Issue #1
Ownership. Yes the number one issue with downloading a game is actual ownership. Again we'll ignore the fact that numerous phones/tablets to date (IE Apple Iphone) get away with charging real money and in return offer you something that is not only invisible but impossible to touch.
But this is common sense. Everyone in the world knows it yet I still hear the complaint. Is it valid? Yes. Is it alterable in any way? No, probably not. So what can developers/producers do to soften the blow of our real money being eaten by a virtual monster?
Well, for starters, looser restrictions on DRM is the obvious choice. Steam has already paved the way for the digital distribution highway. But let us peer deeper into the hole and realize how they've done it.
Promise
By now, anyone who has ever downloaded, used, or even been to Steam's website has more then likely seen the most important reason they've succeeded on the PC market. Physical computer games are not coveted as is their offspring the console games. And with rampant pirating, torrents, and other means of theft, owning a PC game in a case/box is like owning a music CD.
But still, games we own and games we rent/borrow (or possibly steal) are never the same as our own. What Steam provides is a legitimate way for honest folks to purchase and own (to some extent) content without the worry that one day things will vanish. They do this with a very simple promise. Well actually it is a behemoth sized promise that, if anything ever occurs, could be catastrophic nightmare. Not for players, their purchased content will be safe and able to re-download for a good while. No it would ultimately turn out bad for producers/developers who use Steam to promote sales, independent work, etc etc.
So what else is there but promise when dealing with ownership?
Price
Yes the old nickel and dime scheme repackaged and shoved down our throats in every facet of life. Taxes, finance charges, etc etc. Your cost of living can be nothing short of depressing at times. However our media doesn't have to be. Physical games have been dropping in price for last the few years, most hitting between forty to fifty dollars within a week or two. Majority of stuff will now hit rock bottom within a year. The only games that don't would be more exclusive (Nintendo/Sony) or online focused (CoD).
But what I hadn't discussed above is the second principle of Steam. And that my friends is sales. Real cost reductions, not some silly thirty percent a year later shtick you'll catch on the console market. Games can go for as little as a buck during these sales and please argue that you wouldn't buy Braid for two fifty or Company of Heroes for three just because you'll never see their box art.
The truth is that aside from a promise, price is the major contributor moving forward. For example. On the PSN right now you can purchase the original Prince of Persia Sands of time trilogy for a hefty forty dollars. Or you just finger stroll yourself to Amazon search PoP and grab the set for a few dollars cheaper.
While we're on the subject a major disservice has evolved at our thumbs. Content made BEFORE the game ships being cut out and delivered as DLC. And Content made AFTER the game ships being overpriced and stagnant.
Rule one in this war should be: Virtual games should never equal or surpass the price of Physical media. Period.
We all know how the old saying goes. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
Day One DLC
I'll tackle the first one real quickly. The truth is video game creation is a business. There is no true argument that can pierce holes into the walls of theft that we experience at the hands of these major players. Day one DLC is a joke. It is a serrated stick that is jammed between our butt cheeks as we hold our collective breath and pray. Project ten dollar from EA also falls into this category because, quite frankly, I feel they've been slicing some content in favor of a war they can't hope to win.
So let us move onto more pressing issues that can and must be resolved. Add-on content pricing.
Day Two DLC Pricing (after game ships)
I've heard the argument before that a movie at the theater costs forty dollars for a family of four and that because of this, anything you can buy for fewer then forty dollars now can be instantaneously justified. This is wrong. What people do and how they do it is their own business not mine but referencing one thing and comparing price of another does not an argument make.
See, if I were to compare equal components, I'd start at the source. Compare for a moment a game you love to its add-on. Let's go out on a limb and say you paid anywhere from ten, twenty, to thirty dollars for said game. For sake of time I'll just use Splinter Cell Conviction which I purchased last year at around Christmas time for a slim ten picking.
Okay so I crack open my ten dollar game, removing the plastic and carefully withdraw the disc, and slide it into my system. I play through the campaign (in this case about 5-8 hours long) and grab a bud and sit down for some co-op frenzy. Then I notice to my delight there is down loadable content. Joy! I scream. But upon opening the menu I find only misery. For you see, my ten dollar game has ten dollar DLC.
Let us use another example real quick.
Dante's Inferno, which I also purchased around the same time for about thirteen dollars, has content on the marketplace set at three, three, and five. What you receive in said packs are, one relic/one magic, one relic/magic, an extra character/trial runs/trophies respectively. So for eleven dollars without tax (if charged) you will get two extra relics (gimmicks) two extra magic spells (gimmicks) and a new character/trial runs (somewhat gimmicky).
I paid thirteen dollars and got four, possibly more, times the content that I will receive from this said add-on content. Why? Because add-ons are unfortunately priced to move as a percentage of their big brother/sister. In this case, the sixty dollar price tag. But remember when I said that tag never stayed for very long?
The worst part about this is that for the same price of content for either game I can go purchase one, or two games (if on 50% sale) from the same store that I would purchase the add-on. And believe you me, you'll find more in Beyond Good and Evil HD then you will in that miserable Dante's content.
[Edit: I forgot to mention Online Content as I've no interest in anything for or against it. Due to their innate re-playability cost here is covered by interest. If you like it, its ridiculously good. If you don't, it sucks. Simple as that.]
Day Three Content (As the years pass)
Covering both phases I think it is necessary for me to acknowledge game content that has passed the yearly cycle but still remains the same price. I mean have you ever put in an old game and clicked the blinking button (DLC) and witnessed the albatross that is peering back at you? Would it be so difficult to reduce this content, especially older unused stuff, every so often? I bet if nothing else you'd create more sales.
I'll go one step further and vehemently suggest that this content should slowly depreciated every year upwards to a dollar.
Price Overall
I think that the digital movement on games (actual arcade games. Not games on demand IE stuff that is both physical and digital) is fine. Five to ten dollars for an actual piece of work is great value. Fifteen dollars is a bit steep in my opinion and really should only be held as an absolute price when necessary (IE if you were delivering a mammoth sized game). Price on the actual content is a joke where its at right now. I think realistically, two to five dollars should be the most ever slapped onto such content that isn't a full blown expansion pack (See Oblivion/Dragon Age). Doing so would provide a much more receptive environment (at least in my opinion).
And things as they were, I didn't even get into the whole Capcom DRM/DLC policy/Paying for useless things like costumes/avatars/clothing for avatars/hats for avatars/and of course, naturally I leapfrogged around paying for benefits (PSN) and the ability to play online (XBL). Those are things that are best kept to the individuals who believe in them. Conversely, I can always come back and rant about such services at a later date.
Xbox live: Microsoft's digital system can be, at times, what we expect when we speak of strict, almost dictatorship like use of their content. What began with funny money evolved into user restrictions. Granted you can re-download anything as long as they host the servers and you can reclaim property over your content downloaded to different consoles once a year. And everything is tied to your login so migration isn't too troublesome. But things that once were on the marketplace eventually can and will disappear as legal battles, licenses expire, etc, create bubbles in the network. Add in financial pressure and even PC freebies get turned into a pot of points (money) and you soon realize why this growing age is a daunting one.
However Microsoft's network is the most reliable, fastest, and most intertwined (website usage/etc) thus making it very powerful and overall a very good service.
PlayStation Network: Ignoring glaring security issues, the PSN has the most flexible use of content out of the big three. With up to five systems able to register a single account, people have (add or subtract bias opinion regarding the matter) abused such a system for their own gain. But it is the right step forward regardless the opinion as it offers a customer more control over their console/multiple consoles. Whereas MS forces me to keep my gamer profile on a memory stick if I ever want to travel. Plus I can use real currency!
Nintendo Virtual Console/WiiWare: is a joke. Seriously let us just skip past this mess and continue on. No? Well...
Overpriced content? Check.
Sales? Never.
Login tethered to Console. Good luck migrating.
Memory? It was very little till they allowed us usage of a memory card. Now its "ok".
Payment? Well unlike PSN's real currency and MS's funny money, Big N opted for an easy to understand point system. That's a plus I guess.
Final thoughts:
I guess my point is that online content unlike physical content must be more ready to move, not sit there and grow stagnant waiting for a random sale. If any store acted as such they'd be permanently closed for business upon opening. But as I said. Folks are buying these things. They fuel everything with their most prized voice.
Their money.
-Rossini
/.Hopefully I covered everything I intended to./
*Content edited: Snide remarks about Politics/NFL Labor issues/Laws and regulations.
Reason: No reason given.
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