Fairly well-known in foreign circles Gameranx gaming channel (. 3 million 245 thousand subscribers) wondered – why digital copies of games are almost the same as and individuals?
Downloading games in the life of every modern gamer occupies an increasingly important place. Going to the store is often simply too lazy, and some of the projects are located in the indigestible time, such as 00:00 – will not you at this moment to be on duty at any electronics supermarket? Digital and physical copies – as heaven and earth. First you as though it were not. The second warms the soul, but her need to go somewhere, moreover, it may be scratched or gnawing dog.
But something that the total is still there: the price. However, as the industry justifies the price and the same air drive? The production of a physical product (DVD) leaves a certain amount of materials and energy. Of course, packaging and DVD – by-products of the oil industry, almost no waste. However, laser deposition – is a little more complex technology, and, ultimately, the cost of one game (without a titanic intellectual labor) is $ 5.
Given today’s unlimited tariff, downloading 10 – no more than 50 gigabytes worth just a few cents. So why not make a digital copy of the standard $ 5 cheaper? After all, with the spread of online do not have to pay for warehouse logistics and establish hiring appropriate staff – it is also very significant savings.
So, the cost of production – zero, warehousing and transportation costs – the same zero. Whence then this equalization of prices? It sounds terribly corny, but you must understand that the goal of the company – do not make video games. The real purpose of the company – to show the maximum profit to shareholders. Or owners, if a publisher is not traded on the stock exchange. So if there are two identical shareware product, rest assured that the price tag will be exhibited on the top plate.
Of course, the game can create and individuals. Sometimes talented people gather in groups, and their creations are transformed into imperishable hits – like the original Doom. Then the activities of fellow team quickly finds a structured corporate nature, some of them are overgrown with Ferrari and homes in California, there is a hierarchy, and everything turns into a big business – and here we are back to the idea of maximum profit.
But even that is not the point. We’re not talking about the cost of the games themselves, but about the strange phenomenon of air equating to a physical medium. The root of the problem is that to Steam, PS Store and Xbox Live was only one type of store – actually, shops. The fact that the Western practice is called brick and mortar, that is made of bricks and cement.
And the classic retailers costs just enormous: rent, salary and personnel management, product logistics, compliance with various norms, prescribed by the City Commission, and so on. Of course, Amazon is already creating physical stores without the staff, but this is irrelevant that does not matter. If you go back to the classic patterns like GameStop, it should be said that their goal – the maximum profit, not the fulfillment of desires naughty gamers.
The idea is that if Sony and Microsoft in one day decide to compete with the shops by price dumping, retailers immediately encounter a very serious problem. So what stops the two industry giants? Therefore, they do not say: “You know what? We do not need these old guys. Digital distribution – this is the future, so let’s just them and engage. ”
Suppose digital copies would have been about a third cheaper – 2750 rubles. instead of 4,000 rubles. Yes, in this case, the usual shops just used extinct for a few months: such stiff competition they simply can not afford. However, in this whole situation there is one important “but”: the physical retailers have the answer.
The new console, Sony or Microsoft can not be downloaded from the Internet. Of course, online sales of this kind of technology is also growing, but mostly she still bought the old fashioned way – in the shops. Therefore, the partnership turns mutually beneficial, and it is unlikely one party will make too sharp attacks on the other side.
In addition, do not underestimate the importance of the psychological effect of over-HYIP, presentations and queues. Many people like to go to the shops, turn a box with wheels in their hands, to figure out how it will look on the shelf. Major Event – another key point. It’s one thing – just look at the timer on Steam. It’s quite another – to be involved in the launch of sales of your favorite games, just fight with other fans of the first physical copy.
If all of this will disappear or mutate, and eventually moved to the Internet, sales may fall significantly. Gamers who are accustomed to consider themselves part of a community, to react badly when they realize that their “sub-culture” (numbering hundreds of millions of people) finally lost bind to real life.
HYIP, or overly high expectations that whatsoever – a very interesting phenomenon. This double-edged sword. On the one hand, overhayp around the game often brings to the trouble – to take at least the same No Man’s Sky, promising endless space, and it is clear that issued …. On the other, such as excessive expectations on consoles is almost always justified by objective reasons.
