Digital distribution is the process of delivering video game content as digital information, either fully or partially, as appose to on physical media such as hard disks for example that can be bought in retail stores. There is no doubt that in the past decade the video game industry has made many developments and advancements in technology, with digital distribution being one of the most potent among others such as upgraded graphics and coding, new consoles and game engines etc. There are hundreds of examples of fully digitally distributed games to be mentioned but some of the most obvious examples would be the likes of Minecraft (for Xbox 360 live arcade and PC, published by Mojang) and the recently released Walking Dead game for PlayStation Network (psn) and Xbox live arcade. These of which I both own myself, (and love) and which have no physical copy of the game available for purchase. However online retail service sites such as Game.com or Amazon allow the gamer to purchase the game via the internet but the consumer still receives a physical copy of the game (partial digital distribution). As advancements in the video game industry progress, more developers are trying to reach a wider audience range by creating expansion packs or add-ons for example and becoming nearly completely DLC. There is huge speculation on whether digital distribution will become the future for video gamers and the industry with many behind the idea and many opposing it for many different reasons.
The many people discouraging the future for one hundred per cent digital distribution do so for very valid reasons. A prime reason is that for people with fast Internet, downloading your games is great. However, what if you live in a part of the world where broadband is not available? According to the International Telecommunication Union, only seven per cent of the world has broadband Internet. The United States has around 26%, the UK has 31% and France has 33%. These are worrying numbers if the world of downloading video games that can easily exceed 10GB is to become a reality. Is almost 75% of the United States going to be shut out from playing the latest video games? That seems like a serious issue to overcome. Also digital distribution could easily become a personal security issue to gamers, as to download a game through the games console digitally; credit card details would be required. And with millions more people being directed to full DLC it could be an even larger worldwide problem if a network became under attack, and details leaked. Sony alone has over 70 million online accounts registered, which would hugely increase if everything was one hundred per cent digital distribution, and so hacks would do more damage than ever stated. Less concerning problems include the fact that at this moment in time internet speeds are just not up maximum potential to hold the capacity and support a complete sudden switch to digital distribution, becoming a potential threat to internet providers. If games are all digitally distributed, will we need specialty video game stores anymore? The sale of consoles is very low, so how can they stay in business without physical copies of games to sell? Big box retailers like Best Buy will be fine; they sell plenty of other products. GameStop has well over 6,000 locations. That is an awful lot of people left jobless. The last few problems are really only personal concerns for the gamer themselves. Firstly, if console games are sold digitally, right from the console, that leaves all the pricing decisions in the hands of the platform holder. In theory, they could raise the prices of games, and it would be out of our control. If a particular retailer decides to charge too much for a game, we just buy it somewhere else. If there is no retailer, either we pay the price or we do not buy the game. Finally, I know from experience the lack of excitement and anticipation from digitally purchasing a game rather than waiting and having the complete full, enjoyable experience of a physical copy. A lot of gamers live for premieres of new games and view queuing outside of Game for example for hours as the whole experience and hype that makes new physical form games something to talk about and remember, which could easily be lost by it just becoming as easy as the push of a button.
Despite the mass of people against the turning to full digital distribution, it could hugely benefit not only the gamers but the companies involved in developing, publishing and distributing the games. The people involved in these stages of production are the most likely to benefit in terms of money from the games and add-ons etc. This is because money would still be generating from the games sales, add-ons and expansion packs, but also actually saving money from not dishing it out on transporting the games worldwide, packaging and actually manufacturing the physical disc copies. Also a non- controllable benefit for the companies is that digital distribution causes many consumers to “impulse buy” games that they can get for social gaming or IOS games with a click of a button. This creates massive sums of money as digital distribution encourages impulse buys on many different platforms such as IOS using the App Store for IPhones, PC or general consoles’ online services to many generations of people. However consumers also want to see the progress of digital distribution. One reason for this could be just for the simple fact that they prefer a sleek/slick, clutter free area surrounding their consoles without stacked games cases on show, especially as they get older to prevent stereotypical associations with gaming perhaps. Another could be the convenience factor. Many people find it easier and more convenient to buy games with just a click of a button from their console and be playing the game within minutes, compared to travelling to the nearest retail store, waiting in line and buying in cash that would take much longer, whereas digital downloads could be installed in minutes to a hard drive which is much less hassle and a cleaner way of storing the games. They’re just a few examples of, but the statistics show just how far spread digital distribution has become already. There has been a 17% increase in sales on a digital format with $1.47 billion generated from digital downloads, as oppose to just £1 billion from physical format this year.
I believe that the full switch over to digital distribution is highly unlikely, especially I the near future as masses amount of pre-production needs to take place first such as dramatically updating ad increasing hard drive space and internet speed for anything to even progress any further or for it to be possible which just isn’t going to be anytime soon. Although producers will make more money, they would not chance downgrading their consumers experience with games just because the system s could not hold the capacity of the highest quality downloads and possibly losing some of their audience. In my opinion I believe that the video game distribution system will continue at the current state of fully and partial distribution combined with the continuation of physical format sales to satisfy many audiences and generations of gamers.
Well done Ashleigh! Well researched with lots of statistics here. I know the article you've used was American but try to include UK concerns too - instead of Gamestop you could have mentioned Game's almost-demise - but you have considered all industry stakeholders: platform holders, developers, publishers and consumers.
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