Michael Corvin

Blizzard is a PC company. It's fairly common that a PC is connected to the net. Not the same for a console. Not exactly a fair comparison.

al_bundy

consoles have had internet access for almost 10 years and people still play Starcraft

For as long as i've played Blizzard's games they have always been late to ship from the original announced shipping date. but the games have always been designed to give you years of use. unlike a lot of other games where you can beat it in a few days and then there is nothing else to do.

if you don't want people reselling your game, design it so that people can play it for years

SunMonkey

To be fair, you can't resell World of Warcraft or the expansions. I wouldn't be surprised if they did something like Valve and required installation tied to an account for Diablo III and Starcraft 2, or at least make online play limited to one account per copy.

But yeah - make a game people want to continue to play and they won't sell it.

pinata242

Good point. On the flip side, I'm sure there are many people that wouldn't buy games new if they couldn't turn around and resell them in a few days or weeks.

Michael Corvin

And you missed the point completely. Just a wild guess but I would say 98% of home computers are online. Consoles that are connected, especially 10 years ago would be a fraction of that number. Sony & MS boast a 50% rate this gen but how many of those are multiple accounts on the same console? It's also a lot easier for a PC company to continually support their game for years than they can on consoles.

A PC vs. console debate isn't comparable when it comes to digital distribution, IMO.

al_bundy

there is no reselling of iphone games and i don't buy a lot. i'll usually wait until the original price drops to $2.99 or so. they higher the price the more risk is there for me so i wait.

most PC games i'll wait until at least the first patch with all the crazy DRM/optical drive problems

pinata242

Yet.

5 years ago consoles were just barely beginning to go online, now it's a staple and goes a long way to determining a title's longevity.

5 years ago there was no DLC or digital distribution at all, now all the major titles are bolstered by after-market sales. There are people that only got into a 360 or PS3 for the promise of XBLA and PSN, respectively.

All 3 major consoles have given back catalogs via digital distribution (VC, Xbox Originals, PS1 classics).

Xbox Originals has evolved to current-gen distribution with Games on Demand.

I think there's a lot of room for advancement in this area over the next 5 years if the last 5 is any indication.

Raul3

I'm all for digital distribution if that means lower prices for us.

Imagine all games under $40.

GoVegan

With no physical media, there'd be no drive to empty shelves of older titles, though. How often does iTunes reduce the price of albums?

Raul3

You should actually compare it to the Application Store in the iPhone or Steam. Both of them have sales, for different reasons, pretty often.

GoVegan

Oh. Good. I actually don't use iTunes, Steam, App Store, etc. so I was genuinely curious about sales. I'd like to see a lower price point, too, but my concern was that prices would remain at those levels.

al_bundy

for the app store there are sites like appshopper. you tell them which apps you want to monitor, and they send you an email when it goes on sale

DaveWadding

from the GameStop is Vile & Disgusting file:

I have been trying to sell my copy of GH5 (360), So I've been checking TIVs (since Amazon isnt taking trades on it for some reason)...everywhere I've been has offered me $25 for it. Except GameStop. Their quoted TIV? $16.25

I laughed and walked out of the store.

orangecrush

I actually bought a used DS Lite at Gamestop yesterday. They had about 15 and I was able to look at 10 before I found one with a flawless screen and tight hinges. I took a trip to Target before hand and picked up 4 clearanced games to trade in. The target trip made my out of pocket cost about $25 cheaper thanks to the trade 4 next gen games, get an extra $20 promo going on right now. I was going to trade in a bunch of PSP games, but even Amazon offers a higher TIV than what gamestop did.

All that is to say that they aren't that bad to me. I only go there when there is a good promotion going and I always get a very good deal from them. I don't take unfair trade in values and am well versed at saying I don't want the edge card.

The Bus

I think the last time I bought something from Gamestop was Rock Band 2.

The Bus

Relevant video is between 2:30 and 5:00. For the lazy: A Gamestop manager went to Mom-n-Pop stores buying up their copies of MW2 that they had out early.

foxdvd

Wow..that might be the worst produced show I have ever seen with actual production cost. That being said, I don't see how gamestop is in the wrong here. They are being told by game manufacturers that if they see anyone with the game out early, let them know.

Fandango

That's not even the worst part, they ratted the store out to Activision and they won't be getting games in the future now.

foxdvd

How is that bad?

foxdvd

Just to add to my last statement, how is this not more in Activision's court and not Gamestop?

Fandango

If Gamestop never reported them they would still be getting games would they not?

maxfisher

If Gamestop had broken the street date and Mom-n-Pop stores reported them, causing Activision to delay future shipments to Gamestop, would you be as upset? Just because they're the bigger entity doesn't automatically put them in the wrong.

foxdvd

So a store violates a contract with Activision. Gamestop complains to Activision. Activision tells Gamestop to report anytime they see someone do this. They do this. Activision stops selling the store games. To me, the only one doing anything wrong here is the store selling the game early. Maybe that store is almost out of business because of Gamestop, but if the only way you can stay in business is to violate contracts, then they probably need to look for something else to do. A lot of small game stores have gone out of business because of Gamestop, AND Wal-Mart AND amazon...AND ebay...

The only thing Gamestop did here is be a snitch..and snitching was not in any way an effort to cheat or hurt someone maliciously, but only to protect their own business. True it is a business that pisses a lot of people off, but that is the price you pay in a free society... this happens all the time. Coke and Pepsi do the same thing to their independent bottlers and distributors when it comes to shipping product into another bottlers area. Pepsi and Coke do not enforce this, they ask the bottlers to report it back to them when someone violates the contract.

pinata242

It just seems petty of Gamestop. Do they really need to make those moves? They've got the market dominated. Take trade-ins, open at midnight, keep the uninformed consumer market and be happy.

Fandango

How many times have you gone to a Gamestop looking for a new release and have them tell you they only have copies for pre-orders? This happens to me almost every time. Now if they aren't selling copies to walk in customers what business are they losing to stores that sell it early?