perfectsil
Member
I have bought PC games at retail now that I have 20% off all games from Best Buy with the unlocked membership
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Digital downloads account for 92% of PC game sales
- Thread starter Asgaro
- Start date
Mr. Poolman
Member
Wow.
It only took 9 posts to get some insane opinion.
But honestly, can anyone do some quick math on the amount of trash we've saved?
alexandros
Banned
The last retail game I bought was the Orange Box. So like, 2007 or so.
Australia.
Our shelves are packed to the ceiling with PC games because we're the first world country with the worst internet.
foobarry81
Member
While the figure certainly is spectacular, it doesn't really say a whole lot about profit, which in the end is the most important thing.
If I get 11 games for a dollar through Humble Bundle, and then buy one physical release for $40, 92% of sales go to digital. But profit not so much.
As the article says: digital overtook physical in the UK, but apparently it needed 92% of the sales to accomplish that...
If I get 11 games for a dollar through Humble Bundle, and then buy one physical release for $40, 92% of sales go to digital. But profit not so much.
As the article says: digital overtook physical in the UK, but apparently it needed 92% of the sales to accomplish that...
alexandros
Banned
That's because the situation is reversed on consoles and 90% or something buy physical.
soul creator
Member
Do those EA disc games still require you to put a code into Origin?
I'm honestly not sure, I just know that's how Steamworks retail disc games work.
SliceSabre
Banned
I'm more surprised it isn't closer to 100%.
ebullientprism
Member
Because in many countries physical copies are cheaper since they are adjusted to local currency than paying the full 50-60$ on steam.
Because some people are on limited bandwidths and cannot download 20-25 GB games on a regular basis.
Because some people like physical stuff.
I dunno, seem like good reasons to me.
SwiftDeath
Member
I wonder how they track digital sales of PC games. Perhaps they get data directly from Steam?
Aside from a few MMO Collector's editions (SWTOR, Wow and all its expansions) the last PC that i bought a physical copy was Dragon Age Origins. Most everything for me now is Steam or GoG. Hell i've even rebought a few older games in electronic form just for the convenience factor. (Origin in a rare-EA good guy move gave me a free Origins copy of Dragon Age Origins when i proved i still had a physical copy)
Fallout-NL
Member
Linearskillz
Member
I'm curious to see how they reached these conclusions. Getting any kind of sales data from Steam or publishers seems almost impossible. That said, the numbers do make sense with my own experience. I don't really know anyone that buys physical PC games outside of the odd Collector's Edition.
It's really weird that I'm buying a physical copy of Civ: Beyond Earth thanks to a killer pre-order price deal. It'll be the first physical PC game I buy in years (which I'll just redeem on Steam and throw away... what a waste).
It's really weird that I'm buying a physical copy of Civ: Beyond Earth thanks to a killer pre-order price deal. It'll be the first physical PC game I buy in years (which I'll just redeem on Steam and throw away... what a waste).
SerTapTap
Member
I got Dead Space 3 physical to avoid buying through Origin (you still have to activate it on Origin of course). I was a bit tempted to just get it on PS3 but I really didn't want to 720p 30FPS it up since I heard it was a much better port.
I got screwed in the end, though. I got Dead Space 3.
I got screwed in the end, though. I got Dead Space 3.
I got boxes of Wasteland 2, Pillars of Eternity, and Tides of Numenera coming to me.
Last Physical PC game I bought was Skyrim. Before that... Ultima IX? *edit* Mass Effect 3!
The retail space will always exist for The Sims, WoW, Golf Games, Madden, Sim City, Deer Hunter, and Diablo 3.
Last Physical PC game I bought was Skyrim. Before that... Ultima IX? *edit* Mass Effect 3!
The retail space will always exist for The Sims, WoW, Golf Games, Madden, Sim City, Deer Hunter, and Diablo 3.
Oh yeah i did pony up for a Wasteland 2 box though i am not sure why i didnt do the same for Pillars as that's actually a more anticipated title for me....
Herbspiceguy
Member
It's funny how I'm also on the all digital train for PC games, yet when I pledge to a Kickstarter project that's a PC exclusive title, I will always go for the physical box tier when one is available. I guess it's nostalgia; they're like the old PC boxes that came with cool manuals and sometimes maps.
ROBOKITTYZILLA
Member
Not surprised. It's interesting to note the increase from 48% in 2010 though.
Almost all of my media is digital now and I thought about going digital on PS4, but I worry about those potential 50 GB Sony titles. They really like to use up that space.
Almost all of my media is digital now and I thought about going digital on PS4, but I worry about those potential 50 GB Sony titles. They really like to use up that space.
Best Buy would be smart to put out game download codes on their site and let you apply that discount to it.
Edit: Maybe not because they probably want you in the store... ugh... retail is weird.
I assume in the same way marketing research figures out how many people buy kellog's vs general mills cereal. You do a poll and then you use statistics to calculate.
If they polled the right people, they'll get an accurate representation.
I haven't had an optical drive in my PC for about 6-7 years.
I actually forgot I didn't have one after I bought SWAT 4 Gold from Amazon last year. I opened the box, took out the DVD, and just sat and stared at my PC for about 5 minutes.
On that note- we need SWAT 4 on Steam. Or ANYWHERE digitally.
I actually forgot I didn't have one after I bought SWAT 4 Gold from Amazon last year. I opened the box, took out the DVD, and just sat and stared at my PC for about 5 minutes.
On that note- we need SWAT 4 on Steam. Or ANYWHERE digitally.
Wyndstryker
Member
I can understand globally. The mmo market in Asia is stupidly huge and none of those games ever come with a boxed version.
lowhighkang_LHK
Member
Also, PC game sales for even console oriented games have drastically increased in the past 10 years.
Ubisoft mentioned that of all digital and physical (total) sales of Watch Dogs, 90% of which was on consoles. While 10% was on PC. While that may seem like a small number, it's a massive step up to how it was a mere 10 years ago, when only "PC-cenric" games like Sim City / WoW /Everquest /Counter Strik etc were the only kind of titles selling.
Ubisoft mentioned that of all digital and physical (total) sales of Watch Dogs, 90% of which was on consoles. While 10% was on PC. While that may seem like a small number, it's a massive step up to how it was a mere 10 years ago, when only "PC-cenric" games like Sim City / WoW /Everquest /Counter Strik etc were the only kind of titles selling.
Sentenza
Member
Uh, considering there are a bunch of multiplatforms that sold roughly on par with the console versions, I don't think that's a particularly flattering case.
the_firewithin
Member
the last physical game i got was South Park since i wanted the cartman figure. even then i just added through steam and downloaded it
HalfwayOrb
Member
The last physical game I bought was Starcraft II: Liberty something 2-3 years ago cuz it was on sale in Future Shop (bout 20 bucks I think).
Downloading games from Steam for me is faster than going to a store to get a game. Gamestop is about 10 minutes one way and would take away longer. Having fast internet and no bandwidth cap is the best thing. Most games take 5-10 minutes really big ones (30-50gb) take about 20-30 minutes.