come on, would anyone want a game soundtrack performed by an orchestra?

    I thought the likes of D2D and Steam were supposed to have minimal business overheads thanks to not having a physical product to peddle and thus should be able to offer stuff cheaper. How then, in the name of all that's holy, is it more expensive - are these people having a laugh?
    Since when has actual cost had any relevance to market prices? I got Kings Bounty from Steam for about £3.74 when it cost up to £30 in retail. Likewise I've had games cheap from EA store and other DDs.

    And I'd love a game soundtrack performed by a real orchestra. The Witcher and Gothic 3 had ace orchestral sound tracks, I've also got soundtracks from Guild Wars Nightfall, factions, Myst 3 and Dawn of War 2.

  8. #8
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    139
    Thanks
    10
    Thanked
    8 times in 7 posts
    • bandsaw's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P9X79 Deluxe
      • CPU:
      • Core i7-3930K
      • Memory:
      • 32GB Samsung Green DDR3-1600 (8x4GB)
      • Storage:
      • 160GB Intel 320 + lots of HDDs
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 3GB MSI HD 7970 Lightning
      • PSU:
      • 750W Corsair HX750
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Fortress FT02-B
      • Operating System:
      • Win7 Pro x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 24" Dell U2410
      • Internet:
      • 16MB ADSL

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    Surely if a mail-order outfit can offer a game at £27ish then Steam and the rest of them can too? That's all I'm getting at. Hell, even HMV is offering it at 'just' £30 and they have rent, staff wages and all the rest of their costs to cover.

    I'm not expecting for Steam er al to offer titles at say 50% of a mail order company for the same title but merely be competitive... if Steam offered a title at even a tiny premium over traditional stores (be that mail order only or otherwise), I would probably go for it as I personally don't really care if I have media or not.

    I did admit to stereotyping with my comment about the orchestral soundtrack but how is it that a magnet for punters? How are you supposed to know what a soundtrack, in original in-game format, is like if you haven't yet bought the game? I assume the soundtracks you mention were bought after you've played the game?

  9. #9
    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    30,748
    Thanks
    1,787
    Thanked
    3,287 times in 2,647 posts
    • kalniel's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra
      • CPU:
      • Intel i9 9900k
      • Memory:
      • 32GB DDR4 3200 CL16
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Samsung 970Evo+ NVMe
      • Graphics card(s):
      • nVidia GTX 1060 6GB
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic 600W
      • Case:
      • Cooler Master HAF 912
      • Operating System:
      • Win 10 Pro x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell S2721DGF
      • Internet:
      • rubbish

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    Quote Originally Posted by bandsaw View Post
    Surely if a mail-order outfit can offer a game at £27ish then Steam and the rest of them can too? That's all I'm getting at. Hell, even HMV is offering it at 'just' £30 and they have rent, staff wages and all the rest of their costs to cover.
    For starters steam and others can, and do, offer games at £27 ish, and less. Whether they do at the same time as a retail outlet is another matter, but there are a couple of points you need to be aware of: Retail outlets can offer loss-leaders as a viable business tactic - same as with supermarkets - there is a market advantage to be gained in just getting a punter into your shop. That doesn't quite apply in the same way to online shops, though they are learning to emulate it in some fashion with the 'come back each day this week for a different offer' type thing - that's about as close as they can get. Secondly the retail chains still have a lot of bargaining power with publishers - shelf space and position in 'store charts' are still important marketing tools for which publishers will curry retail's favour. That often means ensuring that digital distribution is not priced lower than the suggested retail price for a period after release.

    I did admit to stereotyping with my comment about the orchestral soundtrack but how is it that a magnet for punters? How are you supposed to know what a soundtrack, in original in-game format, is like if you haven't yet bought the game? I assume the soundtracks you mention were bought after you've played the game?
    Some people just like extra goodies, but in all the cases I have I had heard the music before - either through demos, trailers, website samples or from having access to the game in development. So no, I usually got the sound tracks at the same time as the game, often as part of a collectors edition type thing.

  10. #10
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    25
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts
    • moussekateer's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i5-750
      • Memory:
      • Crucial 2x2GB DDR3 1600MHz Ballistix
      • Storage:
      • Samsung F3 1TB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire HD 5770 1GB GDDR5
      • PSU:
      • Coolermaster 700W Silent Pro
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Storm Scout
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Ultimate
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung SyncMaster P2450H 24"

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    If I recall correctly someone at Valve stated they wanted games to be cheaper on Steam but brick and mortar retailers threatened to stop stocking their games if they undercut them. Still, they do some great deals sometimes. £5 for the Orange box was the best £5 I ever spent

  11. #11
    mutantbass head Lee H's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    M28, Manchester
    Posts
    14,204
    Thanks
    337
    Thanked
    671 times in 580 posts
    • Lee H's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z370 Carbon Gaming
      • CPU:
      • Intel i7 8700K Unlocked CPU
      • Memory:
      • 16 GB Corsair Vengeance 3200 LPX
      • Storage:
      • 250GB 960 EVO + a few more drives
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 6GB Palit GTX 1060 Dual
      • PSU:
      • Antec Truepower 750W Modular Blue
      • Case:
      • Corsair 600T White Edition
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 PRO
      • Monitor(s):
      • 27" Asus MX279H & 24" Acer 3D GD245HQ + the 3D glasses
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    I'm actually steering towards digital distribution at the moment.

    I had to reinstall my PC just after I moved and if most the games I have were not on steam it would have been an absolute nightmare to keep swapping all the discs and then download every single patch for my games collection.

    As such, I just set them all to download again, left the PC for a few hours and came back to a nice complete games setup that was already patched and updated to the latest versions while I did nothing and sat there on my sofa scratching my nether regions

    With the speeds of broadband getting faster each year, DD is going to grow and grow until it becomes the future of how games are distributed.

  12. #12
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    282
    Thanks
    30
    Thanked
    31 times in 29 posts
    • Cheapy's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P
      • CPU:
      • AMD Phenom II X3 710 (Unlocked)
      • Memory:
      • 4Gb Corsair DDR3
      • Storage:
      • 320Gb Samsung F1
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire 7950 Vapor-X
      • PSU:
      • 520W Corsair HX
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define R3
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7
      • Monitor(s):
      • BenQ GW2450HM

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    Im for good old fashioned DVDs mainly because with the internet speeds I get I dread to think how many days it would take to downlaod a game, patchs are bad enough.

  13. #13
    mutantbass head Lee H's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    M28, Manchester
    Posts
    14,204
    Thanks
    337
    Thanked
    671 times in 580 posts
    • Lee H's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z370 Carbon Gaming
      • CPU:
      • Intel i7 8700K Unlocked CPU
      • Memory:
      • 16 GB Corsair Vengeance 3200 LPX
      • Storage:
      • 250GB 960 EVO + a few more drives
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 6GB Palit GTX 1060 Dual
      • PSU:
      • Antec Truepower 750W Modular Blue
      • Case:
      • Corsair 600T White Edition
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 PRO
      • Monitor(s):
      • 27" Asus MX279H & 24" Acer 3D GD245HQ + the 3D glasses
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    I think that this really depends on peoples connection speeds as well. People on faster connections like myself who can download gigs of data in a few minutes are probably leaning towards DD as opposed to physical media.

    I bet as more and more people move up to 50Mb, 100Mb or above connection speeds, peoples views and thoughts on this will change as it will be quicker to purchase and download the game through steam as opposed to nipping to the shops, purchasing the game and then getting home to install it

  14. #14
    Studmuffin Flibb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    4,904
    Thanks
    31
    Thanked
    324 times in 277 posts
    • Flibb's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3
      • CPU:
      • AMD FX-6300
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 PC3-12800
      • Storage:
      • Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250G
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 3GB MSI Radeon HD 7950 Twin Frozr
      • PSU:
      • FSP
      • Operating System:
      • Win7 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Deffl TFT thing

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    I just buy whats cheapest, but my preferance is for DD. Couple of reasons being, I hate having to find teh sodding disc if I fancy a quick game, onluine patching is excellent, steam is great for reinstalls after a fresh OS (could do with storing keys bindings online). Price wise, well I have to be really certain that the games good to pay over £20, about £25 is my max.

  15. #15
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    108
    Thanks
    6
    Thanked
    12 times in 8 posts
    • CX23882-19's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI K9AG Neo2-Digital
      • CPU:
      • AMD Athlon X2 BE-2350
      • Memory:
      • 2.0GB DDR2-800
      • Storage:
      • Western Digital WD6400AAKS
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ASUS EAH3650+ VNF100
      • PSU:
      • Antec Neo HE 430
      • Case:
      • Evercase ECE-4252
      • Operating System:
      • Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit SP1
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 2407WFP-HC
      • Internet:
      • Vispa ADSL 2Mbps

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    I like the way that Saints Row 2 was distributed - you can buy a physical DVD of the game, but it uses Steam. I see it as the best of both worlds:
    1) The games are often heavily discounted after a few months (e.g. Play.com, Amazon etc.), whereas Steam prices always seem to stay high(er).
    2) You don't have to use a large chunk of your internet usage allowance by downloading the whole game (as you would with a 100% digital download).
    3) Once installed, you can play the game without needing to put the DVD in and also take advantage of Steam's patching system.

    Just a shame that Saints Row 2 is the worst-performing game I have ever purchased; moreso than GTA IV.

  16. #16
    Admin (Ret'd)
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Posts
    18,481
    Thanks
    1,016
    Thanked
    3,208 times in 2,281 posts

    Re: Digital distribution -vs- good ol' fashioned CD/DVD

    CD/DVD for me. Not interested in Steam, and not prepared to install it. Having said that, with the state of games and DRM, I'm not particularly interested in CD/DVD either. Extend it to music though, and it's definitely proper discs for me.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Intel e6300 overheating?
    By Xet in forum SCAN.care@HEXUS
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 26-01-2007, 09:56 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •