310°

Gaming will never go fully digital

Digital game purchasing has become increasingly popular very quickly. Some have even come to question how much longer companies will continue to produce physical copies of games. With Next-Gen approaching there are some key reasons why going fully digital will still be a problem.

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gameblinx.com
dasbeer883853d ago

In response to the title of this article: STEAM begs the differ.

DeadIIIRed3853d ago

The size of games are growing at a much faster rate than bandwidth here in the states. Downloading 50 gig games would put a lot of stress on the existing infrastructure if everyone needed to do it.

SpitFireAce853853d ago

Well they need to sell games at a discount
if they want me to go digital $10-15 cheaper.
And I'am in otherwise no way will i pay
the same price as retail.

MicDude3853d ago

@DeadIIIRed

The same argument can be made that download speeds are getting faster and the price of storage is getting cheaper. I think we are looking at an all digital future, but it's still 5-10 years away.

PickAShoe3853d ago

Try Onlive, the quality is not good. Digital only works for music and movies. I prefer renting movies on disc anyway for better picture quality and sound.

DeadIIIRed3853d ago

@MicDude

Download speeds are getting faster, but imagine a next gen game as popular as GTA V and suddenly you have over 5 million people attempting to download 50 GB at once. At that point service speed doesn't matter if the current infrastructure can't support it.

Improvements are being made, but what we is more of a complete overhaul.

ChickeyCantor3853d ago

"The size of games are growing at a much faster rate than bandwidth here in the states. "

Not if Google can help it. The bandwidth you guys get ( not to forget the freaking data cap ) for that high price is a crime. I really hope Google shakes up the north american internet provider business.

No_Pantaloons3853d ago

DeadIIIRed hit the nail on the head. People are already talking 4k this and that, but very few are talking about how a 4k movie is over 100GB.

Thing's like google fiber are amazing, but they've only gotten to like 3 cities in 2 1/2 years, even with huge acceleration it will be a long time before something similar is available country wide. Comcast and the others have no interests in upgrading while they can still milk the current market.

Aceman183853d ago

i personally will never go full digital. physical media will also be in my collection. i'll buy a digital game here and there.

SilentNegotiator3853d ago (Edited 3853d ago )

"The same argument can be made that download speeds are getting faster and the price of storage is getting cheaper"

Counter arguing with that is like arguing that accelerating your car against an identical car that you're racing will guaranteed get you ahead of the other car.

Unless you deny that game sizes are quickly getting bigger, there's no argument that we're getting closer to an all-digital future.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 3853d ago
P0werVR3853d ago (Edited 3853d ago )

Digital none the less. Besides, not everyone are game collectors.

So your average joe will more likely buy it only $60 for it.

@dasbeer88

Yes sir!

denawayne3853d ago

I think it'll come down to some of the game being downloaded to the local HD while the rest will be accessed on the fly. MS's cloud anybody?

pyramidshead3853d ago

Pretty much. As long as there are people will awful internet connections around, retail will be around for a long time.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3853d ago
ZBlacktt3853d ago

Nope, collectors edition are not going away!

admiralvic3853d ago

Go away? Most likely never.
Stay physical? Terraria collectors edition ( http://www.gamestop.com/ps3... ) begs to differ.

Terraria: Collector's Edition

More details
Terraria 2GB Pick-axe USB stick
Exclusive New Items Crafting Poster
3X Velum Character Stickers
Digital Game Download Card

It's entirely possible that we will just see "special" editions that exist physically (that, ducktales, MvC 2, a couple of PSP games like Patapon 2), but are nothing more than X with a voucher code.

kjones05873853d ago (Edited 3853d ago )

It's like saying, "music will never go fully digital." Cd's haven't disappeared, but once the capacity is there, the majority of people will prefer the pros of having digital copies versus physical discs.

VitaOwner3853d ago

I think there will always be a use for physical copies if for nothing else but for Backup purposes. No matter how great your digital system is, There is the potential for Data loss.

keabrown793853d ago

Music cd's are not 50 GB+ With internet caps you are lucky to download "A" game per-month

Jovanian 3853d ago

Lol you serious bro? I've downloaded several games ranging from at least 10-20GB in size within the span of a month. And the only games that are 50GB are from idiots who don't know how to port, that is a gross misuse of hard drive space

keabrown793851d ago

@Swadian_Grognard many current gen PS3 games, examples being GTA 5 at 18GB, MGS 4 is about 32GB compressed. Those are quite bit for current gen and with next gen assets being a higher resolution you can expect quite a bit of an increase in file size to a low 20gb and then up from there. So potentially if you have an internet cap of 50 gb you could only download 2 games in a month.

Hufandpuf3853d ago

With services such as Spotify, google music, Hulu, red box, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if physical music and movies disappear just because of convenience. Physical copies may continue to go down in price until they eventually don't make a profit anymore.

If that can happen to those markets, the same can happen to games. Just not anytime soon.

deep_fried_bum_cake3853d ago

A future in which physical copies are still readily available is a future I will game in. Otherwise I just won't bother. I like the convenience of digital but I will never fully trust that I actually own games unless I have the physical copy.

sypher3853d ago (Edited 3853d ago )

Exactly, i think the closure of Games For Windows Live (any content you owned on that simply disappears) show's the future of any DD service. Once they disappear so does all your stuff because well you never owned it in the first place...

I do believe a Netflix like service will eventually become the norm on the systems. There will be too much competition and choice that its the only logical choice for digital only content.

deafdani3853d ago

A Netflix like service? That is pretty much what OnLive is.

Now, that platform is a superb idea, but it's still a bit ahead of its time. There's still a lot of people that just don't have the required connection speeds to use OnLive effectively, and hell, there's even still a fair amount of people without internet!

However, that will obviously change over time. In the future, when everyone has a minimum of 100 MB internet speed or something like that, then yes, OnLive (and other services) will be as popular for games as Netflix is for movies now, if not more.

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40°

Fallout 3's Reveal Led To Death Threats And Bethesda's First Security Guard

The artist behind Fallout 4’s Deathclaw reveals just how bad things got back when Bethesda took over the series

60°

How to recruit Lam in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

Lam is among the 120 characters available for recruitment in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. While she is one of the many straightforward recruits, a known bug may prevent players from recruiting her if certain conditions are met. Despite developers’ assurances of fixing the bug, some early access players still encounter issues with recruiting Lam despite attempting the standard method.

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infinitestart.com
340°

Tomb Raider Remastered just quietly censored one in-game detail

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered players are ticked off by the game’s most recent patch, which censors in-game pin-up posters of Lara Croft.

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gamingbible.com
rlow112h ago

This is why gaming is screwed. When people change things to fit someone’s agenda, it’s a slippery slope downhill.

Christopher11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

Even if that agenda is of the developer? Way to remove developer rights.

***One player called it a “huge problem with modern games,” saying they can now be “ruined AFTER people buy them”.***

The level of drama. Yes, I recall sitting there for more hours than I did anything else in the game. These two pinups are the core of the game, after all!

coolbeans10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

rlow1's cringe catastrophizing aside, I do think developers *ought* to strive to maintain an original work to the best of their ability. The language of a "remaster" tacitly implies that - for good or ill - what's being resold is what fans remember but better.

Profchaos10h ago

Games can be ruined after purchasing them yeah we know this not from this but from GTA IV which had half it's radio content patched out due to licensing expirations and to me that was a huge deal.

This pin up poster is a bit of nonsense but the whole argument of modern games can be ruined post launch is Absol true.

DedicatedDark9h ago(Edited 9h ago)

It's not their work to censor. They are incharge of restoration & remastering the work, not overwriting it.

Barlos8h ago

It's not the agenda of the developer though, they're pandering and trying to increase their ESG score.

Way to support censorship...

victorMaje8h ago

It’s not the end of the world for sure, but I understand the hate towards this kind of change. I believe it’s also a matter of principle.

Imagine a Picasso painting being restored & the restorer deciding there aren’t enough strokes, or some lines aren’t straight enough or curved enough…not sure it would/should sit well with people.

Have all original devs signed off on this change? Even if it’s the case, are we saying older gamers are better mentally equipped to process what was there than current gamers, hence the change?

Enough time ago the case was made that games are an art form. We’re supposed to have won that case.
So which is it? Are games art or not?

Aphrodia13m ago

And what of the rights of the buyer? The ones that purchased this game with hard earned money? They bought a product that is now being changed into a different product. Surely you would stand up for them since you are about "rights"?

Christopher7m ago

***It's not their work to censor. ***

They own the IP. It's theirs too do with as they wish.

***It's not the agenda of the developer though, they're pandering and trying to increase their ESG score. ***

You got proof of this? And even if this were true, isn't it the developer right to want whatever an ESG score is?

***from GTA IV which had half it's radio content patched out due to licensing expirations and to me that was a huge deal. ***

Licensed music is always going to get changed unless they can afford to keep paying those fees sadly.

***Imagine a Picasso painting being restored & the restorer deciding there aren’t enough strokes, or some lines aren’t straight enough or curved enough…not sure it would/should sit well with people. ***

You do know in the original that the artwork is extremely pixelated so you can't even tell what it is, right? Shouldn't we then be arguing that they increased the detail of this artwork at all then? Why the remaster? Picasso got it right already with the original.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 7m ago
Eidolon8h ago

Hasn't this been happened for over a decade since remasters? I can't see that it's any worse now. Maybe if Sweet Baby starts getting their hands on remasters we will definitely have a problem.

Rebel_Scum11h ago

tbh I dont see something like this as censorship. Does anyone else not find it strange for someone to stick pin ups of themsleves in a locker room?

Now of it was a pin up of some half naked firefighters it might make sense as Lara might like that, and if they removed that I would cry censorship. But removing pin ups of the main character, yeah I get it.

Barlos8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

It's a game, and they were placed there for the audience. It's not real life. If it was, she wouldn't have fought a T-Rex now would she?

Yes, it's censorship but it's a bit less in your face. If they were in the original game, then they should have been in the remasters. It's bad enough that they have that ridiculous unnecessary warning at the start, but then they start removing things post launch. I don't care how small the change, they shouldn't be doing it. It's nothing but ESG pandering but in a subtle way.

Rebel_Scum6h ago

Look bro, if you have pictures of yourself naked on a bear skin rug up in your house let me tell you, its not normal.

jambola5h ago

I wasn't aware censorship was based on what made sense to you

Rebel_Scum5h ago

Likewise, what a stupid comment.

jambola5h agoShowReplies(1)
Aphrodia21m ago

And Lara Croft is also a mass murderer everywhere she goes. Why didn't they patch that out as well? See, anyone can spew pedantic BS.

CrimsonWing690m ago

How is it not censorship? They are removing suggestive content due to not wanting to offend SJWs and woke people. They literally removed something already in the game that nobody even thought twice about just like a movie on cable television is edited for content… y’know, like literally removing scenes because of not wanting to offend a public audience? How is this different?

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 0m ago
SimpleDad7h ago

By the year 2030, this remaster collection will totally be changed and censored. Probably will remove Lara as a playable character. It's ridiculous. Glad that my family didn't buy this.
I still have Tomb Raider 2 PS1 as a memory.

jambola5h ago

Those shorts are a little revealing
Should probably make them snow pants

5h ago
Christopher6m ago

Have fun falling off that cliff at the end of the slippery slope.

CobraKai7h ago

It’s mentioned in the article, and it’s a point i 100% agree with, it’s the fact that they can censor a game after you buy it. That’s total bullshit.

Christopher6m ago

Just FYI, every game has that right.

Killer2020UK6h ago

Whilst it's an overreaction to say this has "ruined" the game, it's still problematic that this has happened post launch and for many, post-purchase.

I don't want someone to change a product for the worse after I've bought it. The same goes for implementing micro transactions after reviews.

I wonder why they did this? Nobody was kicking up a fuss as far as I'm aware.

maykhausonninh6h ago

Nobody was kicking up a fuss as far as I'm aware.

Christopher5m ago

My thinking is that the original artworks might be community created.

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