Items tagged with Digital downloads
You may be in the minority if you still purchase hard copies of video games. The Entertainment Software Association's (ESA) annual report revealed that 74% of video game sales in the United States are digital. Digital content includes downloads, subscriptions, DLC, and mobile and social games. In 2016 American gamers spent $24.5 billion on content. The ESA also estimates that Americans spent $5.9 billion on hardware and accessories like VR devices. It is also believed that there are currently 65,000 employees at game companies, 2,322 developer locations, and 526 publisher locations across all 50 states. These companies contribute over $11.7 billion to the US GDP. The ESA also provided a number...
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The upcoming PS4 game Driveclub (currently scheduled for release in October 2014) is making waves for reasons that have nothing to do with its gameplay or development status. In a new video, the company has spelled out its free trial and upgrade policies, and the requirements are a doozy. First, the good news -- PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to download a demo of the game that contains a few maps and one trial area, India. If you choose to upgrade that version, the full title will cost you $50. Here's the catch -- that purchase is tied to your Playstation Plus subscription. In other words, if you stop paying Sony the official $49.95 a year for PlayStation Plus, you lose your $50 game....
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Years ago, you could walk into a computer store like Software Etc. and browse aisles and aisles of computer games and software. And today? Well, if you're a fan of boxed PC games, then taking trips to your local GameStop is a quick way to end up depressed, as the PC titles in most locations have been demoted to a single rack. Digital distribution is the wave of the future, and as far as Electronic Arts is concerned, that's where the focus should be. EA has said before that it believes digital downloads will overtake boxed game sales in the future, and lest anyone forgot, company COO Peter Moore recently reiterated that belief in an interview. According to Moore, that time is fast approaching....
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GameStop makes a killing selling used videogames, but what happens to that business model when digital distribution platforms run physical media out of town? That's not anything to worry about today, tomorrow, next week, or even next year, but at some point, GameStop will have to deal with the direction the games industry is headed, and it may already have a solution. GameStop CEO Paul Raines recently brought up the possibility of reselling used digital downloads. The idea is that GameStop could buy back your digital copy of any given game and then reissue the key to someone else. Obviously there are plenty of challenges involved, most of which relate to piracy, but GameStop sounds determined...
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If you need to beef up your games collection, now is the time to do it. Steam's annual summer sale is in full effect, and that means big savings on some top-notch titles from now through July 22, 2012. We're not talking minor reductions here either, but major discounts that include 75 percent off Portal 2 ($4.99), 50 percent off Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ($29.99), and 88 percent off the Sega Hit Collection ($49.99), to name just a few. There's something for everyone, from indie titles to blockbuster hits, and everything in between. New deals are highlighted every day, and you can vote on a 'Community Choice' discount every 8 hours. Today's Community Choice pick is Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon...
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To say that Steam is doing well would be like saying Bill Gates has a little bit of money saved up. You think? Steam isn't just doing well, it's growing at a phenomenal rate. According to Valve, there are now over 30 million active accounts on Steam, and growing. "Steam is on track to record the biggest year in its six year history," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. "The year has marked major development advances to the platform with the introduction of support for Mac titles, the Steam Wallet and in-game item buying support, and more. We believe the growth in accounts, sales, and player numbers is completely tied to this work and we plan to continue to develop the platform to offer more...
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Some may say that the physical disc still has a place in this world for years to come, and they're probably right. But to say that digital downloads aren't taking out a serious chunk of sales would be denying reality. iTunes alone has proven that digital downloads are capable of catching on, as Apple has already taken over Walmart as the world's largest seller of music. That said, music has been tied to downloading for a long, long time. Napster was booming years and years ago, but people haven't had the same kind of opportunity to grow used to downloading games. Of course, Steam has provided avid PC gamers with the ability to download titles to their hard drive, but console gamers haven't enjoyed...
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How do you stem a state's $15.4 billion budget gap? By implementing the age-old American tradition of creating new taxes, that's how! Because of the current state of the economy and New York State's dire budget woes, New York state residents might be surprised to find that Governor David Paterson's new $121 billion budget proposal looks to tax items and services that have been traditionally been tax free in the state, including digital downloads. According to Ron Deutsch, executive director of the New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness advocacy group, "the governor is nickel-and-diming working class families" with his new budget proposal.At this stage there is no guarantee that Governor Paterson's budget...
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