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Jimmy_Fairplay · 06-05-2009, 03:11 PM

Hey guys, thanks for all of the comments on the article. I'd hoped it would start a bit of a discussion. A few points...

Da_Czar: At one time Microsoft had a cap on the size of downloads to ensure, as I recall, that gamers with the Arcade SKU could fit them on a memory card. But they've moved away from that recently. The March Madness edition of NCAA Basketball 09, for example, took about 1.6GB on my hard drive.

As for game stores, I'm sure they wouldn't be happy about it, but this isn't new. You can already buy full retail games like NFL Head Coach 09, Burnout Paradise, WarHawk, WipEout HD and many others off the PlayStation Network. Once Microsoft introduces retail games on demand in August, game stores will really start to see the writing on the wall.

Bumble14: You raise some excellent points, but I would contend that there are some casual gamers who would buy roster updates or certain stand-alone modes, whereas they would never buy the full retail disc.

Also, I would argue that sports games are moving closer and closer to MMO territory. The EASHL is one example. Online franchises in Madden are another. A lot of people aren't going to want to scrap everything to start fresh every 12 months. If I got in a really solid online franchise, I think I'd want that to continue for as long as possible. But I'd still like access to gameplay tweaks along the way.

Madmastermind: I hear what you're saying about EA, but I was just using them as an example. Perhaps it will take a competitor adopting this model to force them to consider it. For example, what if 2K had done this two and a half years ago with NBA 2K7? Maybe now you're sitting there with a really nice online league going and a bunch of time and money invested in DLC for the game. At that point do you consider making the switch to NBA Live and starting from scratch? Maybe, but you're probably less inclined to do that than if you simply have to choose between starting from scratch with either NBA 2K10 or NBA Live 10.

06-05-2009, 03:11 PM	#8
Jimmy_Fairplay Rookie OVR: 9 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Winnipeg, MB Blog Entries: 3	Hey guys, thanks for all of the comments on the article. I'd hoped it would start a bit of a discussion. A few points... Da_Czar: At one time Microsoft had a cap on the size of downloads to ensure, as I recall, that gamers with the Arcade SKU could fit them on a memory card. But they've moved away from that recently. The March Madness edition of NCAA Basketball 09, for example, took about 1.6GB on my hard drive. As for game stores, I'm sure they wouldn't be happy about it, but this isn't new. You can already buy full retail games like NFL Head Coach 09, Burnout Paradise, WarHawk, WipEout HD and many others off the PlayStation Network. Once Microsoft introduces retail games on demand in August, game stores will really start to see the writing on the wall. Bumble14: You raise some excellent points, but I would contend that there are some casual gamers who would buy roster updates or certain stand-alone modes, whereas they would never buy the full retail disc. Also, I would argue that sports games are moving closer and closer to MMO territory. The EASHL is one example. Online franchises in Madden are another. A lot of people aren't going to want to scrap everything to start fresh every 12 months. If I got in a really solid online franchise, I think I'd want that to continue for as long as possible. But I'd still like access to gameplay tweaks along the way. Madmastermind: I hear what you're saying about EA, but I was just using them as an example. Perhaps it will take a competitor adopting this model to force them to consider it. For example, what if 2K had done this two and a half years ago with NBA 2K7? Maybe now you're sitting there with a really nice online league going and a bunch of time and money invested in DLC for the game. At that point do you consider making the switch to NBA Live and starting from scratch? Maybe, but you're probably less inclined to do that than if you simply have to choose between starting from scratch with either NBA 2K10 or NBA Live 10.