GameStop details three-point plan for digital distro future

I'm sure everyone would much prefer it if Steam were owned by the saints who run Gamestop as opposed to those greedy bastards at Valve... not.

I'll always prefer hard copies over digital ones.

I prefer the digital distribution age. But for gods sakes include printable game manuals or the actual manual itself. I hate buying games with these built-in manuals...or worse ones that dont include anything at all.

I know i can read the manual or something online but i always like having it with the games case =/

Or plan B: buy ALL of the digital distro's. They have enough money by now, right?

[insert inevitable "Phase 3: Profit" joke here]

Physical games are for consoles and digital distribution should be for handhelds.

I am looking forward to trading in my old digital downloads for store credit.

I believe our new product, Duff Free, will be more popular than the original.

I'm sure what they're really working on is figuring out how to get people to put money down to reserve games that'll have virtually infinite supplies on day one, along with how to invent the used digital download.

Ebgames.ca has really got to get its act together as its miles behind its U.S. counterpart. The Canadian site is hardly updated, showing ads for NHL 2009, and it's still impossible to see game prices let alone purchase them.

The good part about a digital future is that the developer will get a piece of every copy sold. No more used games businesses to bankrupt studios, no more difficult to find cult classics, no more elitist prick game salesman who think they're rad and then ask me which console I want Infamous on. I have seen the future of game distribution, and the future is glorious.

If the current Digital Distribution model ends up becoming the only way to get games, then I guess I'll have to find a new hobby. Most of the content is way overpriced, and since the console manufacturers have sole control over the content and distribution it's just gonna get worse. I'm still waiting for those micro-transactions everyone was talking about.

In my opinion, the main caveat to digital distribution is that there are still people that do not have internet either because they don't want to pay for it or don't have any interest in it. Or if they do, it's not broadband and downloading games may be cumbersome. Because GameStop is a physical b&m store, it makes sense that people think of it with physical media in mind. Additionally, people go there for advice, or just simply to browse and ask questions. Again, without internet or anything this is basically impossible to do if DD becomes mainstream. So, I think the easiest way for GameStop to survive is simply to work with the companies the way they do now, but for digital distribution.

For example, you still pick a game up off the shelf, still take it to the counter, pay for it with cash/credit/etc and GameStop uploads the game to your PSP or whatever. Afterall, companies use places like GameStop not simply because they sell games, but because they provide a place for advertisement and create a community to share ideas and opinions. Salesmen help push sales, convince those on the fence, and depending on the employee, will help you buy a good game and not a crappy one. All of that is very valuable to the gaming industry, and if companies truly work with places like GameStop and Best Buy and Wal-Mart, then it wouldn't be inconceivable to see cheaper than MSRP games. Certainly the concept of a "used" game is removed from the DD model, but perhaps a return credit and a removal of the game from your device is feasible.

Additionally, if it's built properly from the ground up, it's not out of the question to have different kinds of demos (like timed, content removed, or limited access to name a few types) to supplant the rental concept. These demos can be distributed to just Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos. Considering that the companies will no longer have to pay expensive shipping costs or worry about disc replacement, etc, they might be happy to replace that cost with servers and digital space. K I'm done.

So buy utilizing online download sales and then pushing points cards and the like, it looks like GameStop will pretty much be nothing more than vending machines.

Several comments responding to some of the posts:

1) Music downloads are a poor comparison to gaming. The reason music downloads are popular is because before iTunes you would have to buy a $14 CD for the one single you want. So essentially you paid $14 for one song. With iTunes, the cost of that song is reduced to $1.29. Also, the entire music industry has been losing sales digital or otherwise. People are just not buying as much music even if they can do it quickly over iTunes. A game or a movie cannot be split into 12 different sections without losing the whole experience, so when you pay $60 for a game you are playing for the whole thing, not just to get one part of the game.

2) Digital distribution will not be good for the console consumer. PC DD works because all kinds of people make PCs and none of them control a distribution network. Consoles on the other hand are controlled completely by their manufactures. This will lead to a vertical monopoly in the console market where your only option is to buy the game from MS, Sony or Nintendo. This will lead only to more profits for the companies and no savings for the consumer. Moreover, DD will remove our ownership rights. If you cannot transfer your ownership of an item to another person, then you do NOT own that item. What you have is a life time lease (life estates for real estate people). And who is to say one of these companies won't go bankrupt or leave the console market?

3) There has been a lot made of how the used game market has hurt publisher profits. I have a hard time to believing this. First there is the Price/Demand Curve, which says that at certain price points so many people are willing to buy a product and as the product gets cheaper more people are willing to buy it. However, that also means that at certain price points people are not willing to buy your product. That is where the used game market fits in. People who generally buy used games are people that did not find the game to be worth the initial price. Since they were not willing to buy it at the initial price, then the sale was never "lost" to used games since it was never going to happen in the first place. As an example, think about how many times you go to the movies and watch previews and say that a certain movie looks like a rental. The reason for that is it is cheaper to rent the movie and since the movie does not look that good to YOU, you will wait for its release on rental services rather than pay $9 to see it in the theater. To me the publishers complaining about used games is just a scape goat for slow sales, especially in these difficult times (EA still can't figure out you need to make good games to make money).

4) The used game market probably helps sell more new games the same why the used car market helps car makers sell new cars Since I can trade in my car and I know I can get $5000 for my current car that means I do not have to save as much cash to buy a new car. Now they guy buying my $5000 used care was never going to buy a $30,000 new car, so its not a "lost" sale to the car manufacturers. So I can go and trade in my games I don't play anymore and buy a new game more frequently then if I did not have the trade-in option. Now the guy buying my used games clearly did not think the game was worth the initial sales price otherwise he would have already bought the game, so again no "lost" sale.

5) So what are we getting with DD - Convenience. So in theory I can download the game faster than buying it and not take up my time going to the store. It seems to be that we are giving up a lot for perceived convenience.

Gamestop needs to step it up if they want to do anymore than be a "point card vending machine" as someone nicely called it.

Although I wonder if hard copies will stay alive because apparently so many people love trading games in, and I don't see how digital format could allow that.

Maybe having more demo stations could help them out to give people a chance to really try games before buying. But if broadband gets faster and people can stream demos that idea may not last in the long term.

Phase 1: Death!!!
Phase 2: TO!!!
Phase 3: Gamestop!!!!

No trade ins on PC games!!

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But anyway, that's all well and good for the PC platform, but i don't know how they'll compete with MS, Sony and Nintendo on the console platforms. Those guys have the digital downloads all locked up.

How about you just hand off a % of used game sales to publishers so they'll maintain their current relationship with you. That way we can all maintain our ability to buy and collect physical media at retail.

Actually, does gamestop even SELL pc games? Anyone been to check recently?

Seriously, digital distribution is nice and all, but all its going to do is force people to buy things at retail prices. I don't know about a lot of you, but I subsidize my new game purchases with games I do not play anymore? Can you trade in a digital copy of a game????