cut out the middleman

xauss

Why do developers / publishers of MMORPGs bother with retail?

i am at a loss to understand this... online gamers invariably have broadband (since dialup really isnt a viable choice for those who play MMOs) and thus digital distribution surely makes more sense. Yes i understand it is a revenue generator to recoup some of the massive costs within the first 6 months... so why not apply that to digital distribution and cut out the middle man, i mean they do it for a game 6 months after release... why not at launch?

By middlemen, i mean the retailer... and their cut of the RRP. now i dont know for sure what their cut is (maybe someone here does), but on a new release that sells ~$50 i would expect that would be at least $10, if not $15 per box... and then there is no need for manufactured CDs and boxes, or the transportation costs, thus wasting natural resources... the savings here of course are offset by the need for bandwidth and servers.

Therefore via digital distribution, publishers could either keep the retailers fee for themselves, or better still, halve the difference with the consumer in a win-win situation (lose for retailers). developers make more money faster, gamers get even better value for money

Of course DL servers need to be up in plenty of time prior to game servers going live to cope with demand. What do you think?

 

MMORPG.com's previous polls on the subject that dont mention any of the benefits of digital distribution OR the options do not relate to the initial question (i.e asking for preferance and then listing options of previous experience [2nd poll] )

Retail box or Download?

Retail Box 36.0%

Both 41.7%

Download 22.2%

 

What would you rather do, buy a game in a store, or download?

I usually download my games 27.7%

Depends on my mood. Sometimes one, sometimes the other. 31.1%

I usually buy my games in stores 41.3%

 

Would you lose respect for a game that distributes online and not in stores?

Yes 21.6%

No 78.4%

paulscott

I perfer monthly fee only.



but assuming I don't have to pay $45 for each download, I would rather live with that.

Gameloading

The reason for a retailer is to get the game to the masses. it seems that the majority of gamers still buy their software in stores instead of online. retailers are great advertisement.

xauss

Originally posted by paulscott

I perfer monthly fee only.



but assuming I don't have to pay $45 for each download, I would rather live with that.

 sorry - i am assuming games with a monthly fee here

take AoC, WAR, GnH, TCoS or PoTBS or any other of upcomming games that will have a monthly fee as potentials to be released digitally

specter843

You are on to something there but if it’s only 5 dollars then that’s not enough prerogative to make me want to buy it directly.

If its only 5 bucks more I may as well have the box / get it faster.

PunkMonk

I don't know, I always just feel more secure buying it at a store. Like, what if we all find out that PotBS is going to be a huge scam, like DnL, I can almost guarentee myself that a scam company would not go out of their way to make retail boxes to scam.

 

Also, I don't really mind spending $5 to drive over to Best Buy or  something.

xauss

Originally posted by specter843


You are on to something there but if it’s only 5 dollars then that’s not enough prerogative to make me want to buy it directly.

If its only 5 bucks more I may as well have the box / get it faster.

true... maybe publishers would pass on more of the 'retailers cut' on to the consumer and shift more units....

though i think if download servers were available for a week or two before game servers go live, its got to be easier to download a game in your own sweet time than drag yer lazy ass (not you specifically) to the shops (or pick up the phone!) 

Grunty

I want a box with a shiny disk inside.  Something I can hold onto and file away with the rest of my boxes and shiny disks.

Nevarion

Simple. Marketing still works better with a physically available 'thing' even if the target audience slowly shifts and recognizes other means of distribution and communication.

xauss

various people have mentioned marketing... thats true, though i think online players are increasingly aware of the net as the best source to get info, reviews etc on online games (and will continue to become increasingly so)

digital distribution could be a scam... unlikely if you have followed or beta'd a game

ownership of box and disk... you could burn a copy of the client, or just re-DL it as required (really you are paying for the key NOT the client)

Nevarion

Yup but leaving out any percentage of possible target audience due to a selective distribution method will cut your revenues short. At the end of the day it IS business.



Nevertheless that does raise the question why not offering BOTH ways same time? With the discount on online purchase of course.

But come to think about Burning Crusade launch day... what a load on the backbone! And then people would complain it is too slow or that they cannot connect or that their download got corrupted or or or...



Smart move there to just make it available in a boxed version. Digital distribution would have backfired and made for lots of flak from the less patient. Even sharing through bittorrent would force the user to utilize yet another way of acquisition (in cases).



I guess retail is just the easiest way to do and therefore the most safe to reach everyone you want.

Rabidaskal

In-store presence and merchandising is a BIG thing.  It builds credibility and word-of-mouth.  Yes it really is just advertising at the end of the day, but still, I remember being greeted by a 7-foot orc statue at my local game store soon after WOW was released, I couldn't help but be impressed.

You are correct in saying that the internet is the best place to get reviews and info on online games, but that doesnt mean that brick-and-mortar retail will suddenly go obsolete.  Its like in the 90s when people were trying to put up a dotcom to sell everything from cars to toe clippers, zomg people won't go to stores anymore, toeclippers.com is the FUTURE!  See where that got them

Bottom line people are creatures of habit and still like to look at and handle the item they're buying before deciding to buy.  Thats changing for sure, but it won't change 100% overnight.  In time it well, but not just yet.

elvenangel

While I agree Digital download is a viable choice and companies for MMO's atleast should offer it there are still Several places in America where you can't get broadband or you just can't afford it, plus some people like having the pretty box, instruction booklet and a disc incase something goes wrong. 

Buy cutting out the 'middle' man they'd still charge us plenty and it would save us maybe five to 10 dollars while in the process putting hundreds of teenagers and blue collar workers out of jobs.  Retailers are not the ones making the price go up infact in order to put the game on the shelves they spend 45 dollars per 50 dollar game.  Don't believe me?  Well I had researched into opening my own local game store / cafe at one point and I talked with a distrubuter (and I worked in a game store when I was younger).   Retailers are barely making a profit on the game, its why they're always asking if you'd like to buy MORE with your purchase then just the game.  Some of the bigger chains probably get a discount for every several thousand copies they buy but they still don't make that much.

BTW what do you mean retailers fee?  Retailers PAY to have the games in their story not the other way around.  The only time a game company pays a game store is to put the extra advertising up and that is not counted in the price of the game.

The problem with cutting out the middleman is you cut out alot of jobs, get alot of people fired which is way worse for the economy then saving us the consumer maybe 10 dollars.   

You'd probably cut out the 1 to 2 dollars it costs to make the a box, the maybe 3 dollar cost of a disc, but you'd have to pay a bitch load to make up for production costs of art, music, programmers, big wigs, etc etc.  The cost of running the Servers for the downloads are actually far more pricey than shipping since they'd have to pay for that server for well years compared to a few months or every few months.

While I wouldn't lose respect for a company that was digital download only, it would suck to suddenly not have my friends playing with me because their computer can't handle the download.   And it would really suck to suddenly not get games for christmas because my family is pretty clueless about online digital downloads. 

Course I'd also be a bit pissed off if something happened to my computer and i'd have to pay for the game all over again.