Next-Gen “Will Fail” If It’s Not Digital Only

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This is from MyNintendoNews.com

[quote author=My Nintendo News]Codemasters co-founder David Darling, who is now head of mobile gaming company Kwalee, believes that the next-generation of games consoles will fail unless they are digital only. Darling looks towards things such as Steam, Facebook, and Apple’s AppStore as proof that boxed games are now history.[quote author=David Darling]“Consoles have become like dinosaurs heading for extinction as their natural retail habitat begins to change. These ancient beasts must now adapt to a new environment where platforms like Steam, Facebook and Apple’s App Store are pushing innovation. People are already playing more games through digital download than physical media. For instance, Angry Birds has had more than one billion downloads, a sales figure totally beyond what can be achieved by boxed games sold in the likes of Game and GameStop.”

“With digitally distributed games we can cut out physical production, warehouses, distributors and retailers. We can publish our own games, reducing our costs so that we can deliver fun experiences to players for far less cost than a console game. Therefore it is no longer necessary to charge people huge prices to play video games.”[/quote] [/quote]
 
RazorYoshi402 said:
Chubzster said:
Spectre said:
Give it another 20-30 years. Next-Gen is too soon.

I agree, Digital-only will fail if they try it now; Memory still isn't cheap enough for it to be worth it. Also, look at the PSP Go, it failed miserably.
True, but the 3DS is starting to make full downloadabke games too.

Yeah, but it's not digital-only, they still give the option for carts. The PSP Go didn't have the option for physical media, unlike the 3DS with its cart slot.
 
No matter what, there will always be a significant number of people who do not have access to an internet connection and that portion of the population must always be taken into consideration.

DKH said:
I think Xbox has the right idea at this time. Both digital copies, and physical copies. Without physical copies, there would be no more purchasing of used games. Places like Gamestop would more than likely go out of business, unless they developed some other way to make their money.

Problem with that is that they sold the games around the same price as the retail copies. You'll be paying the same but you won't get any resale value and you won't have a physical copy. Steam has the right idea by selling games at a discounted price and Sony had the same thing (I recall buying digital Borderlands GOTY for $15 about a year ago) albeit their library of digital games is small compared to Steam's.
 
MLYW said:
No matter what, there will always be a significant number of people who do not have access to an internet connection and that portion of the population must always be taken into consideration.

DKH said:
I think Xbox has the right idea at this time. Both digital copies, and physical copies. Without physical copies, there would be no more purchasing of used games. Places like Gamestop would more than likely go out of business, unless they developed some other way to make their money.

Problem with that is that they sold the games around the same price as the retail copies. You'll be paying the same but you won't get any resale value and you won't have a physical copy. Steam has the right idea by selling games at a discounted price and Sony had the same thing (I recall buying digital Borderlands GOTY for $15 about a year ago) albeit their library of digital games is small compared to Steam's.
Though, I've always enjoyed walking into Gamestop with $10 and coming out with an older game that has drastically dropped in price. If they have discounts like Steam, then sure, that'll help, but I just can't see it really contending with what we have now.

RazorYoshi402 said:
DKH said:
I think Xbox has the right idea at this time. Both digital copies, and physical copies. Without physical copies, there would be no more purchasing of used games. Places like Gamestop would more than likely go out of business, unless they developed some other way to make their money.
The 3DS is doing the exact same thing. :p
I don't have a 3DS, so I wouldn't know.  :p
 
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