http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9099319
I mostly had you guys in mind when I wrote this, so, enjoy. :)
Buying a console (or just digital) game and having a portable is what they're trying to do with the PS3 / Vita setup.
I can see the allure but really, I think portable and console gaming is and should be different.
I also believe there's value in buying boxed product and getting a digital pass with that, then having a cheaper digital option to support it.
It's sensitive because retail is so opposed and scared of digital, but they need to either adapt fully or wait for the demise.
I really hope we don't ever go purely digital, but I do know that the next generations are going to change this a lot so get ready.
It doesn't affect us much as retro gamers, but it WILL affect hopw you consume that next generation of content, like it or lump it.
Lastly, you read a lot about publisher greed etc. I'd mention that this change in digital and pre-owned is being borne out of necessity, not out of greed.
If games can't pay for themselves, something has to change. I'm all for Steam current-gen gaming and cartridge based retro gaming myself.
Quote from: L___E___T on May 03, 2012, 11:00:54 am
It doesn't affect us much as retro gamers, but it WILL affect hopw you consume that next generation of content, like it or lump it.
(http://www.topatoco.com/graphics/00000001/cg-lumpit.jpg) (http://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CG-LUMPIT)
I'm with you on that - it's actually driven me more into retro gaming.
When the next generation hits I'll just sell all my current gen stuff, I've deliberately not gotten attached to it for that reason.
Quote from: L___E___T on May 04, 2012, 02:21:24 am
I'm with you on that - it's actually driven me more into retro gaming.
When the next generation hits I'll just sell all my current gen stuff, I've deliberately not gotten attached to it for that reason.
Pretty lame reason to miss out on a lot of great games. :upsetroll:
*If you don't wish to hear my rant about why digital distribution is evil, please skip to section 2 below*
Digital Games have absolutely zero monetary value to me. Sure, I've downloaded a few E-Shop unique exclusives but I accepted at the time of purchase that it was just a rental.
I always thought that the idea of people paying for roms was ridiculous.
I'm a collector, and I'm no fool. We all know this is about eliminating the production/shipping costs for the big 1% and eliminated the 2nd party resale value of YOUR OWN asset that you purchased.
I'd love to sit down and play the USA version of Mega man the Wily wars on Genesis, but that darn X-Band just can't save me now. For us adult gamers that have lived before the inception of the first flawed forms of digital distribution, you have to wonder how long your account data *if any* will be saved on file so that you can retrieve these roms you purchased today in 20 years from now. The 3DS console is plagued with manufacturing flaws, and you can only do a system transfer up to 5 times max. My first 3DS had a floppy hinge, my second 3DS had a floppy hinge and mismatched screen brightness, my 3rd had a firm hinge but a crooked bottom screen, my fourth had a floppy hinge and a crooked screen, and my 5th has a *nearly* firm hinge. If something happens to this one I'm SOL. We all will want to upgrade when they add the 2nd analog stick, lower or eliminate the bottom screen border that scratches the top screen and supply firm hinges for all users.
Now, whether my 3DS problems are just sheer bad luck or that I'm just too darn picky, nothing will help me in 10 or so years when I could possibly have an emergency and need to sell that special unique or rare game on eBay for a few Benjamins that I was lucky enough to coincidentally be the owner of. Anybody care to sell me their copy of Pushmo?
There is no long term investment in DLC. Gaming isn't about investment, but lets just be freaking honest here, who would buy "digital" trading cards? I bought some Pokemon cards when they were brand new, and I was quite pleased to find that years later that a 1st edition Charizard card sitting in my shoebox was desirable.
Some people will not agree with me, and that's fine. For me, I'd rather own real tangible media over an "official" or unofficial ROM any day of the week. No matter what I will never truly feel like I own a DLC game, there is no soul or pride of ownership.
Please look at your game collection whether it be rare or common and just take a wild guess on how much it is all worth combined minus the monetary resale values of the gaming consoles themselves. If you needed to part with it all for an emergency, even if you don't break even for your initial purchase price of entry, what do you think you might be able to get on a quick 3-day eBay auction for everything? Heck, let's make matters worse and think about what you might get at a pawn shop or Game-Stop trade-in values?
Now pretend that your entire collection was DLC.
Section 2:
I am on board with Nintendo's perspective of allowing collectors like myself to buy a tangible copy while others can buy digital for convenience. As a matter of fact, that helps make the tangible copies even more rare. What I'm just not for is the 100% digital age, nor do I like 100% DLC exclusive titles. I'm going to even step this up a notch, I would be happy if they brought back the Famicom Disk / Lawson's Super Fami/GB Writer concept. That saves on developer induced minimum manufacturing quota costs at least. I don't mind if the physical copy is $5 to $10 more, digital copies should honestly be sold at a discount. Whether you're a stubborn collector or not, I'm sure we can all agree that DLC versions of the game should be at least $5 less than physical copies.
Just let picky people like me have my inconvenient physical copy so that in 20 years I can hold it in my hand and say to myself "Yes, I really do own this", and someone else can also own it too if I ever wish to part ways with MY real game that I bought with my own real money.
For me I LOVE having movies in digital format I hate going through endless dvd collections to find the movie I want to see. But for video games I love having separate cartridges. I only use my powerpaks / flash carts for the sake of not worrying about losing my savegame data and playing great homebrews / hacks. Still there's a lot of people out there who prefer having their games in digital format so I'm glad classic games are being offered in this format as nobody should miss out on true classics.
If the world goes digital only then that's fine that just means that nobody cares about physical copies anymore. I'll just keep collecting old stuff where the physical copies last forever.
I think digital distribution is horrible honestly. I'm much more of a music collector than I am a video game collector, and I've paid upwards of $50 for a record but I would never pay 1 penny for a mp3 file. Games are the same way, except I'm forced to pay for the digital files of games that are only released that way. If gaming piracy was as easy as music piracy I'd never pay for a game either. ;D
I'm honestly not sure that I mind if new games are digital.
I like that I have so many NES cartridges, because I get nostalgic for my childhood and for that era of gaming in general. I want to relive that experience, to an extent, and to do so with ROMs or Virtual Console releases feels inauthentic. Yes, the game is the same -- maybe even less frustrating due to save states and the like -- but without shoving that cartridge into the console and sitting in front of an old TV, without feeling that boxy controller in my hands and dealing with long, annoying passwords, it just isn't the same. It's the same game, but the game alone is not enough to relive the experience.
At a certain point, though, I care less about cartridges. I think the DSi was the turning point. I just bought games from the online store and played them that way. To me, the DSi experience was about having a bunch of games and apps on the main menu when I booted it up. It was about spending $5.99 for a shorter game. When I bought my 3DS, I didn't transfer the software. It would feel weird to have all of those games/apps on a different device. It would feel weirder to have a DSi with nothing on it.
If my DSi were to lose all of its games due to some freak accident or random hardware death, then, guess what? Piracy to the rescue! While ROMs are certainly sleezy, they do have some good to them: preservation! I could simply download my old games and use whatever piracy method works to get the games back onto the DSi. In an era where I acquired my games digitally anyway, the experience wouldn't be lessened at all. The fact that I have to rely on piracy is unfortunate, I'll admit, mostly because the lack of an adequate backup feature is an artificial limitation placed upon digital releases.
Games digitally work much better than cartridges or discs, 1) they load faster, 2) there's no worrying if it gets scratched or stops working and 3) being digital works on whichever system it was bought for (unless it has limitations of how many copies may be downloaded).
The price is the big issue for me, the games should in fact be much cheaper than the physical copy because it's ONLY the game itself, there's no box, cover, manual or disc, at all.
Anywho, digital is the future like or not.
Quote from: son_ov_hades on May 05, 2012, 07:14:27 am
I think digital distribution is horrible honestly. I'm much more of a music collector than I am a video game collector, and I've paid upwards of $50 for a record but I would never pay 1 penny for a mp3 file. Games are the same way, except I'm forced to pay for the digital files of games that are only released that way. If gaming piracy was as easy as music piracy I'd never pay for a game either. ;D
that's what makes games so brilliant. They all need a custom piece of hardware to run so unless you can find a way to get your console to run copied software you're forced to pay.
Quote from: fromjapanwithpixels on May 04, 2012, 08:54:56 am
Quote from: L___E___T on May 04, 2012, 02:21:24 am
I'm with you on that - it's actually driven me more into retro gaming.
When the next generation hits I'll just sell all my current gen stuff, I've deliberately not gotten attached to it for that reason.
Pretty lame reason to miss out on a lot of great games. :upsetroll:
That's not the real reason I'll be missing out, it's lack of time mainly.
I do try to play most good games I can get or want, but I can't play the top ten list every year.