The gap between Digital Retail and Physical Retail

[Fletcher]

So with the use of Steam, Gamersgate and other digital distributers of games, the usage of downloading games over the use of physical media is becoming more commonplace. It does have many advantages, its cheaper to not manufacture thousands of disks and cases for the physical retail side of things and it is arguable easier to prevent piracy with.

However with the average speed of the internet barely hopping over the 1mbps mark in the western world (an assumption in my head), how can the digital media cope with such a huge bottleneck against the ease of use of a simple DVD installation.

That's not to say that physical media doesn't have problems, its usually plagued with anti-piracy software, trial/junkware, can be damaged or lost and once the DRM broken, the question of piracy flares up.

So right now do you prefer digital media or physical media distribution?


Personally, until we get higher speeds, which I can't see happening for another three to five years here in the UK at best, I prefer physical media distribution. Quick installation and can make easy backups.

You?

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Fletcher's Feedback and Stories Thread

[Alex.]

Digital. Steam or, dare I say it, BitTorrent. I'm not kidding when I say I have to ask my dad if I want to spend money on something. It's much easier to ask him to put his credit card details into Steam and give him the cash than going to a shop in town.



I just got this result, it's the highest I think I've ever seen it. Should go a LOT faster (maximum 20 Mb/s) when we get FTTC though.

[Fletcher]

Try Manchester or London where the 'local' Steam servers are, though I gotta say that's a good speed, you got the new Virgin or BT Infinity package?

I barely touch 800kbps at best.

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"Oh chuffing blimey, another day, another person being whiney!"
Fletcher's Feedback and Stories Thread

[Zelot]

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[Fletcher]

I envy you.

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"Oh chuffing blimey, another day, another person being whiney!"
Fletcher's Feedback and Stories Thread

[Alex.]

Try Manchester or London where the 'local' Steam servers are, though I gotta say that's a good speed, you got the new Virgin or BT Infinity package?

I barely touch 800kbps at best.

Nope, it's some sort of TalkTalk line.
London:
Manchester:

[Hades]

I also prefer Steam as well, it's a lot easier and quicker than going out to the store to buy a game.

[Linkus]

20 Mb fibreoptic from ol Virgin.
Actually quite impressed, it ought to sit around 17/18, the 'up to' clause is a wonderful clause.

I prefer a mix of digital and retail to be honest.
Game cases are just nice to look at and hold sometimes. Opening a package etc is a nice feeling.
Digital does make more sense and if they wanted to push it, they could remove the cost of the dvd and case.
It may be tiny but it might convince some to download instead.

When it comes to retail though, it's always bought online. It's rare to find good deals in normal game shops and when you do, you probably spent the difference in price on fuel or a bus ticket.

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[stardust47]

I'm using an old Wanadoo livebox, so I usually leave it overnight to download. But anyway, I prefer Steam because I can download my games to any PC I want and not have to worry about DRM in most cases.

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[Tathrim]

Hey ho for educational establishments......

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FACT: Space does not exist.
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