THQ chooses GamersGate for PC digital distribution

by Jason Dobson { Jan 16th 2008 at 11:15AM }

In the world of video game digital distribution, it's easy to think that all roads lead to Steam, but that's not necessarily the case as THQ has reminded us of an alternative in GamersGate, noting that it has inked a deal with the service to offer a selection of its PC titles for online purchase and download. The games will be available worldwide, save for those poor souls in Australia and New Zealand, who have been turned away like orphans to a soup kitchen.

According to GamersGate, the company will initially offer Company of Heroes and Supreme Commander, as well as their recent expansions. While neither title has popped up on the GamersGate website yet, a quick check did reveal S.T.A.L.K.E.R. available for the bargain basement price of $19.99. Other THQ offerings planned to be added eventually include Full Spectrum Warrior and Juiced 2, as well as next month's Frontlines: Fuels of War. It's encouraging to see competition in the digital space, and assuming this and similar deals feature exclusivity clauses, it will be curious to see if we are on the verge of a hard fought digital distribution battle royal. 40 Quatloos on the newcomer!

Tags: company of heroes, CompanyOfHeroes, digital distribution, DigitalDistribution, frontlines, full spectrum warrior, FullSpectrumWarrior, gamers gate, gamersgate, juiced 2, Juiced2, stalker, supreme commander, SupremeCommander, thq

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jerk Face @ Jan 16th 2008 11:27AM

See.. the thing is.. The thing is that Steam is just so AWESOME.

I'm not a dude who believes in big giant monopolies or anything like that. But it's just so good that I don't even consider hooking up another service to get some other games from.

*shrug*

Jerk Face @ Jan 16th 2008 11:28AM

I look even uglier than I do in real life in my avatar. I should probably change it, but I am also very lazy.

DangerMouse @ Jan 16th 2008 12:20PM

shoryuken?

Azerael @ Jan 16th 2008 11:31AM

What's with all these people releasing games on platforms nobody's ever heard of?

Just put them on Steam =\

Marty @ Jan 16th 2008 11:32AM

I like Steam... alot. But let's be real - other sources of distribution are needed to keep them focused on the customer. Granted, I've never even heard of GamersGate, but if it brings more competition (and good games) to the table, then it's fine in my book.

Falkinator @ Jan 16th 2008 11:33AM

Awesome...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gamesters_of_Triskelion

TOS FTW.

wickedpheonix @ Jan 16th 2008 11:34AM

Umm.... what was the name of that service that sold "Prey"? Tron or something? yeah... look what happened to them...

And aren't Company of Heroes and STALKER on Steam? Yeah that's right, the whole THQ catalog is already on Steam. So I'm not sure why I care - Steam is definitely going to be around for a long time, this GamersGate service maybe not, and when the price is the same there's really no reason not to go with Steam.

LaughingTarget @ Jan 16th 2008 11:51AM

The real question is the definition of competition. It sounds like the FCC making a big stink over XM and Sirius merging and calling it a monopoly but forgetting there is already plenty of competition in the music delivery industry. Radio, HD-Radio, Internet (iTunes and the like) and CDs.

A competetive digital distribution market isn't necessarily going to drive prices and it won't prevent prices from increasing. There are still Targets, Wal-Marts and GameStops to contend with and the online distributors get the same fees as the bricks and mortar stores do. Plus, much of the end-cost is dictated by the publisher anyway. The reason these games cost the same on both platforms is publishers can cut out distribution costs and gain more money.

Games delivery has loads of competition. Don't mistake differentiation with monopoly. If Steam is the only digital distribution option, it isn't monopolizing anything, there are still alternatives.

Steam is fine. It has the network capacity to get my games down to me at full FiOS speeds without blinking an eye. I'm not sure if this alternative can do that nor do I have any trust it will be around in the future, leaving my purchased games no longer functional.

cube @ Jan 16th 2008 1:37PM

Company of Heroes is already available on Steam...

JRS200x @ Jan 16th 2008 1:32PM

I am not a huge fan of Steam. While I have used it and it works fine, I don't like having to have it open in the background and it seems a little on the slow side.

My favorite service is actually the Direct2Drive service associated with IGN and Fileplanet etc. Easy to use, great download speeds, and it gives you an image you can burn to a CD. Fantastic service with a huge selection of PC Games, movies and TV shows. I would suggest everyone look into it. Especially if you are already an inside/fileplanet member.

ZippyDSMlee @ Jan 16th 2008 4:27PM

I dont like they use diffrent executables and updates for their stuff but I guess such is life ti they own up to DRM and protections being worthless.

Andrew Timson @ Jan 24th 2008 10:11PM

Steam also lets you burn copies of the games to DVD.

With Direct2Drive, I don't like how you have to manually apply any patches; Steam automagically keeps my games up to date, which is something I appreciate.

I also don't like the fact that there's no way to try anything Direct2Drive offers; I have no idea what format the comics or TV shows are in, or how the games are installed. If I can't try, I won't buy.