Stardock: Steam is top digital distribution earner, Impulse second
by David Hinkle 
{ Nov 20th 2009 at 9:30PM } 
"Our estimation is that Steam - as the current market leader - enjoys approximately 70 percent of the overall digital distribution market with Impulse at 10 percent and all others combined at 20 percent in terms of actual dollars generated per month," Wardell explains. As Wardell estimates, 25 percent of PC platform sales will come from digital distribution channels during 2009's calendar year, so we're talking billions of dollars here.
"Steam and Impulse both have the advantage of exclusive content (Left 4 Dead, Half-Life, Sins of a Solar Empire, Demigod, etc.)," he adds, but explains that Valve's strides in getting major publishers to sign on for Steamworks as a DRM solution (Dawn of War II, Modern Warfare 2) effectively nullifies those games' chances of appearing on Impulse. This is a big area where Impulse is missing out and even though it offers its own alternative -- Impulse Reactor -- the company already missed the boat on its share of the big, fat money-filled pie.
[Via Gamasutra]
Source - Stardock Customer Report 2009 (PDF)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MystileArmor @ Nov 20th 2009 9:36PM
I guess there is always someone who'll try to skate uphill.
AoE @ Nov 20th 2009 9:39PM
Impulse, really? I would have guessed Direct2Drive would be in the #2 spot... the impulse catalog is so slim, I've honestly been visiting the store page for months but haven't made a single purchase there. On the otherhand, Steam, GoG, Direct2Drive, and even GamersGate have gotten a lot of my monies over that same period.
RKN (Steam ID: nerdydesi) @ Nov 20th 2009 9:44PM
It is sort of shady to make games like Modern Warfare 2 and FEAR 2 on the PC require Steam to authenticate, even the retail copies. I like how they do add achievements and a large user community like consoles, but Steam has a monopoly on these games, no other digital retailers can sell them.
I hope for PC games to get a more unified system instead of having so many such as Steam, Games for Windows/LIVE, Impulse, GOG, etc. but one system also limits flexibility which is a staple of PC gaming.
CaramelZappa @ Nov 20th 2009 10:37PM
Not necessarily true. Zeno Clash is a steam-only game, and you can buy it on D2D. It still unlocks on steam but D2D gets the revenue.
It's closed off in a way yes, but not any more than it is for Shadow Complex to only be on the XBLM and Wipeout HD to only be on the PSN.
RKN (Steam ID: nerdydesi) @ Nov 20th 2009 10:43PM
Didn't know that, thanks.
Neebs @ Nov 20th 2009 9:49PM
I would think that Direct2Drive has more share. Gametap too.
Bobs @ Nov 20th 2009 9:57PM
Wow I'm surprised Demigod is selling ...
"Demigod continues to sell thousands of copies weekly – enough to remain at retail during the Christmas season despite it coming out last Spring – but the number of people available to play online is typically less than 2,000 at a given time."
It seems like there are less than 2000 players online since games take awhile to get going.
I absolutely love Demigod, I play it once or twice a week only but its fun as hell ... I hope a sequel will come out
ariolander @ Nov 21st 2009 6:00AM
If you read the report concerning Demigod he says that less than 30% of all people who bought Demigod ever even attempted to play online and the simple/multiplayer expectations of strategy games and FPS are radically different
That Guy @ Nov 20th 2009 10:08PM
Sounds like it could be about right, if it wasn't for Impulse I would be using Steam exclusively. All the other online stores just don't compare.
Zeke @ Nov 20th 2009 10:17PM
Steam is the reason I'm back into PC gaming. It's just awesome. I use Impulse for Stardock's games. That's about it. Demigod is GREAT!
t_m @ Nov 21st 2009 12:01AM
I honestly feel that if it wasn't for Steam then PC gaming would be in real trouble. Of course, if steam hadn't appeared, maybe another service would have... but i doubt that a smaller developer could have gained the traction that Valve did.
It's not only that steam provides an easy way to buy, it's that it provides an easy way for innovative games to be made and sold, which would probably never have gotten a retail release (particularly with many publishers giving up on the PC)
(see: many many eastern european and indie games).
Another much overlooked aspect is it's community functions... something that's very important on the PC.
Rocks @ Nov 20th 2009 11:38PM
I'll admit, Steam has come a long way...
I absolutely love the service to be honest.
Uncontrol @ Nov 20th 2009 11:53PM
"sins of a solar empire" is such a badass name
That Guy @ Nov 21st 2009 4:11AM
Badass name attached to a badass game.
t_m @ Nov 20th 2009 11:57PM
What would be ideal would be if microsoft made some form of open API that allowed these storefronts to be accessible direct from windows.
They started a little down that path with the "gamer ratings" for PCs in windows vista, and the games explorer... but i'm sure they'll half-ass it, in addition to tying it in to their own service.
If you could open Games Explorer, and it fetched a feed of compatible storefronts from an MS server, and then gave you options to buy games direct from Steam, Impulse, GOG, etc.. direct from there... with your PC's power rating used to show you which games you can play. Now THAT would really make the PC a viable gaming platform again...
...not that that is what MS wants.
hunter @ Nov 21st 2009 12:18AM
>Wardell estimates, 25 percent of PC platform sales will come from digital distribution >channels during 2009's calendar year, so we're talking billions of dollars here.
well, billions of dollars for the pc market, not bad for a "pirate storm platform" as many companies said. This is the line we need to read everytime somobody says that the pc is not a good market.
Bobs @ Nov 21st 2009 11:25AM
I did read the report, thats how I got that quote.
Nonetheless, I'm still surprised its selling at retailers.
Meyithi @ Nov 21st 2009 4:58PM
"Stardock isn't a publicly traded company, though it strives to be as open as possible about its business"
Umm, isn't Mr Wardell the guy who all but purchased Neowin and can and does delete most negative comments about his company and/or products and then lifetime ban the member responsible! Of course, you'll get no indication that he all but owns Neowin.
He's a sneaky guy.
He's now plying for sympathy with these "underdog" articles.