220°

Microsoft: 'No question' downloads will overtake retail

Microsoft says there is 'no question' that the sale of downloaded games will overtake the sales of games at retail in the coming years.

AStupidXbot5756d ago

It will, but I dont think it will overtake it untill atleast another decade.

IzKyD13315756d ago

probably when everything is obtainable by digital distribution, and harddrive sizes get to like 500 GB in gaming consoles

sonarus5756d ago

I don't know if it will be a decade but assuming next gen games will be taking like 50GB i need to have at least a 1TB hard drive that can easily be swapped out and super high speed internet to download my games

NO_PUDding5756d ago

It will.

But much slower than Microsoft wants. Not even 80% with an Xbox 360 is online, so it's not viable yet.

People will still want long experiences, and not just an arcade game resurgence. And to me, it seems only Sony is actually doing proper titles for download. Where are Microsofts Episodic games and proper games. GT5P, Siren, Warhawk, Quest For Booty... What does Microsoft have. It's a genuine question, becuase I might have forgotten something.

You can talk the talk, but you gotta be walking the walk first.

IzKyD13315756d ago (Edited 5756d ago )

one major flaw in digital distribution is the download times, when everyone has a fast enough connection where a 2 hour movie can be downloaded in like 10 minutes is probably when it'll start sounding more attractive to less techy people

Spread Butt Cheeks5756d ago

What do you mean not 80% is online?

19+ million people with 11 million on live? its getting very close to possible

Lifendz5756d ago

at least not anytime soon. Are retailers going to react well when they're cut out of their take? That's assuming MS and Sony don't kick something back to them.

Not sure if this is something I even want. I like having the option to pick a game up used. Or maybe let a bud borrow a game. And the time involved with downloading a game (and installing it on PS3) is going to be insane.

I hope they follow the Warhawk model and have games on both PSN and in the stores.

SixTwoTwo5756d ago

Yeah it will definitely be awhile before it happens but at the same time there will always be a market for physical media whether its games, movies, or music.

DaKid5756d ago

I think it will, but not nearly as quick as i believe Microsoft is thinking. First we need way faster internet connections, and they have to be to everyone or atleast a great majority of poeple. before it has a chance to "over take" retail sales.

Off topic- who all has played Braid? That game is AMAZING!!!

IzKyD13315756d ago

well, now that i think about it, it doesnt seem completely off the radar, think about music?
do you buy your music CD wise, or do you download it off limewire, itunes etc.?
illegal way or not, your still getting your music digitally....but again, music takes like 200 MB while games and movies take space in the GBs

The Lazy One5756d ago

If you get a physical copy it will probably stay $60, but would you download a game if the cost of distribution was cut dramatically so the end price to you was only $40?

I'd probably download all my games so long as I could redownload them if I could save $20 every time.

Real Gambler5756d ago

Instead of paying $40 for a download, I would rather pay $60 for the physical game. Play for it as much as I want. Be able to lend it to my friend if he want to try it. Bring it with me if I want to play to another friend place. And then, when I get bored with it, sell it for $20. End result, I will have paid the same price you did for your download. But even better, I may even be able to trade it with a friend, at the end for a totally different game. (We do that a lot in my friend circle).

You should not believe that Microsoft marketing guys are genious. Sure download is coming, but not that soon. If it would, they would have put a hard drive in all their consoles...

The Lazy One5755d ago

It's just a good alternative. We're going to have physical copies of games for a long time (decades at least). That doesn't mean downloaded games won't overtake them as the most popular way to purchase.

People look at DD and consider it to be a replacement for the physical version. It's just an alternative, and a very good alternative for a lot of people.

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Silogon5756d ago

Maybe someday, I can see myself loving the idea even right now, but lets face it too many people are without stable connections, connections at all, and more often than not people with less incom tend to not throw away their money on digital media they cannot obtain hard prints for.

The wealth of the world isn't rich by any grand number. More people are poor than they are rich. More people have less money than they do more money and while a lot of people think the rich are fueling the industry, they're not.

The people with money have more to do in life than play video games. the people without money are what keep rental places open and the video game industry alive. Why you ask? Cause they don't have the money to travel and do lavish things like the above can do.

This is just my thoughts on the situation but things will have to change a bit more before we can acheive this goal.

Keep in mind I love it and will support it fully when the day comes, but I am in the minority. I have warhawk, Siren and over 30 PSN games sitting on my hdd to prove this fact too.

Montrealien5756d ago

I guess we will see in the coming years. No question about it though, digital distribution will be a force to be reckoned with.

thebudgetgamer5756d ago

if hd-DVD would've won would this article exist?

Le-mo5756d ago (Edited 5756d ago )

No thank you, I want a hard copy of the games I own. Having a Digital copy is too much hassle, you would have to download the game, a possibility the harddrive might fail, or you would have to transfer all the games from the harddrive to another harddrive when it becomes full which could take a long time considering the games capacity.

morganfell5756d ago

Yes, go total digital and shoot yourself in the foot.

I agree it's somewhere in the future but not this gen nor the next.

And talk about crying. If you think publishers cry about not selling games now, wait until someone is dumb enough to try digital only. I don't mean for 1 title on PSN or Live.

You see, this is what MS misses. The minute you try and nail gamers for digital distro on every purchase, the kind of purchase a gamer can't trade, watch sales drop like a rock. Because gamers will buy far far fewer games if they know they can't trade them.

A digital only game world with no way to trade will put sales through the floor.

beoulve5756d ago

MS doesn't even have a full-blown game on XBOX Live. All small little arcade games. Yeah Downloads will overtake retail alright, but you are damn far behind.

IzKyD13315756d ago (Edited 5756d ago )

i cant believe MS are saying this when they dont even have full retail games on Live like sony does

Spread Butt Cheeks5756d ago

ps3 driods are like the blacks. nothing but liars and sneaks.

Kleptic5756d ago (Edited 5756d ago )

dude shut up...'droids' even have your best interests in mind...I know you are obviously a retarded 360 fanatic...but even an idiot like you wouldn't want to pay $500 for a garbage proprietary 300mb 360 HDD and put up with the absolute trash DRM MS has imposed on XBL...at least I would hope you wouldn't...

and because your post will be deleted in about 30 minutes...this guy is obviously getponed being a racist again...ban him entirely...what is that like 16 accounts now?...you suck...

Spread Butt Cheeks5756d ago

waaaaaaa

bu bu but he was mean to the blacks. walk down the rap aisle at best buy and tell me you dont laugh.

beoulve5756d ago

is that the best that stupid bot can do. try harder sour loser

juuken5756d ago

They're idiots.
Nuff said.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 5756d ago
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210°

Microsoft once tried to nab LittleBigPlanet from Sony after a few drinks

It turns out that many moons ago, Microsoft once had its eye on the Sony published LittleBigPlanet series.

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XiNatsuDragnel2d ago

Microsoft had a good idea but fumbled it again.

Cacabunga20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

Project Spark idea was decent but they quickly gave up ..
LBP was wonderful

ApocalypseShadow1d 15h ago

Microsoft in a nutshell. Always tried to poach Sony employees, games, 3rd party games and devices like the depth camera that was turned into Kinect but was running on PS2 before Xbox 360. Wouldn't be surprised they wanted LBP. Just like they worked behind the scenes pushing the MLB to bring Sony's baseball game to Xbox instead of making their own.
https://www.playstationlife...

They didn't spend years trying to develop their own baseball game. They wanted Sony's game.

They're scum.

Zachmo18219h ago

Microsoft didn't force MLB on Xbox. MLB gave Sony 2 options either go multiplat or risk losing the license.

Rynxie10h ago

And why do you think MLB said that? I believe Ms approached MLB.

ApocalypseShadow9h ago(Edited 9h ago)

Totally ridiculous comment.

The only exclusivity Sony had was to their own creation of The Show. Microsoft could have paid the MLB for the license just like Sony did and made their own baseball game.

Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox. They're worth 3 TRILLION dollars. You think that's not enough money to make their own baseball game? Don't be delusional.

Microsoft spun it like they always do and told the media that they had to trust Sony with their hardware. After they put Sony in that position of not having a choice. Either go multiplatform or stop making one of their successful games. That's a no win scenario.

And what did Microsoft do? They didn't try to sell the game to the Xbox community. They put it on game pass to hurt Sony. Pushing the idea of why buy games that are $70 when you can play them in their cheap service for $10. It was a dirty tactic.

You fell for the Kool aid drink Microsoft served you instead of spitting it out. Hope it tasted good because you were fooled by Phil and the gang.

4h ago
Hereandthere1h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Bond revealed that MLB The Show “always came up” in conversations between Microsoft and the Major League Baseball organization. “We always said, ‘We love this game. It would be a huge opportunity to bring it to Xbox.'” she recalled. However, when Microsoft’s efforts materialized, it put the company in an awkward situation where it had to send in pre-release consoles to a rival company.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1h ago
Notellin6h ago

"Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox."

Take a nap, conspiracies are rotting your brain.

4h ago
Hereandthere1h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Hereandthere1h ago

They were too cheap/inept/lazy to develop their own mlb game, so they port begged for years and bribed the mlb to make the show multiplatform. Like i said many times, xbox brought nothing to the table their 24 years, ZERO.

OtterX22h ago

"However, Healey said Media Molecule wouldn't have felt right doing that, adding it would have been "morally corrupt"."

Major kudos to Media Molecule for being an upright studio with principles.

RNTody22h ago(Edited 22h ago)

Great, more stories like this please. Show the last of the zombies holding the line what we've been saying for years: Microsoft is anti competition, anti industry and has no interest in making games at all.

But hey, at least there's an Xbox Games Showcase to look forward to, right?

Inverno21h ago

Well considering SONY just killed the series, LBP would've been dead by now either way. Though MM probably wouldn't exist by now either, so I'm glad they stayed with SONY, hopefully they don't get shut down any time soon or ever honestly.

Inverno19h ago

They shut down the servers, that's millions of user created levels gone. That and dead are pretty much the same, it's also been years since 3 and they cancelled HUB soooo.

4h ago
fsfsxii6h ago

They shutdown the servers because no one was playing, no one in the community cared about the user created levels so why keep them up? Wtf you guys would never succeed in running a business.

Inverno4h ago

Yea dood no one was playing so they shut off the servers. Cause people with enough common sense can't just Google why they were actually shut of, right?

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