80°

The Downside of Digital Distribution

Leviathyn.com | Probably more than half of the games I’ve played in my life were either borrowed or bought used. Now, an increasing number of games I play are digitally downloaded from services such as Steam, Xbox Live, or Playstation Network. This trend towards digital distribution is great in many ways, but it may eliminate the ability for many people to get games.

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leviathyn.com
dazzrazz4220d ago

Biggest downside of services like XBL and SEN... everything is overpriced ! Starting from day 1 titles on PS3 ! Why would I wanna pay $60 for digital download when I can pre-order same title via lets say Amazon and get $10 credit for future purchase or buy digital download of Ghost Recon Future Soldier on XBL for $50 where I can get it from retail store brand new for $29 with free shipping ? Digital distribution was suppose to be cheaper.. no cost of distribution, vendors, manufacturing and all that crap. In reality retail stores have some competition for customers, on digital from Sony and MS only fixed prices... pay or GTFO ! The only worthy place would be Steam which really has no competition at all on PC and yet still manage to have great promos, low prices and insane sales on Holidays...

christheredhead4220d ago

True, thats really the only thing holding back XBL and PSN at the moment. I mean, if they were priced more competitively I would probably purchased more titles through the digital store.

Older titles are massively overpriced with some going for 40 or 60 dollars for a 5 year old game. Pricing has been getting better over time on the consoles, but I'm not adapting until they can offer better prices.

AusRogo4220d ago (Edited 4220d ago )

Was shopping on XBL the other night, and saw they had Singularity for $99.95! Ended up getting Burnout Revenge for $20 instead. It depends really, like the playstation essentials are dirt cheap on psn and some games on XBL are cheap too. I just thought it was strange that Singularity is still $99. and same goes with some games on ps store too

PrimeLantern4220d ago

Services like Steam are only half right. They have a ton of sales and even discounts on the first week for some games but these digital versions should never cost the same amount of money as the retail ones. No disc, no case, no manual. Just a key and some download time. If anything, $10 less and go from there.

jerethdagryphon4220d ago

the main problem with digital solutions is time space and sustainability

suppose valve goes bankrupt after investing all there money in a bad game.. assets are sold off to pay bills and its possible that people who buy the games rights dont buy steam rights and that steam game would be removed, or perhaps steam is shutdown..

pure digital goods are a bad idea

Ducky4220d ago (Edited 4220d ago )

Steam removes its DRM if it ever goes down financially.
In that case, you make a backup (on disk/flashdrive) of the games.

Or you only make digital purchases of DRM-free games,
(such as those found at GOG) which doesn't have DRM to begin with.

Pure digital is, yea, a bad idea. Physical should always be a viable option.

turnerdc4220d ago

You can access your games offline. Also there have been several games removed from the service but those who have purchased can still download the game. OnLive also has had a few games removed due to licensing issues but those who have bought access to the game are still able to play it.

sdozzo4220d ago

It's a way for them to get around the whole used games thing and save a tons on overhead.

Mikey Mike4220d ago

It's here get used to it. The days of physical media is coming to an end.

70°

Why Are Steam's Recommendations Dogpoop?

Blindfolding myself and clicking a Steam page at random would serve me better recommendations than Steam’s algorithm

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thegamer.com
UltimateOwnage15d ago

Hmm, not sure I agree with that. The recommendations I get are usually pretty good, but then again I have pretty large library of games on Steam and hundreds of them in my wish list, along with lots of curators I follow for it to build recommendations off of. On occasion it will throw me a random FIFA game or something I've never bought or shown interest in, but mostly its decent IMO.

80°

5 Best Metroidvania Games on Steam (March 2024)

Dive into the best Metroidvania games on Steam, from hidden gems to top-rated classics, and embark on unforgettable adventures!

jznrpg25d ago

Skul is a metroidvania ? It’s on PS+ soon I’ll check it out. If it’s good I’ll buy a copy physically if they have one

Nacho_Z25d ago

If Pseudoregalia is one of the best I'd hate to see what the worst look like.

330°

Dragon’s Dogma 2 releases to mixed user reviews, as microtransactions criticised

Players can pay to edit their character, resurrect the dead and other actions.

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videogameschronicle.com
AdonisIsBeast33d ago

Who cares as long as it’s optional

phoenixwing33d ago

paying to edit your character is kind of crap as far as microtransactions go

Xristo33d ago (Edited 33d ago )

I hate any/all MTX in a paid game (especially a full-price game)... but know that you can spend in-game currency (RC), which you get from killing mobs, to completely remake your character.

phoenixwing33d ago

@xRisto how much did it change the gameplay though? Changing your character would have probably not cost any rc if they weren't hellbent on getting money by making it inconvenient

koga8833d ago

You can literally edit your character using in-game gold, dropped from monsters or obtained from selling items, as soon as you reach the first main town. You can even use Rift Crystals obtained from other people using your pawn or dropped from monsters to change your entire character or Pawn. It's paying to avoid doing something that is literally in the game.

PRIMORDUS33d ago

They are lucky there using Denuvo or their game and all future DLC etc. would be for free. 🤣

phoenixwing33d ago

@koga you completely missed the point i was making but go ahead and act like i'm being the wrong one

lucian22932d ago

you can pay ingame currency though; why are ya so derp

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 32d ago
Crows9033d ago (Edited 33d ago )

Capcom cares quite a bit....hence why it was kept from reviewers and initial impressions.

As far as optional...yeah...ALL mtx are optional. That's not the problem. The miss the mark entirely.

Heck buying the game is "optional" too.

The fact that they were hiding this is scummy as hell. I was going to buy this day 1 or day 3. Now I'm reconsidering the purchase entirely because as the reviews point out...there are certain design decisions which have not changed but funnily enough seem to be remedied by these mtx...

In other words they may have left certain features in the game in order to monetize them. So the mtx affected the development of the game in a negative way.

garos8233d ago

I'm certainly not buying it anymore. It has affected at least one sale from me. I'll pick it up second hand

peppeaccardo33d ago

Very close to buy the game at a discounted price but not anymore.
Bad business practice and hence they do not get my support/money !

warriorcase33d ago

It wasn't kept fromreviewers s though. Twitter reviewers are saying there was mention of mtx's in the reviewers guide

-Foxtrot33d ago (Edited 33d ago )

STOP. USING. THAT. SHITTY. EXCUSE

God damn man

Look how DLC changed after Oblivions horse armour, within 10 years most developers took the absolute p***. What was said then aswell? “It’s only optional who cares?” Now look where we all are.

There’s no half measures with these things, when will people realise this.

jwillj2k433d ago (Edited 33d ago )

Oh it’s gonna get worse. Ng+ locked behind mtx, “cool downs” preventing you from playing for more than 3 hours at a time unless u pay the mtx for unlimited access, main campaign bosses, in-game music, certain dialog, difficulty modes, certain npc interactions, all locked behind mtx, etc.. etc. gonna end up being like the NBA 2k games eventually paying for cross overs and shit… They gon get mid-evil on our asses.

OMGitzThatGuy33d ago

I can guarantee most of the items you can buy with mtx and ingame currency wouldn’t exist in ANY paid form if the main goal wasn't monetization. If the goal is to give idiots who are willing to pay for basic game features as mtx a way to do things faster then the only ones the mtx hurt are the non paying players as you are now locking features behind a grind that you chose to put in the game that you are essentially admitting to creating some type of time sink. I have never heard of a game locking basic character editing behind a ingame paywall, it’s usually just an option.

Chard33d ago

Takes two to tango though - unfortunately people buy this garbage which incentivises the behaviour. It's an inevitable outcome of the profit motive

thorstein33d ago

@Mario

Yes. And so are resurrection "Wakestones." You can find them but they're rare.

victorMaje33d ago

Buying the game is now very optional too. If you don’t know why then you don’t get it.

shinoff218333d ago

Because it's only a door way. That's why we care. We've already seen some shit since Mtx was introduced.

Rimeskeem33d ago

1. DD2 is an ARPG with 8 different playable classes
2. There is no multiplayer aspect to the game
3. You can only have one character (have to pay for more)
4. You cannot delete the character unless you go into the game files
5. The game is $70 dollars upfront

Having to pay for more character slots in a game that *features* 8 playable classes is pretty much not optional for an ARPG.

Angyobangyo33d ago

Judging from steam reviews, gamers care. Not plastic gamers. Why didn’t Itsuno mention such MTX would be available in-game? Why weren’t the MTXs there for review copies?

Kiryu199233d ago

Who cares is how all this started. The many many excuses. Please keep defending these greedy publishers and unfair tactics. We be gamers are the problem

Horse armor

$10 online passes if buying a used copy

Cheat codes gone and are replaced by micro transactions

Unlocking stuff by playing games behind micro transactions and XP boosters

It’s only cosmetic

No one is being forced to spend even though publishers are literally making their games more grindy to force people to play

Full priced games have mobile game type micro transactions

$70 priced games because higher development costs while making record profits and laying off record number of employees

And to play the game early pay us extra $20-30 on top of full price

Release games now and promise to maybe fix them later only to abandon the game

Day one patches that make the games worst

If it’s your favorite game defend the publisher if it’s not hate on another publisher for similar content

SixFrvgz32d ago Show
+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 32d ago
kenpachi33d ago

Must have picked up some EA crew to put this in the game

robtion33d ago

Yeah these are really bad ones. Directly impacting gameplay too. Super scummy move. I hope nobody buys them.

CrimsonWing6933d ago

Yet Helldivers 2 gets a pass? Y’know a GotY contender by the name of RE4 had them and so does Devil May Cry V. The funny thing is I enjoyed both of those games thoroughly without having to buy a single microtransaction.

What I do consider a valid complaint is not being able to start a new game or being able to edit your character. That’s kind of a seriously baffling decision, but then I think how I played Dragon’s Dogma 1 and I never edited my character and I just did a 100% playthrough on a single file and didn’t start a NG since. So, I don’t think these are really going to impact me, but I can see how it will others.

Crows9033d ago

Helldivers 2 is a live service game where everything is obtainable in game with incredible ease.

Not sure about re4 or DMC but nobody is giving anyone a pass ...this article is about dragons dogma 2...not those games.

What is valid are in game features made to supposedly force you to think carefully only to have a surprise online store offer solutions to built in problems for more money.

Goosejuice33d ago

Those same things they are selling can be found Ingame as well. U can buy the character editor through merchants with gold. Don't get me wrong..I dislike these mtx they are doing but you don't need to buy them to be able to get them.

CrimsonWing6933d ago (Edited 33d ago )

Oh my bad, I can’t bring up games with microtransactions that nobody had a sh*t fit over. My mistake.

I love how people move the goalpost.

Crows9033d ago

@goose
@crimson

All mtx sucks. I'd rather helldiver's not have them because it makes me wonder if the rate at which you collect materials. That said. The games features are all fully enjoyable and aren't affected by the mtx.

That's not the case with dragons dogma 2...they left in place features that are supposedly part of the challenge of the game only to let you buy your way out very conveniently. I didn't look through all of them but I've heard some are rare but can be purchased with more money now. Even more so in a game about managing weight load there's a tent, I believe, that you can pay more money for that weighs less than your typical tent...not all sure on all the mtx and I'm aware that you can purchase many through in game vendor but they're incredibly useful mtx that are obtained much more slowly in game...or even a limited amount of them.

Instead is selling fast travel...just let us don't for free....or instead of selling cosmetic changes...how about letting us do it for free...

Nothing in helldivers comes close to this abomination

Angyobangyo33d ago

One is a single player game and one is a live service game. One is $40 vs$70. And most importantly, one game is there to spread democracy.

Ironmike32d ago

It's not incredibly easy for certain things in helldivers though u still have grind quite bit but u ate correct in saying u can eventually get enough medals to purchase stuff

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Moegooner33d ago

Read your comment again and maybe, just maybe you might realise how dumb it was.

CrimsonWing6933d ago (Edited 33d ago )

What was dumb about it? That I pointed out the hypocrisy?

garos8233d ago

It was extremely scummy that capcom hid this from reviewers. I have no doubt this game is good but these type of microtransactions don't sit well with me. They've lost a sale from me

Lionsguard33d ago

I was going to pay full price to support this game because I've been waiting for it for forever but I think I'll wait until I get it for free from Epic or a Humblebundle monthly.

Redemption-6433d ago

I am not defending Capcom, as I am not a fan of MTX in single player games. I do however belive they were open to reviewers about having MTX in their game. The reviewers just decided to leave that part out. Which is very disingenuous. There are some companies that get away with these things. Image if this was done by EA, Ubisoft, or even Activision? I am positive those defending Capcom, would have had their pitchforks ready if the companies listed above did this

anast33d ago

That's why reviewers can't be trusted. In fact, they are not reviewers at all. They get free codes to talk about stuff they don't understand nor care about.

Sanctusone33d ago

I mean it was pretty obvious to anyone with eyes...one of the items you get from deluxe edition was in game items.
1500 Rift Crystals - Points to Spend Beyond the Rift (A)
Which honestly I figured they kept a similar mtx system like DMC5 and the optional red orbs.

Lionsguard33d ago

1500 Rift Crystals doesn't mean anything. The first game had Rift crystals too, you just earned them by people hiring your Pawn and you get it from certain quests.

anast32d ago (Edited 32d ago )

A reviewer's job is to point out the obvious of a product as though they were the consumer. This means reviewers, to do their actual job, would need to review the complete game: the edition they are reviewing, how they got the game, technical aspects, story, and monetization scheme. Since, it is obvious that MT's are a part of the game, it would need to be reviewed. This way people can be informed, so they can decide if they want to play this style of game/monetization scheme.

For example, AC Origins was bad with Mt's. I had to farm side missions or pay to advance the story. This was after I already did close to 25 or more side missions. While I was grinding there were constant reminders that I could pay to ease the grind. I would have never bought the game if it were reviewed properly.

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