I don't know if anyone has a reason or maybe can explain..

But here it goes... I find that lately with the downloads being so easy to acquire...That the publishers are holding back on the hard copies....

Now my question is : If they have a download of a finished game..Why does it take so long for the hard copy to be distributed ?

Thanks

I believe thehood gave an answer for one game in particular awhile back here:



We have heard the same story from other publishers as well.

I am sure that the profits are higher for them as well.

Ana

Thanks ,Ana

So do you believe the profits are higher for a download then a hard copy? I would imagine so since you don't have the packaging & everything else... Then the download should be cheaper !!!

This is not fair at all...I think it stinks..So in the future us AGers has to look forward to this kind of distribution through download ?

<Rats> My opinion

Darleen, you can also check out the responses on the same thread you posted awhile back HERE.

Ana

Ana, Thanks...

I realise I have posted about this subject before....
But at that time I really didn't think this download thing would get to the point that hard copies will be held back...I was hopeing it might be just something they would try out...
But now the games like Cleopatra are still not on hard copy.

I have now realized that it will be a practice on the publishers part...

Perhaps rather than looking at the situation as holding back the hard copy, you would be best to view it as being able to get it earlier via download. I am sure many games have been completed and we never knew about it until they announced a release date. Now they have another way to cater to the impatient gamer.

Ana

I agree....

But I do believe the download should be cheaper...that's my only beef..

I do like the option of a quick fix download...But the cost is rather high for a download without the packaging.

A Gamer can never sell or trade the downloaded product

And they don't look as good on my shelf.

There are, I think, three main objections to electronic downloads, from a gamer's perspective:

• no disk - what happens if I have to re-format my hard disk? I lose all my games completely
• no paper manual - how can I consult the manual whilst I'm playing if it's on the disk?
• requirement for a fast Internet connection - a full sized modern game can be several gigabytes of data.

(Some people also like to collect the game boxes for the sake of having a collection of nice boxes)

Personally, the only thing I really miss about a downloaded version is the paper manual. It also bugs me that many games that come in a box often have an electronic manual ('The Witcher', I'm looking at you!!)

I would suggest that, if games were distributed as ISO images using p2p networks like bittorrent, then the gamer can burn the image to a CD/DVD (very easy with most CD/DVD burner software packages). Game manuals should then be included as easily printable materials on the disk.

(There's probably a legitimate business model in there for someone like Amazon to use the ISO (with permission of course) and produce CD/DVDs for those who wish to buy a pre-burnt copy)

For the piracy-paranoid (not that you're ever going to be able to beat them whilst the police tolerate obviously pirating merchants in town markets), the ISO could be published completely freely, but so key functionality (like the installer, or a software key, or similar) could be purchased through a secure website.

To summarise: make ISO images available online through a technology that doesn't require a fast 'net connection, allowing people to burn their own copy of the game and print a simplified form of manual, which they then install and activate with a securely purchased key.

Oh, yes, and you're absolutely right Darleen, there is no justification for electronic downloads costing as much as a bricks-and-mortar distributed game. The production, distribution, and shop costs are completely eliminate (especially if you use bittorrent or similar to distribute as you don't have to pay the bandwidth costs for every single download!)

Finally, the game publishers probably couldn't care less whether you can trade your games, though the my model above doesn't actually pre-clude it! (not sure about the transfer of keys though)

Gremlin

The problem as I see it is that developers are finding it harder and harder to find publishers who can put PC games on shelves in brick and mortar stores. This may not be true in places like Germany, but it is true in the UK and in the US, and the English language versions are what I personally need.

If you go in your local Gamestop here in the US you see -- console games, one or two stand-alone fixtures with PC games and lots and lots of used console games. It would appear that where Gamestop makes its profits is on used console games. As these take over the store, there is simply less space for PC games. A couple of Gamestops in my area appear now to only get PC games from the large distributors like Ubisoft.

My local Walmart has fewer PC games than it did last year. For the Christmas selling season, it had 5 adventure games for sale, most of which did sell out by Christmas (I'm thrilled to say). Since there were dozens of adventures released in the last quarter of 2007, this means that only a small percentage made it onto shelves in Walmart. Target carries a few more adventures than Walmart, but often these are older games in jewel case versions.

Best Buy and Circuit City (happily!) do carry many recent adventure titles, but even so, it can take months from the time the game is finished to the time it makes it onto shelves there.

In the UK, from what I've heard, it's even harder to find PC adventure games on actual store shelves.

Publishers -- the good people who put the finished game in boxes, market it and distribute it -- once they've committed to an adventure title, do NOT want it sold less cheaply via download on the web. It's hard enough getting games onto shelves -- publishers don't want to lose a large chunk of their customer base to a cheaper download.

So (it's my understanding) that the developer can usually only sell the download version at the same price as the boxed version, and that's only if the publisher agrees to let the developer sell it separately via download in the first place.

Downloading the game from the developer's online store sends a much larger portion of the profits to the developer than to the publisher -- if you want to directly support the people creating the game, that is the way to go.

On the other hand, if you really want the game box, waiting patiently to buy the game when it releases on disk is the only way to ensure that future adventure games will be released on disk. If publishers find that they are continually losing money when they release adventure games on disk, they'll stop publishing them.

I look forward to all games having the option of a downloadable version if it means developers can offer their games faster and without having to wait for a publisher in a specific area or country. The games I have downloaded have worked flawlessly. The European developers are churning out a massive number of adventure games, they would be encouraged to continue this if their product could easily reach a wider audience, and they get a greater share of the profits.

What about offering the disk for free after download (as in the Sam and Max series) for those who feel they want a hard copy?

Dyl'smom

I, for one, will have to give up adventure games if the publishers insist on only download. Don't have high speed connection and can't afford it.

This is certainly very true & also very few AGs are mentioned in gaming magazines, so for fans of the genre the only way to get information about & buy the majority of games available is via the internet.
Like myself, I'm sure that many other adventure gamers, due to the unavailability of many new AGs, have gradually ceased to bother with brick & mortar stores - this in turn must lead to less demand for the few games that are stocked & also they are often cheaper to buy on-line.

My point is this: assuming more AGs are bought
on-line, rather than from brick & mortar stores (e.g. in the UK)- why does a publisher need to rely on shelf space in a brick & mortar store in order to supply a disc version of a game???

Hi

Nowadays it seems it's not just profit - but maximum profit that rules the roost ??

For me, downloading a game carries too many negatives - some of which have already been listed on this and past threads.

I, personally, will always be willing to wait - if waiting will give me access to a hard copy

But if the day comes when a hard copy is no longer be an option At ALL then I will be extremely disappointed ....

Cheers.

Mad

Hi chrissie -- I suspect that if a publisher is going to commit to publishing a game, they want as many distribution channels as possible. They're more likely to publish a game that will sell from store shelves as well as through online stores.

An interesting question -- as more and more purchases are made via the internet, will publishers drop the brick and mortar stores altogether and distribute the disk version online only? It seems unlikely to me, but I'm sure that stranger things have happened.