News - UK retail games sales the worst since records began

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zerox

It is pretty obvious that so called "game stores" are really ripping consumers off due to unreasonably high prices compared to their online competitors (like Steam and Amazon), so I guess that they deserve their fate, and hopefully they will just slide peacefully down into the pit of obsolescence.

Although Steam and the rest of the digital distribution platforms (including that evil one which shall not be named) will probably become dominant in the PC games market, I have to wonder what will happen to the console game market, which requires the purchase of physical media.

Will it stay on the high street, or will it too move predominantly to web-based retailers?

It doesn't matter tbh.

---

I think you may need to look at the publishers rather than the retail stores. Activision for example have been raising prices each COD release for a while, stores can't absorb that money.

Steam pretty much sticks with RRPs as they take a cut when a game is brand new and offer sales on items that are usually pretty old and probably discounted/second hand in the retail stores by then.

Actually I see Steam becoming just like the brick and motar stores of today for rip off prices, if the retail go away that isn't going to help the prices down at all. If Steam is the only one left standing then it's going to get a lot worse for high prices, not to mention the debatable convenience with download times/weird patching steam seems to do(Oh patch needs me to download all of Skyrim again yay!)/all your hard brought games stuck on that account if something bad happens)

I still prefer to buy Game discs rather than digital as you can often find it cheaper via online retailers because you can always sell it when you get fed up with it & also because my internet connection is so slow it can take all night to download a full game.
I will buy games via steam but only if they are at a really good special offer price. I will never buy games feom steam at full RRP as all digital downloads should be at least 25% cheaper due to reduced production costs.

I only recently switched from high street shops to Steam for my games. I wanted to get Mount and Blade Warband Napoleonic Wars, and it was only available as DLC. I bought it in the Steam sale, along with a few other games. I've decided that I'll only buy from Steam if a game has at least 75% off, and £5 is the most I'll pay for any one game. I still like the occasional browse in my local GAME, but whether or not I'll ever buy anything from them again is another matter.

re. Trading in boxed PC games. Could you still trade in a used game that activates with a Steam code (eg Shogun 2)? I wouldn't have thought anyone would accept that. I agree that installing from discs can be useful, especially when a game takes up 35GB (Max Payne 3), though. Hopefully download speeds will continue to improve.

My games purchases have been severely curtailed for three reasons:
1. GAME closed my local store - although the Gamestation is still filled with the helpful folks that I like;
2. Precious little to fire my enthusiasm - sorry Sega/EA/etc but sports titles don't float my boat - I prefer to watch real sports. At the moment I'm entertaining myself with really old "back catalogue" titles and stuff on phone/tablet;
3. Impending loss of job means that even the "essential" titles I'd figured on buying (this years CoD, the latest Medal Of Honor, Assassin's Creed 3) in autumn will probably not happen either. Of course, if my employer changes their corporate minds and keeps sending me a paycheck, then perhaps Activision et al will get that extra sale from me! ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by fadeaway

I recently bought both the GOTY edition of Arkham Asylum, Arkham City AND the Harley Quinn DLC pack all together for under £13 on Steam. Wow! No competition.

---

Hmm, that sounds like a deal that I'd be very interested in - have to fire up the gaming PC and see if it's still available. :)

That said, everyone seems very gung-ho about Steam, Origin, etc. Me I'm a little more reserved, still being suspicious that an unscrupulous publisher could - at some future point - reach in and disable your purchases if it saw fit. Remember folks saying that having eBooks on a Kindle was just the same as having a real book - right up until the point that Amazon deleted those two George Orwell titles?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by crossy

That said, everyone seems very gung-ho about Steam, Origin, etc. Me I'm a little more reserved, still being suspicious that an unscrupulous publisher could - at some future point - reach in and disable your purchases if it saw fit. Remember folks saying that having eBooks on a Kindle was just the same as having a real book - right up until the point that Amazon deleted those two George Orwell titles?

---

I think you'll find lots of people are very sceptical about these kinds of things.

The recent EU court ruling that suggests a license to use software for a lifetime is legally the same as ownership should be cause for some reassurance.

i very rarely buy new games now, i usually trade games in for games that are pre-owned. Having 2 kids with only me earning money is too much a strain. Before the kids, my wife and I would buy a few games a month.

They are just too expensive now, infact everything is too expensive now.

Budget gaming for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zoom

re. Trading in boxed PC games. Could you still trade in a used game that activates with a Steam code (eg Shogun 2)? I wouldn't have thought anyone would accept that. I agree that installing from discs can be useful, especially when a game takes up 35GB (Max Payne 3), though. Hopefully download speeds will continue to improve.

---

As long as you clearly state the activation code has been used then you can sell a used game that activates with a Steam code (eg Shogun 2) via Ebay because some people like to have the discs for backup & also like me prefer to have a printed instruction manual to look at if needed when playing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kalniel

I think you'll find lots of people are very sceptical about these kinds of things.

The recent EU court ruling that suggests a license to use software for a lifetime is legally the same as ownership should be cause for some reassurance.

---

That has always been my main worry but it is good to hear about the EU courts ruling as I had not seen that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by crossy

Hmm, that sounds like a deal that I'd be very interested in - have to fire up the gaming PC and see if it's still available. :)

---

Definitely not. Steam's sales tend to be quite ephemeral affairs. The above price was during the summer sale, specifically when the games were on a daily or flash sale (not the general level of saleness that goes on during the twice-yearly major Steam sales). - current price for all the Batmans is £53.43.

Quote:

---

suspicious that an unscrupulous publisher could - at some future point - reach in and disable your purchases if it saw fit.

---

I don't think their contract with Valve allows them to do this. They can withdraw a game from sale, but not revoke existing licenses - for example I'd like to pick up a copy of Sid Meier's Railroads for the wife, but it's no longer on sale.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by p2pcamera

UK retail sales should raising after olimpic if retailer can fully promote and make use of olimpic effect. :)

---

Yes I can see it now: "Fancy throwing a javelin like Jessica Ennis? Diablo 3 is just right for you!!"

Just proved that digital of the future. Everyone knew this already.