See, it's always a mistake to tell people what they're thinking.
We know the future is digital and even though many aren't too enthusiastic about it, Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Désilets says that "deep down," nobody cares about physical media disappearing.
…oh yeah? Gee, I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me how I feel; I wasn't aware.
In speaking during a Gamelab conference in Barcelona, as attended by GamesIndustry International , Désilets addressed the ongoing digital revolution by saying:
"Yeah, games come on disc… But, deep down, nobody cares about not having CDs any more. The future is digital, and there's nothing you can do about it."
He added that games need to push forward and try some newer themes, because he's a little tired of "space marines and shooters." Therefore, titles "with a cultural point of view" should be produced, so as to give the gamer a bit more in the way of variety and intrigue. Said Désilets:
"Make games with a cultural point of view. We did a game, somehow, about the Muslim faith. We did a game about the Italian renaissance. [Ubisoft] did a game about the American Revolution. Having a cultural point of view will become more and more important. There is something about where I come from in the game I was making [1666: Amsterdam]. I think that will change the entire industry."
Maybe. But it really bothers me when so-called experts claim to know what everyone "actually" thinks. That translates to companies ramming things down our throats because they're convinced something is true…that really isn't. The entire world isn't electronc-crazy (yet).
I will only buy physical media. I prefer CDs to have my music on, DVDs for movies, and PS3 Blu-rays for my games. I will only download a game if it's either free or deeply discounted with Plus.
I very much care about having CDs.
I concur. CD quality > iTunes &mp3.
Isn't thinking like that what got Microsoft and the Xbox One in so much trouble. Instead of saying, "this is what gamers think, i know cause i make the games" they should just listen and respond.
This is the issue as I see it, just like with music and increasingly movies we are doomed to having games be all digital at some point. Problems arise when you push the market into something they aren't yet ready for. If Blu Ray was forced down people's throats it would have encountered more resistance, but when it was offered as an alternative side=by-side with DVD people took a look at the pictures, decided if it was worth the purchase, and slowly let it into their lives. Making the PS3 a Blu Ray device was a great move because real games needed the extra space anyway.
He's right that the future is digital, but he's wrong about deep down not caring about physical media. In my opinion the human animal needs proof of a possession to feel like they spent their currency on something real that actually exists. When you spend money on a virtual item like a T-shirt in Home, it's like leasing a car, you don't own that thing you're just using it. I think deep down we want to know that what we have can't be taken from us except by physical force. When my Internet died this week I still possessed my physical games and I could still play them, but I could not go to the store and download Vanquish again and play it because I don't really own it. It could be wiped away without my consent and against my protests with any new license agreement I'm forced to sign.
As far as cultural stuff goes, I don't think that will be a linchpin for gaming but it is an important part. Dishonored, Skyrim, Fallout, Bioshock Infinite, they all built their own cultures and I find that more impressive than just drawing on Earth's known cultures. We've certainly had enough brainless shooters and space marines.
He's entitled to his opinion. I, personally, don't care about physical media. Ni No Kuni was the first game that also had a physical media option that I bought online. The download sucked but I'm playing it and greatly enjoy it without actually having the disc itself. That said, I do like the nostalgia I get when I look through my old PS One games.
I dont like when people tell me how I feel.
Agreed.
Maybe Désilets doesn't like physical media, but I do. I love my game and movie collection! PS1, PS2, PS3, N64, Wii, Modded Xbox, 360, VHS, DVD'd, Blurays, CD's, a few laser disc's (laser disc player died O_O). Also, the fact that when I have friends over, its a fun discussion piece. In fact, we have ended up playing games just because people see my library and see games they haven't played in years! Try talking about a digital library on a HHD when the systems off and you're watching TV with some friends…
Note: most of my movies are on my home server as well but I always go to my physical library to see what movies I have and what to watch/play.
I like having the game on my hard drive ready to go.
On the PC side I've enjoyed the digital format of games. It's convenient to have my games with me no matter where I go or what PC I'm on.
Bull crap. We need both. Some prefer digital. I prefer real physical media. How can I collect a cool looking shelf to show off without it? :p
If we lost physical, I would buy physical cases and make my own. Lol seriously. I would. Theres already a lot of fan creations out there
Ya know what I hate? Digital manuals. That's total crap.
They're so useless.
Remember when we were kids after we got an NES or SNES game? As mom or dad drove us home… we would eagerly open the box to read the contents. It was part of the experience, man!
it smelled good too.
They would be cool if they had more content. The last of us digital manual has basically nothing it in. I wanted an explanation of what the tutorial hints were because I turned them off in the menu but they still pop up when playing the game. On my 3rd play now on survival and I'm still being told how to play the game. I mean c'mon!
Wow… ignorance at its finest. I don't know how these "experts" get such title. This guy is either just plain ignorant, or there is something definitely wrong with him. I can't really count how many people I know hate the idea of all-digital. I have lost any respect I had for him.
Love your avatar.
until there is plenty of unlimited internet services to go around we need physical media. games are getting bigger and bigger. i don't wanna download 1 game then not have any room for dlc or the like. these so called "experts" do not seem to know there head from there feet
Last edited by shiroxkatsuya on 6/27/2013 1:57:44 PM
This guy lives in a bubble and thinks that his situation applies to the world. Physical disks are going to endure as long as people will buy them and there are a lot of us out here who will. For God's sake, you can still buy vinyl records and millions of CD's are sold each year. Plus, unless download speeds massively increase in a few, short years then physical media will still be the best way to go. Most games on PC are digitial yes, but that came about because users were willing to sacrifice ownership in order to take advantage of the deep discounts that were on offer.
I guess a lot of execs at MS think this way too!
Regarding CD's, and Jawknee eluded to this in another post, it's the only way to buy loss-less audio. I'm certainly not aware of any online store (in my country) that offers songs or albums in .wav, .flac or similar loss-less audio format.
If the PS store was run like Steam, I would have no problem going all digital. They constantly have sales, daily deals and deep discounts. But there are way too many people with slow internet out there for discs to go away. Average US internet speeds are actually pretty sad. It amazes me that we haven't pushed for a fiber optic internet infrastructure. Here's hoping Google gigabit internet will expand quickly!
I'm also wondering if Sony will allow retailers to sell digital codes for all PS4 titles, much like you can buy Steam codes on Amazon or Green Man Gaming. I think that could turn into great deals for gamers. And I know I sound like a Steam fanatic and while I do like it, I just think they have the right idea when it comes to going digital.
I do think Sony has a genius idea going with PS+ though! I love the discounts and free games. I've had it since day 1 and my subscription is currently till the end of 2014. Since it's going to be necessary to play online for PS4, I wonder if it will change the amount of free games they give out. I'm not too sure about the money behind all of it but I would imagine it costs them quite a bit to give these games away, especially when they give away those PSN titles right after they release. I assume they pay off the developers in some way.
Great post
You can thank the congressional house for that, they refuse to invest in America's infrastructure even as it crumbles around us because it's a "spending epidemic". Yeah right, FDR, the New Deal, and the national freeway system say hello.
I thought amazon was selling psn redeem codes for digital PSN titles already? Or did they stop?
Thanks LimitedVertigo!
World, I know our government is to blame but what can you do. It's all pretty much a joke at this point. The people have no voice and the one's that try to voice their opinions only seem to care about social issues that really don't matter when the economic issues need to be the priority. The crooks, I mean politicians, are in charge and their personal agendas will always take priority over what would help our country grow and prosper.
Okay, back to video games…
Jawknee, Amazon used to sell them but I haven't seen any in a long time. But I was more referring to $60 retail games.
Thing is Steam is ultimately a client to manage DRM. Entities like Amazon and such distribute the titles to make a profit as any retailer would in a physical market but the controlling of piracy is handled through either Steam, GFWL, Uplay or Origin. I'd imagine with enough time publishers like Ubisoft and Activision will want to control their own DRM licenses through their own clients themselves. EA has done this already and they don't allow Steam to sell their newer content as they want that communitiy part of their own client. In fact, Ubisoft is going this way too. my last 2 Assassin's Creed games purchased from outlets like AMazon or Greenman had DRM's tied to Uplay.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 6/27/2013 11:10:55 PM
I hate these all digital idiots. Think about this. Say you have an all digital PS3. In 4 years time they close the PSN network down. You will lose EVERY SINGLE DIGITAL GAME YOU BOUGHT if your ps3 tears up. You will NOT be able to just go buy another system.
You would have to go and buy a ps4, then buy EVERY SINGLE GAME YOU HAD FOR THE PS3 OFF THIS NEW PSN4 network.
I don't like this idea of all digital at all. You wont even be able to collect anything. It just wont have any value at all, after you beat it that is.
I will stop playing console games forever is this happens.
At least I can go on a site and buy NON DRM GAMES and move them to any PC I want. Maybe not brand new games but they most of them, say like the Witcher series.
End of line.
Does anyone know if the PSN+ cards stack so you can have 2 years or more?
Yes, you can stack your subscription. I have my subscription until the end of 2014 right now.
Thank you kind sir! And that's awesome to hear. 🙂
This is a typical "I think this way, so everyone else does, too" statement. I keep repeating myself, but this is the pure essence of what is wrong with the gaming industry right now.
Everyone wants fast-paced action.
Everyone wants to play military shooters.
Everyone wants cooperative multiplayer modes.
Everyone hates survival horror and adventure games.
Everyone is ready to fully embrace digital distribution.
All of these ideas are wrong. There is no one single type of consumer to which every product and service is going to apply. With no variety of choice, you are locking out large sections of your customer base who are ready and willing to hand over their cash, if only there was something which appealed to them.
I actually think he is right! I mean, how much love can you have for a disk. Not for the game, but for the disk itself! Would you not liked those final fantasy games if they only came digital?? of course you wouldn't.
I don't understand why people worry so much in how the game gets to you. they are going to enjoy it anyway! maybe its fear of change, or maybe there is something super cool about a disk that I don't know
Because some prefer having a disc than data. It's not that hard to understand.
Last edited by Jawknee on 6/27/2013 9:08:34 PM
I think it's because people feel like they are renting when they just have downloaded data, rather than a physical copy they can use to play from.
Think about this scenario. What if you bought all digital games and Sony went under and ceased to exist. Then your hard drive dies and now you have nowhere to download your games from. What then? I know it's very unlikely but it's the kind of thing people want to be protected from. If they have a physical copy, nothing can stop them from playing the game. Well, other than a power outage, haha.
One factor is the completely justified belief that companies are only pushing for this in order to screw us over. Does anyone believe for a second that Microsoft would be running Steam-type sales on a digital-only Xbox, just out of the goodness of their heart? Steam only does it because they have dozens of competitors on the PC, only a click away, and they need to keep you on their service. A console digital store is nothing like that.
Another factor is the loss of ownership. With digital-only, every company reserves the right to have the whole thing come crashing down at any moment (read the TOS), and then what becomes of your hard-earned cash? It was spent on…nothing.
Ownership and physicality is a big deal. I paid more for the Journey Collector's Edition on PS3, specifically because I value having a physical product. Take that away, and I'm not willing to pay much of anything. I only buy on Steam when prices are at absurdly low levels, because I don't place the same value on a collection of bits floating around the Internet as I do on a physical product which I can hold in my hand.
What a dumba**.
Creator of Assasins Creed? Is he also the guy who turned it into an annual franchise?
But I don't like it when you tell me how I feel… so stop talking please.
oh lord.
just shut your mouth dude, your in NO position to go flapping it about!
starting to wonder ubisoft firing him was not such a bad decision after all……
Digital will be the de facto delivery method one day (yes, they'll always be physical disks too, but as a novelty, for serious collectors and such), but not for a while. Say 2050. Things need to be improved greatly first. The welcome Back package was a disaster in implementing because so many people went on at once for it. When I d/l a game, it took 18 hours because the servers were so in use. Imagine d/l the next big game like that, with everybody on at once. Could take days.
But "Experts" always tell us what we like. Hollywood does this too. We all like our movies remade, but only darker and in 3D. They know this because we all flocked to see The dark Knight because it was darker. We all flocked to see Avatar because it was in 3D. We all flocked to Star Trek because they remade it. And if the Box office proves otherwise? Oh well. Just keep flinging what we want at us.
So yeah, we all hate cds. Hence why digital games are being d/l right and left, and physical games languish on store shelves or in online seller's wharehosues.
If that were true we'd still be able to find copies of The Last of Us in stores (sold out everywhere) and special editions and collectors editions wouldn't pre-order so well.