UMD/PSP(Patapon 2) games to be digitally distributed...ONLY!

[HellHammer]

So after being disappointed about the rumor/idea that PSP UMDs will soon be download ONLY, I went in search of other opinions on the soon-to-be-released, but only in digital form, Patapon 2 and I came across an odd comment.

"Sure, UMD collections look nice, but if Sony started putting all of its games on PSN, I would have to go with that. It would most likely cost less, and run faster, and you wouldn't have to worry amount UMD condition or keeping track of them."

I was confused. Is this the general consensus about DL only games? It can't be.

Just 'nice to look at'? Physical UMD collections are something that you can actually own. Something you can play, as well as something of value. And 'most likely cost less'? Sony already sells PSP titles for full price on the PSN. And in addition, your purchase decreases immediately to absolutely nothing, in terms of resale value. You could go download LoCoRoCo 1 on PSN for $22.99, or alternatively go buy it cheaper (for like $9) from a store or friend. But at the end of the day, your online purchase is something you don't tangibly own. (Not to mention that if all UMD based games were only available for digital distribution, you wouldn't even have the option to shop around for the best deal any longer.) You can't loan it to your sibling, sell it to your friend, or trade it in towards something new.

To add to this is the simple fact that, at some point, your console will die or become unplayable. Systems malfunction, data gets corrupted, buttons break, screens age, rechargeable batteries die out and eventually the manufacture isn't able or willing to repair obsolete consoles. If you'd like to play the digitally distributed game, let's say 10 or 12 years from now, you'd have trouble playing it, assuming it was still sitting in the internal memory of a broken or unplayable system. Look at the SFC Satellaview or Genesis' Sega Channel. Digital distribution seemed like a terrific idea and they both had some great software, yet here we are, no more than 15 years down the road, and no one is able to play those games efficiently or legally. If they had been released in a physical form, people would have the chance to actually enjoy them, you wouldn't have to go through all the rom hacks and emulator shenanigans to just play them. You wouldn't have to check wikipedia to know what I'm even talking about.

Limiting games to being download only doesn't make sense to me. I understand the convenience of having several games on your system, without having to carry them around. But doesn't it make more sense to just provide the game in a physical form, and then allow people who buy it to access a download version as well? I've read about several musicians and artists who sell their albums on CD or vinyl and include a code or key to download the same album on itunes or whatever. That seems more reasonable to me...

So, rather than argue back and forth with said person, I figured I'd ask some like minded video game collectors/players about their thoughts on the subject. I respect the hell out of the opinions of the regular posters here and I'd like to know your opinion on games that are to be digitally distributed games that would otherwise be unavailable. Thanks!

[Dakinggamer87]

I'm gonna get original Patapon first then play this..

I'm not looking forward to all games being available through digital distribution..

[otaku]

this is going to piss alot of psp owners off! Otherwise its a fine tool imo unless of course you want to be able to sell or collect the games beyond a memory stick. HOpefully it will lead to a bigger better library with lower prices

[General Chaos]

I might pick up the PAL version. I'm pretty sure it's a full UMD release.

I like the conveinence of digital distribution, but on the other hand as a collector I also like having something physical to put on the shelf, so to speak.

[Limewater]

I'm really not surprised.

We're going to have the same problem a few years down the road with games that were shipped incomplete and rely on downloadable content to really work properly.

I am sure everyone on the board prefers to have a physical copy of the game, but in a lot of ways digital distribution makes a lot of sense from the perspective of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. They benefit from there being no secondary market for their products. They likely view those of us still playing Super Mario Bros. on the NES as people who would have bought it on the Wii if it weren't for those pesky cartridges.

Used video games are a huge business, but the people making the games don't really get a slice of it. Digital Distribution cuts out the middle man, giving higher margins and keeping more of the profits in the hands of the people working to make the games.

I don't buy new games very often at all. The last one I bought was "Sam & Max: Season One", and then I waited until it was finished and on the shelf before purchasing it rather than going through Telltale Games' digital distribution channel. (Yes, I know they promised to send a physical copy if you subscribed to the game, but at the time there were other factors as well).

If they switch to digital distribution only, I'll just settle for playing the hundreds of older games for which I have physical copies. It will be a bit of a shame for me, but the big guys won't miss me. They're barely making a dime off me as it is.

[PhilExile]

This is probably due to UMD having failed as a medium. Originally, I think Sony thought that movies would be a big hit on it. Not the case.

Sony is most likely looking at where they can cut cost and I bet a big UMD factory is looking wasteful these days.

[Ziggy]

Sony is a piece of shit to start with. Why the hell would I want to buy a proprietary UMD movie for $15+ when the DVD cost $5 in Wal Mart!?! Leaving the price out of it, it's still a stupid idea. Especially when it's so easy to just rip a DVD you already own and put it on the memory stick...

Which reminds me, another thing Sony did with the PSP: Use their proprietary memory stick. Of course, Sony has to have their own memory stick for their products, they can't use SD. Imagine is every device had it's own, special memory card format?

And then as if Sony wasn't getting enough money, they have the bullshit download service. I'm assuming all, if not most of the profit of downloaded games go to them. Where as if it was sold in a store there's a distributor and store level sales. The whole point of downloading something like that is to get it cheaper, so why so expensive? You cut out the cost of production, and mark up from distributors and stores. Were they hoping people wouldn't think of that... I bet they were.

I agree with every negative thing said about downloaded games in this thread so far, but I think we missed one... space on memory cards. PSP games take up room FAST. Imagine if games were download only? They'd effectively be twice as expensive, if not more, just because of the extra cards you'd have to buy to store them on.

[J T]

Ziggy makes a great point about memory space. Games moving to digital distribution aren't really seeing a drop in price in a lot of cases. They cost just as much, but now YOU have to supply the hardware. Normally, the price of storage is included as part of the price of the cartridge/CD/DVD/whatever.

I also worry about there being a lack of bargains in the future. In an offline physical store, old merchandise takes up valuable space on the shelf. Now it's just taking up a bit of hardware space. That means, they don't feel that same push to clear things out of inventory because the inventory is just a piece of software that is replicated on command. They are not at a loss to keep around something like some a Madden game from 2001, so why should they drop the price to try to clear it out?

At the same time, there are a lot of conveniences about digital distribution that I like. It's easy to search for games. On a setup like Steam, you have lots of downloadable demos to make sure the game works on your system and is something you want to buy. Content for fixing bugs is instantly added. It's easy to watch video and talk to other gamers about a game before you decide to buy. Online play is available freely with the service. There's pros and cons to digital distribution, so I'm not quite sure how I feel about it on the whole quite yet.

[weasels]

i enjoy the psn store....but i would be upset if sony did make this decision. truth be told i think the psn store should be used how it is (but i think it should focus more on ps1 games). my main reason for saying this mostly is because of memory space. but like i said i absolutly love that they have ps1 games and i enjoy getting them and i know many others who would agree on me with that (I relize many of you have custom firmware but be aware i have a v.3001 and im pretty sure it hasent been hacked yet).

[HellHammer]

Ziggy makes a great point about memory space. Games moving to digital distribution aren't really seeing a drop in price in a lot of cases. They cost just as much, but now YOU have to supply the hardware. Normally, the price of storage is included as part of the price of the cartridge/CD/DVD/whatever.

I also worry about there being a lack of bargains in the future. In an offline physical store, old merchandise takes up valuable space on the shelf. Now it's just taking up a bit of hardware space. That means, they don't feel that same push to clear things out of inventory because the inventory is just a piece of software that is replicated on command. They are not at a loss to keep around something like some a Madden game from 2001, so why should they drop the price to try to clear it out?

This is a great point about storage. We all know how expensive the memory sticks are for PSP, if they decided to go with digital distribution and you don't already own one of considerable size, you'll be spending your money on memory cards just to play the games you've theoretically already payed for/own. SonyStyle sells 16gig memory sticks for over $100.

And your second point is my biggest concern. There is this huge assumption that digital distribution will lead to lower priced games, while if you visit PSN, you'll already find that isn't the case, in fact it's the opposite. As I posted earlier LocoRoco (and several others) on PSN cost $23, while it's roughly $9.99 - $19.99 in stores. The lower production costs will lead to lower prices for the consumer...right? Or so we thought. In reality, a lot of what Ziggy says is true. Sony will be the only available retailer to buy PSP games from. And as you said, without the push from new games coming out, there won't be much reason to have sales. Without competition offering lower prices for PSP games, there won't be much stopping them when they start increasing PSP game costs. Hell, we've already seen the average price of home console games go from $50 to $60-$65 this gen. Resistance Retribution cost $40 at launch. Without the option to shop around and find a better deal, I don't know that many people would be willing to dropping $40+ on a DL for their memory card that also costs them over $100. And the 3rd party devs. are going to have to go by the prices that Sony sets, as well.

And at some point, you'll have a whole collection of PSP games that cost you the same as every other collection of games, except that you can't sell them, they're worthless. The convenience of having less to carry around isn't enough for me to be blatantly ripped off.

And great call General Chaos. I didn't even realize PAL and JP versions were going to be available in physical forms...which only confuses me about the digital distribution decision for the NA release even more.