2014 Couldn't Escape Slumping Game Sales

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This article says that sales of games on disc declined in 2014 but you'll notice that digital downloads are actually up. I think this is just a sign of the times. How many games have you bought on disk compared to digital downloads?

Overall for the year, US sales of games on disc plummeted 14 percent, to $5.47 billion, while hardware sales jumped 20 percent, to $5.07 billion. That boost in hardware helped the industry squeeze out a 1 percent total increase in US retail sales. But that kind of increase likely won't repeat. Heading into 2015, the industry will have to contend with continued drops in the amount of money spent on hardware as consumers buy fewer consoles and as prices fall on consoles that do sell.
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I buy everything that I can on disc and will continue to do so as long as it is possible. The only exceptions are when Steam has a sale on something that makes it significantly cheaper than buying the disc. And I do buy (and sometimes sell) used games. I still think that digital services should be required by law to allow users to sell their licenses to other users, even if they have good sales as Steam does. Also, if discs go away and Steam gains more ground over even worse services such as Origin, Steam is going to have less of a reason to offer good sales at all.
 
Honestly, It is very very hard to find retail PC games now, which makes for the ful argument of why the digital sales are up.

Yes I know they are out there, but the 2-3 shelf rack of PC games at Gamestop, Bestbuy, Target, Walmart is disgustingly pathetic. They have a very limited selection of new titles, and then the regualer, aqssortment of 'Casino', Kids, and Puzzle games from 10 years ago.

I guess amazon would be a good spot to buy disc based PC versions.

I would hesitate against ebay, because the key would already be used and activated, or the disc would be damaged, wouldn't work or whatever.

Anybody else have any other options?
 
I haven't purchased a physical copy since Mafia 2 and that was an impulse buy. I've been buying digital for a long time now from all the differing services. It's just more convenient.
 
natos said:
Anybody else have any other options?
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The only option is to buy only games that don't have one-time activation - buying a disc only to find that it uses Steamworks and you thus still cannot resell it is BS.

The situation is just going to keep getting worse as long as most gamers buy from Steam because saving the 2-days Amazon's Prime shipping takes or spending 30 minutes going to the store is just not acceptable to them.

Personally I'm still playing a lot of old games and don't feel the need to play new games just because they are new. As far as I'm concerned, stuff like BF4 and Assassass's Creed can GTFO.
 
I can't remember the last physical disk i bought. It may have been City of Heroes some 5 years ago or some Command and Conquer set.
 
I bought a copy of Red Dead Redemption for Xbox 360 and that's it. Everything else is digital and purchased from Steam, GOG, Origin or Green Man Games. I never pay full price for digital.

Steam will never be a Microsoft-like monopoly because the cost to set up an online game storefront is so low. If we get to a point where Steam prices suck another competitor will knock them out.
 
I am a big fan of digital ... discs are not universally safe (they get lost, they get damaged, they degrade over time, etc) ... the convenience of having all my games in a digital library where they can be downloaded when they are needed far outweighs the potential risks of digital (which have yet to pan out on anything other than a couple of very obscure titles) ... I have actually replaced many of my physical discs over the years with digital versions because of the convenience of having them digital (Bioware/Black Isle D&D titles, Heroes of Might and Magic series, Civilization series, etc) ... the last physical copy I bought was D3 for the collectors edition (which is about the only time I will buy a physical disc these days ... for a collector's edition)
 
I buy only indie games on Steam, so basically Steam's function is that of an install file repository, no DRM, the install folder can run on its own, etc.

Big titles? I grab at $5 on clearance cause they deserve only rental price in my book. Dead space series, Bioshock series, Far Cry series, they're not that bad at such disposable prices imho, DRM or not.
 
Maybe people are coming to the realization that if you buy a game on disk the bastard still makes you download the entire game online.
 
kbrickley said:
I am a big fan of digital ... discs are not universally safe (they get lost, they get damaged, they degrade over time, etc) ...
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That is true. But here's the thing. No digital service - even relatively good ones like Steam - will last forever. Personally, I am DAMN good at keeping track of all my games (one good reason for this is that I never lend anything out even to very good friends) to the degree that Steam IS going to be out of business before I lose a game. Period.

If a disc goes bad, which is rare but not impossible, I will just download an ISO and not feel bad about it whatsoever.
 
I think the last PC game I got a physical copy of was the Half Life 2 Orange Box when it came out, which I believe was 6 or 7 years ago.
 
natos said:
Honestly, It is very very hard to find retail PC games now, which makes for the ful argument of why the digital sales are up.

Yes I know they are out there, but the 2-3 shelf rack of PC games at Gamestop, Bestbuy, Target, Walmart is disgustingly pathetic. They have a very limited selection of new titles, and then the regualer, aqssortment of 'Casino', Kids, and Puzzle games from 10 years ago.

I guess amazon would be a good spot to buy disc based PC versions.

I would hesitate against ebay, because the key would already be used and activated, or the disc would be damaged, wouldn't work or whatever.

Anybody else have any other options?
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Don't forget that even places where you can buy physical copies, it's rare to see those copies discounted anywhere near as greatly as digital versions are on the very same site. It's common to see PC games on Amazon where the digital version is less then half the price of the physical one.
 
ONE

Because EA/Origin can't figure out 'gifting'. It was the only way to send DA:inquisition to my daughter. :rolleyes:
 
I haven't bothered with disc based PC games in years. I mean, like Civ V at launch (I either didn't notice it was Steam, or someone got it for me as a gift, cannot remember).

Consoles however, I get EVERYTHING on disc if I can. Can't resell digital download games, duh. I don't keep console games, when I'm done they are on ebay and outta here.
 
I have been on the digital download train for a while now.

While I agree it is far more convenient, I love not having to keep track of disks and game keys. Not having to patch your game yourself is a great time saver. I do miss the tactile element and experience of buying a physical copy.

I also feel for anyone that has download caps, with the size of some games passing 50Gb all it would take is a few games in a month and burn all your data.
 
I stopped buying PC games at retail when they all started requiring Steam installs anyway. What is the point of buying the disk when it can never function as a standalone game.

When I want something new, I always check GOG first. If they don't have it, I wait for a Steam sale. The great thing about GOG is that I can download the drm free files and store them on my backup server(aka old ass PC with multiple hard drives for redundancy.) This to me is a much safer way of ensuring that the game will be available than risking damage to a physical disk.

As for console gaming, I never purchase digital content as I don't want MS or Sony one day deciding they don't have to offer the digital stuff I already paid for to me anymore. The great thing about still having a Genesis, Saturn, and GBA SP is that those games will always work as long as the console is still working and I can always buy or repair my console. I can't do that for these newer systems.

To the point, for me purchasing DRM free on GOG is just the best way to buy games these days.
 
frelled said:
I stopped buying PC games at retail when they all started requiring Steam installs anyway. What is the point of buying the disk when it can never function as a standalone game.

When I want something new, I always check GOG first. If they don't have it, I wait for a Steam sale. The great thing about GOG is that I can download the drm free files and store them on my backup server(aka old ass PC with multiple hard drives for redundancy.) This to me is a much safer way of ensuring that the game will be available than risking damage to a physical disk.

As for console gaming, I never purchase digital content as I don't want MS or Sony one day deciding they don't have to offer the digital stuff I already paid for to me anymore. The great thing about still having a Genesis, Saturn, and GBA SP is that those games will always work as long as the console is still working and I can always buy or repair my console. I can't do that for these newer systems.

To the point, for me purchasing DRM free on GOG is just the best way to buy games these days.
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I can pretty much agree with all of this. As far as digital downloads go, DRM free stuff from GOG is great and their prices are good. Steam sales occasionally beat them but Steam can be really annoying when I want to play a single-player game (say Recettear - been playing that lately) and it refuses to open because Steam comes up with some stupid unable-to-connect error even when my internet connection and PC are functioning perfectly and I haven't been disconnected from anything (like IRC). Usually when that happens it works on the second or third try, but it's really annoying and not a problem with non-Steam games, including GOG.

GOG is my service of choice when I can't get a non-Steamworks disc.
 
dandragonrage said:
That is true. But here's the thing. No digital service - even relatively good ones like Steam - will last forever. Personally, I am DAMN good at keeping track of all my games (one good reason for this is that I never lend anything out even to very good friends) to the degree that Steam IS going to be out of business before I lose a game. Period.

If a disc goes bad, which is rare but not impossible, I will just download an ISO and not feel bad about it whatsoever.
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Certainly GOG represents an alternative for some games for those with extreme Steam aversions ... but Steam has also stated before that they would unlock all games if they ever went out of business (and given Gabe Newell's strong support of gamers I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt) ... as with most things there are pros and cons for digital ... for me personally the pros far outweigh the cons but of course for others they may have different considerations
 
Discs as a means of distribution is painfully obsolete, and something that should be relegated to console peasant usage only in 2015.

And if you want a permanent digital copy of your game, I don't see an issue with that, but also don't see why that can't be accomplished with digital downloads... you download a copy and store it on your server or cloud if you want.

Regarding being able to play the game 20 years from now, good luck. Virtually every game is either multi-player only or has always on DRM, so when the community at large is done with the game, its dead one way or another. At that point if you really still want it, only the pirates would really be able to play anyway with their cracked copies.
 
dandragonrage said:
You have no idea what you're talking about.
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I think you forgot to quote "either multi-player only or has always on DRM". Point is that with the trend, when the servers go offline, you're screwed anyway trying to reinstall a legitimately purchased game regardless, unless as said you just go ahead and pirate it at that point.

How many decent games last year could you install without an internet connection? I only play Starcraft 2 single-player, but that doesn't mean I don't need an internet connection and battlenet servers up and running.
 
Ducman69 said:
I think you forgot to quote "either multi-player only or has always on DRM". Point is that with the trend, when the servers go offline, you're screwed anyway trying to reinstall a legitimately purchased game regardless, unless as said you just go ahead and pirate it at that point.

How many decent games last year could you install without an internet connection? I only play Starcraft 2 single-player, but that doesn't mean I don't need an internet connection and battlenet servers up and running.
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Yeah, I shortened the quote a bit more than I should've and there's no edit button. However you only would believe that if you played certain games. If you opened your eyes to all the games you ignore, you'd find that your statement would still be untrue.
 
I think I actually spent about the same on digital downloads and on physical game carts (retro games) last year ... maybe more actually .. I have soo many digital games in my steam library i really don't need to buy more right now
 
Disk sales down 2%, digital sales up 11%, both around $1.2B, looks like growth to me!

I don't think I've bought a disk game in over two years. I've been able to play my single player offline games just fine with Steam (Torchlight, Shadowrun) when I don't have a net connection for years. It was buggy at first but that is long past. Still, GoG DRM-free is a nice way to go and I've re-bought games on there I can't find the disks for anymore. Origin I try to avoid as it's still a steaming pile of crap code with DRM all over.
 
Destiny is the only digital game I bought this year and only because they heavily discounted it in december.

I'll keep my disc's.
 
The last physical PC game that I purchased was Fallout New Vegas. Ever since that purchase, all of my PC game purchases have been through steam or GOG. I only use Origin to grab the on the house games. All of my console games that I purchase are physical copies outside of the free monthly games they Sony & MS gives out. They are easier to manage on a shelf :p.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Destiny is the only digital game I bought this year and only because they heavily discounted it in december.

I'll keep my disc's.
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:p

dinosaur-computer.jpg
 
Steve said:
How many games have you bought on disk compared to digital downloads?
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Last game I bought with a disc was Skyrim. Entered the product key into Steam and never actually used the disc.
 
kbrickley said:
:p

dinosaur-computer.jpg
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I don't really care, I don't like how intrusive the current digital platforms are for one and mostly I absolutely will not pay $60 for a game digitally when I get the disc for the same amount. I would Far rather have a box and enjoy the act of opening it if I'm not getting any discount. If they want to convert me at least somewhat more to digital they need to stop robbing people and charging significantly less. I may be a dinosaur but at least I'm not the sucker getting taken advantage of by them charging the same amount for something that costs them drastically less to distribute.
 
I have to accept hard copies of games only and since if I am requesting them for a birthday present.
 
plummeted 14 percent
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I love when news articles use hyperbolic language to describe relatively minor changes. 14% doesn't seem like "plummeted" to me. New consoles are out but new games aren't yet, and lots of what was released in 2014 was buggy or broken, no surprise that software sales slipped.
 
Rizen said:
I love when news articles use hyperbolic language to describe relatively minor changes. 14% doesn't seem like "plummeted" to me. New consoles are out but new games aren't yet, and lots of what was released in 2014 was buggy or broken, no surprise that software sales slipped.
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In our broken world of Keynesian economics, we "must" have growth of everything all the time even if population and demand don't grow. It's a completely fucked up model and businesses can be screwed over if they don't grow, even if they also don't shrink. To modern businesspeople, even a 1% drop is a catastrophe. The entire economy is one giant Ponzi scheme.
 
frelled said:
I stopped buying PC games at retail when they all started requiring Steam installs anyway. What is the point of buying the disk when it can never function as a standalone game.

(SNIP)
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THIS! When I bought supreme commander 2 and it had to download a ton of stuff and install to steam, I was like "Why the hell would you even include the disc?!"

And console gaming is just as bad now. Halo MCC had another 20gb download. The really crappy thing about that is some people have download caps. (which, imho is incredibly stupid)
 
I buy all of my games digitally because I don't want to be seen in the video game aisle of a store.
 
Wierdo said:
I buy only indie games on Steam, so basically Steam's function is that of an install file repository, no DRM, the install folder can run on its own, etc.

Big titles? I grab at $5 on clearance cause they deserve only rental price in my book. Dead space series, Bioshock series, Far Cry series, they're not that bad at such disposable prices imho, DRM or not.
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Lol what do you mean "they're not that bad at such disposable prices"? Almost any gamer would say all Bioshock games are worth a good $30+, many would say the same for the Far Cry and Dead Space series. Honestky, your as bad as pirtaters. You're not supporting gaming at all, and in fact even go so far as to say what I quoted.

I'm not saying you should not game, but I think you should just keep your terrible opinions to yourself.
 
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