Xbox One

[joet6683]

Re: Xbox One

You know one way I was thinking they could encourage folks to go digital is instead of lowering the price make it sorta like EA Access where if you buy the game digital you get the full game on the Friday before launch. But unlike EA Access no stupid 6 hour limit. That'd convert a LOT of physical media buyers IMO.

I was thinking a 10% off, $10 preorder bonus or something along those lines with signup in a membership like EA Access. But I think you're right, early access would probably attract the most people with no need to decrease any prices or give credits. They could probably even get away with doing that for a minimal fee, either yearly or game by game.

[zasbury25]

Re: Xbox One

My point is until the console makers encourage very strongly the belief in digital we will not see it mainstream. Until we see the ability to trade in digital, gift digital, resell digital, buy digital at much cheaper price or other benefits, combined with hardware manufacturers shipping consoles from day one with massive hard drives, then digital will remain a rather small percentage of overall users.

Right now consumers just see a lot of disadvantages and very few reasons to switch..

Absolutely...and we were almost there with some of your points with the One until the internet had a fit because MS did such a poor job explaining its vision. I have a feeling will eventually come with future gen systems because Steam does almost everything you bring up. However, I think the companies/developers get a lot of pressure from the retailers to not go down this path, hence probably why it will take some time to get there.

I'm not trying to attack, but you keep bringing up not having a massive hard drive in the current gen consoles as to why they are not serious about digital distribution...given the current size/architecture/layout of the consoles, what size of hard drive would you expect to see in them that would show you they are serious about digital?

[mestevo]

Re: Xbox One

Speaking about retailer relationships, Gamestop has already gone from being excited about the Xbox One (prior to everything being changed) to breathing into a paper bag because of the 'devaluing' of digital games thanks to PS+ / Games with gold.

[daniel77733]

Re: Xbox One

I could go on an on about gaming going fully digital but all I'll say is this - if anyone thinks that once all the gaming consoles go fully digital, you'll have a "steam" like setup, you better think again because it's not going to happen. Consoles will never ever be like steam in regards to the sales, deals, discounts, etc. so forget it.

The day gaming consoles go all digital will be the start of the next crash for the industry and for those who think digital sales have increased, they haven't. According to the 2K CEO, 80% of sales is still via physical purchases, not digital downloads and the majority of digital sales aren't from actual retail disc based games but from DLC, season passes and of course, XBLA / PSN games that are only available via digital download.

Also, digital sales are inflated due to publishers increasing the numbers due to bundled consoles (Unity and Black Flag for example) because the games you're getting in those bundles are via digital downloads and what's funny, is that projections have it at 50% in which those codes aren't even redeemed but sold to those who prefer digital over retail discs.

Consoles may eventually go all digital but it's over a decade away if not more. I for one hope it never ever happens but if it does, I'll finally be done with gaming.

[Bruce1975]

Re: Xbox One

I really wish there was a way to "burn" a hard copy to your console. Its been so nice to switch between TV and the console with a simple phrase, but I would love to not have to switch discs for games I have bought at retail.

I know I could have just gone digital, but it would be nice to somehow permanently add hard copy games to the XBOne somehow if you deemed them worthy.

[mestevo]

Re: Xbox One

I could go on an on about gaming going fully digital but all I'll say is this - if anyone thinks that once all the gaming consoles go fully digital, you'll have a "steam" like setup, you better think again because it's not going to happen. Consoles will never ever be like steam in regards to the sales, deals, discounts, etc. so forget it.

The day gaming consoles go all digital will be the start of the next crash for the industry and for those who think digital sales have increased, they haven't. According to the 2K CEO, 80% of sales is still via physical purchases, not digital downloads and the majority of digital sales aren't from actual retail disc based games but from DLC, season passes and of course, XBLA / PSN games that are only available via digital download.

Also, digital sales are inflated due to publishers increasing the numbers due to bundled consoles (Unity and Black Flag for example) because the games you're getting in those bundles are via digital downloads and what's funny, is that projections have it at 50% in which those codes aren't even redeemed but sold to those who prefer digital over retail discs.

Consoles may eventually go all digital but it's over a decade away if not more. I for one hope it never ever happens but if it does, I'll finally be done with gaming.

Where is the metric either before or after this that showing this is not an increase, since you are definitively saying it is not increasing?

Here's a quote, perhaps with the rest you missed?.

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2014/12/03/take-two-digital-games-dont-impact-profits-that-much/

Zelnick continued by saying that around 20 to 30 percent of Take-Two’s game sales come from digital markets, such as the PlayStation Store, which is currently featuring numerous sales and deals right now. He also noted that he believes that that number will probably “head into the 50 percent land relatively soon.”

It is almost certainly true that people will consume more and more digitally, as they do, for example, with music. But right now, physical distribution is still 70-80 percent of our business. And physical distribution partners are our primary distribution partners, and happily so.

[joet6683]

Re: Xbox One

Where is the metric either before or after this that showing this is not an increase, since you are definitively saying it is not increasing?

Here's a quote, perhaps with the rest you missed?.

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/...its-that-much/

The funny thing with that is 20-30 percent is more than I expected. I would have wagered around 10 percent. If he expects 50 percent soon I wouldnt be surprised to see it well into the > 50 in the next 5 years.

[daniel77733]

Re: Xbox One

The 20-30% though isn't just disc based retail games. That 20-30% includes DLC, season passes and digital only games as well as any digital games outside of the consoles like Android or whatever other crap Take Two releases games on digitally.

And obviously, you're a huge fan and pro-digital. You would be better off playing games on PC via Steam considering all the sales and whatnot that they always have. One thing is for sure, if you think that console gamers are going to get the deals and whatnot that steam users get, you're going to be very disappointed simply because us console gamers don't get the sales that steam gets now so why would they change it when there's no other options and choices?

As a gamer, I want the choice as to how I purchase my games. Once that choice is taken away from me, the gaming industry can kiss my ***. This was why so many gamers were pissed off at Microsoft for what they tried to do with Xbox One.

Either way, I'll be good with my decision because in the end, it's my decision, no one else's.

[mestevo]

Re: Xbox One

Your opinion and all that jazz is nice and you're obviously entitled to that, but you said in no uncertain terms that digital sales are not increasing, your reply didn't address that so just asking again where you are getting it. The only thing you cited doesn't state that (and in fact states the opposite, they are expected to increase quickly and substantially).

Where are you also getting breakdowns in game sales, since you dismiss digital "game sales" (which does not mean DLC to me, since they're talking about sales percentage and not percentage of revenue) as mobile, android, etc.

[Artman22]

Re: Xbox One

My point is until the console makers encourage very strongly the belief in digital we will not see it mainstream. Until we see the ability to trade in digital, gift digital, resell digital, buy digital at much cheaper price or other benefits, combined with hardware manufacturers shipping consoles from day one with massive hard drives, then digital will remain a rather small percentage of overall users.

Right now consumers just see a lot of disadvantages and very few reasons to switch..

I think the most important thing that would draw more to switch would be price. Resell digital wouldn't matter that much if the price of digital was $15-$20 cheaper than disks. I would jump for that alone, but the fact that they're both the same price to me makes zero sense to switch yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[daniel77733]

Re: Xbox One

Your opinion and all that jazz is nice and you're obviously entitled to that, but you said in no uncertain terms that digital sales are not increasing, your reply didn't address that so just asking again where you are getting it. The only thing you cited doesn't state that (and in fact states the opposite, they are expected to increase quickly and substantially).

Where are you also getting breakdowns in game sales, since you dismiss digital "game sales" (which does not mean DLC to me, since they're talking about sales percentage and not percentage of revenue) as mobile, android, etc.

Finally found the article - it was more of a study but it coincides with what publishers Activision and EA have said -

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/12/02/market-report-says-console-gamers-still-prefer-physical-to-digital

Here's a part of the article -

"This jibes with the quarterly reports of major publishers like Activision and EA, who get most of their growing digital revenues from DLC and subscription services rather than full game sales"

There you go bud. That's the article I read the other day. Digital sales are increasing but the majority of those sales aren't from retail disc based games.

Either way, the gaming industry still has a long way to go before it goes all digital which for me, the longer the better.

I know you love digital but why? What happens if you buy a $60 game digitally but end up not liking it or wanting to play it? This is why im very careful in regards to digital.

Best Buy's buy 2 get 1 free is a perfect example for me. I'm buying Far Cry 4, Dragon Age and another game which im not sure of yet but here's the example...if I end up not liking Dragon Age, I can trade it back to Best Buy and put that credit towards another game. If I was to buy it digitally and not like the game, I would be stuck with the game and wasted $60. No thanks. I'm not cheap and have no problem spending money but at the same time, I don't want to waste money. Buying disc based games digitally is a waste of money for me. Even worse, older games are still more expensive than on disc. If it's like this now, imagine how it will be once there's no other options and choices.

But in the end, to each his own.

[mestevo]

Re: Xbox One

for those who think digital sales have increased, they haven't.

Digital sales are increasing

You've piled a bunch more onto it to obscure the point, but this is all I was trying to get to, but you've walked it back so no biggie.

Your link goes along with what 2k said also... just under 20% of console game purchases are digital of those surveyed (for Take Two it's 20-30%), but most revenue coming in is from DLC and add-ons - this was never being disputed. That makes complete sense because retail purchasers are contributing to that amount and the consoles are built to monetize in this manner as efficiently as possible.

Really just trying to get past some of the hyperbole (predicting no digital transition for console games in 'our lifetime') and outright misunderstanding data (digital sales decreasing).

Personally I prefer both, but am buying more and more digital as full retail pricing drops on some titles over the holidays. Games that are worth it I won't hesitate to pay full price for. My primary regret is Infamous, that's pretty much the only game I bought digitally I think that made me reconsider buying digital going forward and got me to buy a few titles physically I wouldn't have otherwise. I'm also a GCU member so above average deals will sometimes get me to buy physical as well.

I would have much rather preferred the original Xbox One plan, and would have loved to see a years worth of iterations on top of it that we'd be enjoying now and I look forward to the next generation of consoles inching toward that.

[daniel77733]

Re: Xbox One

You've piled a bunch more onto it to obscure the point, but this is all I was trying to get to, but you've walked it back so no biggie.

Your link goes along with what 2k said also... just under 20% of console purchases are digital of those surveyed (for Take Two it's 20-30%), but most revenue coming in is from DLC and add-ons - this was never being disputed. That makes complete sense because retail purchasers are contributing to that amount and the consoles are built to monetize in this manner as efficiently as possible.

Really just trying to get past some of the hyperbole (predicting no digital transition for console games in 'our lifetime') and outright misunderstanding data (digital sales decreasing).

Personally I prefer both, but am buying more and more digital as full retail pricing drops on some titles over the holidays. Games that are worth it I won't hesitate to pay full price for. My primary regret is Infamous, that's pretty much the only game I bought digitally I think that made me reconsider buying digital going forward and got me to buy a few titles physically I wouldn't have otherwise. I'm also a GCU member so above average deals will sometimes get me to buy physical as well.

I would have much rather preferred the original Xbox One plan, and would have loved to see a years worth of iterations on top of it that we'd be enjoying now and I look forward to the next generation of consoles inching toward that.

In regards to the two quotes you posted about what I said, I never said that digital sales weren't increasing, I said that digital sales weren't increasing in regards to the games that are also available on disc.

I don't remember saying that all digital would never happen. Think that was someone else. I said that I personally would never ever go all digital. Could care less what other people do.

In regards to buying digitally, the prices aren't any lower though. Black Flag is $50 retail and digital. I'll admit that I have bought several games digitally but only on Xbox 360 and they all averaged out to my maximum of $20 or less. $60 on a digital game would piss me off if I end up not liking the game. $20 not nearly as much but at the same time, I make sure that I love the game before I buy it digitally or it has to be a real cheap sale. RE 5 and Red Dead Redemption were $5 and $8 or something cheap. Those kind of deals are good but they usually take a few years to get to that price and most of the time, im no longer interested in the game.

New release games though, no way am I spending $60 digitally when I can get it in Best Buy for $48. Add in the price adjustment ability that I have for 30 days and tomorrow, I'll be able to get an adjustment for AC Rogue which basically cuts the price down from $60 to $40. Once I finish it and trade it in, it's basically a $10 game that I put at least 50-100 hours into.

Long story short, I can pay a lot less and get a lot more via retail at Best Buy then I would get if I purchased games digitally which is why for me personally, I will never ever be on the bandwagon of going all digital because instead of getting more and paying less, I'll end up paying more and getting less. If being a gamer for over 25 years has taught me anything, it's that every publisher obviously doesn't give a damn about the consumer and wants to make as much money off of us as possible. I use their thinking right back at them. Otherwise, I would be losing a fortune or at least it would be a fortune to me.

As for Microsoft keeping their original plan, thankfully they didn't not only for their company, Xbox brand but mainly for consumers because we all would have been screwed and not in a good way. Microsoft wanting to do all that was the number one reason why I went with PS4 over Xbox One. They completely pissed me off and to me, a lot of people bash Ubisoft or other companies in regards to not trusting them but with what Microsoft tried to pull off, they should be number one on every gamer's list because how can anyone trust a company that want's to monitor you by being always online and having a camera watching me? Sorry but it's bad enough the U.S. Government monitors everyone and there's no way im letting Microsoft or any game company do that to me or tell me that I have to be online all the time or check in once every 24 hours.

Sorry but I don't see how even the biggest Microsoft and Xbox fanboy in the world could defend what they tried to pull on consumers. The same consumers and fan base that made them sell over 80 million Xbox 360 consoles not to mention, Xbox Live Gold which is obviously so popular that Sony followed suit and that so many game studios and publishers want to push all this co-op and online crap into single player games when they should be separate.

To me, all this online stuff and digital stuff will be the start of the next gaming industry crash and yeah, I do believe that 100% because when it gets to that point, everything that made gaming a fun but expensive hobby will still be expensive (and probably more so since you won't have any other options or choices) but will no longer be fun. There's a reason why the SNES/Genesis era is STILL the best era in gaming history. far less bullcrap than what there is today. No online, no co-op, no online multi-player, no every game is a damn first person shooter, no two page manuals that tells you nothing, no DLC, no avatars, no updates, no patches, no missions/chapters/scenes, etc. cut from games just so you can spend more money on it. No 1080p/60fps or bust, no season passes and I could go on and on if I wanted to.

If and when the gaming industry goes all digital, it will be the end of console gaming simply because when you have no other options or choices or competition (which it is since it's digital vs retail discs), everything gets worse. For anyone who's into wrestling, WWE has sucked since WCW and ECW died and with the exception of a few short bursts of excitement here and there, wrestling is nowhere near what it used to be and never ever will be. The gaming industry will turn out the same way if and when the industry goes all digital because everything that made it great would be long gone, dead and buried and all the gamers aka consumers will be so screwed over monetary wise, that you would be better off just burning your money because it would essentially be the same damn thing.

Back to Xbox One, if Microsoft's original plan stayed the course, PS4 would easily be over 20m consoles sold and Xbox One wouldn't even have 2m in sales because after all, it's only 20-30% in increase when it comes to digital sales and majority of that isn't full retail games. Not only that but majority of gamers would have been turned off to Microsoft even more than they already are. I'm not a fan of Microsoft because of what they tried to pull but yeah, I still eventually want to buy an Xbox One because im a gamer and there's games that I want to play on Xbox One but I would I want to buy an Xbox One if it was all digital? Hell no.

I'm sure that you think buying digital games will be cheaper if/when consoles go all digital but think of this - if games now aren't cheaper when there's other options and choices, what would make you think that games would be cheaper when there's no other options and choices? Just curious about this.

[ubernoob]

Re: Xbox One

Well, looks like Street Fighter 4 is console-exclusive to PS4.

More stupid decisions for fans of gaming.

[ricky24]

Re: Xbox One

No interest in street fighter but I would imagine it comes to Xbox one eventually.