To Moody - Question about Steam

[Etiko]

Hey Moody,

So how do you guys (gaming stores) feel about the whole digital distribution movement?

Have you guys started feeling the sqeeze as more South Africans buy from services like Steam? Are you panicking? And what's your strategy for dealing with it in the future?

I'm seriously interested.

[Necuno]

Hey Moody,

So how do you guys (gaming stores) feel about the whole digital distribution movement?

Have you guys started feeling the sqeeze as more South Africans buy from services like Steam? Are you panicking? And what's your strategy for dealing with it in the future?

I'm seriously interested.

i would hardly label it as a squeeze till its local and a lot of people used vs what we have now. till the server isn't locally it's too expensive to download if you don't already have uncapped.

i've purchased about 25 games in total now from nov 2009 over steam at crazy ass specials.

[Tsar]

allot of people can't afford to download full games in this country.

[Etiko]

allot of people can't afford to download full games in this country.

Not yet. But surely it is in the back of every gaming retailers' mind that in a few years it will be viable for South Africans.

[Tsar]

Not yet. But surely it is in the back of every gaming retailers' mind that in a few years it will be viable for South Africans.

I am sure but allot of people like to own the physical copy like me

[Etiko]

I am sure but allot of people like to own the physical copy like me

I used to be like that, until I realised 3 things:

1) You don't actually own anything. DRM is there to remind you that you are just licencing a product.
2) It's so much more convenient to buy things over Steam.
3) Steam integration is the best thing ever.

But I'm not here to tell the world how great Steam is. There's already a thread for that.

This thread is to hear from SA gaming retailers on their plans and fears regarding digital distribution in the future.

[Tsar]

Well first off I only have 3gigs int. And I can not afford a uncapped account as most people cannot. The bandwidth is the issue here.

[MooDy]

On another wind up E?

[Voicy]

I dislike steam immensely. Even Aion's launcher irritates the snot out of me.

If a game comes with a whole bunch of live-connect or launcher stories, I get over it very quickly. Just let me play the damn game.

Oh - and so far the only softcopy I've bought of a game so far is Guild Wars' Nightfall / EoTN expansions. I treasure my gaming chest (for lack of a better phrase).

[larch]

Hey Moody,

So how do you guys (gaming stores) feel about the whole digital distribution movement?

Have you guys started feeling the sqeeze as more South Africans buy from services like Steam? Are you panicking? And what's your strategy for dealing with it in the future?

I'm seriously interested.

1. Digital distribution will never ever kill physical media that is just a plain fact. The majority of people still prefer physical media, the tactile sensation of holding the media in my hands. Same can be said for books I prefer to hold the book than to scroll down.

2. South African bandwidth constraints heavily limit buying games digitally online. Having DSL at home is still a luxury for most in South Africa. Downloading a game from Xbox Live is between 5GB and 8GB (The size of a dual layer DVD) and about 3 times the amount of local cap allowed per month.

I personally like physical media because I do take pride in my collection and I like having something I can hold and see, and nothing looks cooler than displaying you game collection.