Digital Downloads Reign Supreme on PC

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Well, maybe not supreme, but the future is officially here.  PC games sold via digital distribution finally overtook boxed copies last month.  I, for one, couldn't be happier to see more people using digital distribution services.

I've been a long time supporter of Steam and they are, by far, the main reason that digital distribution has taken off for PC gaming.  They have a massive catalog of games that can be bought with the click of a button.  Not only bought, but linked to your account forever.  With Steam there's no need to worry about losing a CD or DVD or losing that string of alpha-numeric characters that lets you access your games.  Steam stores it all.

They also have fantastic prices.  Steam prices are almost always cheaper than finding the game elsewhere and they constantly have sales and specials.  Their collection of games under $10 is always worthwhile when looking for a cheap new title to try out.  And these are good games, they aren't cast off crap fests.  Developers see their game sales explode when they drop their prices and start selling via Steam.  It makes me think that the current price point for most games ($60) is way too high.  I bet companies could make more money selling games for less, simply because so many more people would buy their games.

For the record Steam isn't the only digital distribution out there.  Direct to Drive, Impulse, Good Old Games, and Blizzard are all viable distribution platforms as well.  Each of them has titles exclusive to only that service, but most games can be found a few different places.  I've just found Steam to have the best deals, interface, and game selection which is why it's my platform of choice.

Hit up some of the links above to see what you've been missing out on if you still buy your PC games at a brick and mortar store.  In the meantime I'll be celebrating, because the future is here now!

Comments

  1. SebastianOctober 4, 2010 at 4:15 AM

    Yes, Steam has some great features and a massive catalogue. However, the pricing policy has sparked quite a discussion over the last years. First, Steam does by far not always have the best prices. Many shops have regular sales specials with great savings too. Check www.deals4downloads.com for a quick overview. Also, Steam has a tiered pricing structure. That means gamers in Europe and even worse Australia pay much more than gamers in the US. Other Stores are more "progressive" in this area with flat prices e.g. GOG.com.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AndrewOctober 4, 2010 at 8:28 AM

    After playing a bunch of demos over the past week I'm wondering if the ability to release super-cheap games is leading to a lot of "clutter" and/or "shovelware" on Steam. (And if so, is it a bad thing?)

    There are a lot of great deals on there... but there also seem to be a lot of terrible games.

    Hmmm... sounds like I have a blog topic :P

    ReplyDelete
  3. VoidOctober 4, 2010 at 12:43 PM

    Some of the really cheap games are shovelware, but there are so many great games that I think it far outweighs sorting through some of the bad games. Most of the games in the featured or special deals sections are awesome.

    I'll have to check out the deals4downloads site too, it sounds like it could be a great resource.

    ReplyDelete

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